A Step-by-Step Guide to Transforming Your Company’s Safety Culture

Picture a workplace where safety isn’t just a policy—it’s woven into the fabric of daily operations. Where employees at all levels naturally consider safety in every decision, and where incidents are rare because potential hazards are spotted and addressed before they cause harm. This might sound like a dream, but it’s achievable through dedicated effort and the right approach.

We recently asked our customers in KPA Connect, our customer community: “What was the single most effective change your organization made that helped transform your safety culture?” Their responses, which we’ve woven throughout this article, reveal the specific actions that create lasting cultural change in real organizations.

Safety transformation isn’t a destination—it’s an ongoing journey that requires dedication, consistency, and continuous improvement. No matter where your organization stands today, there’s always an opportunity to strengthen your safety culture and better protect your workforce. Let’s explore seven crucial steps that can help transform your company’s approach to safety.

1. Train Employees on Specific Job Tasks and Hazards

Think back to your first day at a new job. Everything feels unfamiliar, and there’s so much to learn. Now imagine being expected to figure it all out on your own. Unfortunately, this “they’ll figure it out” approach is all too common when it comes to safety training.

A strong safety culture begins with comprehensive training that leaves nothing to chance. Your training program should lay a foundation of understanding not just what to do, but why safety protocols matter. Essential elements include:

• Detailed procedures for specific job tasks
• Identification of potential hazards
• Proper use of safety equipment
• Emergency response procedures

This dual focus on education and communication creates the foundation for all other safety improvements.

2. Ensure Active, Visible Leadership Commitment

There’s an old saying that nature abhors a vacuum, and the same is true in organizational leadership. When positive safety leadership doesn’t exist, that void will be filled by something—or someone—else, often with undesirable results. This is why visible leadership commitment is crucial.

Multiple customers identified executive buy-in as their most transformative change. When leadership demonstrates their commitment to safety through actions—not just words—it creates a ripple effect throughout the organization. This means:

• Participating in safety walks
• Attending safety meetings
• Making safety a regular topic in all business discussions
• Recognizing and rewarding safe behaviors

Shawn Mathis, Safety Specialist at Kent Power, credits “the development of our Culture Playbook and the buy-in of upper management” as their organization’s most effective transformation strategy.

3. Take a Proactive Approach to Planning

Imagine trying to drive cross-country without a map or GPS. You might eventually reach your destination, but the journey would be inefficient and potentially dangerous. The same principle applies to safety planning. Reactive planning—or worse, no planning at all—can cripple an organization’s ability to mitigate or eliminate hazards.

Instead, think of safety planning as your organizational GPS, helping you navigate potential hazards before you encounter them. A proactive approach includes risk assessments before new projects, regular safety audits, and comprehensive emergency response planning.

4. Focus on Leading Indicators

While it’s important to track incidents and injuries (lagging indicators), it’s even more crucial to pay attention to the warning signs that precede them. Think of leading indicators as the safety equivalent of weather forecasting—they help you prepare for and prevent problems before they occur.

Timothy Shaw, Information Success Coordinator at McCumber Well Service, explains the power of this approach:

Key leading indicators to monitor include:

• Near-miss reports
• Safety training completion rates
• Hazard identification reports
• Safety audit findings

5. Encourage Open Communication

Nothing kills a safety culture faster than silence. When employees feel they can’t speak up about safety concerns, or worse, when they speak up and receive no response, the message is clear: safety isn’t really a priority.

The importance of communication transformation appears repeatedly in customer feedback.

This insight reveals a critical truth: employees are hungry for safety information when it’s presented openly and honestly.

Create an environment where safety communication flows freely in all directions. This means not just encouraging reporting of concerns, but actively seeking input and responding promptly to all safety-related feedback. Remember: no response is worse than a negative response.

One assistant corporate safety director emphasized that “bettering our communication” was their key transformation.

6. Address Unsafe Acts and Conditions

Safety incidents rarely happen in isolation. Like a line of dominoes, they’re usually the result of multiple smaller issues that, if addressed earlier, could have prevented the accident. This is why it’s crucial to pay attention to unsafe acts and conditions across your organization.

Watch for:

• Equipment in need of maintenance
• Shortcuts in safety procedures
• Missing or damaged safety equipment
• Poor housekeeping
• Rushed work practices

7. Model Safe Behaviors as a Leader

One of the most powerful lessons in safety leadership comes from a simple action: picking up trash. When leaders demonstrate that no safety action is beneath them—whether it’s wearing proper PPE, following safety procedures even when inconvenient, or simply keeping the workplace clean—it sends a powerful message about the importance of safety.

The transformation of safety teams themselves often drives cultural change.

This teaching-based approach, rather than a punitive one, encourages the kind of ownership mindset that transforms cultures.

The Journey Continues

The impact of these changes extends throughout the organization. David Finley, Executive Director of IT & OT at Dolese, describes their approach:

Judy DeForeest, EHS & Quality Coordinator at LDX Solutions, sums up the transformation simply: “Empowering our people made the difference.” When employees feel empowered to take ownership of safety, the entire culture shifts from compliance-based to engagement-based.

Like a line of dominoes, where each piece can trigger increasingly larger effects, small actions in safety can create profound changes over time. The first domino might seem insignificant, but it can ultimately lead to remarkable transformations.

Remember: you’re never truly “done” with safety improvement. There’s always an opportunity to be better tomorrow than you are today. The key is to start where you are and keep moving forward, one step at a time.

The most successful organizations recognize that safety excellence is a continuous journey, not a destination. By following these steps and maintaining a consistent focus on improvement, you can create a safety culture that not only protects your workers but also strengthens your business in countless ways. The journey might be long, but the destination—a safer workplace for everyone—is worth every step.

How KPA Supports Your Safety Culture Journey

At KPA, we understand that transforming safety culture requires more than good intentions—it requires the right tools, training, and expertise. Our comprehensive approach combines flexible software platforms, expert consulting services, and award-winning training to support each step of your transformation journey.

Many of our customers credit KPA’s solutions as catalysts for their cultural transformations.