Over the last couple of months, I’ve had several conversations with senior managers and business owners about implementing Work Health and Safety. 

And one issue keeps coming up. 

Time. 

“I know we need to do it, but I just don’t have the time.”

“We’ve got so many competing priorities.”

“I’m wearing too many hats already.”

And I understand it. 

I run my own business. I know what it is like to start the day planning to work on one thing, only to have a customer call, a staff issue arise, an urgent email arrive, or something else suddenly become the priority. 

For small and medium businesses in particular, there is rarely someone sitting around waiting for another job to do. 

But one thing I have been discussing with managers recently is this: 

You don’t have to do it all yourself. 

WHS shouldn’t belong to one person 

One of the traps we can fall into is thinking that because we are the business owner, senior manager or WHS Manager, we personally have to manage every aspect of safety. 

We don’t. 

Good WHS management is about developing simple processes that allow other people within the business to play their part. 

Your supervisors and managers are particularly important. 

They are already out there overseeing the work. They see what is happening. They talk to workers. They know when equipment isn’t right, when a process isn’t working or when someone is taking a shortcut. 

The question is whether we have given them the skills, processes and confidence to do something about it. 

Don’t just delegate – develop

There is an important difference between saying: 

“You’re a supervisor, safety is your responsibility too.”

and actually showing someone what that means. 

If we want supervisors and managers to support WHS, we need to train and mentor them. 

That might mean teaching them how to: 

• conduct a simple workplace safety walk
• have a conversation with someone about an unsafe behaviour
• complete a risk assessment or Take 5
• report and follow up a hazard
• conduct a toolbox talk
• investigate a minor incident
• check that procedures are actually being followed and
• escalate issues when they need management support.

None of these activities necessarily need to take hours. 

Often, it is about building small safety activities into the normal way the business operates. 

Build the process, then share the load 

This is where having good systems and processes becomes so important. 

Instead of the senior manager trying to remember everything, create a process. 

For example: 

Rather than thinking, “I need to check the workplace more often,” establish a monthly workplace inspection and train a supervisor to complete it. 

Rather than thinking, “We really should talk about that incident,” have a simple process requiring supervisors to discuss relevant incidents at the next toolbox meeting. 

Rather than relying on one person to identify every hazard, give workers and supervisors an easy way to report hazards when they see them. 

The process creates consistency. 

The training gives people confidence. 

And the mentoring helps them improve over time. 

You still need to lead it 

Sharing the responsibility doesn’t mean senior management walks away from WHS. 

Leadership still matters. 

Managers need to set expectations, provide resources, check that things are happening and step in when an issue needs a higher-level decision. 

But there is a big difference between leading WHS and trying to personally do every WHS task. 

In fact, developing supervisors and managers to take a more active role can make the business stronger overall. 

You aren’t just improving safety. 

You are developing better leaders. 

Start small 

If you’re struggling to find time for WHS, don’t immediately think you need to find another five hours in your week. 

Look at the people and processes you already have. 

Ask yourself: 

What am I currently doing that one of my supervisors or managers could be trained and mentored to do? 

Start with one or two activities. 

Give them a simple process. 

Show them how to do it. 

Let them have a go. 

Review it with them. 

Then gradually build their capability. 

Because if WHS only happens when the business owner or senior manager has time to personally do it, it will always be competing with something else. 

The aim isn’t to do everything yourself. 

The aim is to build a business where safety is simply part of how everyone does their job. 

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