Getting the EHS Message Across
Generally, Health and Safety communications has a reputation for being a bit on the dull side. And, it must be admitted, in many instances that image is somewhat deserved. For instance, you only have to look at a cross section of Health and Safety promotional material and you can see that it’s no wonder most employees would admit they consider safety to be boring and irrelevant. In fact, some staff frequently perceive it as an obstacle that gets in the way of them performing their tasks efficiently and productively. When was the last time you could honestly describe a Health and Safety notice board as a fascinating source of information, or marvelled at a truly memorable Health and Safety awareness poster?
Why? Well, perhaps most significantly, H&S practitioners can’t be good at everything. You may have accumulated a great deal of knowledge and experience, and come up with some great ideas, but it’s highly unlikely that you are an internal communications specialist as well.
There is a vast array of ‘off the shelf’ posters and leaflets available, but you need to be very selective. Take care which ones you choose. Unfortunately, many are too generic, very poorly designed and frequently too copy heavy. The information contained may well be accurate and relevant, but if no-one reads it or remembers the message conveyed, is it really worth the wall space?
If you have the budget available, the most effective route is to outsource to a design company. Try to use an agency that has experience in EHS communications, which will get you off to a running start and avoid wasting your time, or that of your colleagues.
Alternatively, you may opt to go it alone. Below is some useful advice for those of you who decide to create your own literature in house.
DIY Advice
First of all, consider your audience and ensure the message you wish to communicate is suitable for the people you want to communicate with. For example, unnecessary technical information often alienates the reader. Wherever possible, aim to avoid it. Similarly, always use simple language, particularly if your audience includes speakers with a limited knowledge of English.
Design Tips
If you are designing a poster or piece of literature yourself, always try to keep it as simple as possible. Complication often produces confusion. Just as significantly, too much text can put readers off, especially if it’s in a small point size. Where possible, you should try to include illustrations or photographs, but don’t be tempted to use too many different styles as that will again confuse your intended audience and obscure the message. Perhaps most importantly, steer clear of ‘Clipart’ - it invariably makes your work look amateurish and, therefore, tends to ‘belittle’ the message or messages that you are trying to get across.
It’s important to keep any images you do use as relevant to your work environment as you possibly can. People switch off if they can’t recognise themselves in imagery or scenarios used. Even though the message may be perfectly valid - it is perceived not to be relevant. For example, an image of an office worker demonstrating how to lift a box of paper would turn off a factory worker who lifts cartons of biscuits all day, even though the technique and instructions shown may well be the same. The message is much better received when the imagery shows the correct environment, products, uniform etc. If you are fortunate enough to have a budding photographer in the office, get him or her to take some photographs of your staff – examples of good practice are a great way to illustrate how to do something correctly. Be careful if you decide to show examples of bad practice. To avoid any confusion, ensure they are always shown with an obvious ‘X’. Finally, don’t ‘clutter’ your design too much with unnecessary elements or features. Consider how many slogans and logos you are using on one piece of communication. If you use too many, it will inevitably dilute your message.
Display tips
It’s not just the content and design of a campaign that make it successful. Their location is equally crucial to making maximum impact. You should think carefully where you can display posters and information in order to reach the biggest audience in the best way. If you put up eight posters in one corridor wall for example, you may make a big impact initially, but there is the danger that you will risk information overload. Careful management is essential. The same campaign can be much more successful if you site specific posters in strategic positions at particular times. For example, you could gain far more attention from displaying just one at a time for periods of up to four or six weeks. The impact could be even greater if each theme is backed up by relevant and timely employee training or other Health and Safety initiatives.
A successful campaign
From personal experience gained over 10 years as the Creative Director of a specialist internal communications agency, Hill Solomon, this writer has encountered a wide range of different Health and Safety issues that have required very careful or sensitive handling. We have found that, in assisting a broad range of clients to get their Health and Safety messages across to their own particular key audiences there are no ‘one size fits all’ solutions.
For instance, one of our clients, DS Smith Plc, is a leading manufacturer of packaging and wholesaler of office supplies. The group operates through factories and sites situated right round the world. We helped them to communicate key Health & Safety messages to a very diverse workforce through a quarterly, themed campaign. Initially, their internal Health & Safety team identified and evaluated the groups’ key risks, and we then proceeded to create a poster and training presentation for each specific theme, as the accompanying images demonstrate.
