Posts

Is Your Company Doing These 5 Things to Promote a Safety-First Culture in Logistics?

/in /by

StrategyDriven Corporate Cultures Article | Is Your Company Doing These 5 Things to Promote a Safety-First Culture in Logistics?There is often a conflict in logistics management between ensuring the highest level of safety and meeting strict delivery deadlines. However, security shouldn’t be compromised because of time constraints. Both an environment of safety and prosperity are achievable.

It can be argued that safety considerations are given greater weight in the logistics sector than in other fields. After all, if safety isn’t prioritized, truckers, delivery personnel, and train or bus drivers endanger the public. The good news is that by following the five guidelines below, your company can promote a safer environment for its employees and the public.

Efficient Communication

Maintaining a culture where safety is prioritized and accidents are avoided requires open lines of communication among all employees. Three-way communication is essential, including both vertical and horizontal directions. To put safety devices like a tachograph into every step of a process, you have to be willing to talk about things openly and honestly.

Constant Learning

It’s essential to put in the time and effort to train well before setting out. Ongoing learning is essential for the development of a safety-first mentality. Things change, and so do people’s memories. It’s wonderful how quickly we make errors if we don’t use them or review them often. Consolidating learning and reducing the impacts of the memory curve can be done with brief, easy-to-understand safety courses that just take a few minutes.

Constructive Feedback

When everyone in your company is concerned about safety, you have a “safety-first” culture. Collisions, near-misses, and suggestions for improvement are all reported. When looking for new or straightforward methods to reduce vulnerability, your drivers, warehouse employees, and packers may provide some of the best ideas. To support the idea that events, near-misses, and suggestions for improving safety are talked about at work, the way to report them must be clear.


Hire Managers

Hire a manager to work late hours after tracking commercial truck fatality rates. When the night shift begins at 11 pm and ends at 5 am, these managers check in with all drivers to ensure they are well rested and aware. By giving them the authority to take charge and prioritize safety even when they are tired or in other potentially dangerous situations, you reduce the chance that any of your employees will be involved in an accident, from warehouse employees to HGV drivers. You can also track them by using a fleet management system from a trusted source like Webfleet.

Quality Assessments

Would it be possible to quickly and accurately evaluate the skills of every employee, and support that assessment with information that is both current and conveniently accessible? It is necessary to provide appropriate HSC training for employees to adhere to both federal and local laws and business policies. However, official certification as evidence of conformity is often only necessary once or rarely. If you want to create a more secure culture, you shouldn’t look to the past for clues about the present.

To Sum Up

When you make a commitment to safety an integral part of your business’ culture, it stops being something you have to think about and starts becoming automatic. The success of the whole company, which depends on the success of each worker, can’t be made to last without first creating a safety culture.

5 Reasons Why Companies Should Give Back

/in /by

StrategyDriven Corporate Culture Article | 5 Reasons Why Companies Should Give Back

On the surface, running a business may seem simple. Products are created and sold to customers, expenses are paid, and profits are tallied up. However, the process is much more nuanced than that. While establishing a relationship with the community is not required, it can play an important role in determining how successful a business is. Taking the time to build a positive relationship with the community can be an excellent way to establish a good reputation and promote positive word of mouth. Giving back can also improve employee morale and encourage a positive culture in the workplace.

1. Establish a Positive Workplace Culture

Providing a safe, comfortable work environment is something that many entrepreneurs strive for. However, the management style, personality of the workers, and expectations placed onto staff members also contribute to the workplace culture. Toxic workers, impossible goals, and unfair distribution of work can all create a poor environment. Even if a company has fantastic managers and workers, employees may not feel completely fulfilled. From high-level management experts like Claire Lucas DC who are passionate about equality to entry-level workers who want to foster animals, most people want to do something to help the world.

Inviting staff members to contribute ideas about what causes they care about can help business owners figure out what is important to workers. If many of the workers are ardent environmentalists, then perhaps scheduling everyone to participate in cleaning up a beach once a month could be a big hit. While giving workers a few days off to volunteer may seem counterproductive, there are many studies that show a correlation between employee happiness and an increase in daily productivity.

2. Benefit the Community

While the people who live in a community may want or need certain things, they may be at a loss about how to get them. A company can provide some of the funding and use its large platform to advertise to a wide audience. Even though it may cost the company money to allow workers to volunteer, donate money to a charity event, or organize a fundraiser, the benefit to the community can make the effort worthwhile. Whether the company is able to make a difference on a local level or a global scale, many people will be able to benefit. A business that contributes towards the construction of a public park may not reap profits from the new space, but the employees and community members can use the area to exercise, socialize and play games.

