Listening is a human thing
12 March 2026
Human-centred listening holds an important space for people raising concerns, and also makes business sense.
In an industry centred on vehicles, infrastructure, machinery, and technology, it could be easy to forget that it's people who make it work, and that it's all for the benefit of people. Business owners know that good relationships are invaluable. They ease getting things done, help to reach the heart of any issues, and provide ideas and innovation. Strong relationships are an advantage whether the immediate aim is growing the business or preventing risk.
It's people with first-hand experience of working somewhere who can provide the most knowledgeable and practical insights into the risks. They also know when things aren't going so well and can offer suggestions for what could be done differently.
A company's openness to listen and learn from its staff will pay off with safety intelligence. This often comes directly through speaking up in briefings, to managers and supervisors, or through internal reporting channels. Not always.
There'll be some who won't ever be comfortable raising concerns visibly or loudly in this way. That's just human nature. Offering the option of a confidential, independent reporting channel—such as CIRAS for the transport industry—gives you a chance to listen to everyone.
Most companies working in the railway industry are already CIRAS members: from operators and infrastructure managers to the supply chain. Are you sure everyone knows about CIRAS where you work? The more people who do, the more likely it is you'll hear concerns that would otherwise slip through the reporting gap as people opt to stay silent. It's a good idea to mention CIRAS in safety briefings and communications about reporting, alongside your other channels.
Why use CIRAS?
The reasons someone raises a concern in confidence are as individual as we all are, for example:
- negative past experiences
- feeling unheard or ignored in general, or not believing anyone will listen to you specifically
- issues with workplace culture, such as bullying
- shyness or lack of confidence, focusing on what others will think of your concern and whether they'll even consider it an issue
- feeling confused about which channels to use, or having no other suitable channel (if it's for another company)
- fear of consequences, and job insecurity (with research showing that people speak up more when they have higher job security and autonomy).
The type of concern might also be why someone prefers to stay confidential. At CIRAS, we don't take reports of deliberate wrongdoing (i.e. whistleblowing) or where a specific individual is being blamed. Another reason is to maintain confidentiality. We don't reveal the identity of anyone involved in a concern.
Someone may want to raise a concern that they're embarrassed about, or which they feel personally responsible for, that could have led to an incident: for example, micro-sleeping at the wheel of a van or in charge of machinery, or using the wrong tool or work method because the right one wasn't available and they felt time pressure. We won't identify them or anyone else involved in a concern. But our report, in these examples, would give the company insight that there may be wider team issues with fatigue or equipment.
Similarly, although we don't take concerns about individual cases of bullying, stress, or drugs and alcohol, we do take forward concerns about culture that may affect these.
Fatigue, distraction, human error...even though most companies want staff to raise concerns and issues without fear of blame, it can be hard to do. It's a brave choice to speak up, however anyone does it. Confidentiality can give people the confidence to flag a potential problem because they won't be putting themselves in the spotlight.
By taking a CIRAS report as an opportunity to review work as intended from the perspective of work as done, your company can reduce risk. The spotlight falls instead on equipment, culture, time, resources, processes, and training, for example. Whoever receives the CIRAS report can use it as evidence to help influence change at their company or within the industry, if needed.
The sort of concerns people can raise through CIRAS include:
- equipment
- welfare facilities
- processes, rules, and procedures
- unsafe practices
- hazardous substances
- training and competence
- fatigue
- the working environment
- work-related violence
- health and wellbeing
- team and workplace culture
- risk from change.
People want to feel heard
Your thoughts and concerns feel more valued when you speak person to person, when you know that you've been heard and acknowledged, and your feedback is not just another ticket in a system. Our team of specially trained listeners listen carefully and impartially, asking questions to get a fuller picture of what's really going on. This informs the report they write.
What may, on the surface, seem insignificant or as one problem, could have much larger consequences. The cause of the issue may not be clear or might have resulted from a surprising series of events. The questions we ask help to build that understanding and clarity.
Sometimes people just want to feel heard. We give people the time and space they need to talk, with no distractions or time pressure. Our phone call will always take place at a convenient time for the person raising the concern.
From listening to action
Seeing action come from raising a concern is a validation of the choice to speak up, because it shows that someone listened. If you're in a listening role, such as management, you'll know that communicating this impact is a powerful way to show you hear what people say and that everyone's voice can make a difference. This feels like a safe culture for sharing thoughts and ideas too. A strong listening culture isn't just about improving engagement and reputation with staff and others. It can also make a company more resilient, productive, and efficient, because its people can focus on their work without fear.
So, when you're thinking about the voices you hear day-to-day and the problems they're raising, also consider who and what you're not hearing. You may never know who they are, but their voices are important.
This article originally featured in Rail Professional magazine #318.