Coaching

Coaching, one of the four skills taught in People-Based Safety, requires employees to monitor their co-workers and look for ongoing behaviors that can increase or decrease the odds of personal injury. They need to recognize and promote safe behaviors and correct at-risk behaviors in a way that will be accepted by the individual observed.

The five letters of the word “coach” can be used to remember the basic characteristics of effective coaches:

Care – Safety coaches genuinely care about the safety of their co-workers.
Observe – Safety coaches observe the behavior of others objectively and systematically.
Analyze – Safety coaches interpret their observations to understand why the behavior is occurring.
Communicate – Interpersonal communication is the cornerstone of safety coaching.
Help – The goal of a safety coach is to help co-workers prevent unintentional injury.