The best way to judge someone’s attitude towards safety is to observe them when they’re off the clock. You might ask, “why do we care?” The fact is that there’s a big difference between an employee who only does what he’s told and one who makes good decisions and it’s good to know where your guys stand.
 
Driving Habits
Past the MVR that we run when we hire somebody, we know very little about our employee’s driving habits. Does your employee peel out when leaving the parking lot? Do they use turn signals or wear a seatbelt? Do they back their personal vehicle in? If an employee has drastically different driving habits on the clock versus off the clock, eventually the two sets of habits will bleed into one another, and usually for the worse.
 
Diligence
Diligence refers to how well an employee takes care of him/herself or their things. Does an employee keep his/her car well maintained? Is their vehicle clean? How well do they manage their finances or their personal appearance?
 
Integrity
Integrity is displayed in a variety of ways and is associated with morals and ethics. How does an employee talk about their previous employer? Does your employee boast about getting away with things? How do they speak about their spouse and or others?
 
Attitude
Attitude is usually the easiest thing to gauge. It’s what we wear on our sleeve and it affects how we talk, how we stand and even how we look. What is an employee’s response to instruction or criticism? How do they interact with other employees? What’s their attitude towards safety? Are they constant complainers?
 
This article isn’t meant to be an exercise in psychoanalysis, but is merely an effort to raise our awareness of what to look for in our staff and identify opportunities for coaching and improvement. We always need to be measuring our districts against our standards. Carelessness, indifference and negligence are the enemies of Safety, Quality and Efficiency.