Election lessons for safety

Jürgen Tietz, professional speaker and thought leader of Simply Smart Safety, writes that while the dust of the local government elections hasn’t quite settled yet, there are some safety lessons that we can learn from them.

“It is a good time for me to put on my safety hat and, once again, share my views with you on the recent elections,” he writes.

“The outcome was, to a certain extent, determined by the campaign strategy. The ANC campaigned to retain its position and not lose control rather than going out to win and strengthen its position. The DA campaigned for change, a good strategy when your current climate is one of high dissatisfaction with the status quo. The EFF campaigned for the poor and marginalised. Their ticket was one of hope for a better future for those who have nothing to lose,” says Tietz.

Tietz defines two lessons:

“If you run your safety campaigns with the aim of not doing worse than before, you are on the wrong track. Trying to beat the previous record is just more of the same. A campaign for change, improvement and hope is the one that will get you voters’ buy-in.

“Beautiful election manifestos, full of undertakings and promises, are just that – beautiful pieces of paper. Like your safety policy, they are meaningless and likely to end up windswept or in the dustbin unless you step up to the challenge and put the words into action,” Tietz says.

How can you put this into action?

“Look at your safety campaigns. What is the message to your ‘voters’? Seriously, if your employees were to ‘vote for safety’, how well would you do?” Tietz asks.

“Look at your safety policy. How well is it adhered to? Is it just looking pretty on the wall so that you can earn that tick at the next audit?” he concludes.