“If They Don't Trust You, They Won't Tell You”: How Miriam Tallman Creates Safer Workplaces by Building Trust

In a bustling New York hospital, fire extinguishers vanished monthly from the laundry department, leaving staff vulnerable and safety officer Miriam Tallman perplexed.

What was happening?

Safety leaders know that the toughest part of the job isn’t creating policies or filling out paperwork—it’s getting the people you’re trying to protect to follow the procedures that keep them safe.

Miriam Tallman is a seasoned safety professional with a 15+ year career that spans transportation, healthcare, and consulting. Here, she offers a masterclass in earning employee trust to transform workplace safety from a dreaded obligation into a shared mission.

The Mysterious Case of the Missing Fire Extinguishers 

“One of the most common safety challenges that a lot of organizations are facing,” Tallman says, “is people willing to follow safety procedures. When people see a safety officer coming, they scatter.” 

A safety leader’s role isn’t to make anyone’s job harder. It’s to make sure they get home from the job in the same shape they showed up in. Yet there continues to be a persistent fear among workers that they will get in trouble for sharing safety issues or concerns. 

To overcome this fear, one of the first things Tallman does when arriving at a job site is to work toward building a culture of trust and transparency.

One memorable example of this was when she worked at a hospital in New York city where the fire extinguishers in the laundry department kept going missing. 

Every month, she’d replace them. Every month, they disappeared. And every month, she’d ask the staff what had happened to them. 

But the staff were too scared to speak up. 

Keeping the Person Next to Your Safe

Tallman called a meeting with the whole department to clear the air. 

“I didn’t mean to make anyone cry,” she said, “but some people did! I told them, look: The fire extinguishers are there for a reason. They're there to keep you safe. Every month I'm replacing these fire extinguishers. It's getting very expensive. It’s getting to the point where I might have to report it to the NYFD (New York Fire Department).”

“But worse than that,” she continued, “you're creating an unsafe situation for yourself and your co-workers, because if there's a situation that you need it, and they don't have it, someone could get hurt.”

She told them to take a look at the person to their left, and to their right. These were the people they were putting in danger.

“I’m not here to get anyone in trouble,” she said. “I just want to keep you all safe. I'm sure you all work very well together. You all hopefully like one another. But if one of your coworkers got hurt because you took away their safety equipment, that’s something that you’re going to have to live with.” She emphasized that they didn’t have to report who was taking them, but they should look around and do the right thing. 

The open, transparent discussion about what was at stake - and most importantly, the emphasis on doing the right thing instead of passing blame - had an immediate effect. 

When Tallman came back, the fire extinguishers had been returned. Though they were empty, they were still in good condition. It was clear that they had not been taken to be sold or destroyed. 

So, what was happening? 

Case Solved: The Fear of Speaking Up

It took a few more trust-building safety meetings before the staff finally told Tallman the root cause of the issue. 

One of the pieces of equipment in the laundry room was faulty. Operating it caused smoke, and the extinguishers were being taken to secretly cool down the equipment and prevent a fire. The pressure for continuous production was so high that they feared reporting the issue. They feared punishment and reprisals. 

Tallman handled the issue discreetly, taking members of facilities, housekeeping and security with her for a “regular audit” of the laundry room. When they arrived in the laundry room, she asked facilities to pull up records of the last time preventive maintenance had been done on the equipment. It turned out it was well overdue. 

The equipment was temporarily shut down. Production halted. But no one got in trouble. The preventative maintenance was a requirement. Policies had to be followed. 

It didn’t take long before Tallman’s efforts at building trust with the team had an even greater impact. When members of the laundry staff smelled smoke coming from a nearby floor, they pulled the fire alarm. It turned out a contractor was doing unauthorized hot work without a permit. 

Knowing they could trust her, and without a fear of “getting into trouble” the staff felt empowered to do the right thing. 

Safety Miriam: A Lasting Reputation 

Safety professionals are often unsung heroes, tirelessly working to protect people who sometimes feel fearful or challenged by them onsite. But building trust can have lasting implications, not just on workforce policies, but on the people that safety professionals protect. 

When Tallman was working at another hospital some time later, she encountered a man in the elevator who remembered her. 

“You’re safety Miriam!” he said. He had been a member of the laundry room staff at her former hospital. “My wife is giving birth in this hospital," he said. “I feel better knowing that she’s here now that I know you’re here.” 

“It caught me off guard,” Tallman said, “but he felt better about choosing that hospital because he knew that I would make sure that everything was safe in that building.” 

And what greater honor could a safety professional hope for than that? 

Championing Workplace Safety 

Safety professionals like Miriam Tallman remind us that creating a culture of safety isn’t just about enforcing rules. It’s about leading with transparency, integrity, and trust, showing people you’re not there to “get them in trouble.” You’re there to protect them.

MIriam Tallman is a member of the YellowBIrd Pro Advisory Committee, a group of dedicated safety professionals helping us 

She is also one of our national network of 6,500+ vetted safety professionals, who you can match with on-demand to support every aspect of your proactive safety program. Whether you need a full program overhaul, third-party risk assessments, or temporary or long-term safety staffing, YellowBird is your partner in building a safer workplace.