November 01 2021
By: Shawn M. Galloway
Should human resources be available anyplace work occurs to ensure employees are not harassing each other? Should the finance manager be present at all purchasing transactions to ensure responsible decisions arise? Should the general council attend all networking events to monitor confidential information is not shared? Should the safety professional be standing by to ensure adherence to all safety rules at all times? Or, does this responsibility fall on line leadership? All of this does. There is individual responsibility for compliance with company policies and rules. It is line leadership's role to enforce all of this while also coaching for better performance. Why, then, have the safety professionals become the COVID cops?
To achieve excellence in safety performance and culture, the perceived role of the safety professionals must evolve from being viewed as the police to becoming a coach, teacher, mentor, advisor and challenger of the status quo. Since March 2020, this safety police perception has been coming back strongly. 
Many companies were already stretched thin with their environmental, health and safety (EHS) resources. These resources have had to pivot to new developing, implementing and overseeing COVID requirements, letting things like relationship-building, communication and training diminish in quantity and quality. It is time we return to making risk-based and data-driven decisions on where we focus all EHS prevention efforts and who is responsible for what. EHS professionals being held accountable for enforcing or even policing adherence to these new COVID requirements and allowing supervisors to focus on making the production happen in these challenging times sends the wrong message and will undo much of the previous excellent culture improvement work of many organizations. Are you evolving or devolving operational responsibilities for EHS requirements?
"Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off." - General Colin Powell
Shawn Galloway, CEO of ProAct Safety, is an expert in safety excellence. With almost thirty years of experience, he is a highly sought-after advisor, keynote speaker, and expert witness. Shawn has become a trusted partner to leading organizations across various industries worldwide. He ranks in the top 1% of the most prolific writers in his field, having authored over 500 articles and several bestselling books. He also launched the world's first safety podcast, Safety Culture Excellence©. As a recognized authority in safety, Shawn has received awards such as being named among the Top 50 People Who Most Influence EHS and a Top 10 Speaker, among others.
He is a regular guest on Bloomberg, Fox News, The Daily Mail, Dubai One, U.S. News & World Report, Sirius Business Radio, Wharton Business Daily, and leading safety magazines and podcasts. Shawn also serves as a member of the Harvard Business Review Advisory Council, Forbes Business Council, and Fast Company Executive Board, enabling his influence to shape safety thinking and strategy at the executive level.
