Responding is Shane Cabrera, senior manager, Monarch, ISN, Dallas.

Safety is a top priority for most organizations. But when leaders fail to take proactive steps to establish a strong safety culture, they risk higher incident rates, reduced employee morale and reputational damage. These outcomes can negatively affect employee well-being, as well as profitability.

An intentional approach to workplace safety can help reduce these risks. Consequently, capturing and implementing feedback from your employees and contractors should be a foundational element of your safety plan. However, feedback is only useful if workers trust your organization to act on it. Likewise, workers need to know that organizational leadership will maintain confidentiality when appropriate and ensure their feedback leads to meaningful changes in safety practices and protocols.

So, to build trust and ensure transparency in the feedback process, it’s essential to include the following elements.

Encourage honest feedback

Right out of the gate, it’s important to develop accessible mechanisms for workers to submit candid feedback on both safety process improvements and potential risks. You can post QR codes at worksites so employees can open feedback forms with a quick scan of their mobile device or access the survey via email.

However, the development of user-friendly feedback collection processes is only the first step. It’s equally important to demonstrate that your organization values and seriously considers all feedback shared. If an employee or contractor raises a concern but doesn’t receive confirmation that leadership has even reviewed it, it’s unlikely they’ll continue to provide feedback. Show your workers that their feedback matters by providing timely responses, implementing changes when necessary and following up with clear communication on the steps taken to address their suggestions and concerns.

Be transparent about action plans

Create a safety action plan that’s informed by insights from your worker surveys and feedback. This plan should outline focus areas for improvement, as well as the specific actions you’ll take to achieve your safety goals.

Make sure to set clear expectations for reporting safety risks and incidents by workers, and develop a process to follow up on these reports, keeping everyone updated on progress and results.

Engage a third-party safety partner

If you don’t have a system in place for soliciting and implementing feedback from workers on safety policies and practices – or if you’re working to rebuild trust – it can be beneficial to bring in a third-party advisor. An expert partner can collaborate with your team to establish effective feedback collection and implementation processes that are right for your industry and your organization’s unique needs.

A partner also brings a neutral perspective that’s useful for identifying blind spots. This can help foster open communication and trust by ensuring all employee concerns are addressed objectively and without bias. As a result, it becomes easier to build credibility with your workers and enhance the effectiveness of safety initiatives.

Final thoughts

You can’t evolve your organization’s safety culture without actively soliciting and applying feedback. The goal is to create a consistent feedback loop where workers feel heard and valued, and where safety improvements are continuously pursued and implemented.

Although it requires time and effort, a commitment to open communication and ongoing development will drive your workplace culture toward a safer, more inclusive and proactive future.

Editor's note: This article represents the independent views of the author and should not be considered a National Safety Council endorsement.