HSE Communication: Reaching the Mind and Heart

Context: Why HSE Communication is the Foundation of Safety Culture

Building a culture of occupational health and safety (HSE) is impossible without effective communication. It is not just about informing people about legal requirements, but a way to reach the minds of employees through their emotions and values. The presentation details practical experience in building communication that translates spontaneous impulses into conscious and planned actions. The speaker examines various methods, from internal blogs to large-scale forums, showing how each tool works to create a unified safety background in the company.

Internal Channels: From Blogs to Newsletters

Creating an internal HSE blog allows for lively and informal communication with employees. It is important to avoid dry bureaucracy and use vivid language, telling stories and examples. However, the speaker notes challenges: ensuring subscriptions and moderating comments, which can turn the blog into an uncontrolled chat room. Official email newsletters (flashes, bulletins) also have their drawbacks — the risk that the email will get lost in the inbox stream. To increase efficiency, an initial mailing to managers is recommended, who then discuss the information with their departments.

Visual Communication: Posters, Videos, and TV Screens

Visual tools play a key role. Ready-made posters are cheap and easy to use, but are often overloaded with small text that no one reads. Homemade posters are unique and attract more attention, but require design skills and time. In-house videos are a great way to convey information (e.g., induction training or rules for working at heights), but their creation requires significant resources. TV screens in crowded places (cafeterias, checkpoints) are a modern alternative to safety boards, allowing dynamic content to be broadcast without sound.

Interactive Formats: Knowledge Days and Contractor Forums

For a deep dive into HSE topics, the speaker uses the example of "knowledge days" — educational sessions that must be interactive and dynamic to hold the audience's attention. Contractor forums are a powerful tool for large companies. Their goal is to create a unified team spirit and share experiences. It is important to require the presence of top executives from contracting organizations and seat participants so that they mix with each other. At such events, it is better to pass the microphone to management rather than HSE specialists, as the words of leaders carry more weight.

Feedback and Engagement: Initiative Boxes and Meetings

Boxes for initiatives and rationalization proposals work effectively if the ideas receive financial support. Meetings are not just reading instructions for a signature, but an opportunity for management to show leadership qualities. Interactive discussion of incidents, when the culprit themselves talks about their mistakes, leaves a much deeper mark than formal punishment. The speaker also mentions unconventional approaches, such as a "morning greeting" with a discussion of current risks at the building entrance and holding children's days to build team spirit.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to choose the most effective HSE communication channels for your company?
• What are the most common mistakes made when creating safety posters and videos?
• How to organize a contractor forum so that it brings real benefits and doesn't become a formality?
• Why should management, not HSE specialists, hold the microphone at important safety meetings?
• How to properly use initiative and proposal boxes to increase employee engagement?