Employees – An Untapped Resource

ISOL8 Pty Ltd was engaged to conduct a Workplace Safety Culture Survey for two agricultural companies in Western Australia. Our role included designing the survey, analysing the results, and delivering practical recommendations to senior leadership teams.

This was the first time ISOL8 had undertaken a project of this type. Before proceeding, we carefully considered whether we could genuinely provide value to our clients.

Three key factors influenced our decision.

Extensive Risk Management Experience

The lead ISOL8 Risk Management Consultant, a Mechanical Engineer, had more than 30 years of experience conducting:

• Workplace investigations
• WHS audits
• Incident reviews
• Risk assessments

across mining, construction, agriculture, mineral processing, and gas processing industries.

Throughout this work, organisational culture and leadership behaviours were consistently identified as major influences on workplace safety outcomes.

Strong Understanding of Client Operations

ISOL8 had previously conducted extensive WHS auditing and incident investigation work for both companies. This provided a strong understanding of:

• Workplace processes
• Operational workflows
• Equipment and plant systems
• Supervision structures
• Workforce dynamics

Experience in Human Behaviour and Communication

One ISOL8 consultant brought more than 40 years of experience in education across Western Australian primary and secondary schools as both a teacher and deputy principal.

This experience included:

• Managing conflict resolution
• Understanding psychosocial behaviours
• Working with culturally diverse communities
• Supporting individuals with varying communication abilities and educational backgrounds

This proved particularly valuable given the multicultural workforce involved in the survey process.

Organisational Culture

ISOL8 discussed the concept of “Safety Culture” with the CEO of the first organisation. We believed that safety culture is ultimately a subset of broader organisational culture — commonly described as:

“How we do things around here.”

It was agreed that the project would focus on understanding overall organisational culture rather than safety culture alone.

Survey Design and Methodology

The primary goal of the survey was to build trust and encourage employees to openly share their views and workplace experiences.

Workforce Context

One agricultural enterprise operated across several farms and employed a workforce where:

• More than 50% of employees were female
• Many employees originated from Asian countries
• English was commonly a second language

One of the organisations had also recently experienced a workplace fatality, increasing the importance and sensitivity of the survey process.

Custom Survey

The survey consisted of 35 tailored questions developed specifically for the operational and cultural context of the organisations.

This was not a generic “copy-and-paste” survey template.

More than 30% of employees from each farm participated in interviews.

Employee Trust

To encourage open discussion:

• Consultants explained their professional backgrounds to establish common ground
• Employees were advised that all responses were anonymous
• Employees were specifically asked not to provide their names
• Interviews were conducted individually
• No paperwork was required from employees
• No voice recording was used

Where possible:

• Female employees were interviewed by the female consultant
• Male employees were interviewed by the male consultant

This approach significantly improved employee comfort and engagement.

Interview Process

Employees responded to a structured series of questions using the following rating scale:

• Strongly Disagree
• Disagree
• Neutral
• Agree
• Strongly Agree
• Not Applicable

After providing a rating, employees were encouraged to explain their responses in detail. These comments were recorded by the interviewer.

Survey topics included:

• Senior management
• Supervision
• Workplace relationships
• Psychosocial health
• Health and safety
• Workload
• Communication
• Equipment reliability
• Operational processes

In some cases, employees physically showed consultants workplace conditions to support their comments.

The “Million Dollar Question”

The final survey question asked employees:

“If you were given $1 million to improve your workplace, how would you spend it?”

This generated some of the most valuable insights in the entire survey.

Interestingly, increased wages were rarely mentioned.

Instead, employees focused on:

• Improving equipment reliability
• Reducing maintenance issues
• Improving workflows
• Increasing efficiency
• Improving productivity and safety outcomes

Data Analysis and Findings

Survey responses were collated into a database and analysed by:

• Location
• Department
• Operational themes
• Recurring trends

Several consistent themes emerged across the organisations.

A serious bullying and harassment issue was identified. ISOL8 immediately escalated the matter directly to the CEO and followed up formally within 24 hours.

Survey Outcomes and Business Benefits

The survey process was extremely well received by employees.

Many employees stated that:

• It was the first time they had been independently asked for their views
• They appreciated the confidential process
• Similar surveys should be conducted regularly

The project captured employee perspectives on workplace culture, leadership, operational systems, and safety performance.

The report included detailed findings, recommendations, and action plans focused on:

• Improving employee retention
• Increasing job satisfaction
• Improving safety outcomes
• Increasing equipment reliability
• Improving communication
• Enhancing productivity

Topics Covered in the Final Report

The survey findings addressed:

• Process Safety
• Company Accommodation
• Plant Reliability and Maintenance
• Pay and Bonus Structures
• Business Improvement Opportunities
• Communication and Feedback
• Bullying and Harassment
• Procedures and Safety Systems
• Pre-Start and Toolbox Meetings
• Senior Management
• Supervisory Effectiveness
• Hazard Reporting
• Training
• Workload Management

Conclusion

Employees are the most underutilised source of operational improvement within a business.

When employees speak openly and honestly, valuable insights emerge and which can significantly improve safety, productivity, reliability, communication, and workplace culture.

Employees are an untapped resource – Listen and respond to them every day. They are a gold mine of information and advice , which materially provides a competetive advantage to the organisation,