Last week a subscriber, Robert, (I’ve changed his name) sent me this message:
Hello Richard,
Thanks for Safety Stuff. I have been using some of the safety ideas since meeting you at a safety conference a few years ago. The ideas are working but recently I have heard some “kind of negative” feedback. For example, recently we have used two of the ideas from Safety Stuff that were games.
Most employees seem to enjoy spicing safety up. But a few have made comments like “Why are we playing games?” My response was that it was a way to make safety fun and interesting and in return get more people focused on safety. Do you have a better response that I could use? Either some facts or statistics that relate directly to improvements made by making safety fun?
Thanks again for Safety Stuff. It has been a useful tool that I look forward to seeing in my email.
Robert
Hi Robert,
Thank you for the kind words—they make me feel good.
As for the negative responses, I often think of what Bill Cosby once said during an interview when he was asked if he knew what the secret to success was? “I don’t know the secret to success, but I do know the secret to failure—trying to please everyone.”
If the majority of folks in your organization enjoy what you’re doing, don’t put much credence into the few objections. However, you might be playing too many games; mix it up a bit. Sometimes have “serious” sessions that are interesting and unusual and other times play games. That’s what I do during my talks. Funny, then thought provoking, funny again, unusual story, etc. The same goes for your safety promotions.
As for a comeback (which I have to use because many of my talks are on why you should “make safety fun”): Anytime the subject is studied, the results are the same (Southwest Airlines, Harvard School of Business, etc.). When people are having fun they perform better. One group, Great Place to Work Institute, www.greatplacetowork.com has a 1 million-person research database that reveals that “Great” companies consistently earn significantly higher marks for “fun.” So, making safety fun, makes sense. It improves moral, retention and ultimately performance.
‘till next time.
Richard
