Points about Safety Cultures
This discussion slide summarizes several major points about Safety Cultures:
It is important to recognize the cognitive approach (Attitudes) which is the foundation for our observable behaviours for ourselves and other members of our organization. The community perception of these behaviours will be the foundation of the community’s perceived culture of our organization. Mythologies are often simply the result of perception (accurate or not) over time.
Safety Culture consists of Values, People and Systems and these must be aligned. People often argue about which comes first but I simply assess the alignment and suggest adjustments where needed. People and Systems change over time; however, the cornerstone of our culture lies in our Values which take time and patience to evolve.
When bringing about a change to the Safety Culture, we have to use a blend of Drivers and Motivators and be constantly evaluating the effectiveness of each approach. For example, when a large organization needs to bring about necessary change (Example: sexual harassment in the Armed Forces), it will use both drivers and motivators. Some would suggest that drivers are short term and motivators tend to be long-term.