Safety awareness, I believe, is best instilled when employees feel a duty to keep their workplace safe and are knowledgeable about potential safety hazards that exist on the job and in their everyday lives," Trueblood explained. "The most effective safety programs that I oversee really try to get safety on everyone's radars both on and off the job site."
Impressive Results
When one manufacturer needed to encourage safety compliance and lower the costs associated with lost-time accidents, it turned to Awards Network, which compiled a list of goals.
Once the budget was set and the amount of each goal was established, a custom online safety incentive program was designed to the manufacturer's requirements. Managers distributed safety points to employees as goals were achieved, and the employees logged on to view information on the goals and the corresponding point levels, as well as take monthly quizzes, take advantage of peer-to-peer recognition opportunities and place orders.
Once a quarter, account statements were sent out to the employees' homes along with ordering information, and once a month, company announcements were mailed to safety supervisors at each location who held safety meetings that introduced new safety goals and kept employees actively involved in safety awareness and compliance.
The results were impressive: For every $1 it invested in its program over the course of two years, this manufacturer saved $6.50: reduced injuries, decreased insurance premiums, decreased absenteeism due to injury, less downtime/increased productivity and a boost in employee morale all contributed to this high ROI.
According to Tinn of Rymax, there are three components that make up all of the most successful programs:
Communication: "You can have the greatest program, but if people don't understand what is expected of them and how they accrue points, it will likely be a waste of time and money," he said.
Motivation: "Safety programs evolve over time, so it's important to maintain the level of interest and excitement over time. Like a good employee recognition program, it has to be supported by management and felt to be part of the corporate culture," Tinn explained.
Reward: "The participant experience must be positive, from start to finish," Tinn added. "This means that you can do everything right, but if a participant has a bad experience when they actually receive and use their rewards, that's what they will remember. As a result, it's important for you or the company you have entrusted this program with to maintain as much control over the reward process as possible. A happy participant will become an engaged participant all over again."
Fina agreed with the importance of these three elements, and said they really hold true for every type of recognition initiative-not just safety.
"The program has to be embraced. It has to be communicated. It has to be part of the culture to make it work," he said. "It really lives and dies by the front-line supervisor and managers. If they do daily department meetings or shift meetings, safety has got to be part of that. It has to be part of employee's performance reviews. It's got to live at every level of the organization in order to be effective."
Some communication tools that can help spread the safety message from top to bottom, Fina said, include e-mail messages, corporate intranet sites, company bulletin boards and posters in the lunch room. "A lot of companies now have computer kiosks set up for employees, so you need to make sure the message is present there as well," he added.
Trueblood agreed that communication is a critical element in any safety program, and said that her company offers clients many types of media to communicate their new or ongoing programs to participants.
"Depending on the client's goals and demographics, many will use e-mails, posters and account statements, to name a few methods, so that they can let employees know how the program is relevant to them," she explained. "My most successful safety award programs keep participants informed of what is new in the program and also incorporate tips of the week or newsletters to generate interest and excitement about the program."
But Trueblood doesn't stop there. She said there are some additional essential elements, and if you sidestep these crucial factors, your program may not work out as well as you hope.
First of all, she advises budgeting for fairness. "I advise clients that a fair budget includes employees at all levels and allows a person to redeem from the lowest-priced collection in the first 60 to 90 days," she said. This step is critical to ensure initial and ongoing engagement.
Another crucial step, she said, is ensuring reporting availability. "All of my clients have access to reports 24x7 throughout the duration of their safety program, allowing for feedback on a quarterly, monthly or even weekly basis," Trueblood explained. "About half of my clients have reports delivered at regular intervals, with the other half accessing their own reporting online. A safety incentive program without reporting capabilities is like a tiger with no teeth-there is really no tangible data to support its continuation."
It all sounds complex, and it is. That's why you should turn to experts to ensure you develop and deliver a program that provides the results you're looking for.
"I would strongly suggest taking advantage of the expertise that incentive houses can offer," Tinn said. "While it may seem prudent to institute a program yourself, the ROI is often far lower than when taking advantage of those experienced in this area. It needs to be more than simply 'another company announcement.' It needs to be a process-one that is communicated effectively, supported by management and reinforced on an ongoing basis."
