Making sure workers are protected is all about selling the right message
Safety is all about the right kind of communication - and OHS professionals have to learn to sell it through a variety of approaches.
That's the view of Krissi Markowsky, corporate safety specialist with utility company ENMAX in Calgary, who believes the profession is, essentially, the best kind of sales job.
“Sometimes being a safety representative, people completely ignore you because they may have bad experiences from the past, or preconceived notions of what they believe safety is," she says. "And then sometimes people take your word for gospel. Either way, it is vital to ensure the correct message is being stated.”
This involves constantly learning better ways to "sell" safety, adapting different approaches and styles to different personalities. “We’re constantly learning, and we’re constantly figuring out ways to do [safety] better,” says Markowsky. “Information accuracy, and allowing time for people to absorb that information, is important.”
Markowsky got her start in safety through her family – she is the younger sister of a Certificate of Recognition (COR) auditor. When she got involved with editing her sister’s audits, she developed a huge interest in safety. Markowsky also has a background in business, and her interest in OHS was partly piqued when she saw how the applications of business management could be “filtered through a safety lens".
She adds that her favourite part about safety is training, being a vector of knowledge, an approachable resource, and helping others understand how to properly apply safety information in the appropriate situation.
“You see when people have that moment where it clicks," she says. "That safety management can be used in almost all aspects of a company – like I did when I was editing my sister’s audits. I love that little bit.
"Training is absolutely my favourite because I get to see that little bit over and over again. I’d love to be a motivational safety speaker for the next stage of my career because I am that passionate about the management systems and processes."
Going back to her earlier comment on the importance of communication, Markowsky says that safety is all guided by governance. Because of this she started her safety career believing that “it should be clear that people should follow it".
“My biggest challenge was learning how to gently approach this – and it’s still a constant evolution. What I do in my job is finding better ways to approach the positive changes that safety introduces.”
She says that promoting safety – at work and in life – is based in making sure that she is as accurate as possible, and owning inaccuracies and miscommunications as soon as possible. It also means allowing people to absorb safety knowledge at their own pace. Markowsky says: “People have repeated my words months later, or approached me months later with more questions – which to me is great!”
