Canadian Occupational Safety

36 Canadian Occupational Safety | www.cos-mag.com determine a baseline. A number of years ago, Doug Hohener, president of CreativeWorks Marketing in Markham, Ont., worked with a large company, that is heavily involved in the occupational health and safety business, on its own internal safety culture. He set up a video booth for employees to go in and answer a few questions about workplace safety. "You need that initial piece of finding out what they even know and whether they care," says Hohener. "It's the same as consumers: If we don't get them to understand why you offer the services, how what you do matters and how best to com- municate with them, then how can we ever engage them as an audience?" Next, a marketing strategy needs to be developed. It should describe what the campaign is going to look like, who is going to roll it out, how it's going to be communicated to workers, how much is in the budget and any other pertinent information. If your company has a marketing department, it's a good idea to work with them. "If you have internal communications profession- als that can help you better understand how to create an effective message, it's worth its weight in gold because the best safety program in the world is only as good as how effective your communication is to your employees about it," says Lee. Vendors and training providers may have some ready-made materials that you can use, so rather than crafting it all yourself, you can simply tweak the message to suit your organization, says Faulkner. In order for the campaign to be successful, employees need to get involved. Look for your safety ambassadors — those employees who get excited about safety and have ideas for making it better. For a campaign he did at real estate company Minto, Hohener used actual employees in campaign posters. "The moment you see your staff on a poster in the subway you go, 'What the heck? I know her and what's this whole thing about?' And that starts con- versation," he says. For Hohener's campaign at the large afore- mentioned Toronto company, workers formed committees to help solve some of the safety challenges the organization was facing. "You need to partner with employees," says Hohener, adding safety profes- sionals should be prepared for some resistance because not all employees will be thrilled about participating. A major key to the success of a mar- keting campaign is to ensure workers can relate to it. Perhaps some of the safety ambassadors would be willing to share their stories as part of the campaign. "Any time you have an opportunity to connect it directly to employees' personal experiences, it always carries much more gravity because it carries with it a sense of authenticity. It's much more relatable," says Lee. "It's not just a slick marketing message. It makes it relevant and credible." Aside from using your own employees, other ways to ensure the messaging is relatable is by drawing on common experiences of your staff. For example, the majority of the cleaning staff at Minto were from the Philippines, so Hohener's campaign drew heavily on Filipino culture. "Whether it was certain events or Filipino food, it always had some connection back to the com- munity," he says. "So, if you have that symmetry somewhere — anything that's cultural or environ- mental — you can tie it back to that so people can say, 'I can relate. They're just like me.'" It's also important to make sure the campaign and its communication materials outline why employees should care about this — the "what's in it for me" component. "Safety managers, and for good reason, are really used to talking about rules and regulations, but from a marketing perspective, that's a really terri- ble way to communicate value," says Faulkner. "To (employees), following really specific rules set up by the government, that's really low on their prior- ity list. But staying safe so they can come home to their families, that's more impor- tant. And being able to take safety messages home that they can teach their kids, that's very important to them." MAKE IT FUN A great way to get employees engaged with a new safety marketing campaign is to "constantly make it fun and interactive," says Hohener. Virtual real- ity is having a moment right now, so that might be something you want to include in your campaign. Organizations can set up an event that involves vir- tual reality and workers will show up just because they are curious, he says. "You have to get them off their seat and into another environment." Gamification and contests can be used to keep workers interested. One idea is to drop puzzle pieces on workers' desks and create a workplace challenge where they have to put the pieces together and see what the bigger pictures is, says Lee. The puzzle could spell out an important safety concept. Social media is another way to make safety fun. The company could post photos of good workplace safety behaviours on the corporate Instagram and Twitter accounts. Workers could be encouraged to do the same and a prize could be drawn at random among those work- ers who participated. "It's making it a part of the brand and showing that they are committed to safety," says Lee. Another way to keep things fresh is by using video. A new video could be posted once per week and it could fea- ture safety ambassadors sharing their personal workplace safety stories. But video doesn't work in every sce- nario, cautions Lee. For example, in an open-concept office, workers may not want to be seen watching a video during a busy time for the company — it's just bad optics. Or workers may not have access to a computer at work. "It's not just, 'What are some of the cool, creative ideas?' It's being really thoughtful about what makes the most sense," says Lee. Podcasts could also be of interest to workers. "Many employees and field workers enjoy podcasts because they can play them while in the car, while at home getting ready for work or even while working out," says Hohener. "Podcasts are ideal for ongoing messaging and 'how-to' communication." An awareness event could help © 2018 Thomson Reuters Canada Limited 00235XE-57459-NK Available risk-free for 30 days Online: store.thomsonreuters.ca Call Toll-Free: 1-800-387-5164 | In Toronto: 416-609-3800 How will Alberta's new OH&S Act impact you and your organization? New Edition HANDI-GUIDE to Alberta's OH&S Act, Regulation and Code – 2018 Edition HATSCAN | Don Buchanan Major revisions were made to Alberta's OH&S Act, Regulation, and Code. As of June 2018, Alberta's updated legislation recognizes new rights, new obligations on workplace stakeholders, and enhanced enforcement. Ensuring your organization meets the all OHSA obligations under the current requirements is possible. Let this HANDI-GUIDE show you how. Print + ProView eBook Order # L7798-8660BE-65203 $42 08/18 softcover spiral-bound approx. 450 pages Print only Order # L7798-8660-65203 $42 ProView eBook only Order # A01459-18ON-65203 $42 Shipping and handling are extra. Price(s) subject to change without notice and subject to applicable taxes. *eBook not available to trade bookstores, third-party distributors, academic institutions, and students. Receive a free eBook* when you purchase the Print + ProView eBook option The eBook* version is available through your web browser, or can be downloaded to your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Learn more at store.thomsonreuters.ca/proview Note: HANDI-GUIDES are also available for British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Atlantic Canada, and Federal Workplaces.

• Cover