Safety Strategy vs Safety Plan
Some businesses use the term safety strategy and safety plan interchangeably, but are they different?
A Strategic Plan Outlines WHAT You Want To Achieve
A strategic goal is a high level decision to move from where you are now (A) to where you want to be (B), or to put it another way, what you want to achieve in the end. A strategic plan is a high-level plan that deals with the uncertainties involved to achieve the desired outcome.
Strategic Plans Deal With The Uncertainties
The possibility that internal or external forces may inhibit you reaching your objective (B) or reaching it in satisfactory condition is considered in all good strategic plans. For example business is financially stressed or staff “burnt out” trying to reach unrealistic goals. Therefore strategic plans should also include analysis of potential risks (of implementing the plan or not doing anything) and offer strategies to overcome them.
Strategic plans can create conditions that favour success by including conditions of participation. For example, our plan will only focus on our top 4 risks in the first year, or we will only invest in a business if we can be a first tier player. Therefore building a portfolio of first tier only product solutions is what you will do. Your strategy does not specifically say how you will arrive at your chosen strategic goal. That is where your plan comes in.
A Plan Sets Out HOW You Will Achieve Your Strategic Goals
A plan details how you will move from (A) to (B). As such it should support your strategy by providing a way to reach (B) that provides an acceptable balance of risk and reward. Your strategy is what you want to do and your plan is how you will do it. Therefore every activity in your safety plan must support one or more of your strategic goals.
For example, you may decide as part of your financial strategy that you need to eliminate expensive back strain injuries from your business, and then your safety plan sets out how you will do that eg robot palletisers, lifting aids, trolleys, specifying lower product weights, limits on manual lifting and comprehensive manual handling training. The type and level of investment and resources applied will, of course, need to be consistent with the culture and current capacity of your organization.
When implementing a large scale strategy, company-wide, divisional, and departmental plans often rollout simultaneously. This can create issues of alignment. Understanding the difference between a strategy and a plan allows you to make useful planning decisions that separate the two.
George Patton is credited with the quote, “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.”
It is a good idea to include statements of intent within your planning so that when plans go wrong, which will happen from time to time, your team can adjust their plan (how to do it) in a way that is consistent with your stated strategic objectives.
A Process Defines The Specific Way Of Doing A Task
A process, in contrast, is a defined way of doing a task. It can be linear in nature eg do A, then do B, then do C, or it can have branches like do A, then B, and then C or D depending. Exercise caution, as a process sets strict parameters to the “how” that can, if misapplied, allow the “how” to take priority over your strategic goals (what).
A Process Is Never A Strategy
Since a process is heavily anchored in the “how,” it can never be a strategy. But if used well, a process can be an essential part of a strategy. The key purpose of any process is to drive out uncertainties or variation of the outcome.
All strategies and plans need periodic review to check circumstances have not changed that may require a revised strategy or implementation plan. For example, you will need to monitor and address uncertainties arising from things like; economic conditions, political environment, industrial mood, disruptive technologies, competitor initiatives, increasing customer (both internal and external) expectations.
Processes Help Control Uncertainty
In summary first determine with your key stakeholders what you want to do eg your vision and strategy. Next determine, or appropriately delegate, how you will do it eg your plan. To drive out uncertainties in your strategy and plan, incorporate processes which can be as simple as checklists, so that those executing your strategy can focus their efforts on the immediate task at hand.
To learn more on this topic and implement effective safety strategy and plans Book Now for our (free) Safety Planning Event on Wednesday 5th February 2025 at Safety Action, Clayton, Vic. (11am to 1pm)