Weighing In
In a 2002 survey of companies that use incentive programs, conducted by Gallagher Loss Control Services Inc.: 77 percent believed that incentive programs were effective 55 percent experienced a reduction in workers' compensation costs 73 percent said absenteeism decreased 96 percent said safety awareness increased 84 percent saw a reduction in accidents 70 percent said the programs were cost-effective
If you really want your program to be effective in changing workers' behaviors, you should consider incorporating incentives and rewards. You can reward employees for taking part in the behaviors outlined by Trueblood and her company's survey, as well as additional behaviors, like attending safety meetings or training, serving on the safety committee and assisting in inspections.
According to OSHA, recognition works in safety programs because it reinforces the safety culture throughout the ranks-encouraging the employees themselves to promote safety and engage in safe behaviors while on the job. Most programs offer a combination of goals-those for individuals as well as team goals.
Fina said his company works closely with customers to recommend the best solution to meet the goals of their safety initiative. "That solution can come from one of three applications that we have: One is points-based, another is a nomination-based application, and the third one is a milestone type of application," he said. "If you want to change behavior and promote safe, proactive behavior in the workplace, then you want to do a points-based or nomination program."
What is the downside of not rewarding proper, proactive behavior? "Imagine a worker is walking through a warehouse or factory and sees a box on the floor in the middle of the aisle," Fina said. "They have a couple of options. They can either step over the box and ignore it, or they can think, that's not safe, let me do something about it. That worker is promoting safe behavior and a safe workplace, and that should be rewarded and recognized. That can be done in a nomination-type setting where the manager says, 'Hey, that's great, here's a spot safety award.' Or they can earn points over time for acting safely."
The milestone-based program, Fina added, is perfect for a safe driving program, for example-rewarding an employee for driving 1 million safe miles, or for a team that's worked a specific length of time without a reportable incident.
Incentive rewards for safety programs typically come in one or more of three ways, according to Tinn: cash, gift cards and merchandise. But not all three are equally effective.
"Cash can often have a negative impact since most people treat it and remember it as compensation," Tinn explained. "Gift cards represent an effort to move away from cash. They can offer a great deal of flexibility, which can be both a positive and a negative, but little or no perceived value (the difference between the actual cost to the company and the value perceived by the recipient)."
Trueblood agreed. "Many of our new clients this year were actually former customers of gift cards and cash-based incentive providers," she said. "And as the new clients soon find out, workers do respond better and are more motivated by tangible merchandise as opposed to cash rewards."
So which incentives are most effective as part of a safety reward program? As with any program that incorporates incentives to motivate workers to change behavior, merchandise is an effective choice.
"Tangible, merchandise-based awards are quickly becoming the norm for employee safety incentive programs for three main reasons: trophy value, compensation versus recognition, and providing a luxury versus a necessity," Trueblood said.
"Merchandise rewards create greater competitive spirit," Tinn said. "People will work harder for items they normally wouldn't purchase themselves. Studies have proven that merchandise, when used properly, has the greatest long-term impact on behavior."
He added, "Merchandise, if done properly, can give you the best of all worlds. It can offer you an unparalleled perceived value, lasting recognition, trophy value (bragging rights), redemption without guilt during difficult economic times and enormous range of choice."
Trueblood also emphasized the impact of merchandise's trophy value. "When you allow the recipient to evaluate the quality of the gift, you allow them to place their own value on the gift, which is generally inflated," she explained. "Also, brand-name awards provide a lifestyle gift that will be appreciated as the safety program continues into the future."
She added that merchandise awards offer employees recognition, and don't run the risk of being seen merely as another part of the paycheck. "In order to make an award stand out as separate from regular compensation, I always advise that companies should invest in tangible awards coupled with personalized recognition," Trueblood said. "Many of my clients have organized outstanding safety recognition events, and I am always hearing from clients that the personalized recognition seems to give the biggest boost to employee morale and motivation, and helps to boost the success of the safety program."
In addition, merchandise is an extremely effective addition to your communication about the program, as it acts as a visual motivator, Tinn said. "Merchandise is easier to promote than cash on catalogs, on posters and in the presentation of the prize," he explained. "And merchandise is memorable. People remember merchandise rewards. Cash is soon forgotten, and so are those who gave it as an incentive."
