Health & safety
Line managers short of health and safety training As businesses strain to remain afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic, it has never been more important to get health and safety right. Virman Man says that line managers, who mediate the space between senior management and frontline staff, have the responsibility for ensuring that their teams are tasked safely and act safely. A recent report examines how well prepared they are for this role Who’d be a line manager? Squeezed between a rock and a hard place – between senior managers and frontline staff – it can be a thankless role. Being charged with production or service targets and having to pass these on persuasively requires a careful balancing act. Some people in line management positions are naturals. They’re self-aware, clear about the results they want to achieve, good at listening, understand how to gain the respect of their colleagues through good communication skills and know how and when to delegate. However, those who don’t possess these skills and attributes may find them difficult to acquire. They have to go through a process to learn about management and leadership styles and techniques: training is key. And this is also the case when we consider responsibility for workplace health and safety.
their managers have the right level of The Institution of Occupational Safety skills, knowledge and understanding to and Health (IOSH) worked with market manage people safely and, in particular, research specialist YouGov to carry out a about the access these employees have survey of mainly small and medium-sized to health and safety training. More than organisations (250 or fewer employees, half of respondents (53 per cent) who but excluding sole traders) on how train their line managers said that they organisations manage health and safety. had invested in health and safety training The resulting report, How to manage your for managers from an outside provider. people safely, reveals that 96 per cent of Worryingly, though, despite the nearnearly 700 company decision-makers from universal agreement on line managers’ a range of sectors agree that line important health and safety roles, managers are important in nearly a fifth of respondents ensuring the people who (19 per cent) said their report to them are organisations had no form safe and healthy in Against of health and safety the workplace. the backgro training at all for their u Covid-1 nd of the line managers. This is Training to 9 pand a serious cause for manage safely b e u mic, sinesse concern. Without Participants were s across sectors this training, how asked how they a l l m ust man do line managers E made sure that an a
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