Client Snapshot
In 2019, Sentis partnered with a leading energy transmission company to assess their safety
culture and climate, aiming to cultivate a more positive work environment. As a trusted
partner to millions of Australians, this company serves as a crucial backbone for energy
suppliers.
With over 70 years of operation, their commitment to serve the community is rooted in
integrity and respect, prioritising safety above all else, while actively transitioning to a
cleaner and more sustainable energy future in Australia.
Objective
In 2015, a significant transformation occurred when the organisation transitioned to private
ownership, marking a shift in their structure. Subsequently, they collaborated with Sentis
on a comprehensive project to thoroughly examine their safety culture and overall climate,
with the objective of enhancing safety practices and fostering a positive work environment.
Based on the results of a safety culture and climate diagnostic (this included our Onsite
Safety Evaluation and Safety Climate Survey), Sentis identified these key opportunities:
Solution
The first and most influential step when it comes to building and embedding a positive
safety climate is upskilling leadership. In fact, the influence of leadership on the culture of
safety and wellbeing is so strong that research finds it’s responsible for up to 50% of the
variance in safety climate scores (He, Wang, & Payne, 2019).
Knowing this, and despite the uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Sentis rolled
out customised Leading Positive Safety and Positive Safety programs (previously known as
ZIP) from 2019 to 2022.
Remote facilitation options were conducted initially, but as the workplace eventually
returned to business as usual, face-to-face programs resumed. These custom programs
were developed with two key things in mind. Firstly, the language used by facilitators
needed to reflect how safety was already spoken about within the organisation. This
included building on key concepts leaders used internally.
And secondly, the program needed to align with the operational context of the
organisation. Using real life examples and drawing from diagnostic results made the
program feel more applicable to leadership, improving buy-in and helping participants
understand how the program applied to them.
Results
Following these programs, the organisation completed a repeat safety culture and climate
diagnostic three years later. This involved conducting an Onsite Safety Evaluation, speaking
with over 180 people (collecting 6,500 statements) and collecting over 425 safety climate
survey responses.
Excitingly, these were some of the results:
Where are they now?
In 2024, the organisation continued tracking and monitoring their safety climate performance with our Pulse Tool; a short online survey option for organisations wanting to monitor specific safety climate dimensions.
As they continue to improve safety behaviours and communication across the board, we are pleased to see positive progress in their internal safety initiatives – in fact, the results speak for themselves!
While the 2022 and 2024 diagnostic results indicate the organisation is making positive progress, they understand culture is an ongoing journey. From here, they will continue embedding and recognising the right skills, knowledge and safety attitudes.Â
Maintaining the work Sentis has done is an important aspect of keeping their people safe and engaged. We look forward to our ongoing partnership with this leading company as we continue to measure and improve their safety culture, together.
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