Safety is thrust into the spotlight when someone gets hurt.

You know safety is important, but how do you get everyone on board?

Of course, you're committed to safety, but when demands on your time and your people increase, it's harder to keep it a priority. 

In a busy work environment, it's easiest to keep safety top of mind with a safety speech. A motivational safety speech unites people positively around safety excellence. It safeguards your culture.

If you want employees to look out for each other, they need to be motivated.

Safety leaders usually rely on fear-based messages to gain safety compliance. In the short term, they work. Sustaining a safety culture requires motivation. A motivational safety speech builds positive momentum, and long term buys into safety. 

Training is the most critical component of a companies safety management program. Everyone benefits from a safety speech through fewer workplace injuries, reduced stress, and a better team environment.

Safety training allows employees to learn their jobs properly. 

According to OSHA, Thirty-four states have requirements or voluntary guidelines for workplace injury and illness prevention programs. They recommend initial training and refresher training. 

Many organizations have a safety day, a safety program, and regular safety moments that require a safety speech. To plan your safety speech consider the following:

The Audience. 

Many safety speeches evolve around front line workers. Because they are on the front line, they are often most at risk. A crowd like this tends to be hands-on, so keep your speech active and work-related. Continue to involve this audience in your safety speech; ask them for feedback and ideas.

All parts of an organization are part of safety, including administration, leadership, and management. Especially if they are not a front line, you need their buy-in. Safety is a priority for everyone, but it's not top of mind (their most crucial safety alert is a paper cut!) With this audience you need to build a logical argument to show them how safety is a priority, especially for the front line. It's a part of your culture.

The Current Safety Environment.

Progress should be calculated and recognized for it to count. Your safety speech is the ideal time to acknowledge progress, appreciate the effort, and highlight the opportunity to improve. Have these stats available to weave into the safety speech.

Also, report misses, near misses, and any occupational health safety policy change.

A GREAT SAFETY SPEECH GOALS:

• Give people permission to think about and be involved in safety culture proactively.
• It should recognize and ( sometimes) reward safe behavior
• Make it safe to speak up about unsafe conditions
• Sell people on safety
• Build a team culture around safety
• Encourage people to slow down when it comes to safety
• The role of stress on safety

Interweave these ideas into your safety speech messaging. 

Below is a SAMPLE SAFETY SPEECH:

People are safer on the job than at home.

We work hard to create a culture where you can communicate your needs, state your limits, and say "NO" Your safety is our priority.

Nobody on our teams will feel uncomfortable reporting near misses or unsafe work practices. We thank you all for your efforts protecting our safe work culture

We are committed to safety because we are committed to you.

Were committed to your health, your wellness, your future.

Our safety record shows that commitment. ( talk about your safety record)

We can't do it without you. 

It's your diligence that matters. It's your grit and dedication that matters. It's you that matters. 

It takes a team to do great things. Remember to lean on your team and encourage each other to grow. 

Everybody deserves to feel safe at work. 

Never feel uncomfortable about speaking up. Your voice matters.

Every time you speak up about safety, you could be saving lives. 

Our workloads have increased.  With less time and resources, we lose focus on safety. 

When we neglect safety, we neglect each other. 

When it comes to safety, We have your back.

 Slow down, look around, and make safety awareness your priority.

( reinforce safe work behaviors needed to do the job)

We want to reinforce the goals of our safety program.

Review accident loss reports, review safety bulletins, and safety procedures, and weave this into your safety speech.

(End of Sample Safety Speech)

Remember to keep your message firm but uplifting.

Listening to accident statistics or learning about new procedures can be annoying to employees. Keep your message positive and reassuring. Your team needs to feel like they are achieving something, and their efforts are contributing to a safety culture.

Offer examples and suggestions for improvement—layout strategies that work and how we can be more successful. In any safety speech, people will only remember several points, so keep it short and memorable.

As a safety motivational speaker, I focus on getting the audience to buy into a healthy culture where safety has to be a priority.  

Ready to hire a safety speaker? Find out how.