How to Create a Company Safety Policy

Your very first step towards safety.

If you’re trying to start a safety program from scratch – you’re probably feeling very overwhelmed. This is completely normal, and many of my clients express the same feelings to me. They just don’t know where to start.

Even with a guide at their side, there’s just too much information to process all at once.

So I’m going to give you the perfect starting point. You’re going to create (and sign) a Safety Policy Statement. It doesn’t take a long time and it’s going to create an avalanche of benefits for you.This one document is going to:

  • Ease your mind.
  • Get leadership and workers on the same page.
  • Jumpstart a culture of safety.
  • Create accountability and buy-in.
  • Increase your standing among partners, vendors, and clients.

The Safety Policy Statement is ridiculously simple to create – but it might also be the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do, which I’ll explain when we talk about signing it. But first let’s go over what it is.

What is a Safety Policy Statement?

Your Safety Policy Statement is a pledge made by the ownership, solidifying their commitment to safety. As a document it’s very simple; there is no safety jargon or technical specs, and it’s only a few sentences long.

You’re probably already familiar with a “mission statement” where you announce your company’s position, vision, and goals. A Safety Policy Statement is just like a mission statement, except it’s centered around your safety values.

It’s also much more than that.

Whereas a mission statement is mostly a description of your business (and almost always abandoned at the first opportunity), the Safety Policy Statement is a pledge. You are making a personal promise directly to the people whose lives are at risk.

That sort of promise carries a lot of symbolic weight, and because of that weight it has the ability to affect change. It might be a hot take but I sincerely believe this: Your Safety Policy Statement is the most important thing to your safety initiative.

Why is a Safety Policy Statement important?

I’ll be honest – back when I ran my own business I didn’t think the Safety Policy Statement was important. Not at first, anyway. It seemed like a formality I could gloss over. I found out the importance the hard way.

A large company invited me to a vendor meeting, and I sat around a table with several competitors. I came into that meeting incredibly prepared and aiming to win some business. I knew all of our technical capabilities, prices, and turnaround times off the top of my head.

However, none of that even came up. The entire discussion revolved around each company’s commitment to safety. We were asked one by one about our Safety Policy Statement and our related metrics.

I’m sure you can imagine my panic as we went around the table.  When my turn came, I struggled to recall our safety metrics and I stuttered through our bare-bones Safety Policy Statement.

It was embarrassing, and I’ll never forget it. Obviously I didn’t win the job, and it was a big moment for me. Major companies value safety commitments when selecting vendors, and they’re willing to pass you by if you don’t measure up.

What does a Safety Policy Statement look like?

Your Safety Policy Statement is made up of a few core pieces:

You can write these in your own words, OR you can use a template, such as the ones below:

Template one:

At [COMPANY NAME], we consider any number of injuries or accidents unacceptable. Accident prevention is achieved through the cooperative efforts of management and our workforce. Worker safety is critical to the long-term success of our company.

Template two:

Safety is a core value at [COMPANY NAME]. We are committed to an injury-free and incident-free workplace. We believe all injuries are preventable, and place the health and safety of our employees as a top value in measuring our success.

Template three:

[COMPANY NAME] sees job performance and job safety as inseparable. Every single task has a safety component, which we will be met through the cooperative efforts of our management team members and our workforce. We maintain an incident and injury free workplace.

It’s shorter than you expected, right? Yet each one of these contains main pieces listed above. It recognizes the importance of safety, it makes a promise to prevent accidents, and it names management as a part of maintaining safety.

Now comes the hard part: Signing it.

Signing your Safety Policy Statement is a big deal.

When I talk about the importance of signing this statement I sometimes see polite smiles and nods, as if this is just some mental exercise they can forget about tomorrow.

So I’ll go ahead and answer the question I’m always asked.

Yes this is a big deal.

Your personal signature on this Safety Policy Statement is more than a formality – it’s a powerful symbol of leadership and accountability. It sends a clear message to every employee, stakeholder, and client that safety is paramount at your company.

Without a signature – there is no impact. Showing Management Commitment is a major part of maintaining a safe workplace and this is the most straightforward display there is. If you’re NOT willing to sign – your workers will think you’re just putting on a show. Your managers and supervisors assume it’s some PR gesture and they won’t take it seriously either.

You undermine your entire operation, and what could have been a turning point in your company becomes just another day where everybody is at risk.

That’s what makes a personal signature a big deal: It doesn’t allow for you to hide behind the company. Without this signed statement – your business doesn’t move forward.

Get the most out of your statement.

I think by now you’ve gotten the idea of how big a commitment this is and why it’s so important. So now let’s talk about what you get out of the deal. This Safety Policy Statement is more than just a promise – it’s a TOOL that you can leverage.

The main way to leverage your document is through visibility. While you can sit quietly in your office and sign it alone – you’d be leaving so much potential on the table. Imagine buying an offroad truck and exclusively using it on the highway; it might get the job done but it can do so much more.

So here are some ways to get the most out of your statement:

Kickoff event

This is a MASSIVE gesture I always recommend. Here’s how it works:

Gather all your employees together in a company-wide meeting. You announce your safety commitment, read the statement aloud, and sign it in front of everybody. It’s not a bad idea to ask your management team to sign it as well. If you wanted – you can even choose a worker representative from each department to sign alongside management as a symbol of unity.

You can take pictures of the signing, hold a Q&A, and really solidify this as a turning point in your culture. I’ve seen first hand the morale boost this brings.

Yearly updates

Long after the statement is signed, you can continue to refine it. This is the best way to demonstrate first-hand that safety is always important, and should always be regarded.

Show it off

Now that you have this document – it’s a waste to file it away somewhere. It’s a symbol and should be displayed somewhere prominently. To maximize the effect, you can post it in multiple locations so every employee, visitor, partner, and new hire sees this over and over again.

You can also pair it with the photo of the kickoff event to recall the good memories over and over again for years to come.

The core idea in all these cases is to celebrate the Safety Policy Statement. By treating it as important on a personal level – you MAKE it important on an organizational level.

Sealing the commitment to safety.

In crafting a Safety Policy Statement, you commit to a culture of accountability and a safer work environment. It’s not only a symbolic gesture but a practical one, being your first definitive action towards workplace safety.

You’ll enhance your reputation, foster trust among employees and partners, create accountability and buy-in, and give yourself guidance on what comes next.

The statement stands as a pledge to prioritize safety, crucial for any organization’s sustained success.

 

Book a free strategy call today and discover the best way to implement your Safety Policy goals.