SHEQ Performance Evaluation – The No. 1 Value Driver for Continuous Improvement
If You Can’t Measure It, Can You Really Manage It? The Case for Tracking SHEQ Performance
When I develop management systems for clients, I take great delight in the process of performance evaluation. To me, it’s where the tangible value of our work—our return on investment, if you will—becomes visible. It’s not just about checking boxes; it’s about proving that what we’ve built is working and identifying opportunities for continual improvement.
One of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned in my career comes from my mentor, Prof. Johan Nel (NWU), who introduced me to the concept of Gestalt.
“Gestalt” is a German word that loosely translates to “shape” or “form,” but in practice, it refers to a holistic way of perceiving things. It embodies the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts—that we don’t just see individual elements but rather, an overall structure or pattern.
Prof. Johan taught me to take a step back and look at a management system as a whole—leading and lagging indicators, qualitative and quantitative data, and even those tricky, hard-to-measure issues—to truly understand its health and effectiveness. Performance evaluation is essential, not just for compliance but as part of management’s ongoing demonstration of commitment and accountability.
And that’s exactly what led me to today’s blog.
“You can’t Manage What You Don’t measure.” – Peter Drucker (or at least someone who really loved spreadsheets).
In the world of Safety, Health, Environment, and Quality (SHEQ), this quote gets tossed around more than a safety manual at an unannounced audit. And for good reason! How can you improve something if you don’t know where it stands?
Yet, the moment you sit down to define SHEQ performance metrics, reality hits:
- How do you measure a near-miss that almost—but not quite—turned into a catastrophe?
- Can you quantify the exact level of “meh” your employees feel about safety briefings?
- What’s the unit of measurement for “We haven’t had a chemical spill in a while, but we’re also pretty sure that barrel in the corner is suspiciously bulging”?
Clearly, not everything fits neatly into a spreadsheet. But does that stop us? Absolutely not!
The SHEQ Performance Conundrum
Picture this: You’re in a management meeting, and someone asks, “How’s our SHEQ performance this quarter?”
At this point, you have two options:
- Pull out a 100-page report filled with percentages, incident rates, and bar charts so colorful they resemble a kindergarten art project.
- Smile, nod, and say, “We’re continuously improving,” while hoping no one asks for specifics.
The Importance of SHEQ Performance in Modern Management
The first option makes you look prepared (and slightly obsessed with KPIs). The second keeps things vague but mysterious. Either way, at some point, you’re going to have to measure things that don’t always lend themselves to numbers.
SHEQ Performance We Can Measure (And Pretend It Tells the Full Story)
✅ Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR): Great for showing how often things go really wrong—while conveniently ignoring the almost accidents.
✅ Audit Scores: Because nothing screams safety like scoring 95% while hoping the auditor didn’t notice that pile of untested fire extinguishers.
✅ Environmental Impact Reports: A fantastic way to prove that using both sides of the paper in the printer somehow offsets a factory’s 500-ton carbon footprint.
✅ Training Completion Rates: Everyone sat through the course, but can they actually remember anything? That’s another question entirely.
SHEQ Performance We Can’t Measure (But Try Anyway)
❌ Safety Culture: You can do surveys, count suggestion box entries, or track how often people say, “We’ve always done it this way.” But can you really put a number on cultural change?
❌ Employee Engagement: Sure, you can ask employees if they feel safe at work, but does a forced smile in a surveyreally reflect reality?
❌ Quality of Leadership: The boss remembered everyone’s name today—does that mean leadership scores just went up 5%?
Making Peace with the Unmeasurable
Not everything in SHEQ can be boiled down to a neat set of KPIs, and that’s okay. The goal isn’t to obsess over numbers but to use them as a guide—not gospel.
Yes, incident rates and compliance scores are important, but so are conversations, common sense, and maybe a sixth sense for when things are about to go horribly wrong.
So, the next time someone throws Drucker’s quote at you, remind them:
“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.”
But also…
“Not everything that counts can be counted.” – (Einstein, probably.)
Final Thoughts
Performance evaluation in SHEQ isn’t just about ticking boxes—it’s about understanding the bigger picture. While data and metrics help us track progress, true improvement comes from taking a step back, seeing the system holistically, and addressing the things that aren’t so easily quantified.
So, keep measuring, keep questioning, and most importantly, keep improving. 🚀
SRM provides a suite of SHEQ Solutions which will aid you in accurately defining SHEQ Performance