It was just a decade ago that workplace safety incentive programs were new on the scene. Today, they are a commonplace approach used by staffing firms and PEOs, both small and large, to improve safety and reduce workers’ compensation claims and other worker injury-related costs. Since their adoption, believers of safety incentive programs have come to find that they are an important element in any health and safety program, but skeptics point to a variety of pitfalls that may actually decrease job safety.
The problem arises when companies take a cookie-cutter approach and implement a simplistic program in which tangible awards are provided based solely on employees achieving a specified number of accident-free days (free from injuries that result in lost time or other significant cases). This kind of approach is widely believed to lead to under-reporting of injuries, which can cause your firm to be unaware of – and consequently unable to fix – potentially dangerous situations at the work-site.
Fortunately, behavior-based programs are significantly more effective in actually changing employee behaviors and in firmly implanting a safety-minded culture in your organization. Rather than just “working X days without a lost-time injury,” behavior-based safety incentive programs provide incentives for employees to make safety suggestions, participate in meetings or audits and implement job improvements. By getting employees involved in the process of creating a safe work environment, they will be more likely to focus on the total outcome rather than just the reward.
Your Safety Incentive Program
When safety incentive programs are implemented improperly, they run the risk of becoming:
- Ineffective: Employees ultimately lose interest, while employers find them too time-consuming and costly to keep up
- Expected: Employees eventually expect to receive the incentive regardless of the outcome
- Routine: When expectations and rewards are the same year after year, employees will lose interest and the program will run out of steam
- Punitive: Employees may become “punitive” toward one another, particularly when group rewards are used; if one person is responsible for the loss of a group reward, that individual may become the target of negative behavior or resentment by other employees
- Irrelevant: Employees may not see the relevance of the programs, even from the beginning
Conversely, when safety incentive programs are only one part of an overall safety-minded culture and a well-planned and administered safety program, the use of incentives can mitigate unsafe acts and change employee behaviors. Safety incentive programs should never be a substitute for a good job design but, rather, should be used in firms that have already been successful in eliminating unsafe conditions and hazards.
When employers recruit and place safety-conscious workers, involve top and middle management in safety performance and clearly link awards and incentives to specific performance measures, a safety incentive program can be a success.
