So – you got nominated as the Health and Safety Rep at work.
All you can think is this sucks, safety is boring. I don’t know anything about safety, I only got this job because someone had to do it and I got nominated.
I haven’t even been given a budget and the boss thinks this safety stuff is a waste of time.
Everybody groans when I walk in the room. It’s an uphill battle…
Suck it up buttercup. You know what. This is your chance to make a real difference. You could literally save lives. That’s a big deal. Take it seriously.
Start small, like a snow ball and let it go, let it go… all of a sudden you will have an ice palace – no wait – that’s a Disney movie!
Submit it to your boss that many of the biggest businesses in the world have invested the time and effort to develop a safety culture, because they have discovered that investing in safety is a long term gain.
Incidentally, Disney is one of the giants amongst them. With more than 600 million guests visiting across Disney’s 250 attractions annually, as well as approximately 166000 cast members. You can read their safety report here to see the multitude of programs they have in place to ensure the safety of their attractions and those who visit and work there.
Before you say that you can’t even hope to match what Disney has produced – don’t worry, you don’t have to. The safety program at Disney started in the 1950’s so they have had around 75 years to develop their program, not to mention a substantially larger budget than your average business.
But you can learn a lot from companies like Disney, often they publish some of their programs or materials as showcase of their success. You can also get a lot of free or low cost safety programs and pointers from your local regulatory authority. For example Safe Work Australia has a selection of useful tools for businesses of all sorts to improve their safety.
You may also be able to apply for grants and /or rebates to assist you with financing your safety program.
If you would like further information about what your safety requirements are, or need some help working out what safety programs to address first please contact us at enquiries@excitesafety.com.au for an obligation free chat.
