The changes over the years in cultural awareness has to be applauded, we are brought up in a working environment to be strong, roll with the punches and get on with the job, we are taught only the fittest survive in this dog eat dog lifestyle. 

Since joining SIRF I was given the opportunity to be part of the National forum in Melbourne. What I took from the Forum was in each stream I participated in; “Operational Excellence, Supply chain and Reliability & Maintenance”, the story was how we improve and take our people on a journey to build strength and cultural awareness behind the organisation to stay ahead of the competition. It’s called continuous improvement for that reason. 

We are now seeing changes in our day to day workload, Lynne Cazaly spoke at The Forum about how to manage cognitive overload – in this day and age there is so much information landing at our doorstep; social media, deadlines, family needs, friends etc. We have to make key decisions very quickly, and work overload can cause stressful situations. We are taught to hide these emotions/situations as it was a sign of weakness.

You get statements like “go to Bunnings, buy some wood, build a bridge and get over it”, to the wrong person at the right time, this could have disastrous effects.

Workloads can range from a production line worker with 9 people doing repetitive work (one mistake and it’s catch up), to a manager with a team of goals to deliver (short deadlines). All are time constrained, but if pulled in the same direction as a team they will play their part in producing customer requirements and organisation goals with minimal fear of stress and injury. They requires us working together, it’s an old school of thought but let’s face it, if we don’t work together do we move forward?

Creating positive company cultures will enhance performance and engagement.  Over the years you hear statements around the culture of organisations, a lot were aggressive - didn’t align with the company values, if you don’t do it your'e out, calling names (toxic), alienating and no thought for others, the good news is hearing statements “The cleaner is just as important as the GM”; they both have a role and each role is vitally important to each and every one,

“If we involve everyone then they all feel part of the team” this is pulling together, not against each other.

It is about incorporating this approach right, Tasha Broomhall was so intuitive at the Forum, so caring and not hard, it’s just an area where we feel uncomfortable. We should be asking people if they are alright, listen to the response, do they want to talk, encourage, and can I help in any way and keep checking in.  With both Lynne’s and Tasha’s approach I think change will happen, I can only speak for what I have seen but you can build that culture to make positive steps. 

We also have the national day RU OK in September which was fantastic as it brings to light realities around us, in Western Australia we have a lot of mine sites, these sites are not holiday homes, they are simplistic sleeping quarters covering the needs of employees as location is not a 30 minute drive away.  Imagine - after a full day at work returning to these sleeping quarters and not home - it's a tall ask for anyone, in the heat of WA, shift patterns, lack of sleep you can understand and relate to the stresses involved, that’s not even mentioning what could be happening at home hundreds of kilometres away.

I have worked in industry for nearly forty years in various manufacturing roles (UK and Australia) this was never a strategy in the past (more survival of the fittest), yes working together but never reaching into your heart of hearts to make sure a fellow work/teammate is OK.  This has so many benefits; we protect, help, encourage and engage at every level, we will build foundations of stone not sand. 

I have Tanya and Cristian highlighting some of these techniques to use at our next SIRF Roundtable Event. so if you would like to know about approaches you can use, please come and join us on 11^th November.  for 'Safety Awareness and Wellbeing' Roundtable in Perth.

Click here for event information.

Tanya Finnie  -  Is a global cultural strategist with expertise in building meaningful relationships and instilling confidence within individuals? Having worked in a plethora of different countries from around the globe, Tanya has valuable global experience pertaining to culture and diversity. With her unique skill-set and vast knowledge, Tanya assists organisations in growing their human capital and increasing their cultural intelligence. 

Cristian Sylvestre  -  He’s leading the development of Third Generation Safety, an approach to managing safety that helps people understand how inattention comes about and how it can be managed better. His programs use the latest neuroscience and behavioural research to design simple and easy-to-use tools that re engineer people’s natural tendencies to be inattentive. He authored the book “Third Generation Safety: The Missing Piece” to explain his work.

Best Regards,

Chris Bush

WA State Manager SIRF Roundtables