HSE WA Safety Forum

Our safety leader forums are run nationally and provide a safe space where HSE executives and senior professionals can come together to learn, listen, share ideas and collaborate with one another.

At a recent WA forum in Perth, there was a focus on building psychological safety within HSE teams themselves as well as across the broader business.

Here are some of the broad themes from our round-table discussion that featured safety leaders from a wide range of industry sectors. Key takeaways include:

Communicating & understanding

A recurring theme was the challenge of effective communication. Leaders expressed the need to understand and be understood, both internally and externally. Some expressed frustration at not being able to get the message across about how safety function is making a difference.

Some expressed a desire for mind-reading abilities and improved communication skills, underscoring the need to understand others, deliver clear, impactful messages, overcome resistance and influence more broadly within the business.

A large part of the group discussion centred around communication skills, with an emphasis on creating safe environments asking ‘powerful questions’.

“While most safety leaders already possess excellent communication skills, the forum session was a great reminder that communicating was not just about talking and listening, it’s also about asking the right questions and creating a safe space where people feel comfortable to speak up,” said The Safe Step’s consultant Suzi Johnson.

Leadership strategies

Much of the discussion centred around using deliberate communication strategies to build psychological safety within HSE teams.

Exploring leadership strategies, the emphasis was on asking open-ended questions, seeking feedback on leadership styles, and fostering an

environment where intelligent mistakes are opportunities for learning and improvement.

The group were asked to reflect on their personal communication styles and discussed the need to engage different perspectives and to listen deeply to the answers.

Practical tools like processes and procedures were acknowledged as helpful in framing communication challenges.

Broader workplace psychosocial safety

Workplace psychosocial safety is not new, but recent legislation is bringing greater attention to the issue. There is high level of misunderstanding, anxiety and fear amongst employers. Some HSE leaders have the issue well in hand. Others are struggling with lack of support and board recognition.

Speaking to the group, HSEQ Manager, Ian Counsell, recommended People at Work framework as a useful, evidence-based starting point for assessing psychosocial risks. He cautioned that surveying alone is not enough, organisations must also action. Worksafe QLD’s toolkit was another resource discussed to help manage psychosocial risk in the workplace.

As with all things safety… consulting, listening and communicating clearly is key for success. Bring it to life. Psychosocial safety is a whole-organisation issue.

Unity and connection

The meeting fostered a sense of connection. Shared experiences and challenges emerged as key factors in establishing a strong connection among participants.

The session underlined how many working in leadership roles face similar problems, despite coming from a diverse range of organisations including transport, government, health, mining and construction.

“We work with HSE leaders across a broad range of industries. These forums are a great opportunity to look up from the day-to-day duties, hear about what’s working well for others and share learnings across sectors. It’s also a great reminder of the power of connection and collaboration,” says Johnson.

Conclusion

In essence, the WA HSE Leaders Forum in Perth provided valuable insights into the challenges faced by safety leaders and offered practical solutions and strategies for improvement. The emphasis on self-reflection, effective communication, continuous learning, and mental health literacy reflects the commitment of safety leaders to drive positive change within their organisations. The forum not only identified challenges but also paved the way for collaborative solutions, underlining the collective strength of the HSE community.

If you work at a senior or executive level position within workplace health and safety professional and would like to be invited to these forums, you can contact us to submit an expression of interest.