As any health and safety officer knows too well, great insights need great data.
But great data isn’t always easy to obtain. Great data needs great reporting, and great reporting needs a culture that supports people speaking up. If mistakes lead to the blame game, where fingers are pointed, rumours whispered behind backs, and snide judgement passed, reporting the crucial numbers simply won’t happen.
Behind each data-driven report, there are far-reaching cultural foundations that shape which numbers get seen and heard, and which fall by the wayside.
The culture - the nuts and bolts of how things are done in any given organisation - can either support reporting mistakes made and near-misses, or it can repress this kind of acknowledgement.
What health and safety leaders must strive to create is what’s been dubbed a ‘no blame, no shame’ culture which empowers people to share every piece of information that might help facilitate greater safety insights.