VISIBLE FELT LEADERSHIP (VFL)

Journey to Zero Harm

LEADERSHIP
KEY ELEMENTS
THE HEART COMES FIRST

“You can’t move people to action unless you first move them
with emotion. The heart comes before the head.”

John Maxwell
LEADERS & MANAGERS
Leaders influence performance; managers direct performance.
STAFF MOTIVATION AND ENGAGEMENT
KEY ELEMENTS
WHAT ALL PEOPLE WANT
• To be treated with respect

• To be listened to

• To make an impact

Michael Abrashoff
Employees who don’t feel significant rarely make significant contributions.

Mark Sanborn
WHAT IS VISIBLE FELT LEADERSHIP?
• It is a face-to-face discussion at the workplace between people
doing the work and a leader.
• Although it has a broader-based personal touch, there is always a
powerful safety element.
• It focuses on recognising and reinforcing positive behaviours, and
helping people to change inappropriate (unsafe) behaviours.
• It has an element of constantly searching for safer ways of carrying
out the work.
• It typically takes minutes, not hours.
VFL – TWO CATEGORIES

VFL

Safety Interaction Safety Intervention

SAFETY INTERACTION

Where one observes an employee working safely. The purpose is to

reinforce positive behaviour (in the safety context) – it is primarily about
positive feedback and exploring further safety improvements.
SAFETY INTERVENTION
Where one observes an employee performing an unsafe act – the
focus is on stopping the unsafe act, exploring the possible
consequences and getting commitment to remedy the situation as
soon as possible. Another objective, of course, is to prevent the same
unsafe act from recurring in the future.
VFL – TWO CATEGORIES
VFL

Employee is working safely Employee is working unsafely

Safety Interaction Safety Intervention

VFL/SAFETY INTERACTION
Step 1: Plan and prepare
Step 2: Enter the work area and observe
Step 3a: Greeting/introductions
Step 4a: Explain the reason for your conversation
Step 5a: Understand the work being done
Step 6a: Discuss the safety aspects of the job
Step 7a: Ask for safety improvement suggestions
Step 8: Thank the employee
Step 9: Record your findings
Step 10: Follow-up on commitments made during the VFL
VFL: STEP 1
PLAN AND PREPARE
• Decide when you will conduct the VFL (s). Be sensitive about the
timing.
• Decide where you will carry out the VFL.
• Which activities will be included?
• Based on the answers to the above, some preparation may be
required – e.g. understanding the SOPs of a particular area.
• Make sure that you have all the relevant PPE and understand the
safety issues in the area.
• Be sensitive and prepared for language and cultural barriers.
VFL: STEP 2
ENTER THE WORK AREA AND OBSERVE
• Remember – once you enter the work area and are noticed, your
presence will impact on what employees do, and how they do it.
• Look for the following:
 The appropriate use of PPE (or the lack thereof).
 The positioning of people.
 Tools and equipment being used.
 General housekeeping issues.
 Contraventions of safety rules and regulations.
• Look above, below, behind and at the activity – i.e. get a sense of
the bigger picture.
• Note: before approaching the selected employee, make sure that it
is safe to do so.
SAFETY INTERACTION: STEP 3a
GREETING / INTRODUCTION
• If the person doing the safety interaction knows the employee, then
there is no need for introductions. You would then say something
like: “Hello, John – how are you?”
• If the person doing the safety interaction does not know the
employee, then there is a need for introductions. The leader would
say something like: “Hello, I am Dave Mokwena, the new
Engineering Manager….. and you are?” The employee would
respond by saying, for example, “Nice to meet you. I’m John Smith,
a welder.”
SAFETY INTERACTION: STEP 4a
REASON FOR YOUR CONVERSATION
• Be clear about the reason for your conversation. For example:
 “Can I ask you to stop what you are doing for a few minutes
so that we can talk about safety?”
 “Can we spend some time talking about the safety issues
relating to this job?”
• Remember – your choice of words needs to match the
education/maturity level of the employee.
• You should not make excuses or be defensive about the
request to talk about safety.
SAFETY INTERACTION: STEP 5a
UNDERSTAND THE WORK BEING DONE
• Before discussing the safety issues relating to the job, you need to
gain a broad understanding of the job being done. Ask questions
such as:
 “Please tell me about the job that you’re working on.”
 “Can you please walk me through the job that you’re doing?”
SAFETY INTERACTION: STEP 6a
DISCUSS SAFETY ASPECTS
• For this step, typical questions to ask are:
 “What are the safety issues associated with this job?”
 “What risk assessment process did you use before starting the
job?”
 “For this job, do you require any special PPE?”
• This should take the form of a natural two-way conversation (caring,
engaging, connecting and coaching) and not a rigid question-and-
answer session.
• Remember to praise the employee for good safety practices. Note –
praise and positive feedback should always be sincere and genuine.
(Positive feedback is a powerful tool for reinforcing safe behaviour.)
SAFETY INTERACTION: STEP 7a
ASK FOR SAFETY IMPROVEMENT
SUGGESTIONS
• Although the employee is working safely, it is important – in the
context of continuous improvement – to explore ways of making the
job and work environment even safer. Typically, this will commence
by asking the employee for safety improvement suggestions.
• Once again, positive feedback (“I think that’s a great suggestion!”)
can play a very important role.
SAFETY INTERACTION: STEP 8
THANK THE EMPLOYEE
• During this step, the interaction is closed with the following type of
statement:
 “It was good talking to you. Thank you very much.”
 “Thanks for your time.”
 “ I really enjoyed our discussion. Thanks a lot.”
• Some leaders may wish to conclude with a personalised “safety
touch”, such as “Have a safe day.”
SAFETY INTERACTION: STEP 9
RECORD YOUR FINDINGS
• At the conclusion of the safety interaction, it is important to record
your findings. There are two ways of doing this, namely:
 Using a computerised IT database.
 Using a (manual) card or paper-driven system.
• Some useful tips:
 Don’t take notes while doing the VFL – the formality of the
process could have a negative impact on the willingness of the
employee to talk freely.
 Record your findings as soon as possible after the VFL.
SAFETY INTERACTION: STEP 10
FOLLOW-UP ON COMMITMENTS MADE
DURING VFL
• There are two types of commitment, namely:
 Commitments made by employees to undertake specific actions
as part of the process of working safer.
 Leaders need to follow-up on their own commitments. For
example, the leader may have promised to send the employee a
book or document on safety.
VFL – TWO CATEGORIES
VFL

