If you want to fail, ignore this business blueprint - Management of Change
Business success hinges on the ability to manage change. An integrated approach to change management is crucial for a business to thrive, as it directly links a company's health and safety performance to its financial and operational viability. Ignoring the management of change (MoC) is a surefire way to bleed profit and lose staff. It's a fundamental business blueprint, not just a health and safety add-on.
The Toroidal Effect
Think of a business as a dynamic system with a constant flow of data, much like a torus or a doughnut shape, where data circulates and influences the entire system. In this toroidal effect, leading and lagging data continuously feed into the system. Leading data, which is proactive, looks at things like training completion, hazard identification, and planned safety observations. It's the equivalent of a weather forecast, allowing you to prepare for potential storms on the horizon. Lagging data, on the other hand, is reactive. It includes incident rates, lost-time injuries, and audit findings. It tells you what has already happened, serving as a feedback loop for what went wrong.
These two types of data work together in a continuous cycle:
Leading data informs your proactive planning and risk assessments.
Near misses, changes in operations, leadership, or purchases trigger internal audits.
Lagging data from these audits and incidents reveals gaps in your processes.
This audit data is used to upgrade your management system, which in turn influences your leading data and proactive measures, completing the loop.
This cycle, fueled by both leading and lagging data, is how a business continuously adapts and improves.
Your Business Plan is Your Health and Safety Plan
Leading organisations like WorkSafeBC and the HSE UK emphasise that effective health and safety management is not separate from a business's overall strategy. In fact, they are the same. A business plan is a roadmap for success, and a health and safety plan provides the guardrails to ensure that journey doesn't lead to a dead end.
A proactive approach, often called "due diligence," means you take every reasonable precaution to protect your people and assets. Ignoring a near miss is like ignoring a velociraptor testing the perimeter in Jurassic Park or the shark's fin in Jaws; it's a signpost of a future disaster. WorkSafeBC, for example, highlights that leadership commitment is the first step toward building a strong safety culture. It starts at the top, with leaders demonstrating that they value worker well-being.
Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and SMART Goals
To navigate this blueprint for change, businesses need clear goals and metrics. This is where OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals become crucial.
OKRs set an overarching objective (what you want to achieve) and a few key results (how you will measure progress). For example: Objective: Improve workplace safety culture. Key Results: 1) Reduce near misses by 25%. 2) Increase proactive hazard reporting by 50%.
SMART goals provide a framework for achieving these key results. They are specific, actionable targets. For example: Goal: All employees will complete the new online safety training module by October 31.
These goals directly influence KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), which track and measure the success of your business. When an organisation sets an OKR to reduce incidents, it drives the creation of SMART goals for training and risk assessments. This proactive work, in turn, directly impacts your KPIs, such as a reduced incident rate or improved productivity.
The MoC Blueprint
The Management of Change (MoC) is a core principle endorsed by organisations like NEBOSH and the HSE. It provides a structured process for handling changes to equipment, processes, and personnel. The blueprint for MoC includes:
Planning: All changes must be planned and assessed.
Risk Assessment: A thorough risk assessment must be performed to identify potential new hazards.
Mitigation: Steps must be taken to mitigate identified risks.
Training: Workers must be trained on the new procedures.
Approval: Management must approve the change at key stages to ensure all safety aspects are considered.
This blueprint is supported by international standards like ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety), which provides a framework for managing risks and improving performance. As the British Safety Council notes, these standards recognize that a change in one area—say, introducing a new piece of equipment—can have a ripple effect on safety, quality, and the environment.
By adopting this integrated and proactive approach to change, a business can transform challenges into opportunities for growth and continuous improvement. It's a principle-based approach that ensures adaptability is not a submaximal form of chaos but a planned and measurable path to success.
Sources:
British Safety Council. (2025). Changes to ISO management standards: start preparing now.
WorkSafeBC. (n.d.). Enhancing health & safety culture & performance.
The Chemical Institute of Canada. (n.d.). Managing the Health and Safety Impacts of Organisational Change.
NEBOSH. (2020). NEBOSH achieves ISO 45001.
NEBOSH. (n.d.). Management teams must lead by example and practice what they preach.
