Survey responses suggest need for stronger safety cultures, improved communication, and technology adoption

ISN, the global leader in contractor and supplier information management services, released its latest State of Contractor Management Strategy White Paper, based on survey responses from nearly 500 leaders across various industries and geographies. ISN’s findings provide actionable insights to organizations as they navigate gaps in communication and emerging opportunities to leverage technology for improving workplace safety practices.

ISN’s survey found 96% of Hiring Organizations anticipate outsourced work will increase (42%) or stay the same (54%) over the next two years. This shift to increased reliance on outsourced work has proven necessary for labor-intensive industries, where agility is key to sustaining operations. However, working with more contractors increases the importance of consistent safety practices and effective communication to address potential gaps in a Hiring Organization’s safety culture.

“Creating a strong safety culture requires proactive leadership, consistent processes for verifying worker competency, and fostering open dialogue between contractors and Hiring Organizations,” said Kim Holly, Chief Business Development Officer at ISN. “Through this year’s State of Contractor Management Strategy White Paper, ISN is proud to equip Hiring Organizations with data-driven insights and steps to effectively mitigate risk and improve safety culture, which will ultimately help reduce the risk of on-the-job accidents.”

Highlights from ISN’s State of Contractor Management Strategy White Paper include:

1. Safety Culture Assessment Opportunities: Within the next 12 months, 63% of Hiring Organizations plan to complete a safety culture assessment.
2. Workforce Empowerment Gaps: More than 25% of Hiring Organizations lack confidence their workforces feel empowered to speak up about work-related issues and concerns.
3. Psychological Safety Challenges: Workers’ fear of mistakes being held against them was identified as a top challenge by 81% of Hiring Organizations, prompting 40% to implement Human & Organizational Performance (HOP) principles to help foster a sense of psychological safety in the workplace.

“Placing a focus on closing communication gaps, assessing safety culture, and fostering a physically and psychologically safe workplace can create a space where both employees and contractors feel empowered to learn, voice concerns, and perform their jobs safely,” said Brian Callahan, Chief Executive Officer and President at ISN. “Prioritizing frameworks and philosophies such as energy-based safety, systems thinking, and HOP will not only help reduce risk but also create a more resilient and productive work environment where the likelihood of incurring a serious injury is minimized.”

To download a copy of the State of Contractor Management Strategy White Paper, please visit ISN’s Publication Page. To learn more about how ISN supports building a strong safety culture, visit ISN’s Safety Culture Page.

About ISN

ISN is the global leader in contractor and supplier information management, with more than 20 years of experience connecting 850 Hiring Clients in capital-intensive industries with 85,000 active contractors and suppliers to promote safety, health, and sustainability in the workplace. ISN’s brands include ISNetworld^®, a global online contractor and supplier management platform, Transparency-One^®, a responsible sourcing platform built to bring transparency to supply chain management, and Empower^®, a worker-level app built to keep workers moving forward.

ISN has 14 offices around the globe which provide award-winning support and training for its customers in more than 85 countries. ISN takes pride in leading worldwide efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of contractor and supplier management systems and in serving as a world-class forum for sharing industry best practices, benchmarking performance, providing data insights among its members, and helping decision makers, including board members, ensure contractor and supplier risk is assessed and monitored. For more information, visit isn.com.

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