Employee is working safely Employee is working unsafely

Safety Interaction Safety Intervention

VFL/SAFETY INTERVENTION
Step 1 : Plan and prepare
Step 2 : Enter the work area and observe
Step 3b : Stop the activity in a safe manner
Step 4b : Brief introductions; identify what the employee was doing
unsafely
Step 5b : Discuss with the employee:
• Possible consequences of the unsafe act
• Safer ways to do the job
Step 6b : Get employee’s commitment to work safely in future
Step 7b : Discuss other safety issues of the job
Step 8 : Thank the employee
Step 9 : Record your findings
Step 10 : Follow-up on commitments made during the VFL
VFL: STEP 1
PLAN AND PREPARE
• Decide when you will conduct the VFL (s). Be sensitive about the
timing.
• Decide where you will carry out the VFL.
• Which activities will be included?
• Based on the answers to the above, some preparation may be
required – e.g. understanding the SOPs of a particular area.
• Make sure that you have all the relevant PPE and understand the
safety issues in the area.
• Be sensitive and prepared for language and cultural barriers.
VFL: STEP 2
ENTER THE WORK AREA AND OBSERVE
• Remember – once you enter the work area and are noticed, your
presence will impact on what employees do, and how they do it.
• Look for the following:
 The appropriate use of PPE (or the lack thereof).
 The positioning of people.
 Tools and equipment being used.
 General housekeeping issues.
 Contraventions of safety rules and regulations.
• Note: before approaching the selected employee, make sure that it
is safe to do so.
SAFETY INTERVENTION: STEP 3B
STOP THE ACTIVITY SAFELY
• You have observed that the employee is working unsafely. Your
immediate task – as a safety leader – is to stop the activity in a safe
manner.
• Some general guidelines:
 As the safety leader, ensure that any action on your part does
not make the situation more unsafe.
 Make sure that you – unwittingly – do not release the safety
hazard.
 Conduct a rapid, yet thorough, risk assessment, and then act
quickly to stop the unsafe act.
 Any actions on your part should not give the employee a fright,
startle or throw him/her off balance.
 The leader’s tone of voice (calm yet deliberate) is very
important.
SAFETY INTERVENTION: STEP 4B
IDENTIFY WHAT THE EMPLOYEE WAS
DOING UNSAFELY
• Introduce yourself (briefly) if you don’t know the employee – “Hello,
I’m John Smith, the new Engineering Manager ….. and you are?”
The employee will then respond by introducing himself. These
introductions should not be long and drawn out.
• The leader is usually tempted to immediately point out what the
employee was doing unsafely. Rather, ask the employee what he
thinks he was doing unsafely – in terms of embedding the learning,
this approach has a greater impact.
• Note that the tone of the safety intervention needs to be firm and
forceful, with the leader conveying a strong message about safety.
Equally important, the leader should not adopt an aggressive or
threatening tone.
SAFETY INTERVENTION: STEP 5B
• Discuss with the employee:
o The possible consequences of the unsafe act

