The most successful operators exhibit one thing clearly. They have a top-to-bottom culture of doing things properly without needing to be told to.
Company ethos is set by those at the top. The way they stamp their authority cascades to others. Arguably the most important group who are influenced by it are those on the front line – drivers and engineers.
There will come times for some operators when culture change is required. Delivering it successfully is perhaps the hardest task of all. But when executed properly, it can deliver more benefits than other improvement strategies.
One experienced industry figure, who knows both how operators tick and how they approach compliance and good practice, observes that sometimes a culture exists around implied threats.
Threats of what will happen if walk-round checks are not completed correctly. Threats of what the upshot of being unable to cover work will be. And threats of what may happen should the company be called to Public Inquiry.
That’s not a healthy way to run a business, he says. Instead of using implied threats as a weapon, the individual concerned takes the view that coaching – particularly of those who are in the greatest need of change – is the only way to deliver genuine improvement.
They go on to say that never should there be an environment of fear. Instead, a replication of the aviation industry’s near-miss culture is more productive. There, when things go wrong, there is no bid to apportion blame. Facts are examined with a view to preventing a repeat incident.
The difference between a positive culture and a negative one captures a whole business. Only one with the former will ever reach its full potential.
