Understanding the organizational performance metric, an occupational health and safety management tool, through workplace case studies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use a comparative qualitative case study design to better understand how the observed characteristics of an organization correspond to their score on the organizational performance metric (IWH-OPM), a leading indicator tool designed to measure an organization’s occupational health and safety (OHS) performance.Design/methodology/approachFive organizations were recruited based on their diverse IWH-OPM scores obtained in a previous study. Qualitative data were collected from these cases and analyzed with consideration of OHS leadership; OHS culture and climate; employee participation in OHS; OHS policies, procedures and practices; and OHS risk control. Similarities and differences among organizations were examined in relation to these themes.FindingsThree distinct groups of firms emerged from the cross-case analysis in terms of their overall OHS performance: high, medium and low. Higher firm IWH-OPM scores generally corresponded to better OHS performance in the workplace as observed through qualitative methods.Originality/valueThe findings are a step toward OHS leaders or practitioners eventually being able, based on an organization’s IWH-OPM score, to have a quick understanding of a workplace’s OHS status and of how best to support further improvement.