EDITOR’S NOTE: Motivating employees to work safely is part of the safety professional’s job. But who motivates the motivator? In this monthly column, veteran safety pro and professional speaker Richard Hawk offers his entertaining brand of wisdom to inspire safety pros to perform at their best.
Being a musician has played a major role in my life. Before getting into the safety field, I taught guitar lessons. As a safety and health pro and a professional speaker, I’ve used music in a variety of ways.
For instance, at a recent National Guard celebration, I concluded my keynote presentation with a song about smartphones and how much they can distract us (especially while driving).
Even if you don’t play an instrument, you can use music to liven up the work environment. Here are a few ways to do that.
At meetings
I have a small portable speaker – it can fit in my pocket – that puts out a lot of sound for its size. Whenever I’m part of a meeting, I get to the venue early and play music while people are arriving. Nothing too loud (I don’t want the sound to overpower the room) and nothing extreme (I typically choose well-known, upbeat songs).
And for more than a year, I led a group of about 30 safety pros through a stretching routine before our morning briefings. I always played music during the routine, and it made a difference.
At conventions, music is almost always playing over the sound system as attendees arrive. (When I first started in the speaking business, that wasn’t as common.) But wherever I’m giving a talk – even if it’s on the floor of a maintenance shop – I make sure music is playing before the start of my talk, during breaks and when “the show is over.” For many years I’ve performed songs I’ve written – mostly parodies about stress and safety – and it’s amazing how much the energy level in the room rises when I bring out my guitar.
In the field
Many people – myself included – play music while working around the house or in the yard. So, I started bringing my little speaker to a demolition site I worked at. One day, I was the lead technician on a project to release a large crane. (“Release” means to clear it by making sure the equipment has no radioactive contamination). It can be tedious work and it took half a day, but the crew and I had a good time because I played music and took song requests. Of course, you have to be respectful of the rules at your workplace. In this case, it was OK.
Song contests
A well-known food company that brought me in to speak announced a song contest. Employees could choose any type of music. It was a huge success. The winner of the contest got to travel to Las Vegas with a companion and perform the song before executives at a convention. I was told the response was amazing. Every plant received several submissions.
I’ve held many parody song contests as a closing activity at my seminars and for my e-zine subscribers. Try it at your next training session: Pick a theme – holiday songs, nursery rhymes or even famous rock songs – and have attendees come up with lyrics that describe what they learned. This works best if you put attendees in teams. It’s fun and a great way to review the seminar topic, and there will always be someone on every team who agrees to sing the song (or you can sing it).
My favorite safety parody song a subscriber submitted was “Grandma Got Run Over by a Forklift.” It’s a parody of “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer,” by Elmo and Patsy. I even went into a studio and recorded a version.
Music can be magical, both in your personal and professional life. Try using it to inspire yourself – and workers – to take action.
This article represents the views of the author and should not be considered a National Safety Council endorsement.
Richard Hawk helps leaders inspire employees to care more about their safety and health so “nobody gets hurt.” He also has a long history of success getting safety leaders to increase their influence and make safety fun. For more than 35 years, Richard’s safety keynotes, training sessions and books have made a positive difference in the safety and health field. Learn more about how Richard can improve your employees’ safety performance at makesafetyfun.com.
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