ERM CEO Keryn James has been selected as one of the 2021 CEOs Who “Get It” by the U.S. National Safety Council for demonstrating not only a commitment, but also a passion for the protection of employees and other individuals impacted by ERM operations.
Listed in the National Safety Council’s magazine Safety+Health, Keryn is one of eight CEOs recognized as a leader who has built their organization’s safety strategy using four key components: risk reduction, performance measurement, safety management solutions, and leadership and employee engagement.
On receiving this recognition, Keryn commented:
"As a global consulting organization, we will only ever be as good as our people allow us to be. This makes the safety and health of our people – and others involved in our work – the single most important aspect in my role as ERM’s CEO. It isn’t just a process or priority for us, it is a value. Values are universal, no matter the culture, language or location and for a global organization such as ERM, this is of vital importance. If we cannot operate safely and without incident, then we cannot live up to our values. This is driven by our belief in the culture of caring about the well-being of our people, our clients and our contractors. The safety and health of our people, and others under our control, is at the core of the way we do business. It must come first – every time and everywhere."
The NSC describes CEO’s who “get it” as moving safety beyond compliance, and in doing so they are able to address the many different forms of risk that safety related challenges present to their organizations. Keryn’s approach was described as being focused on improving both leading and lagging metrics to sustain a high level of safety performance. The NSC specifically pointed out:
- Instilling a “Culture of Caring” within the organization that is driven by the five pillars of ERM’s safety program: active leadership, training and competency, emphasizing positive behaviors, risk management and maintaining balance.
- A focus on improving and communicating the leading metrics that will ultimately sustain the level of safety performance attributed to an organization that cares for its extended team.
- Sponsoring ERM’s initial enterprise wide Safety Culture Survey in 2019. The results of this survey continue to drive improvement efforts related to instilling a “Culture of Caring.”