Safety Mentorship: How Relationships Strengthen Safety 

Key takeaways

Safety expertise doesn’t happen overnight. It develops from years of experience. Unfortunately, when experienced people leave an organization, their knowledge often leaves with them. Safety mentorship keeps that expertise in-house. It transfers the skills, confidence, and judgment that help workplaces stay safe. 

Domini Montgomery, Director of Safety and Risk Management at the Saint Louis Zoo, has seen both sides of this equation: She’s been a mentee and a mentor. 

Montgomery first appeared on the WorkSAFE Podcast nearly nine years ago to discuss slip prevention strategies at the zoo. Now, she’s back to share what she’s learned about strengthening safety culture with mentorship. 

What safety mentorship means (and why it matters) 

Safety mentorship covers a lot of ground. It can be a formal program where your organization matches mentors with mentees for regular check-ins. It can also be informal – reaching out to someone more experienced when you hit a roadblock or need a second opinion. Both approaches work. 

“Mentorship in the safety field is incredibly valuable,” Montgomery said. “It offers a lot of opportunities to share information, knowledge, skills, and make valuable connections.” 

The value goes beyond individual growth. When people have someone to turn to, they ask better questions. They share ideas more freely. They build confidence in their decisions. That ripples through your organization. 

Montgomery has been in safety for 13 years, and she still checks in with her mentor. That relationship keeps her grounded, helps her work through challenges, and reminds her why she chose this field in the first place. 

📍 Read next: Promoting a Culture of Safety: Sharing, Empowering Employees > 

How mentorship strengthens your safety culture 

Here’s the thing about mentorship: It creates space for people to speak up. When employees know they have someone in their corner – someone who won’t judge them for asking what feels like a basic question – they actually ask those questions. They raise concerns before problems become incidents. They propose ideas that might seem half-baked but could lead somewhere useful. 

Montgomery connects this to psychological safety. “When folks feel that they are in a safe space, they’re more likely to be safe,” she explained. “Folks who feel valued, heard, listened to in their workspace, not just by their leaders but by their peers – that’s where you’re more likely to get those questions.” 

This matters for practical reasons. Teams with psychological safety don’t just have fewer misunderstandings. They: 

• Innovate and propose creative solutions 
• Catch hazards before they become incidents 
• Solve problems more efficiently 
• Share observations without holding back 

The Saint Louis Zoo has built its safety culture on this foundation. “The Saint Louis Zoo’s safety culture is built heavily on psychological safety and trust,” Montgomery said. That didn’t happen by accident. It happened through intentional relationship-building, including mentorship. 

The business case for safety mentorship 

Psychological safety improves culture, but it also impacts your bottom line. When people feel supported, they stay. Mentorship builds that support system. 

Montgomery has navigated career crossroads where she questioned whether to stay in safety. Her mentor helped her through those moments. “Having a mentor has helped me through some tough and tricky situations, whether it’s been a problem at work or a crossroads in my career,” Montgomery said. 

That kind of support drives retention. People don’t leave jobs where they feel valued and challenged in healthy ways. They leave when they feel stuck or isolated. Mentorship addresses both problems. 

There’s also the straightforward cost argument. “Safety isn’t expensive. Accidents are,” Montgomery pointed out. When your team is engaged and trained, you prevent incidents that drain resources and hurt people. 

Mentorship also supports multigenerational workforce dynamics. Experienced employees can share hard-won knowledge with younger workers just starting out. Senior employees benefit too: Mentoring keeps them engaged and reminds them that their expertise matters. 

Formal vs. informal mentorship: Both work 

The Saint Louis Zoo runs a pilot mentorship program. It’s structured – they match mentors with mentees, set expectations for regular meetings, and track participation. But Montgomery’s own mentor isn’t part of a formal program. She reached out to someone outside her organization whose experience she respected, and they built a relationship from there. 

“My leader is supportive of me having a mentor regardless of where they are,” Montgomery explained. That flexibility matters. Some people thrive in structured programs. Others prefer the organic approach. 

Formal programs	Informal mentorship
Structured matching process	Self-selected relationships
Scheduled check-ins	Flexible meeting times
Organization-wide consistency	Highly personalized
Often internal mentors	Can cross organizational boundaries
Built-in accountability	Driven by personal commitment

Formal programs work well for: 

• Consistency across the organization 
• Equitable access to mentors 
• Tracking participation 

Informal mentorship might be a better fit if you prioritize: 

• Flexibility 
• Cross-organization or industry learning 

You don’t have to choose. Many organizations benefit from supporting both approaches – running a formal program while also encouraging employees to seek external mentors when that makes sense. 

What makes safety mentorship effective 

Not all mentorship looks the same, but the most effective relationships share certain characteristics. 

Leadership buy-in matters – but encouragement matters more 

Leaders need to support mentorship. That’s table stakes. But there’s a difference between allowing mentorship and actively encouraging it. 

When an employee volunteers for a mentorship role and gets a passive “sure, do whatever you want” response, it sends one message. When a leader seeks out that same employee and says, “I think mentorship is a great leadership opportunity for you,” it sends an entirely different message. 

That second approach builds confidence. It tells people their organization sees potential in them. It transforms mentorship from a nice-to-have into something the organization genuinely values. 

Making time for mentorship (on the clock) 

Mentorship should happen during work hours. Period. When you ask people to squeeze it into lunch breaks or after their shift ends, you’re signaling that it’s not really important. 

“Allowing time for mentors and mentees to meet on the clock – this is paid time if it’s through your organization,” Montgomery emphasized. The Zoo’s executive team is fully behind their pilot program. That kind of visible support matters. 

The mentor’s approach: Curiosity over authority 

The best mentors show up curious. They ask questions to understand the mentee’s perspective before offering advice. They create space for exploration rather than immediately asserting what should be done. 

Montgomery described this as showing up “curious with an information-seeking approach versus a questioning authority approach.” That distinction matters. When mentors lead with curiosity, mentees feel safe trying out ideas, even if those ideas turn out to need refinement. 

“I am never too vain to admit that I was wrong the first time, and I want to try again,” Montgomery said. That kind of openness sets the tone for productive mentorship relationships. 

This approach also helps reduce workplace stress and prevents the kind of toxic dynamics that undermine safety culture. 

Getting started with safety mentorship at your organization 

You don’t need a fully developed program to start benefiting from mentorship. Start small and build from there. 

First, talk to your people. “What are they looking for? Is this something that they think would be valuable?” Montgomery suggested. Don’t assume you know what your team needs. Ask them. 

Here are three practical starting points: 

1. Use your safety committee as a pilot group. Committee members are already engaged in safety topics. They understand the value of collaboration. Test mentorship there, learn what works, and then expand. 
2. Add a safety component to existing programs. Maybe you already run mentorship programs in other areas of your business. That might be easier than building something from scratch. 
3. Start with informal “office hours.” Designate experienced safety folks who are willing to answer questions during set times each week. No formal structure required. 

The key is understanding what your organization needs. A manufacturer with high turnover might benefit from pairing new hires with experienced operators. A company with aging safety leadership might focus on preparing the next generation to step up. Your approach should match your specific challenges. 

📍 Read next: New Hire Onboarding: Setting New Employees Up for Success > 

Mentorship as investment 

Mentorship is an investment in people, and when people feel supported, safety follows. Whether you launch a structured program or simply encourage experienced folks to share their knowledge, you’re building the next generation of safety leadership and strengthening your safety culture. 

Building trust and engagement across your workforce creates lasting safety improvements. Explore how workplace culture drives better safety outcomes: Workplace Culture and Engagement: The Keys to Company Safety > 

Frequently asked questions: Safety mentorship