Client: WorkSafe Victoria
Homecomings
The behaviour:
Historically, regarding safety behaviour in the workplace, habits reinforced or reaffirmed risk taking and an attitude of ‘She’ll be right mate’. Perceived norms were that injuries were the result of ‘accidents’ with a feeling that not much could be done about them
Behaviour Change Objective
- Building the value of safety by positioning safety as a community issue;
- Challenging cultural workplace norms to prompt people to think differently about occupational health and safety; and
- Creating a new master brand that will provide a ‘moral justification’ and acceptance for WorkSafe’s hard ‘tactical’ educational campaigns.
Overall Results
Our work has made a significant contribution to all aspects of workplace safety:
- Repositioned occupational health and safety as a community issue.
- Established a new ‘social norm’ that ‘everyone has the right to return home safe each day’.
- Changed the safety culture in Victoria’s workplaces.
- Improved the respect for and acceptance of WorkSafe’s workplace inspectors.
- Helped make Victorian workplaces the safest they have ever been.
- Helped the workplace injury level fall to a record low.
- Helped improve WorkSafe’s credibility as an effective health and safety regulator.
Our work also:
- Won the 2007 Marketing Program of the Year at the Australian Marketing Institute Awards
- Been adopted by South Australia, New South Wales, Tasmania and Washington DC
Employee pride
From the introduction of The Shannon Company’s original work there has been a demonstrable shift in the pride of WorkSafe employees. Two points demonstrate this in a very real way:
- Prior to The Shannon Company’s strategy to shift the importance of workplace safety from work to home and our associated creative work, as soon as they could upon going home WorkSafe employees would remove their branded jumpers and stickers from their cars. Soon after our initial work started to roll out, staff became overtly ‘proud’ about carrying the WorkSafe brand.
- In 2011 there was a decision to move away from the WorkSafe brand and return to VWA. This was strongly resisted by staff who went as far as stockpiling WorkSafe branded livery. The name change was soon abandoned.
Lag Indicators
A Long Successful Relationship
The change:
We inspired all Victorians to realise when a worker is injured it isn’t just the worker who suffers – their loved ones are also affected. We brought the home into workplace safety.