So what merchandise is most effective? It might not necessarily be what you think.
"What we have found to be most successful is lifestyle gifts," Fina said, "not just the traditional safety merchandise. Lifestyle gifts have the most positive impact because they tell the employees that the company values the individual and wants to give the employees a choice of what's best for their own lifestyle."
Tinn agreed that a focus on personal choice is crucial.
"While many believe it's important to include products that will reinforce the idea of safety, many have come to realize that the most important gifts are those that the individual participant wants," he said. "The more emotionally connected an employee feels to the reward choices, the greater the impact on behavior."
As always, electronics are big. "The most well-rounded programs boast 60 percent to 70 percent redemptions in electronics," Tinn said. "Right now, with a tough economy, the reason incentive programs are so successful is because they allow people to redeem for things they would feel guilty about purchasing for themselves."
This feeds right into Trueblood's assertion that merchandise works because it provides a luxury, not a necessity.
"If I were given a gift card to spend on whatever, I would spend it on buying groceries, getting an oil change or paying off the Visa bill," she said. "Turns out, most people are like me and instead of a cash bonus being used for a special gift, it almost always is spent on necessities. Tangible safety awards provide a guilt-free gift to recipients who would otherwise spend the cash on things they need. This ensures a lasting memory of the link between the safety goals achieved and the award earned by the recipients."
Like Facebook for Safety Pros
If you've enjoyed the social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, and would like a similar site where you can congregate with safety-minded professionals, look no further than www.safetycommunity.com.The Safety Community is a free social network where you can connect with like-minded professionals to share ideas and work together to pioneer new ways of making workplaces safer and more productive. Designed for safety managers, foremen, safety engineers, factory and construction workers and for anyone for whom workplace safety is a profession or a passion, the site is built on a popular social networking platform and is sponsored by Ansell. You can take a virtual trip to the site to stay in tune with emerging trends, new safety products and interact with your peers.
"The Internet has revolutionized the way people get information. Think of the Safety Community as a customized 'MySpace' or 'Facebook' type site, but just for the workplace safety industry," said Tracey Dodge, marketing communications manager, Ansell Limited. "The Safety Community is a great stop for those interested in what's happening in the PPE and occupational safety industry-straight from the people who live and breathe industrial safety."
Many Happy Returns So does investment in safety programs and incentives pay off in the long run? Absolutely.
According to the Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety, every dollar invested in safety yields between $3 and $6 in savings.
"Safety programs, when done effectively, absolutely have an impact on the bottom line of a company," Fina said. "They realize the financial results that can be achieved from an effective workplace safety recognition program."
One example is WIKA Instrument Corporation, a leading maker of pressure and temperature instrumentation. Working with Michael C. Fina, WIKA rolled out a program that delivered impressive returns.
"We have a points-based safety recognition program in place there, and it has helped drop their labor costs 93 percent," Fina said. "Through the use of the program, it's also helped to reduce their recordable injury frequency to just 1.4 percent, compared to OSHA's manufacturing group's average of 3.3 percent."
"In under two years after implementing Michael C. Fina's workplace Safety Recognition program, we saw significant return on our investment and marked increase in employees' adherence to safety guidelines," said Catherine Bochenek, Environmental, Health & Safety Manager, WIKA Instrument Corp. "Since we implemented the points-based employee safety recognition program, our employees are happier and our worker's compensation costs have decreased more than 90 percent-from $1.35 per $100 in 2005 to 10 cents per $100 in 2007. The program was a wise investment."
The savings and results can be found in more than dollars though. Intangible results also are touted by the experts.
"The employees genuinely feel valued when a company puts this kind of program together," Fina said. "They're saying, 'Wow, the company cares about me. They want to be sure I'm working in a safe environment."
With the younger generations entering the workforce, this is particularly important he said.
"To them, they want to make sure the company sees them and is touching them, and with a safety recognition program in place, that provides a genuine sense of value that the employees are going to feel," Fina added. "They will know that the company cares about them."
Providing rewards reinforces the culture of safety the company is hoping to promote, and that, Fina said, "is monumental."
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