The Topflight program is an innovative five-phase program that can be applied in companies or on major projects.
For established companies or projects, Topflight commences by taking a snapshot of the safety approach. Our safety culture facilitators conduct interviews across the organisation or project to establish its current level of cultural maturity. We then discuss the findings with the organisation’s Executive Team and formulate the program and logistics.
2. Discovery
The first face-to-face sessions are conducted with the organisation’s second layer decision makers. In these full day sessions, participants analyse why safety performance is a critical part of the business and discover, through the use of innovative tools and interactive discussion, the organisation’s level of cultural maturity.
A transition point is reached when the group identifies the shortcomings of both the organisation and each individual – along with the realisation that if left unaddressed these shortcomings will hinder the development of a real safety culture. The decision makers will design a safety culture based on the work of experts such as Professors Patrick Hudson, James Reason and Australia’s Andrew Hopkins. Non-negotiable core practices are also developed, ready for recommendation to the Executive Team.
3. Leadership
At this stage the findings from the Discovery session, together with the newly designed safety culture and practices, are presented to the Executive Team. This facilitated session allows the Executive Team to deal with what is often an uncomfortable illustration of the reality – as opposed to the sanitised picture they often have reported to them. Our facilitators guide the Executive Team through an examination of the organisation’s existing practices, some of which could be working against the development of a safe culture.
The program then confirms a range of practices that will support the cultural characteristics recommended by the day-to-day decision makers in the previous sessions. Safe culture KPI’s for both the Executive Team and the wider organisation are also developed and approved in this session. Each executive leaves with their own Leadership Log detailing the leadership practices to which they have committed.
4. On Boarding
The four hour ‘On Boarding Session’ involves all employees of the organisation or project team. In these sessions the outcomes of the Topflight leadership sessions, including the need to change, are communicated to the workforce.
The design of the new safety culture and core practices are discussed and transformed into personal safety practices which will support the new culture. The ‘On Boarding Session’ culminates with the completion of Personal Practice Passports by each participant detailing how they will support the development of the new safety culture.
5. Traction
The most challenging part of culture change is making it an integral part of the way you do business. The Topflight team will work with you to ensure the development of your new safety culture becomes a vital part of everyday practice.
Some of the critical functions for successful traction include:
• Redeveloping the business reporting parameters to accommodate safety culture reporting;
• Linking Leadership Logs and Personal Practice Passports to employee appraisal processes;
• Mentoring management and supervisory staff to manage the traditional safety hindrances that will compete with the new safety culture;
• Establishing visual promotional opportunities to surround the organisation with cultural prompts; and
• Independently monitoring performance to gauge the level of safety culture development.
