Safety Director - Who is that? By Carmen Daecher

Safety Director. The foundation for safety in an organization.

Each organization that has such a person is proud to admit it. Insurance companies always look for such an individual to feel more comfortable about the risks they are covering.

What do safety directors do? You can't really manage "safety." It is not something you can touch or feel. You can't put it here or direct it to go there. So, what do safety directors direct?

Often this person is asked to make sure the organization complies with DOT, OSHA and EPA regulations, which makes "regulatory compliance officer" a better title. If the safety director recruits and hires drivers, then he or she could appropriately be called "driver hiring specialist." If the person has been hired to train drivers, then he or she might be called a "driver trainer." And if all three of these things are in the job description, "regulatory compliance and driver recruiting specialist" might be a good name.

Certainly these titles would more appropriately define the responsibilities and activities that fall under the job of safety director.

From where I sit, I strongly believe a safety director should be responsible for much more than just safety within an organization. This person, first and foremost, must influence behavior throughout the organization - not just within a targeted segment, such as drivers. It is both unfair and impossible to manage driver behavior when driver activities and attitudes are a result of interaction with others (dispatchers, operation managers, etc.) over which the safety director has no control.

The safety director must be someone who can convince persons throughout the organization that programs will be effective for improved safe behavior among employees. The person must be effective in developing policies and procedures to which the organization can commit. He or she must be effective in carrying out the programs on a consistent basis and must be able to quantify, in dollar and cents terms, the costs and benefits of these programs.

A safety director must have the following abilities and qualifications: Excellent communication and people skills to motivate, influence and coach at all levels of the organization; excellent technical knowledge related to workplace practices and requirements for all employees, and excellent analytical and management skills to identify objectives, define measurements towards them and efficiently carry out developed strategies.

Retired law enforcement officers and former drivers are good candidates for the position of safety director because of their experience and knowledge of the particular aspects of the job.

When the organization views the safety director as described above, then regulatory compliance becomes an implicit part of behavior management, and driver hiring becomes part of a larger process to recruit, hire, train and motivate. And change within the organization due to rapidly advancing technology, dynamics within the work force or increasing competitiveness within the industry, can be managed for the benefit of the entire organization.

From where I am sitting, the title of safety director is no longer appropriate. Today, many people who hold this title do not manage safety at all. If a person is given the appropriate responsibilities as described, they might be more appropriately titled "behavioral risk manager" or "organization behavioral specialist."

But even if you are not ready to change the job title, think about redefining the job and its responsibilities.

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