Selections

Blind Spots: 4 Psychological Factors That Can Get You Injured

Background

Everyone has a blind spot when it comes to being safe. No, we're not talking about just the little area of space in your car where it's hard to see if someone is about to hit you on the highway, or the area behind your head. Blind spots can pop up in lots of areas, not just our vision. Whenever we are not aware of something – whether it's in our physical surroundings, how we behave, or our personal attitudes – we lack insight about this. And when we lack insight into something that can get us hurt, it can be a blind spot for our safety.

Consider Your Behavior

Think about how you typically drive. We all have moments when we go a little (or a lot) over the speed limit, or when we speed up at yellow lights. We know that we are not supposed to do this but we often do it anyway, even though we know it can get us or someone else hurt. So why do we do it? In some cases, we don't even realize we're doing it. In other cases, we realize it, but perhaps believe that there is very little chance that we'll get into an accident or get pulled over by a police officer. Or worse, we may not even see these behaviors as dangerous or risky at all. Whatever the reason may be, these can all be potential blind spots that put us in harm's way. And the more blind spots we surround ourselves with each day, the greater chance we have of injuring ourselves or others around us.

Driving is just one common example that most people can relate to, but there are many other types of situations or activities where our blind spots can emerge. For many people, the workplace is where their blind spots can multiply very quickly, putting them at much greater risk. Whether it's someone in a factory, a warehouse, driving a vehicle, or even in an office setting, blind spots can come in many different forms.

Examples

First, consider a truck driver who is under a tight deadline to make a delivery to a major customer. He knows that this delivery must be on time, and he also knows that traffic is building up on the highway due to the time of day. With this particular customer, if the delivery is not on time, he could lose his job. Being rather impulsive by nature, he makes a last-minute decision to change his route and takes the closest exit ramp. In his haste, he fails to realize that the ramp has a steep incline, and he is unable to slow down quickly enough. He crashes into a vehicle in front of him at the bottom of the exit ramp. The driver and passenger in the vehicle are both severely injured.

Second, we might have an employee at warehouse who has recently started on the job. She has recently come from a previous job where she was fired for multiple safety violations, which she insists were very minor. In fact, she was only trying to do her job but the rules prevented her from being more productive. Today, she needs to get a package down from a shelf that is only about a foot above her head. Company safety policy requires her to use a ladder at this height, but there is not one available, and it would probably take more than 10 minutes to retrieve one. Since no one is watching, she climbs up on the lowest level shelf to reach the package. While pulling it down, she slips and falls. She strains her back and fractures a bone, resulting in over four months of lost time and workers' compensation claims.

Getting 'Pegged' by Executive Assessment: One Executive's Story of Success

by Drew Brock (DB), Senior Consultant, Select International

Joe Moyenne (JM) is legendary in the south Louisiana bayou for being the go-to guy when it comes to plant start-ups. I first met Joe as his career was beginning to take off. He was taking a continuing education class at LSU in Baton Rouge, and we discussed management practices in the field – something that, at the time, I was interested in from a purely academic perspective. Recently, we got reacquainted, and I asked him to share with me some of his experiences regarding Executive Assessment.

DB: Joe, tell me how you came to leverage Executive Assessment to grow your human capital assets?

JM: I have no idea what you're talking about.

DB: Sorry. Tell me about your first experiences with Executive Assessment.

JM: Well, I was heading up a team wildcatting in the oil fields south of Baton Rouge and some of the muckety-mucks from HR came down to tell me I was a Hypo.

DB: That's "Hi Po" – you were a "High Potential" candidate.

JM: Right. So anyway, somebody thought I had what they called "natural leadership potential." So they gave me a whole bunch a tests – like a 1,000 questions, poked around in my noodle for a good spell and then interviewed me on top of that. A week later I had a report about me. And so did my boss.

Interviewing 101: Need a Refresher?

SHRM.org recently posted that one of its most popular content items was an article by Noah Apodaca titled, "Interview Questions to Ask, and Stop Asking." Even seasoned HR professionals may be surprised to find out that many of the 'Don't Ask' questions are still being used in interviews they conduct. For example, do you still ask the favorite, "What are your greatest weaknesses?" Apodaca states that interviewers will just get canned responses to this question, offering no value or insight into the candidate's skills or abilities. A better question, the author suggests, would be "What areas of training would your past supervisor say you would benefit from the most?"

The popularity of this article got us thinking: Is it time for a refresher course, sort of an Interviewing 101? OK then, pop quiz time!

True/False Quiz

1. When taking notes, you should write down a candidate's every word - this will protect you from any legal challenge.

2. To measure reliability, it is acceptable to ask candidates how many sick days they took last year.

3. Interviews are considered pre-employment tests, and therefore must comply with the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, used by both the OFCCP and EEOC.

4. One of the most effective interview questions is, "Professionally speaking, where do you see yourself in 3-5 years?"

5. All interview questions need to be job-relevant.

6. It's acceptable to customize the interview for different candidates.

7. Closed-ended questions can be effective.

8. It's only acceptable to ask questions related to age, gender, religion or disability if it's outside the formal interview – such as during lunch or other casual conversation.

Hiring the Right Person. In the Right Amount. In the Right Form. At the Right Time

At Toyota, the expectation is that hires will be with the company for life, and every hiring decision is taken very seriously. To illustrate this, a former VP of HR at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky describes this directive he received with his first staffing assignment:

"Your job is to protect the job security of 8,000 people, and do not ever compromise that. Toyota has a history of 40 years of job security. Do not screw it up...If we do one thing well, it is planning our staffing so as to protect the reputation of Toyota and respecting the long-term job security of team members. It is a critical point in Toyota. We agonize over every hire."

No pressure there.

This is done by hiring the right person in the right amount in the right form at the right time.

Hiring Safe Employees: 3 Major Traits

Hiring employees who work safely is a key objective of any successful organization. However, hiring strategies often focus exclusively on skills and experience, and pay little attention to the characteristics that impact workplace safety. Research clearly shows that screening for these safety traits, combined with a robust safety training program, is the best approach to reducing the number of workplace accidents and injuries. It is possible to accomplish this in a fast, accurate and cost-effective manner. And the cost savings that coincide with improved safety is significant.

Are All Assessments Alike?

The short answer is a resounding NO. There are many kinds of employee assessment tools available for use. The right assessments can greatly increase the accuracy and efficiency of your hiring decisions, but finding the right assessments can be a challenge of its own.