3. Foster Feelings of Public Goodwill

Companies, especially large ones, can sometimes be perceived as uncaring by consumers. Unlike the local shop where the owner is often behind the counter, a large corporation can appear faceless to customers. Giving back is an excellent way to create feelings of warmth, admiration, and appreciation in the general public. A positive reputation can result in an increase in customer loyalty, even if prices go up in the future. A company with a positive reputation can enjoy more sales from happy customers.

4. Promote Brand Awareness

Often, if a company contributes to a cause, the name of the business is featured somewhere. Pamphlets and banners at events may feature the names of any sponsors, while charities may list their donors on a website page. Current and future customers may notice the name of the company, especially if the contribution made is notable, such as a large dollar amount or a flashy, unique prize won at a raffle. Companies that give back also enjoy good word of mouth among consumers. If people are impressed that a business supports a cause they agree with, they are more likely to not only support that company but to share that information with others.

5. Networking Opportunities

Charity events often appeal to local philanthropists, local celebrities, and business owners. Hosting or attending a notable event is an excellent way for business owners to meet other like-minded people. The opportunities for networking are limitless as long as it is done correctly. The business owners should not make it appear as if they are only present to meet people who may benefit them. However, they should be sociable and friendly with everyone they encounter, which will leave a good impression on all of the attendees. Business cards can be handed out and asked for in return in the hopes of sending an email or making a follow-up phone call after the event.

When a business gives back to the community in any way, the benefits are numerous. The charity selected should be as free from scandal as possible and provide a valuable service to the community or the world. As long as the cause and charities are carefully selected and align with the company culture and vision, then the business can provide support through donations and volunteer time while also generating goodwill.

Improve Workplace Safety With Cooperative Efforts

/in /by

StrategyDriven Corporate Cultures Article | Improve Workplace Safety With Cooperative EffortsEvery day, people head to work believing they will complete their allotted hours and duties and then go home safely. It’s true that everyone deserves to have a safe working environment, and many businesses take steps to make sure employees are safe. However, many workplace accidents still happen.

Understand That Safety Impacts Everyone

Employee safety is important for everyone at the worksite whether it is a low-risk office environment or a high-risk off-shore mining site. When employees get injured at work, this affects their ability to take home a paycheck and it negatively impacts the employers’ bottom line. Additionally, this leads to added responsibilities for other employees. It’s very important that employers, supervisors, and everyone else at the worksite cooperate to prevent injuries and accidents.

Identify Common Causes of Accidents and Injuries

One of the first steps to reducing the occurrence of workplace accidents is identifying the most common causes of accidents. According to Travelers Insurance, the situations most likely to cause injuries are:

  • Material handling, with 32 percent of claims
  • Falls, slips, and trips, 16 percent
  • Colliding with or being struck by an object, 10 percent
  • Use of tools, 7 percent
  • Overuse, strain, and other traumas that occur over time, 4 percent

In addition to understanding how most accidents happen, it’s also valuable to understand which injuries are most likely to happen. The following numbers also come from Travelers Insurance:

  • Strains and sprains
  • Cuts and punctures
  • Contusions (bruises, for example)
  • Inflammation
  • Fractures (such as broken bones)

These numbers can help you understand where to start reducing your risks; for the best results, contact your workplace insurance provider for a more specific risk rundown.

Build a Culture of Safety

Remember that no matter how well you complete the following suggestions, if everyone in your workplace isn’t involved in improving safety, then everyone will be at risk for accidents and injuries. Improve results by showing your employees that you place a high priority on safety. Implement procedures that encourage safety, even when this means slowing down work processes, and then find a way to reward workers who support those safety measures.

