Why leadership is key for compliant workplaces

Creating a Culture of Safety: What Leaders Need to Know 

At Ranmoor Health and Safety, we believe that building a strong safety culture isn’t just about compliance, it’s about commitment. When safety becomes part of your company’s DNA, it shows in every decision, every action, and every outcome. Like all cultural shifts, it starts at the top. 

What is a Safety Culture? 

A safety culture is the collection of beliefs, practices, and attitudes that exist within an organisation relating to health and safety. It’s not just policies on paper or procedures ticked off during audits. It’s how people behave and think when it comes to keeping themselves and their colleagues safe. 

Organisations with a strong safety culture go beyond reacting to incidents. They proactively identify and mitigate risks, communicate openly about concerns, and employees take ownership of health and safety at every level. 

Why Leadership Matters 

Culture is shaped by leadership. When business leaders visibly value safety, by prioritising it in conversations, resourcing it properly, and role-modelling the right behaviours, it sends a clear message to the whole team. 

Without active leadership support, safety becomes sidelined. Employees pick up on inconsistencies. With strong leadership, safety becomes a shared responsibility, and one people genuinely care about. 

Here are some key behaviours and actions leaders can take to embed a safety-first culture: 

1. Lead by Example 

Your team watches what you do more than what you say. If leaders cut corners or dismiss minor hazards, others will follow suit. When you’re consistent in wearing PPE, conducting checks, or stopping work if conditions aren’t safe, it creates a ripple effect. 

2. Talk About Safety Often 

Don’t let safety be a once-a-month agenda item. Integrate it into everyday conversations, meetings, and check-ins. Celebrate wins (like incident-free periods or innovative ideas to reduce risk), and don’t shy away from discussing near misses. 

Normalising these conversations helps embed safety as part of the organisational ethos. 

3. Actively Listen to Concerns 

Employees are often the first to spot problems on the ground. If they feel ignored, or worse, punished, for raising concerns, those problems go unreported. Open communication is critical. 

Encourage feedback, thank people for speaking up, and follow through on suggested improvements. When employees see that their voice matters, engagement naturally increases. 

4. Invest in Training and Development 

A robust safety culture is one where employees feel confident in their knowledge and responsibilities. Ensure that training is role-specific, up-to-date, and covers both physical and psychological safety. 

Training isn’t a one-time event. Regular refreshers keep safety top of mind and help build competence over time. Check out our online safety courses that can be done remotely by your team.  

5. Review and Improve 

Cultures evolve and so should your approach to safety. Use audits, incident data, and employee feedback to identify gaps and areas for improvement. Make it a habit to review your procedures, retrain staff, and recalibrate priorities. 

Continuous improvement shows your team that safety isn’t static and that you’re committed to doing better, not just being compliant 

How Strong is Your Safety Culture? 

If you’re not sure where to begin, we’ve created a Safety Culture Checklist for Leaders. A practical tool that helps you identify where your organisation is doing well, and where you may need to refocus. 

It’s a great resource for internal reflection, leadership meetings, or sparking conversation across teams. 

Download our safety checklist here 

Contact us today to learn more about our leadership support, safety audits, and training programmes.