Safety Based Solution to Sopranos Small Goods in Australian Market - Case Study Example

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Name Course Tutor Date Executive Summary This report is aimed at providing a safety based solution to Sopranos Smallgoods that operates in Australian Market and is a family owned organization. The report has the first part introducing some of the concepts to be covered. The next section looks at the legal responsibilities of employers. The next section then looks at the concept of safety culture and safety climate. The following section looks at the various strategies of safety culture that can be used in organizations to improve safety in the workplace. The next section then offers recommendations for Sopranos owners and the board on the various HR strategies and practices that can be used to better the safety culture and thus safety in the organization thereby addressing the safety issue at hand. The last section then concludes the report. The very last section has the list of works or literature consulted when compiling this report. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Legal responsibilities of Employers in Ensuring Safe Work Place in Organizations 4 Safety Culture and Safety Climate 5 Improvement of Safety in Organizations through Safety Culture 6 Responsibilities of Employees in Ensuring Safe Workplace 6 Safety in Organizations through Safety Culture 6 Recommendations 9 Recruitment and Selection 9 Training and Development 10 Job Design 11 Performance Management 11 Rewards 12 Conclusion 12 Bibliography 13 Introduction The contemporary workplace has undergone some changes in the recent passed making safety a priority prior to establishment of organizations. The employers and employees have been emancipated through various mechanisms on the need to adhere to workplace safety concerns. The employers have some legal responsibilities mandating them to have necessary measures in place for workplace safety. These legal duties have been put up to ensure that the safety of the employees at the workplace is assured. However, for full realization of the benefits of the benefits of the laws both employers, management and the employees need to coordinate so as to enable the rollout and proper working of safety programs and thus safety climate and culture. Often at times the management and the employers could be very much aware of the safety laws. However, the laxity of the employees could cause the failure of workplace safety programs as is the case with Sopranos Smallgoods a family owned organization in Australia. The company that supplies the Australian market with small goods, meat and ham has a track record of employing over 250 workers. A recent independent health and safety investigation revealed that there are some gaps in safety practices by the front line workers as well as poor attitude towards safety among the front line staff, supervisors and the middle management. However, the senior management had a well-grounded commitment to the safety of the workers despite the fact that it was not taking shape effectively in the organization. The aim of this report is to address the issues of Sopranos Smallgoods through evaluation of the concepts of safety culture and recommending some of the best practices. Legal responsibilities of Employers in Ensuring Safe Work Place in Organizations The employers have the legal mandate of ensuring safe work environment for the employees. The success of safety work programs rests with the employers. First off, the employers must ensure that the safe systems of work are in place (HSE, 2013). Secondly, the employers must ensure that the employees are provided with personal protective gears. Third, the employers must ensure that the employees are provided with information, standard operating procedures, instructions, and necessary supervision if need be so as to ensure that the workers are safe. Fourth, the employer must ensure safe use and handling of goods and machines in the organization (HSE, 2013). The employers also have the legal mandate to assess the risks at the workplace and also implement appropriate preventive and risk management procedures. The employer must also report the notifiable incidents and accidents to the responsible bodies. In Australia the responsible bodies include Work Health and Safety Queensland among others in different jurisdictions (HSE, 2013). The facility design with safety consideration is also the mandate of the employer .The employer must also investigate incidents and accidents so as to avert any possibility of future occurrences. The employer must also provide the workers with Compensation insurance that covers them against injuries and hazards at the workplace (HSE, 2013). Lastly, the employer has the mandate of hazard assessment and proper communication of the hazards the employees are likely to experience in their daily duties. Safety Culture and Safety Climate In the realm of workplace safety these two concepts have been confusing some authors. However, there is a very big difference between the two concepts; safety culture and safety climate (Zohar, 1980). Zohar (1980) defines safety culture as the shared perceptions about the commitment of leaders to safety at the workplace, taking of appropriate measures to mitigate potential risks and hazards, and the level of devotion to safety standards and procedures in an organizational setting. Put simply, safety culture is just the stable and well recognized as well as dominant positive attitude towards the safety of everybody in organization. There are specific indicators of safety culture (Zohar, 1980: Cox & Flin, 1998). On the other hand, safety climate is a necessary subcomponent of safety culture. Cox & Flin (1998) assert that safety climate is the perception of employees on common attitudes in the workplace towards the safety of the organization at any given time. Zohar (1980) seems to strongly agree to this stating that it is an integration of all perceptions held and shared by the employees with regard to their work environments (Saksvik & Quinlan, 2003). Therefore safety climate would mean the shared perceptions among the members of s given organization with regard to how