Some leading companies now realize reporting this data to key company stakeholders, not just management, is important. In the financial arena, the key stakeholder for publicly held companies is the public. Through the use of dollar-based indicators, management performance is assessed, and the shareholders vote on that performance by buying or selling. The key is that the public display of financial performance indicators motivates executive management to better financial performance. The spotlight effect is the improved performance that stems from having the public participate as the top layer of accountability over executive management of a publicly held company.
Many companies are ready to use the spotlight effect to energize their safety and health programs.
The idea has taken hold that collecting safety and health metrics in a globally consistent electronic fashion will lead to better safety and health management. It is time we take safety and health metrics out of the closet and turn the full spotlight of public disclosure on them. In the Internet age, putting information into the hands of the public is the future of information management. Some may claim there is no interest among the public for this information. This is pre-Internet thinking.