Empowering employees to ‘Be the One’

Great River Energy recently launched a new safety campaign for employees called “Be the One” at the cooperative’s all-employee meeting.

Be the One has a simple but critical message: Any employee has the authority to speak up for safety or to stop work if they have a safety concern. Great River Energy has hundreds of employees who work on power lines and in power plants and warehouses where there are higher risks of injuries. In those positions, speaking up or stopping work at the right time can not only keep employees safe — it could potentially save lives.

The sentiment of the campaign is nothing new to employees. Great River Energy President and CEO David Saggau is well known for his commitment to safety.

“We have always encouraged employees to speak up and stop work if something doesn’t feel right and I am always proud to hear stories of employees stopping work for safety reasons,” Saggau said. “There is no project, budget or timeline that is more important than our employees’ safety and this focus on stop work authority illustrates that commitment.”

As an added element to the campaign, employees are being encouraged to support other employees when they speak up or stop work for safety. Employees are also being encouraged to share stories for the cooperative’s employee intranet site of times when they spoke up or stopped work to keep everyone safe.

“This campaign allows employees to celebrate our culture where we are all empowered to speak up and support each other in doing so,” said David Ranallo, Great River Energy’s director of culture, communications & strategy. “The connection is so clear for employees in high-risk positions, but it applies to everyone, regardless of your role or tenure.”