o Safer ways to do the job

• Explore with the employee the possible consequences of the unsafe

act. It is important that most of the answers come from the
employee and not the leader. Generally, the leader should be in
asking and listening mode, and the employee in talking mode.
• After discussing with the employee the possible consequences of
the unsafe act, one needs to discuss safer ways to do the job.
SAFETY INTERVENTION: STEP 5b
EXPLORING CONSEQUENCES OF THE
UNSAFE ACT
• Leader: “By not wearing your safety spectacles in the workshop, what
could possibly happen to you?”
• Employee: “I could damage my eyes.”
• Leader: “If you lost the use of an eye, or both eyes for that matter,
what could happen to you?”
• Employee: “I may lose my job – that’s what happened to my cousin. I
will no longer be able to earn a living. It’s not a very nice picture.”
• Leader: “And what would that mean?”
• Employee: “I am no longer able to support my family. That would be
disastrous.”
SAFETY INTERVENTION: STEP 6b
GET EMPLOYEE’S COMMITMENT TO
WORK SAFELY IN FUTURE
• An important part of a safety intervention is to get the employee to
commit to work safely in the future. This commitment needs to be
firm and explicit – this will increase the likelihood that the employee
does not repeat the unsafe act.
• The leader will say something like “Based on our discussion, what
do you commit to do differently in the future?” The employee’s
response will typically be as follows:
• “I commit to working safely in the future.
I will go to the store-room and get new safety
spectacles as soon as our discussion is over.”
SAFETY INTERVENTION: STEP 7B
DISCUSS OTHER SAFETY ISSUES OF
THE JOB
• Initially, the safety intervention is focused on a particular unsafe act.
Once the above steps have been followed, the leader should
broaden the discussion to include other safety issues of the job.
• The leader would, for example, ask “Are there any other safety
issues relating to your job that you would like to talk about?”
The employee could say something like
“I think it would improve
safety in the work area if we
had better lighting.”
SAFETY INTERVENTION: STEP 8
THANK THE EMPLOYEE
During this step, the intervention is closed with the following type of
statement:
•“Thanks for the discussion, and also thanks for your commitment to
working safely in the future.”
•“I appreciate your commitment to working safely in the future – thank
you.”
SAFETY INTERVENTION: STEP 9
RECORD YOUR FINDINGS
• At the conclusion of the safety intervention, it is important to record
your findings.

• Some useful tips:

o Don’t take notes while doing the VFL – the formality of the
process could have a negative impact on the willingness of the
employee to talk freely.
o Record your findings as soon as possible after the VFL.
SAFETY INTERVENTION: STEP 10
FOLLOW-UP ON COMMITMENTS MADE
DURING VFL
There are two types of commitment, namely:
• Commitments made by employees to undertake specific actions as
part of the process of working safer.
• Leaders need to follow-up on their own commitments.
For example, the leader may have promised to
send the employee a book or document on safety.
VFL
SOME TIPS
• Remember – how you say things is just as important as what you
say.
• Body language is very important.
• A VFL engagement is not a rigid Question & Answer session
between a leader and employee – it should take the format of a
natural two-way conversation.
• Leaders must always set the example
(be a role model).