When every other department in your organization has a lot of people, but you only have one safety manager, how do you manage your team?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics there are 5.6 million worksites and only 100,000 safety managers in the United States. That means that less than 2% of worksites have a safety manager and more than likely that safety manager is a team of one for several hundred employees.

And, it doesn’t matter how many employees that safety manager team has because the workload for the safety manager is the same regardless of the numbers.

Knowing that, you need to consider the following to get it all done and preserve your sanity as a safety management team of one.

Step 1: Eliminate tasks you shouldn’t be doing. Question everything on your list – why am I doing it, what am I expecting to get out of it, is it meeting that result? If it doesn’t take it off the list.

Step 2: Batch your tasks based on similarities (type, day of the week, etc.) so that you can get all of those similar tasks completed at the same time. Then, look for ways that you can simplify further. Do you actually need to complete that task with the same frequency you’ve been used to?

Step 3: Leverage other employees. Use your safety committee, safety champions, program owners, etc. Look at the tasks that you need to complete and ask if you have to complete that task yourself or if someone else can take responsibility for that item.

So, how do you implement these items? Listen to the episode and I’ll give you my strategies for success!

Take Action

If you are running a solo show as the entire safety manager team, what methods do you need to implement today to better manage your time and efficiency? Consider how you can streamline your processes and what you might choose to delegate to members of your safety committee.

Highlights From This Episode:

  • Pareto’s Principle
  • Batching tasks
  • Leveraging employees
  • The downfall of task switching

Links Mentioned:

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN

I’d love to hear how you will implement these strategies in your workplace. Leave a comment below and let me know.

Also – will you share this content with your BSF (best safety friend)? He or she will thank you!

Subscribe on your favorite Podcast App

Hi, I'm Brye (rhymes with sky)!  I am a self-proclaimed safety geek with two decades of general industry safety experience.  Specializing in bringing safety programs to a world-class level and building a safety culture, I have trained and coached many safety managers, just like you, on how to effectively manage workplace safety in the real world.   I would love to help you too.

Get started with my weekly newsletters: