Fostering Psychological Safety: National Highways’ Be the Change Programme

National Highways is the government company which plans, designs, builds, operates and maintains England’s motorways and major A roads. They asked us to support the delivery of a comprehensive ‘Home Safe and Well’ culture change programme across several directorates.  

The spark for the project originated from National Highways’ commitment to a long-term vision which aims to safeguard the safety and wellbeing of every individual involved – be it employees or travellers relying on the network.

The strategy aimed to build a positive health, safety, and wellbeing culture, encourage greater ownership, embrace innovation, and prioritise health and wellbeing.

Objectives

Cultivate a culture of psychological safety where employees feel empowered to speak up, share concerns, and learn from mistakes without fear of repercussion.
Equip leaders at all levels to have open, honest conversations about safety, health, and wellbeing.
Empower all employees to take ownership of safety and actively contribute to continuous improvement.

Key Programme Deliverables

Behaviour-Based Safety Programme

We developed a set of three ‘promise behaviours’ to guide employee actions and mindsets.
We implemented a storytelling approach, including character-driven videos, to bring the promise behaviours to life and facilitate discussions.
We set up an Ambassador programme to drive engagement.

Ambassador Network

Provided the ambassador community with development opportunities, including training in communication, coaching and facilitation skills.
Established a leadership buddy system, where ambassadors meet regularly with senior executives to share progress, challenges and ideas.
Recruited and trained over 100 ambassadors across the organisation to champion the programme and drive engagement.

Leadership Development

Coached over 40 senior leaders on fostering psychological safety and having effective ‘home, safe, and well’ conversations.
Delivered over100 people manager workshops to equip frontline leaders with the skills and tools to support their teams.
Integrated the Be the Change programme into existing leadership events, conferences, and management group meetings.

Measurement and Continuous Improvement

Conducted Hearts and Minds surveys to assess cultural maturity, to show the organisation moving from a predominantly reactive to a more proactive stage.
Tracked key metrics, such as incident reporting, near-miss reporting, and employee feedback, to measure the programme’s impact.
Utilised data and insights to inform targeted improvement plans and tailor the programme to the needs of different business areas.

Psychological Safety Outcomes and Metrics

72% of employees feel that incidents are seen as learning opportunities, up from 60% in the baseline assessment.
Increased incident and near-miss reporting, indicating a growing culture of trust and willingness to speak up.
Positive feedback from employees, citing the programme as creating a ‘psychologically safe environment’ where they feel comfortable sharing concerns.
Improved leadership engagement, with 42 senior leaders receiving one-on-one coaching on fostering psychological safety.
Shift in cultural maturity, with the organisation moving from a predominantly reactive to a more proactive stage, as measured by Hearts and Minds surveys.
Delivered over 2,000 team huddles across operations and major projects, with an 80% completion rate.

The Be the Change programme has been instrumental in transforming National Highways’ safety culture. Targeted leadership development, storytelling, and the ambassador network, Tribe’s work has empowered employees at all levels to speak up, share concerns, and contribute to continuous improvement, ultimately enhancing safety outcomes and organisational resilience.