Supervisor Field Guide
Changing at-risk to reduced-risk behaviour
How to use this guide
Work through each step when you spot an at-risk behaviour. Tap to open, add your notes as you go, then copy everything at the end.
Before anything can change, you need to describe the behaviour precisely. Vague labels can’t be fixed. A pinpointed behaviour can.
✓ “He skipped the pre-task check and started without confirming PPE was in place”
That behaviour happened for a reason. Something in the environment made it easier, quicker, or more natural than the safe alternative. Your job is to find what — not to blame.
The reduced-risk behaviour didn’t happen. The performance equation tells you why — and which one thing to fix first.
Do they actually know how? Have they seen the reduced-risk way done properly? Are they confident doing it?
Is there any upside for doing it right? Do they get acknowledged? Or does work just move on without a word?
What physically gets in the way? Is the safe option slower, harder, further away, or under time pressure?
Identify the weakest link. Fix that one first — don’t try to address all three at once.
Don’t lecture. Ask open questions and let them talk. The person doing the job usually knows exactly what’s getting in the way — you just haven’t asked yet.
Agree on one specific change — something in the environment, not just a promise to “try harder”.
The at-risk behaviour happened because something in the environment supported it. Use these four questions to design a change that makes the safe choice the natural choice.
Move the right tool closer. Remove a step. Cut the friction. Make the reduced-risk way the path of least resistance — not the hardest option.
Focus on the behaviour you want, not the one you don’t. Frame it positively. Is there any recognition or acknowledgement for doing it right?
Peer behaviour is powerful. Can you show that most people do it the right way? Could a public acknowledgement shift the norm for the whole team?
Brief people before the task, not after. Prompt at the point of decision. Reinforce immediately — not in next week’s meeting.
When the reduced-risk behaviour happens — even once — say something. Specifically. Immediately. That feedback is what conditions the behaviour to stick.
Specific, sincere, and soon after the behaviour. It doesn’t need to be big.
Go back and look. Did the environment change? Is the behaviour shifting? Your follow-up signals that this matters — and is itself a form of reinforcement.