Questions from the webinar
How do you build a stronger safety culture?
When you ask people a question, listen to the answer and do something with it. Ignore them and they stop telling you. Punish them and they never tell you anything again.
What is psychological safety?
Feeling safe to speak up or ask a question without fear of getting into trouble. The term comes from Amy Edmondson's research. Trish described it as being “comfortable enough to be uncomfortable.”
How can leaders encourage questions in teams with a strong hierarchy?
Build trust first. People need to know they won't be punished for speaking up. If you are senior, go first: ask questions yourself, admit what you don't know and thank people who ask you something.
How can curiosity improve safety in practice?
In one example, reported incidents went up while fewer people got hurt. Trish joined a company with a poor safety record and encouraged leaders to go out on site, ask real questions and fix what people reported. Six months later, reported incidents had risen, as predicted, but the incidents were less severe, and the business became safer and more productive.
How can a lone worker system support worker safety?
In the example discussed during the webinar, a lone worker system could have raised the alarm the moment the worker went down. It would not have stopped the incident, but help would have been on its way at once. Minutes can make a critical difference when someone is unconscious.