the organizational environment informs the extent to which certain facets of role behavior are motivated by the organization in question (Zohar & Luria, 2005). This means that safety culture is stable and cannot be modified but the latter is easily alterable through time. According to Human Engineering (2005) there are five key indicators of safety culture including leadership two-way communication, employee involvement learning culture, and attitude towards blame. Improvement of Safety in Organizations through Safety Culture Responsibilities of Employees in Ensuring Safe Workplace The success of workplace safety programs rests with the employers and employees all together. The employers’ legal responsibilities have been shown in the previous sections of this report (HSE, 2013). The employees also have a role to play in ensuring that their workplace is safe (Cox & Flin, 1998). Employees should comply with instructions given to them for workplace health and safety (Saksvik & Quinlan, 2003). The employees must also ensure that at any given time they use personal protective gear and that they adhere to the training instructions offered to them (HSE, 2013). The employees are also responsible for maintenance and proper use of the equipment at the workplace that would harm them and others altogether (Dollard et al., 2012). The employees should also not willfully jeopardize the other workers by heightening the chances of hazards. The employees should be in the position of reporting any accidents and incidents to the management or employer for necessary actions (HSE, 2013). The employee should co-operate with the employer to ensure that they get proper training and induction into the organization and the workplace (HSE, 2013). At individual level each employee is responsible for their own care for personal health and safety. In cases where the employees feel that they are not in position to work they should coordinate with the management and the employer to ensure that they are given offs or rotated to other areas that require less efforts. Safety in Organizations through Safety Culture Responsible employees alone is not sufficient for the workplace health and safety. There should be a strong safety culture instituted (Clarke, 1999). Organizations with strong safety cultures are always safe (Clarke, 1999). To ensure positive safety culture the leadership of an organization should be well developed (Clarke, 1999). Human engineering (2005) asserts that the senior management team should be in a position to give safety a high status within the organizations they lead (Glendon & Stanton, 2000). The management can do this through health and safety budget, creating opportunities for safety communication, training and induction of the employee and other management on health and safety, offering support to the front line employees and engagement of manpower with expertise on health and safety issues (Zohar, 1980; Cox & Flin, 1998). The senior management should also at all-time visibly demonstrate that they are committed to safety of the organization (Human Engineering, 2005). This can effectively be done through verbal communication with the employees such as through safety tours and meetings or through written communication such as internal memos and letters as well as standard operating procedures (Clarke, 1999). The leadership should also institute safety management systems so as to co-ordinate safety. While doing this the issue of teamwork should also be addressed as safety is a collective as well as individual responsibility. The second component that makes an effective safety culture is a two-way communication process (Human Engineering, 2005). There must be effective communication channels within the organization (Glendon & Stanton, 2000). The top-down approach ensures that the management and the staff are able to share their perceptions on workplace safety and make necessary alterations where possible (Dollard et al., 2012). The employees and the management are able to report safety issues and major accidents as well as propagate useful information on safety (Zohar, 1980). There should also be effective safety reporting procedures to allow efficient feedback mechanisms to the employees and the management for necessary actions by the employer (Human Engineering, 2005). There should also be horizontal communication that ensures the transfer of useful information between departments, the employees and the teams in the organization pertaining health and safety at the work place. The next tenet that ensures there is safety in the organization is through staff involvement (Human Engineering, 2005). The involvement of employees who essentially are the first hand people to experience the effects of hazards should they occur, ensures that the hazards are controlled and kept check of (Glendon & Stanton, 2000). The staff should be included when formulating safety policies and guidelines so that each one is able to appreciate the need for safety programs at individual level and take an initiative that will ensure safety culture (Clarke, 1999). The staff at any level in the organization should be in a position to report any safety and health issue that is likely or is affecting the employees (Dollard et al., 2012). When health and safety decisions are likely to affect the employees, the employees should be informed so as to avoid ignorance and resistance (Human Engineering, 2005). The employees should also be guided through health and safety programs by specialists who advise as well as offer consultancy services to the employees. The organization should also have an effective learning culture that enables the management learn and make necessary changes to unsafe and risky conditions (Glendon & Stanton, 2000). The management should allow the employees to contribute to the ideas that are likely to address and improve the safety at the workplace (Zohar, 1980). The organizations should also have structures in place that ensures incidents and accidents as well as occurrences are analyzed and the result availed in the organization accompanied with the necessary recommendations to avert future occurrences of such (Zohar, 1980). A regular psychometric survey or safety climate