Maintaining a culture of care during a time of rapid growth
A global engineering and construction firm achieved a dramatic shift in safety performance
400%
safety improvement in two years
Challenge
Our client, a leading engineering and construction firm with over 65,000 employees, showed strong performance in several areas but was facing challenges with safety metrics and certain organizational performance aspects. Rapid growth had led to oversights that were affecting efficiency. Despite extensive procedural knowledge and skills, there were safety culture issues that the company had been unable to rectify on its own. Simply adding procedures hadn’t improved performance as hoped. A deeply ingrained ‘company way’ existed, which, while successful in the past, now hindered necessary changes to align global performance with current standards. Initially, the executive team was skeptical about bringing in outside help, but it soon became clear that an impartial perspective was needed to create the desired shift in safety and organizational culture.
Solution
To create a cultural shift, JMJ, in partnership with our client, took an integral approach. This strategy not only included process and procedural changes, but also examined the underlying personal and cultural beliefs, assumptions and norms that may have been impeding widespread change. Starting on a small scale in North American and European areas, the approach eventually reached over 50,000 employees globally. Assessments of the current culture revealed differing perspectives and inconsistencies. To bridge these gaps, regional leadership teams were established to act as champions. JMJ-led workshops created a shared understanding of the commitment to people and culture, while internal facilitators were developed to ensure the message reached the entire company. The initiative extended to our client’s global suppliers and contractors, involving over 2,000 people in leadership workshops, establishing 15 regional teams, 300 orientation leaders, 125 supervisor trainers, and 120 site leadership teams.
Client Goals
- Create a culture that recognizes people as the organization’s greatest asset
- Foster personal accountability for performance and collective safety
- Embed safety, care, and concern as core organizational values
- Enable leadership to drive a shift in culture
- Promote active engagement and collaboration at every level of the organization
Truly extraordinary safety requires more than an intellectual commitment. It requires and emotional commitment [...]. We give each other permission to care, to look out for one another, and we are each accountable.
What I'll characterize as the subjective side of creating a safe working environment, we weren't really where we needed to be. JMJ has done a tremendous job of helping us realize that, and learn how to act on it. That's been hugely important to us as a company, and has proven to be very successful for us.
Results
With the implementation of new leadership tools and improved communication channels, overall performance improved significantly. Fewer organizational silos led to a global ‘one team, one voice’ culture. This transformation—supported
by communication networks, community volunteer efforts, and regional innovation—enabled a culture of care. This extended beyond the executive suite, taking root through grassroots initiatives company wide.
As a result, safety metrics soared, achieving an unprecedented 400% improvement within two years, and marking the safest year in the company’s 65-year history. The tangible reduction in the accident rate from 1.64 to 0.52 per 100,000 worker-hours underpinned more effective schedule adherence and fewer injuries. Enhanced pre-test planning procedures further reinforced this trend, while cultural alignment streamlined the integration of acquisitions.
Key takeaways
- An external perspective can be crucial for cultural change
- Safety and performance improvement requires more than procedural changes; cultural beliefs must also evolve
- Change starts with leadership buy-in and extends through grassroots initiatives
- Tailored approaches are essential for embedding new values