Accountability is essential to any business function. That includes safety. Everybody in an organization must be accountable - employees and management. But getting management to accept accountability can be quite difficult for a safety professional. Like most people, managers have an aversion to being held accountable. If you don't believe it, just try implementing a GPS monitoring system for company vehicles and watch the backlash.

Here's a strategy to help overcome resistance and persuade upper management to accept accountability for safety.

Laying the Groundwork

Trying to sell management on an accountability concept without preparation is like trying to teach a pig to sing: It wastes your time and annoys the pig.

So first do your homework. Look at the costs of injuries and illnesses. Then compare that to the costs and benefits of the safety program you want to implement.

The Loss Side

Make sure you account for both the direct and indirect costs of illnesses and injuries. Management tends to consider only the former and overlook the latter. But indirect costs associated with injuries, such as lost productivity, cost of replacing the injured employee, etc, are often significantly greater than direct costs.

In many safety professional circles, the consensus is that indirect costs are on average about six times greater than direct costs. But be careful. Many upper managers are highly skeptical of this. So citing the six-to-one ratio could harm your credibility with management.

I suggest that you figure on the indirect costs as being equal to the direct costs. Although this might underestimate the indirect costs, it will at least double the total costs of accidents in the eyes of management. Sit down with your CFO and controller and identify the specific numbers involved. This should turn the head of your CEO.

The Benefit Side

Calculate the benefit of your proposed program based on these metrics. Get the CFO/controller to agree with the methodology so you can rely on him/her in a meeting with the CEO. This will bolster your credibility. Do the same with your insurance premiums. Estimate conservative reductions in premiums and losses and modifiers.

Lastly, link all this to the company's profitability. For example:

Pick a company that your CEO often refers to as your competition or a model company he/she tries to emulate. This will set the stage for a positive result.

Conclusion

Laying the groundwork is a lot of work. But it is worth the effort insofar as it makes the sales job much easier. Next week, in Part 2 of this series, we'll show you how to make your pitch.

MY DOG ATE IT

Top 10 Parent Excuses for Kids' Missing School

Speaking of accountability, or lack thereof, here are some actual notes that parents wrote to a school district requesting that their child be excused from missing class. To repeat, these are notes that parents actually wrote; we didn't make them up. The spellings have been left intact.

1. Please excuse Lisa for being absent she was sick
and I had her shot.

2. Please excuse gloria from jim today. She is
administrating.

3. Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was hurt in the growing part.

4. Megan could not come to school today because she
has been bothered by very close veins.

5. Please excuse Jimmy for being. It was his father's
fault.

6. Sally won't be in school a week from Friday. We
have to attend her funeral.

7. My daughter was absent yesterday because she was
tired. She spent a weekend with the marines.

8. Please excuse Mary for being absent yesterday. She
was in bed with gramps.

9. Please excuse Brenda. She has been sick and under
the doctor.

10. Maryann was absent december 11-16, because she
had a fever, sorethroat, headache and upset stomach.
Her sister was also sick, fever an sore throat, her
brother had a low grade fever and ached all over.
I wasn't the best either, sore throat and fever. There must be something going around, her father even got hot last night.

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