surveys should be scheduled within the organization so that the employees’ involvement is optimized (Zohar, 1980). Following the surveys feedback should be presented on any actions and proper dissemination must ensue (Glendon & Stanton, 2000). Lastly, organizations yearning to institute a strong safety culture should also ensure that there is a just culture in the within the organization (Human Engineering, 2005). An individual should not be blamed for human error when trying to come up with corrective measures for the defective systems (Glendon & Stanton, 2000). Blame culture impedes the health and safety programs in organizations. There should instead be a just culture or one that acknowledges accountability (Human Engineering, 2005). When investigating the accidents or incidents margins of error due to human error should be considered (Glendon & Stanton, 2000). The management has the role of showing care and concern to the employees (Human Engineering, 2005). Confidentiality should be the guiding principle of the investigation process. The employees should have the feeling that they can report health and safety issues without the fear of being blamed or disciplined individually as a result of taking personal initiative. The organizations should ensure that there is effective training and induction of the employees to all equipment at the workplace to ensure that they are conversant with the code of practice as well as mode of operation in the organization (Glendon & Stanton, 2000). This not only ensures the safety of the individual but also that of the general organization as well. The aforementioned components of safety culture are likely to improve the health and safety at the workplace (Human Engineering, 2005). When the management and the employees have values and perceptions that rhyme with the organizational goal there is a high precision that the health and safety of the workplace will be upheld and sustained (Human Engineering, 2005). The management of the organization should sustain this by ensuring that the above mentioned moves are performed frequently and their suitability assessed (Glendon & Stanton, 2000). When the measures in place are reliable the employees will be proactive enough to take personal responsibility in ensuring that they are meeting all the safety requirements (Zohar, 1980). The gap between a committed management and uncommitted employee will be addressed through safety culture and thus the institution of a safe working environment (Human Engineering, 2005). The safety management systems will be able to function adequately to the extent of employees being at the forefront in suggesting the best ways to ensure that there us safe workplace. Recommendations The safety issues at Sopranos Smallgoods can be solved first through the institution of safety culture as illustrated above. The other second best alternative for Sopranos would be the intervention through various HR strategies (Appelbaum & Fewster, 2004). These include recruitment and selection training and development, job design, performance management and rewards in the organization to stimulate good response from the frontline workers, supervisors and the middle management. There should be effective communication mechanisms to ensure that the employees get to know how they should conduct themselves and handle equipment in their respective places of work. Recruitment and Selection This is a very crucial step in the acquisition of employees in any organization. The success of health and safety programs mainly depend on recruitment and selection. During the process of recruitment a good job description should be provided to the potential employees outlining the necessary requirements and competencies that they should have prior to applying for the posts (Zwetsloo et al., 2013). In addition to the job specification there should also be personal specification that will outline the competencies required for one to apply for such advertised vacancies. The selection criteria should also take note of all the safety requirements of the organization. Therefore, the selection panel should consider the competencies of the potential employees this is because competent workforce will be supportive to the safety plans and have a good performance assurance system (Dollard et al., 2012). This will also ensure that whenever a safety issue that is risk prone occurs they will be able to report effectively for necessary measures (Glendon & Stanton, 2000). The competent workforce is also easy to engage when formulating health and safety procedures that is essential for a sound safety culture (Zwetsloo et al., 2013). Sopranos Smallgoods should therefore ensure that the management has good selection criterion in place and that the whole process of recruitment and selection is rigorous. The organization should also outline the safety competences as requirements prior to being recruited such as leadership, risk management, attitudes skills and abilities (Appelbaum & Fewster, 2004). The employees should also be offered a sneak peak of the values, perceptions and beliefs in Sopranos prior to being recruited and selected and ones who share the same are the best candidates. Training and Development The safety competency levels and skills of the employees are essential component of a sound and positive safety culture (Nielsen, 2014). The essence of training and development is to introduce the employee into the values and beliefs of the organization on safety (Zwetsloo et al., 2013). The employee are able to receive necessary drills that will ensure that they are knowledgeable on how to handle safety issues in the organizations (Nielsen, 2014). The employees are also made aware of the safety reporting systems and how to effectively manage a safety issue at the workplace with the management involved (Appelbaum & Fewster, 2004). The employees are also taken through various steps of handling equipment and machinery at the workplace (Dollard et al., 2012). Induction of workplace also introduces the employees on what potential hazards they are likely to encounter and how to maneuver their way out (Saksvik & Quinlan, 2003). There are many ways of training and developing employees (Nielsen, 2014). This