Senior Managers Guidance
1: Plan
Effectively communicate what ‘good’ looks like for your business, in a way that your workers, site supervisors and contractors can share and engage with. Communicate your expectations clearly, and empower your workers, site supervisors and contractors to achieve these.
2: Motivate
Be visible in the business. Take an interest in the activities of your workers, site supervisors and contractors and their views about safety. Provide the support and space for them to develop and step up as safety leaders. Be an effective communicator; inspire your workers, site supervisors and contractors to follow your lead.
3: Build understanding
Develop your own capability and understanding of safety practices and performance. Provide development opportunities for workers, site supervisors and contractors. Seek out and share knowledge that will help you and the business to perform better.
For more information on the three focus areas, see the guidance notes.
Where to get more information:
Charter
- The Charter Health and Safety Leadership report
- The Charter’s Commitments and Vision which can be used to develop you organisation’s vision and objectives
- The Charter posters and 9 toolbox talks and posters on the Charter’s critical risks. These could be used to lead a discussion on site or as a starting point to inform your approach to risk management.
Institute of Directors/ Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum
- Business Leaders Health and Safety Forum leadership programme
- Good Governance Practices Guideline for Managing Health and Safety Risks, Institute of Directors, NZ
- Health & Safety Leadership, A guide for small to medium business owners and company directors, Institute of Directors, NZ
MBIE/WorkSafe New Zealand
- People Come First: Promote a strong health and safety culture
- How Health and Safety Makes Good Business Sense – A Summary of Research Findings
- A principal’s guide to contracting to meet the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992, MBIE
Overseas Examples
- Safety Governance and Safety Leadership for Board Members and Senior Executives, Orbitas Group
- Safework Australia- Model Code of Practice – Work Health and Safety Consultation, Co-operation and Co-ordination
- Promoting effective health and safety leadership, Safework Australia
- Leadership and culture, Safework Australia
- Safe and Sound, A discussion paper on safety leadership in government workplaces, Comcare for the Australian Safety and Compensation Council
- Leading Health and Safety at Work, Actions for directors, board members, business owners and organisations of all sizes. Health and Safety Executive, United Kingdom (HSE UK)
- Leadership and worker involvement on the Olympic Park, Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA)
Training
- Health and Safety Governance online training module, Institute of Directors NZ
- Leadership In Safety Training. This course demonstrates the origin of organisational culture and the roles senior managers play in determining and positively affecting organizational priorities, SiteSafe
- Effective Communication Skills, Auckland University
- Leadership Training, Communicate
- IOSH Managing Workplace Safety, Impac
- Foundations of Safety for Managers, Impac
- Health and safety from a Management Perspective, Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce
- Contractor Management, Canterbury Employers Chamber of Commerce
Other
Senior Managers guide
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