Beyond the Walk-Around: How Worker Perspective Forges a Real Safety Culture
Introduction: The Difference Between "Showing Up" and "Engaging"
As an HSE Director with over 18 years on Canadian and International sites, I've seen two kinds of leadership walk-arounds.
The first is the "checklist" visit. A manager walks the site, clipboard in hand, pointing out infractions. They are present, but they aren't engaged. Workers tense up, share as little as possible, and wait for the visit to be over.
The second is a true safety engagement. The leader shows up not as an auditor, but as a partner. They aren't there to find fault; they are there to find understanding.
In Canada, our Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S) legislation is built on the foundation of the Internal Responsibility System (IRS). That system cannot function on top-down enforcement alone. It requires genuine, two-way communication. The critical element missing from most leadership models is the one that matters most: the worker's perspective. A strong safety culture isn't measured by what a leader says; it's measured by what a worker feels, believes, and is willing to share. Explore our safety consulting services to build this kind of engagement in your organization.
What Meaningful Engagement Is (And What It Isn't)
Let's be clear: a leadership engagement is not a safety audit.
The Construction Safety Research Alliance (CSRA), a group of academic and industry experts, has done groundbreaking research on this. Their "Leadership Engagement Scorecard" model, which exists in two forms, explicitly states one of the first criteria for a successful engagement is that "The leader was not conducting a safety audit".
An audit looks for non-compliance. An engagement seeks to understand the work.
A true engagement means the leader is prepared (e.g., has the right PPE, phone put away) and is paying full attention. It's a conversation designed to build psychological safety, which is the shared belief that team members can speak up with ideas, questions, or concerns without fear of punishment or humiliation.
The Trust Gap in Canadian Workplaces
Consider recent Canadian workplace mental health surveys. A 2022 report showed that while 38% of employees feel comfortable telling managers about physical safety risks, only 29% feel comfortable discussing psychological safety risks. This "trust gap" is what true engagement is designed to close.
The 'Two-Sided Scorecard': Why the Worker's View is the True Metric
The real genius of the CSRA's research is its two-part validation. They don't just ask an observer if an engagement was good. They ask the worker.
And the worker's scorecard is what counts.
A leader might think they had a great conversation. But what did the worker experience? Did the leader use the worker's name? Did they learn something personal about them? Did they make the worker feel respected?
The most heavily-weighted items on the worker's scorecard—the ones the research identifies as most critical—are not about the leader's actions, but about their questions.
- "The leader asked what is needed to be safer and more effective" (Weight: 5)
- "The leader asked questions to learn more about the most dangerous parts of my job" (Weight: 5)
This is the entire point. This model positions the front-line worker as the subject matter expert. The leader's job is not to have all the answers; it's to ask the right questions and listen.
From Audit to Ally: Empowering the Expert
When a leader asks a worker, "What is the most dangerous part of your job today?", they are doing two powerful things:
- Acknowledging that hazards are dynamic and not just what's listed in a pre-job safety assessment.
- Empowering the worker to be the expert on their own task and risk.
This approach changes the dynamic from "boss and employee" to "allies in safety." When a leader then asks, "What do you need to do this safely?" or "Do you have ideas for improvement?", they are giving that worker ownership and agency. This is the foundation of a proactive safety culture, moving beyond simple compliance to worker commitment.
Proving Safety is More Important Than Production
Every company has "Safety First" on a poster. But workers know the truth by observing what leadership does, not what it says.
The true test of a safety culture is what happens when safety and production are in conflict. On both the observer and worker scorecards, a key item is whether the leader made them feel that "safety is more important than production".
How is this proven in a 5-minute conversation?
- By asking about work pressures. This shows you understand the real-world constraints they face.
- By recognizing safety as the top priority and explicitly emphasizing the worker's stop-work authority.
"A worker's belief in their stop-work authority is directly proportional to the trust built by leadership. If they don't believe you'll support them without reprisal, that authority doesn't truly exist."
When a worker hears their leader personally confirm that they have the right and responsibility to stop a job they feel is unsafe—and that the leader will have their back—it builds a layer of trust that no safety slogan ever can.
Actionable Safety Tip: Your 5-Minute Engagement Plan
For leaders, supervisors, and managers, try this on your next site visit. This isn't a checklist; it's a conversation guide based on the CSRA model.
- Prepare: Put your phone away. Be present and focused.
- Connect: Use the worker's name. Ask one personal, non-work question (e.g., "What got you into this trade?" or "What do you enjoy about your work?").
- Listen (The 2 Big Questions):
- "What is the most dangerous part of your job today?"
- "What do you need to do it safely and effectively?"
- Empower: Ask, "Do you have any ideas on how we could make this task, or this site, safer?".
- Confirm: Listen without interrupting. Before you leave, summarize what you heard (e.g., "So, what I'm hearing is the new material is harder to cut, and you're worried about kickback. I'll look into that."). This proves you were listening.
Conclusion: Stop Auditing, Start Connecting
A strong safety culture in Canada isn't just about compliance with provincial or federal OH&S Acts. It's about creating an environment where every worker, from the new apprentice to the 30-year veteran, feels seen, heard, and respected as an expert in their own right. Effective safety training programs reinforce this culture of engagement.
The most valuable safety data on your site doesn't come from an audit report. It comes from the worker who is willing to share their perspective with you. The only way to get that data is to stop auditing and start a real conversation.
Take Action This Week
I challenge every leader to have just one 5-minute engagement using the steps above. Then, ask your Joint Health and Safety Committee (JHSC) members how they would measure leadership engagement from the worker's point of view.