The fact that DENKie’s Safetyboarding programs have already convinced several large companies is partly due to the talent of our team members, but also to the strong emphasis on a culture where listening to each other is paramount and everyone is given the opportunity to express their opinion in a safe and responsible manner. Because keeping quiet and letting things slide is practically fatal for any company. As Gytha Heins, a recently published book titled “Why Doesn’t Anyone Say Anything?”, also explains.
Who dares to speak up and point out inappropriate behavior in a professional context? Especially when we see that whistleblowers often face a real ordeal. In Belgium, this has even led to the publication of a guide for whistleblowers.
After practical tests showed that many people find it very difficult to address inappropriate behavior, the training company Crucial Learning has even developed special training courses that help people learn to speak up and respectfully address what is actually unacceptable.
Because if that doesn’t happen, it can have very bad consequences. It’s like bottling things up inside: sooner or later, it leads to outbursts that are actually avoidable.
Fortunately, there’s gradually less hesitation about breaking the taboo. Just think, for example, of how the Belgian women’s national volleyball team finally started to address the behavior of their remarkably successful coach. And that’s a positive development, because if we don’t dare to speak up, the consequences can be dire. If we don’t react when we see a bus driver driving drunk, or if we remain silent when confronted with blatant misconduct because we fear reprisals or think it will jeopardize good relationships and a positive working atmosphere, we don’t contribute to the collective well-being. According to www.trendsinhr.nl, Gytha Heins surveyed 500 managers about their communication habits and concluded that 97% of them indicated that employees in an organization don’t address each other enough.
Precisely because DENKie’s Safetyboarding addresses this problem, numerous organizations have already placed their trust in our formats, which ensure that companies become happy, safe, and sustainable places where mental safety is guaranteed for everyone. Safetyboarding creates a culture in which everyone feels safe to express their thoughts in an assertive, yet polite and respectful way. This way, the call for openness doesn’t remain a dead letter. “Hou je bek en bef me” was the action-inducing and provocative title of a song by Merol. But with Safetyboarding, keeping your mouth shut, to use those bold words, is not an option. Constructive criticism and open communication are strong cornerstones of Safetyboarding that, according to the “plus one philosophy,” can make organizations stronger every day.
Author: Geert Degrande
DENKie’s tools inform, train and register employees, contractors and agency workers. They give managers a clear overview of the current situation.
We effortlessly translate your company’s needs into recognisable, attractive HR and HSE campaigns. We make difficult messages simple. This way the message sticks and is easy to understand.
The main purpose is the safety of employees on their way to work, while they work, and making sure they get home safely afterwards.
DENKie lets information flow in a way that everyone understands.
DENKie
Vaartstraat 13 – 15
8400 Oostende
België
+32 59 34 02 80
info@denkie.com
DENKie Toolboxies Closed Loops zorgt ervoor dat veiligheid niet bij één uitleg stopt, maar dat mensen veilig blijven werken, beter opletten en minder fouten maken.
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