could be on job training where the safety drills are conducted at the place of work or off job where learning and coaching is used to achieve the same purpose (Dollard et al., 2012). Sopranos Smallgoods should invest in a good training program that will ensure that the employees do not handle the equipment with ignorance that counts when it comes to safety (Nielsen, 2014). Additionally, the employees will also be trained on how to wear personal protective gear and thus safety. There will also be uniformity across the whole organization pertaining safety culture. Job Design Organizations use Job design to assess how tasks or the whole job will be organized in relation to the work environment and then ensure that the employees’ competence and the position is matched (Zwetsloo et al., 2013). Through effective job design the management is able to improve the working conditions, ensure there are necessary equipment and guidelines on their use, and guarantee the employee of their own safety. The job design thus ensures that there are good engineering controls through facility design thus reducing psychological and physical strain of the employees (Nielsen, 2014). It also ensures that the safety climate in the organization is instituted. The employees will also be able to have control over their jobs and report any hazards or risks effectively (Nielsen, 2014). Sopranos Smallgoods should ensure that there is effective job design that is centered towards the safety culture of the organization. The job design should address job enlargement, job rotation, work breaks, and the working hours. Performance Management Effective performance management systems go a long way in ensuring workplace safety. Through this view the senior and middle management team will strive to lead by example. The employees and the management will be able to keep track of all the possible causes of incidents and act proactively (Zwetsloo et al., 2013; Appelbaum & Fewster, 2004). The organization should come up with appropriate performance measurement mechanisms that will ensure that the laxity that appears to be at the lower levels is ironed out. Sopranos will also be able to celebrate together with the employees whenever there is achievement of the set goals (Nielsen, 2014). Performance management will also link the behaviors in the organization to the performance management and thus come up with alternatives where safety interventions must be incorporated (Appelbaum & Fewster, 2004). The organization will also benefit from reporting the number of incidents and accidents alongside the achievement of goals (Dollard et al., 2012). The employees are therefore liable to forge the best methods as suggested by the management. The laxity that exists in Sopranos will adequately be addressed through this. Rewards One factor that creates the commitment of employees in any organization is rewards. Through performance measurements, organizations are able to reward those employees who have adhered to the set guidelines and goals. One tenet of safety culture is employee involvement (Zwetsloo et al., 2013). When the reward systems are in place the employees have job satisfaction that then leads to them having a positive organizational citizenship behavior. This makes the employees regard the safety of the workplace, their fellow employees and their as an important issue and thus coordinate effectively with the management. Employees will also adhere to the rules in order to get rewards. The employees will also own the safety strategies and feel safe when working. Sopranos should ensure good reward systems are in place so as to address the issue of the gap between the top management downwards. Conclusion There is a difference between safety culture and climate as have been shown in the report. Most organizations have different strategies when it comes to using safety culture in creating safe work environments. The safety culture tenets are discussed in the report and the importance of each well illustrated. There problems that are being experienced at Sopranos could effectively be solved through the institution of a strong safety culture that would then inform the HR practices such as training and development, selection and recruitment, job design, rewards and performance management as covered in the recommendations section of this report. When the organization aligns itself with the recommendations it would be able to solve the status quo as revealed by the health and safety audit recently conducted. Most importantly the management should be at the forefront in ensuring that the lower management and the employees comply with the set objectives of a safety culture that will be adopted. The sustainability of the culture should be ensured by frequent evaluations of the workplace. Bibliography Appelbaum, S. H., & Fewster, B. M. (2004). 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HSE. 2013, May, “Leading health and safety at work Actions for directors, board members, business owners and organizations of all sizes”. Retrieved from http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg417.pdf Human Engineering. 2005, “A review of safety culture and safety climate literature for the development of the safety culture inspection toolkit Prepared”. Retrieved from http://www.hse.gov.uk/research/rrpdf/rr367.pdf Nielsen, K. J. 2014, “Improving safety culture through the health and safety organization: A case study. Journal of Safety Research, 48(2014), 7-17. Saksvik, P.O. and Quinlan, M. 2003, “Regulating systematic occupational health and safety management: Comparing the Norwegian and Australian experience”.  Relations Industrielles, 58(1): 33-59. Zohar, D. (1980) ‘Safety climate in industrial organizations: theoretical and applied implications’.  Journal of Applied Psychology, 65(1): 96-102. Zohar, D. & Luria, G. 2005, “A multilevel model of safety climate: Cross-level relationships between organization and group-level climates”. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(4), 616-628. Zwetsloo, G. M., Scheppingen, A. R., Bos, E. H., Dijkman, A., & Starren, A. 2013, “The Core Values that Support Health, Safety, and Well-being at Work”. Safety and Health at Work, 4(2013), 187-196. Read More