Safety Incentives
Safety incentives come in a variety of forms. Each is designed to provide a reward with the hope of
reducing accidents. The idea is to create a motivation for employees to become more aware of their
work environment, their duties and how to do them safely. The focus on the reward, or the recognition
that may come with the reward, adds an extra personal push or incentive for the employee to be
cautious and aware while on the job.
Some incentive programs are set up to reward an individual, some to reward a group. Others try to
reward an individual and a group. Rewarding a group helps to create team safety, aiding group
members to watch out for each other. This helps more employees become proactive in correcting
potential hazards, unsafe conditions and behaviors. The incentives you may choose for your program
vary in kind and cost. One may fit your overall safety program better than another.
Proponents for Safety Incentive Programs believe that incentives are an
essential tool for any organization, regardless of size or industry, in
promoting workplace safety. Incentives build and maintain employee
interest in working safely and act as a motivator for employees to work
safer.
Incentives increase safety awareness.
Safety becomes more interesting.
Employees value recognition; it shows that management is paying
attention.
Incentives can also produce positive results if you incorporate them
into a program that requires some type of safety activity to make the
person or group eligible for the prize, such as doing safety observations
or near-miss reports.
Incentives are a good public relations tool for the safety department
or safety committee.
Opponents for Safety Incentive Programs believe that safety incentives are
to be avoided at all costs. This viewpoint holds that incentives reward the
wrong behavior, and can contribute to under-reporting of incidents rather
than reducing incidents.
Incentives may influence people to hide injuries in order to get the
prize.
The prizes have to get better as time goes along.
The person who ruins the safety record may get ostracized by co-
workers for blowing it.
Administering the incentive program requires a lot of time from safety
department personnel.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) takes the
position that“Traditional Incentive Programs” that link rewards to injury
reduction ‘can provide an inducement for workers to under-report injuries
and illnesses’. Although OSHA does not currently have any regulations
specifically addressing Safety Incentive Programs, these programs have
been a serious focus for OSHA.
The truth of the matter is that “implemented properly”, well thought out
Safety Incentive Programs do work. The program must fit the goals and
objectives of your company and should involve your employees in both the
development and implementation. A program designed by and for the
employees in conjunction with a well thought out Safety Program, can help
motivate your employees to be safe.
Below are 5 steps you can take to establish an effective Safety Incentive
Program.
1) Have a Complete Functioning Safety Program in Place
Employees cannot improve on performance when they aren’t aware of
what is expected of them and haven’t been trained on how to do their job
using correct safety procedures. Without a safety program ensuring proper
training, incentives will most likely lead to under-reporting rather than to
safety excellence.
2) Examine Safety Performance
If the number of accidents is higher than expected, your safety program is
in need of attention. You should examine and correct the program’s
downfalls before implementing an incentive program. Without addressing
the root causes of the program failure, you will continue to experience the
same accident rate even with an incentive program.
3) Management Buy-in and Participation
If managers don’t believe and stand by the safety incentive program,
neither will your employees. Employees must believe that management
will administer the program fairly, and that a real chance exists for
achieving the promised rewards for following proper safety procedures.
4) Structure the Incentive Program
Set realistic, clearly defined and measurable goals. Don’t set your goals so
high that your employees will fail and discourage participation. Goals that
are set too low however, will not offer any incentive to the employee to
change behaviors. In order to ensure employees are motivated, rewards
should be tailored to fit the workforce and not the management.
Gift certificates or paid-time off are often very powerful motivators under the
right circumstances. Employees must take an active role in the
development and management of the program. Employees must buy-into
how the program is run and maintained including deciding how records will
be kept, the methods of performance measurement, reporting and
monitoring, and how rewards are provided. The workers must view all the
elements as being fair in order for them to take the program seriously
5) Ensure Effective Communication
Workers need to understand why the program is being implemented, the
rules, how it works, and how progress is measured. They need to be
continually reminded about the incentive program, the reasons for it, and
how they are doing. They need to see management involvement and
support, through active participation and coaching.
A well thought out Safety Incentive Program can work. The key is to ensure
the program fits the goals and objectives of your company and should
involve your employees in both the development and implementation.
Safety Incentives can help bolster and build the culture of safety in your
organization.