Increase Workplace Safety

There are many things you can do to increase safety, reduce employee injuries, and protect yourself from workers compensation claims:

  • Keep common areas clean and uncluttered, provide good lighting, and use slip-resistant flooring materials.
  • Train employees to use equipment appropriately, including ladders, heavy machinery, and even staplers. Provide ongoing training to make sure all employees are up to date.
  • Education employees about physical safety and ergonomics. Heavy lifting is a task that employees complete in offices, warehouses, factories, and many other worksites. When you teach your employees to lift and handle materials safely, you could reduce some of the 36 percent of injuries that fall into this category. Physical safety in offices can be increased through a better understanding of ergonomics.
  • Post and send safety reminders. A well-placed Accident Prevention Safety Poster can help employees remember to wear their hard hats. Office-wide memos can remind staff to participate in first aid courses. Regular reminders to put phones down while walking through the worksite may reduce slip and fall injuries.
  • Create an incentive program that rewards individuals and teams for improving workplace safety. Remind employees to be alert at all times, slow down enough to complete tasks safely, wear required safety gear, and follow instructions fully.

It takes time to change behavior in the workplace, but it is possible to see improvement with consistency.

Create a Cycle of Safety Improvement

Even minor accidents or injuries can cause missed days of work, loss of income, decreased workplace efficiency, and workers’ compensation claims. When safety issues are addressed quickly and business leaders emphasize workplace safety, employees will participate in a culture of safety. This creates a cycle of improvement that is beneficial to everyone in the workplace.

Seven Lessons American Manufacturing’s Decline Can Teach Any Company

/in /by

The United States destroyed its enemies in World War II because it out-produced them. Its manufacturing capacity was enormous and efficient. Its workforce was inspired and committed. The government, suppliers, and competitors all collaborated to produce the biggest manufacturing juggernaut the world had ever known. It seemed there was no end to America’s manufacturing might.

But there was.

The end to America being a manufacturing powerhouse began during the recession of 2008. Millions of middle-class manufacturing jobs were lost. And they never came back. In fact, since 1979, manufacturing employment has plummeted by over 33%. That is worse than the job losses during the Great Depression.

So what happened? How did the world’s mightiest manufacturing machine end up as the equivalent of room service to China? How did the nation with the workforce that won the war end up with a workforce outsourced to India? How did the most motivated, inspired, and productive workforce on the planet end up caring more about their bowling scores than their production numbers?

There is no shortage of explanations. Some experts claim China is to blame. Others cite United States trade policies. And still others say it is because of the rise of the Millennials.

However, very few people point to the real reason. And that is a failure of American leadership on an epic scale; a failure of government to work with manufacturing instead of against it; a failure of business to adapt to the global marketplace instead of running from it. But most of all, it is a failure of leadership to harness and unleash the remarkable potential of the American worker.

You can’t unleash this massive potential without creating a “culture by design, not default”. A culture by design has a bedrock of carefully selected company-wide values that motivates employees, delights customers, serves their communities and sparks innovation and creativity. But most companies have cultures “by default, not design”. They have what I call “bumper sticker” values. Bumper sticker values are created in boardrooms because they sound cool. But they don’t reflect the real, underlying values of the organization.

One has to look no further than the Wells Fargo bogus accounts debacle to illustrate this. Two of Wells Fargo’s key values are “ethics” and “what’s right for their customers”. And yet what they did was clearly neither. How can a company with those supposed ethics commit such an act? It can only be because while those values look good on a bumper sticker, the real, underlying values at Wells Fargo are “profit above all else”. Now don’t misunderstand me, profit has to be the number one goal. The problem with that as a core value, above all else is people will act that way. And when they do, relationships between employees and customers suffer, quality suffers, the books get cooked, and all other manner of bad outcomes.

That is why it is so important to build a culture by design. Cultures by design contain foundational values that drive organizational behavior toward remarkable outcomes. Cultures by default contain foundational values that drive organizational behavior toward bad outcomes.

The key point here is that you should choose values and not let values choose you. Here are some simple steps to get started:

1. Understand the values your organization currently has. Some, perhaps all, the values may be perfectly appropriate. Some may not be. But remember, the underlying values are probably different than the bumper sticker values. Conduct an anonymous survey of every single employee and ask them. Don’t make this a human resource exercise. It has to come right from the top to be taken seriously.

2. Once you know the underlying values of the organization, decide which ones are worth keeping, nourishing, and promoting and which ones need to be discarded. And then you and your senior leadership team can decide which new values need to be implemented. This is not a slogan exercise. It is a gut-wrenching soul-searching mission. Which values should you choose? It will be different in every company but you should choose values that drive organizational behavior toward remarkable outcomes. Don’t choose values that sound cool in the C-suite but stupid to employees. Choose values that everyone in the organization can get behind and feel good about. Sound like a tough job? It is. The last time I did this it took a year.