The company’s operations not only encompass numerous factories and sites, but also many very different functions. So it was imperative we found generic imagery and messages that would work equally effectively for each site and right across the various work functions that contributed to the groups’ activities. Equally important was the question of linguistics. Throughout the group 10 different languages are spoken, so we also had to think about utilising simple statements in order that the meaning would not be lost in translation.
A specific brand of Health and Safety communications was created. We called it: “Think safe – be safe”. In devising a brand such as this, we were creating something very tangible that people could talk about or refer to when they spoke about safety issues. In essence, it was not just about increasing awareness of a lot of safety policies, or best practice rules. The real aim was to convey and reinforce a Health and Safety mentality - a “Think safe - be safe” culture.
The first stage was to create a range of “Think safe- be safe” banners and stickers that were put up at each site. These were followed up by quarterly posters on a specific theme. Training presentations were also arranged at each site, featuring photographs on the same overall theme. In this way the DS Smith Human Resources Director was always aware that the most important Health and Safety issues were, and indeed are, being regularly communicated at every site. To date, the campaign is a success with Health & Safety Managers reporting an improvement in safety culture and group accident statistics showing a noticeable downward trend since the campaign began.
Encouraging better H&S communications practice
Often when literature is produced to communicate Health & Safety, it is the communication element that is sorely lacking. Employee EHS handbooks and policy messages are not often written with the employee in mind. By concentrating on including the correct legal wording, the core message is totally obscured and readers are put off with too much ‘jargonistic’copy to plough through. Of course, there is always a place for the long hand legal version that’s made available for Senior Management and other interested parties. But, realistically, most employees just need to know what is expected of them - and what they in turn should expect from their colleagues and Managers. Success lies in creating tiered literature, so that the right audience receives the right information in a tone, style and language that they can easily relate too.
Words or pictures?
On most occasions, it is advisable to limit the number of words to the absolute minimum. Similarly, include good photographs of people like them, safely doing the tasks they do, in the environment they work in. Recognisable and relevant images will get a message across about best practice much more immediately and effectively than any amount of words. Impenetrable, legalistic phrases and sentences are almost guaranteed to derail your intended audience’s attention as soon as the reader encounters them. Language and literacy difficulties can also be an issue - again relevant pictures and eye catching graphics can get through to these more challenging audiences.
Despite all the best intentions, posters and booklets are very passive communicators. By far the best way to engage people is to get them actively involved. When they are enjoying themselves and having fun, they are learning without even realising it. One excellent way of achieving this is by hosting Awareness Events, where staff can participate in activities, meet experts and ask questions. This has proved to be a very effective way to get a high percentage of staff exposed to key EHS messages, and discussing them with colleagues. Suppliers and local organisations are also usually willing to engage with the process and will often sponsor displays and prizes, which all act as added incentives to staff.
A typical event
Awareness Events need not be difficult to organise, and the results are usually highly encouraging. For GlaxoSmithKline, Hill Solomon recently organised and ran a driver safety event that centred around a 30ft slot car race track. The four-car track contained a range of risks including black ice, pedestrian crossings and speed cameras. It wasn’t all about speed… the participants had great fun trying to safely navigate the track and win their race. To add a further twist of excitement, the organisers phoned competitors on their mobiles, getting them to answer during races!
The event also tested visitors on the highway code, imparted key information about the risks resulting from fatigue, road rage, drink-driving and in-car ergonomics. A tyre company was also invited to inspect all the cars in the GSK car park – with the owner of any vehicle found to be at risk being immediately informed. It all served to boost awareness, participation and interest.
It can be quite a challenge to convince people to take time out to visit a Health and Safety event, but with some clever marketing and the promise of free gifts, prizes and fun activities, people will attend. In the events we have managed, the turn-out has been as high as 75% of staff, and the vast majority of the feedback has been very positive. Many people tell us that they found the experience worthwhile, and would like to see more of this type of event. Such occasions also invariably give Health and Safety managers the ideal opportunity to gather vital feedback from employees. Our post-event reports often make fascinating reading and can constitute the key to improving and focussing future communication campaigns.
So in summary, if the message is put across in the right way, safety can most definitely be sexy!