How confident are you that your employees always follow your safety standards and procedures?

The reality is, thick manuals and dense policies don’t engage people. Our clients’ employees often tell us that they are long, hard to navigate and boring. They sit on shelves, or at best, get skimmed.

When people don’t engage, safety doesn’t improve.

So, how do we change that?

The Problem: Nature vs. Nurture in Safety Engagement

We all have a natural tendency to take shortcuts. It’s human nature to ignore the ‘rules’ if:

• We’re short on time.
• The consequences aren’t immediate.
• We think we know better.
• No one else seems to be following them.

A strong safety culture doesn’t happen by accident – it happens when organisations create the right environment where safety is easy, relevant, and reinforced every day.

If we want people to engage with safety standards, we must nurture that behaviour.

The Solution: Engagement, not just Information

To build a real safety culture, we need to move beyond compliance checkboxes and dry documentation. Instead, we should focus on:

Making Safety Standards easy to use

• Concise: Cut unnecessary complexity. Make sure each point is clear and direct.
• Visually engaging: Use infographics, videos, and real-life examples instead of endless text.
• Accessible: Safety guidance should be at employees’ fingertips, not buried in a manual.

Ensuring people understand and own the standards

• Interactive training: Shift from passive learning (reading documents) to active learning (interactive tools, discussions, workshops and more).
• Continuous reinforcement: Standards must be part of the conversation in every briefing, team meeting and leadership messaging.
• Regular feedback loops: Ask employees what’s working and what’s not. Adapt procedures based on real-world challenges.

Creating accountability

• Leaders must be role-models: If managers don’t follow the standards, neither will employees.
• Consistent consequences: If safety standards aren’t followed, there must be clear consequences, consistently enforced by leaders.

A safety culture people actually engage with

Nature makes us want to take the easy route. But organisations have the power to nurture a culture where safety isn’t just a box to tick – it’s a mindset people live by.

Click here to see how we supported Jabil, a global manufacturing company with multiple safety standards, achieve exactly that: https://bbanda.co.uk/our-work/bringing-jabil-safety-standards-to-life/

If your safety standards and procedures are gathering dust, get in touch to hear how we can support you in creating a more engaging safety culture.