Scenario

The client was a German construction company that specialized in the construction of scaffolding and work at heights. The customer wants to develop a culture of proactive safety and regularly conducts health and safety training but also workshops for employees to increase awareness of their own safety, to minimize risky behaviour and to encourage collaboration.

Clients Challenge

The client wanted to develop a culture of safety awareness by improving the leadership skills of site managers, forepersons and constructions project managers. At the end of the training managers developed an understanding how to effectively lead a team and how to promote a safety culture in teams. The development program was designed for employees of the construction project management team in the Netherlands and (due to the multiculturalism of company) was carried out in English, German and Polish.

Our Way

The management program was created in discussions with the participants and their superiors and was also based on the experience of the trainer in employee workshops on the safety culture.

The first stage took place in German. The participant was the site manager. It was a one-day training session with the topic: Leading employees in such a way that they take safety in the workplace into account. The following was discussed: role and expectations of employees, management cycle – individual phases with a focus on performance evaluation and security offences, praise and criticism.

The second phase of the program was a two-day training session with forepersons and project managers in English. The following topics were discussed in the training: the role of the foreman, the expectations of the managers regarding the employees, the management cycle: individual steps with a focus on performance evaluation and occupational safety, motivating discussions with the employees – criticism and above all praise, regular employee interviews (on safety-relevant topics Construction sites: e.g. JSA, discussing dangerous situations, promoting proactive behaviour, discussing suggestions for improvement), dealing with difficult employees and managing conflict situations.

The third stage consisted of one training day, where the experiences were gathered, and specific problems and situations of the participants discussed in everyday life. The program ended with individual mentoring sessions in which each participant had the opportunity to discuss personal challenges in team management.

The training program was designed and delivered by Magdalena Kishizawa. She has 20 years of experience in training managers at different levels (from team leaders to group management). She holds a Master Degree in Psychology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany. She also studied Educational Science at the Catholic University in Lubin, Poland, and Business Administration at the School of Management at the University of Bradford, UK. She works with the languages English, German and Polish. Ms Kishizawa brings teams together with her dynamic, optimistic and empathetic approach, creates a safe space for exchange and supports the participants as they try out new methods and overcome challenges.