HSW Leadership and Worker Participation
The retail sector and its supply chain require strong leadership and worker engagement to create safer, more inclusive environments for their workers.
Effective leadership in health, safety, and wellbeing (HSW), combined with strong worker engagement, participation and representation, is crucial for creating safer workplaces across the retail sector and its supply chain.
Many businesses face challenges in engaging workers and promoting a collaborative approach to HSW. Creating shared responsibility for safety empowers leaders to create behavioural change and leads to improved outcomes across the sector.
Kiwi businesses in the retail sector and its supply chain have an opportunity to create safer, more inclusive workplaces where every voice is heard through improved HSW leadership and increased worker engagement, representation, and participation.
Our approach
At ShopCare, we empower retail and supply chain leaders with the tools to strengthen HSW capability and enhance worker engagement. By fostering a culture of shared responsibility, we can drive meaningful change that benefits both businesses and kaimahi/workers. Our approach goes beyond compliance, focusing on the tangible value that good HSW practices can bring—enhancing safety, productivity, and overall business outcomes.
How Shopcare can help your business
- We provide insights and resources that shift HSW from a compliance focus to recognising its added value to your business.
- Our tailored tools help businesses build leadership capability, enhance worker engagement, and create a collaborative environment where safety is everyone’s responsibility.
The importance of engagement
We recognise the critical role of worker engagement in achieving effective HSW outcomes. Strong leadership combined with active worker engagement, participation and representation ensures that every worker has a voice. This shared responsibility for safety leads to reduced harm and better outcomes for everyone.
Research shows that worker engagement helps managers meet their HSW goals while also protecting the rights of workers. Walters and Frick argue that participation is necessary because managers’ skills are insufficient to properly manage and identify OHS hazards in the workplace and to prevent exploitation of workers by management. Thus it “serves a dual purpose: to help managers pursue their OHS goals, but also to protect the separate interests of the workers” (Walters & Frick, 2000).
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Upskilling your team
Upskilling our Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) and champions is a core focus for ShopCare. We’ll be using the HSR Knowledge Wheel by NZISM, which outlines the core competencies required to set HSRs up for success and build the capability of kaimahi/worker representatives.
The HSR Knowledge Wheel recognises that while some content can be effectively delivered online, certain aspects of the HSR competency framework are best addressed through face-to-face training. This blended approach ensures that HSRs receive thorough and practical training, enhancing their ability to lead and participate in improving health, safety and wellbeing outcomes in their organisations.
More information about the HSR Knowledge Wheel is available here.
Valuable resources
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WorkSafe HSR survey 2019
Research to better understand the motivations, experiences and challenges of HSR’s in Aotearoa New Zealand.
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WorkSafe worker engagement, participation and representation literature review
This review summarises ways of improving worker engagement, participation and representation (WEPR), highlighting some of the likely barriers a WEPR programme will need to address if it is to be successful.
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ShopCare HSR page
We have a number of resources to support your HSRs