3. Declare to the organization the new values that have been chosen and why. If you have chosen well, people will applaud you when you tell them. If you have chosen poorly, you’ll be a water cooler joke. Be very deliberate and comprehensive when you announce the new values. Explain completely what each value means, why it was chosen, and what you expect from employees in terms of behavior to support the values.

4. Now comes the most crucial part. You must be certain your senior executives live these values day by day. You can’t expect “people from below to do what the top does not”. Some of your executives won’t go along with the new values. Ask them to leave the company. Yes, you read that right. One loose cannon on the values ship can scuttle the whole effort.

5. Align all organization policies and practices to support the new values. Make them part of performance appraisals, standards for promotions, and compensation increases. Don’t let this become a “check the box to keep human resources happy” exercise.

6. Once the values are firmly entrenched, don’t let anybody in the front door that doesn’t believe in them. Do a “values check” as part of the interview process.

7. And finally, this has to be a CEO initiative or it will fail. Think of this as a strategic culture plan, requiring years to execute, not months. And give it the same time, importance, attention, and resources as you do the strategic operating plan.

About the Author

CEO Miller IngenuitySteven L. Blue is the President & CEO of Miller Ingenuity, a global supplier of mission-critical solutions in the transportation industry and author of the new book, American Manufacturing 2.0: What Went Wrong and How to Make It Right. For more information, please visit www.StevenLBlue.com, www.milleringenuity.com and connect with Blue on Twitter, @SteveBlueCEO.

Your Most Important Business Strategy Is Culture

/in /by

How healthy is the quality of your business culture? Does your work environment ensure every player – leader, team member, customer, even supplier – is treated with trust, respect, and dignity in every interaction?

When I engage business leaders in discussion about their culture, most shrug their shoulders. “Our culture is OK,” most of them say. The reality is that most leaders don’t pay attention to the quality of their culture.

Deloitte’s recent Global Human Capital Trends report, found that “few factors contribute more to business success than culture.” 87 percent of business leaders who responded to their survey believe that culture is important. 54 percent believe culture is very important.

If that’s the case, why don’t leaders make culture a priority? They don’t know how. They’ve never been asked to manage culture. Deloitte’s study found that only 28 percent of respondents believe they understand their current culture well. Only 19 percent believe they have the “right” culture.

This data shows that most leaders don’t know what to look for. Few leaders know what to do if they discover their culture isn’t healthy.

What leaders do know is managing results. They invest more time, energy, and attention in results than they do in their business culture, yet culture drives everything that happens in their organization – for better or worse.

Don’t get me wrong – results are definitely important. But they’re not the only important thing. In fact, managing results is exactly HALF the leader’s job.

The other half? Managing the quality of their work culture.

Those leaders that invest time and energy in the quality of their culture reap tremendous benefits. A purposeful, positive, productive culture boosts employee engagement by 40 percent, customer service by 40 percent, and results and profits by 35 percent. I can prove it.

How can leaders create a healthy work culture? By making values – the way people treat each other – as important as results.

Just as leaders create clear performance expectations then hold people accountable for delivering those expectations, leaders must create clear values expectations and hold people – including themselves – accountable for acting in alignment with those values, every day.

To make values observable, tangible, and measurable requires that values – ideas like “integrity” or “teamwork” – be defined in behavioral terms. Why? Behaviors are measurable.

If you define your integrity value with a measurable behavior like “I keep my promises” or “I do what I say I will do,” everyone will know how they’re expected to behave to ensure they’re demonstrating that value, daily.

By formalizing values in behavioral terms, then requiring all leaders to model those behaviors themselves, you build credibility for your values. You build credibility in your leaders. And you model the purposeful, positive, productive culture you want.

In the absence of formalized values, your culture is one of default rather than one of design. Don’t leave the quality of your work culture to chance.

Make culture one of your critical business strategies – and implement valued behaviors as a means to creating a purposeful, positive, productive culture.

About the Author

S. Chris EdmondsS. Chris Edmonds is a sought-after speaker, author of the Amazon best seller The Culture Engine, an executive consultant and founder and CEO of The Purposeful Culture Group. Named one of Inc. Magazine’s 100 Great Leadership Speakers and a featured presenter at SXSW 2015, Chris’ blog, podcasts, research, and videos are enjoyed by thousands at Driving Results Through Culture. Check out his daily quotes on organizational culture, servant leadership, and workplace inspiration on Twitter at @scedmonds.

Portfolio Items