Ownership-involvement principle

This ownership-involvement principle is supported by litter control research that found much more littering and vandalism in public than private places (Ley and Cybriwsky, 1974 Newman, 1972). When public trash receptacles include the logos of... 

Employee involvement is a general principle to keep in mind when developing a school safety and health management system. The more employees that are involved in the process, the more they will take ownership of the process. Rather than creating... 

When people have choices in a situation they feel more important. And when their sense of importance is increased, they want to get more involved and make more choices. That s why it s important to first teach everyone the theory and principles behind a new process, and then help teams to customize specific procedures for their work areas. Choice is motivating in itself and promotes a sense of ownership of methods and tools. This leads naturaUy to both personal and interpersonal accountability for making the process work. 

Long-term employee participation requires understanding and belief in the principles behind the process. Employees must also perceive that they "own" the procedures that make the process work. For this to happen it is necessary to teach the principles and rationale first (as done in this Handbook), and then work with participants to develop specific process procedures. This creates the perception of ownership and leads to long-term involvement. 

Obviously, the kind of safety consultant depicted in Figure 8.1 stifles employee ownership and involvement. Yet, so many safety efforts start as off-the-shelf programs. A videotape is shown and ready-made workbooks are followed to train step-by-step procedures. Much more involvement occurs when consultants begin a new safety effort by teaching rationale and principles and then guiding participants through the development of specific procedures. Subsequently, people want to be trained on the implementation procedures. 

Training should be considered only after critical contextual and task variables have been analyzed and corrected. It is usually a good idea to include some education witir the training, meaning relevant theory, principles, and rationale are presented to justify the step-by-step procedures taught and practiced. Adequate education also enables worker customization of procedures to fit a particular work context. This, in turn, leads to employee ownership of the process, feelings of responsibility, and increased involvement. 

This guideline is probably obvious by now. It is relevant for developing and implementing any behavior-change intervention. When people contribute to a safety effort, their ownership of and commitment to safety increase. Of course, this principle works both ways. When individuals feel a greater sense of ownership and commitment, their involvement in safety achievement is more likely to continue. TTius, involvement feeds ownership and commitment, and vice versa. 

I have seen many companies subtantially improve safety performance with processes based on the principles of behavior-based safety, but this plant holds the record for efficiency in getting everyone involved and in obtaining exceptional results. I am convinced a key factor was the employees "choice" in developing, implementing, and maintaining the process. Choice has led to ownership. Here is what I mean. 

Principle 6 Giving people opportunities for choice can increase commitment, ownership, and involvement. 

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