FIND A LISTENING EAR

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: september 2023 :: RMTnews 12 W hen you’ve got something to say, you want to be heard. But it’s not always easy to find a listening ear. If you’re speaking up and your concerns aren’t getting through, it can be frustrating, and worrying if there could be real-life consequences for your team’s or the public’s safety and wellbeing. There are many reasons why someone might not be listening actively. It’s not just about personality clashes or seeing things differently – although these can mean someone doesn’t want to hear what you have to say – but it’s also about the situation. Line managers or supervisors could be stressed, overworked with their mind on other things, too tired to really hear, or even not fully understand the issue you are raising. This isn’t ideal, but it could be the reality. That’s why companies offer channels for raising issues and concerns. Many of these are internal, within the company, but did you know you can also use the independent channel CIRAS to raise work-related health, safety and wellbeing concerns confidentially? Because CIRAS is independent, it means you can use it to be heard by your employer – or to get your concerns heard by other companies who aren’t your employer, such as a contractor or client. We’ll pass your concern on to whichever company it’s for. You don’t need to have reported your concern internally first. We do recommend you use other channels instead of CIRAS for any immediate, real-time safety concerns. When you use CIRAS, you’ll speak to one of our reporting analysts, who will take the time to listen to what you have to say and then write up a report for the company – without sharing any details about you. You remain confidential. The company will make sure your concern gets to the right person to investigate and act on the information, and you can be confident that the focus will stay on the issue itself, not who reported it. CIRAS confidential reporting is available across transport and infrastructure sectors, so we’re here for you wherever you work. ACTIVE LISTENING How do we listen? By paying attention. One of our reporting analysts will arrange with you a suitable time for them to call you and discuss your concern fully, so they can write it up accurately in their report. They are professional listeners, and they will ask you questions to fully understand your concern. It’s not just to check that we can protect your confidentiality, but also to make sure the report captures all the potential safety or wellbeing consequences of the issue raised. There is a difference between really listening to understand (active listening) and listening out for something you want to hear or to work out what you’ll say next (passive listening). If you listen passively, you don’t really hear what’s being said, and you might be listening through a filter of personal interpretation or with an agenda. You can be confident that our trained listeners have no agenda. Their only aim is making sure information that could help with safety and wellbeing is shared effectively, giving the maximum opportunity for any issues to be resolved. CONTACT CIRAS Now you can report your concerns on the go! Download our NEW app on Google Play or the App Store – the QR code will take you to the right one for your phone. Find our app demo video on youtube.com/@CIRAS_reporting. Or you can call 0800 4 101 101, use Freepost CIRAS, or fill in the form at https://www.ciras.org.uk/raise- a-concern FIND A LISTENING EAR