Structured Programs Help Meet Safety Goals

Every responsible company understands that workplace safety should be a top priority. However, sometimes ensuring the health and well-being of employees needs a little attention from management before it can get the attention of employees. Incentives can go a long way to motivate employees by strengthening the safety messaging.

Safety programs are used to capture the attention of the workforce and to get them more engaged by structuring a program around employee recognition. What employee doesn’t like to be appreciated? This is the first step to building new safety habits. Safety programs normally include the following components:

• Promotes well-defined actions.
• Motivates employees to achieve stretch goals.
• Has milestones to keep employees engaged and working toward long-term goals.
• Produces measurable outcomes.
• Incorporates rewards that employees find motivating.

Safety programs should be built around specific behaviors that create a safer working environment, and help achieve the safety goals of an organization. These would be customized to be more specific than this generalized list:

• Participation in program activities and evaluations.
• Completion of safety and health training.
• Identifying and reporting potential hazards and close calls/near misses.
• Adhering to preventive maintenance schedules.
• Compliance with posted workplace safety rules.

There are many reasons safety programs are a good idea. Having rewards available gives employees one more reason to follow smart safety practices, promoting proactive behavior. Psychological and monetary factors come in to play as well. They show that management cares about employees and their families. Thus a program can reinforce core values. It creates and sustains a heightened awareness of safety. Programs like this can assist in recruiting new talent to join an organization. OSHA considers safety programs as evidence of due dilegence.

Finally, let’s look at some specific categories of awards that have been shown to work.

Tangible

• Brand name merchandise
• Gift cards
• Corporate branded apparel or merchandise items
• Safety apparel or equipment required in the workplace that employees might otherwise have to purchase on their own, such as work boots or safety glasses

Non-tangible

• Public recognition or praise
• Free lunch
• Prime parking spot
• Extra time off work

Need some help building a safety program? That’s what we’re here for. Give us a call.