Today, industries continue to scale rapidly with the introduction of newer technologies and the ongoing demand for innovative products. Because of this expansion, new roles are continuously being introduced into workplaces.
All types of businesses—from manufacturing plants and distribution warehouses to construction sites—are continuing to increase their manpower needs and unique safety considerations. In the past, many of these organizations have relied on traditional safety programs and lengthy procedures to help ensure the company meets all its legal requirements with employees.
However, traditional workplace training methods sometimes prove unengaging, often leading employees to gain less from them due to a lack of interest. However, a safety incentive program can be a great way to shift this narrative.
Common Reasons Why Traditional Safety Training Isn’t Really Effective
Even when organizations have the best intentions when introducing safety programs, they can often miss the mark when getting the active participation they need from employees. This lack of interest can happen for a variety of reasons, including:
- Boring Content – Although they are essential, safety training briefings are often made up of lengthy procedures and manuals that can be “less-than-exciting.” This can create a bit of brain fog for many employees, allowing their minds to wander and not gain much value from the instructions.
- Short Attention Spans – Most people today have developed short attention spans due to how quickly and easily they can find information online. So, when they’re put into an environment where a lot of information is given all at once, it can be too overwhelming to absorb, leading to confusion and the inability to retain information.
- Too Focused on Compliance – Many organizations also use their safety briefings to discuss industry compliance regulations. This can sometimes backfire since it can distract from the messaging of these safety procedures. It can lead to employees only following specific guidelines to avoid getting in trouble instead of proactively avoiding hazards for their safety.
Strategies for Creating a Safety Incentive Program
Designing a safety incentive program for your workplace can be a great way to get more interest in the information you’re delivering. When employees are actively rewarded for their involvement in these initiatives, it helps to avoid them becoming bored with the material while also encouraging them to take a deeper interest in helping to keep the workplace safe.
However, there are some strategies you’ll want to put in place to make sure your safety incentive program is a success.
Establish Your Objectives
Before you start introducing a safety incentive program into your business, it’s important to first define the objectives you’re looking to accomplish. You’ll want to think about your organization’s unique positioning within the industry and the most critical safety procedures that need to be trained.
You may also want to consider areas of improvement if you’ve already had a safety program in place for some time but are noticing gaps. These could be good areas to focus on when including new incentives in your program. Once you have identified all of these objectives, you’ll be able to track their progress better over time.
Set Up Important Metrics
The next thing you’ll want to do is look for ways to measure the performance of your safety incentive program over time. To do this, you’ll need to establish key metrics to benchmark and track to ensure the program aligns with your organization’s goals.
The most important thing to remember about business metrics is that they should be objective and quantifiable. This helps remove guesswork from analysis and keeps the data clear and unambiguous.
Some of the most common metrics for creating a safety incentive program include incident report percentages, audience participation rates in training sessions, and various employee feedback.
Choose Effective Rewards
While a reward of any type is better than nothing, you’ll want to avoid using lackluster rewards that minimize employee motivation and engagement. It’s also important to remember that one type of reward may not motivate all employees the same way.
Because of this, you should take the time necessary to understand your employees’ interests. You can do this by conducting surveys to gather their input before you implement the incentive program.
Some of the types of rewards you can use are incentive pay, tickets to sports events or concerts, gym memberships, or gift cards.
Communicate the Program Clearly
The success of your safety incentive program will hinge on how well your employees understand it. To help them achieve this, you’ll want to be transparent in your communication about the program and its rules.
A great way to do this is to hold company-wide meetings to discuss how the incentive program works and what employees will be expected to do if they want to participate. This is a great opportunity to gather some initial feedback from employees on the format to ensure its successful rollout.
Track the Success of Your Program
Over time, you’ll want to assess the effectiveness of your program. This is to make sure you’re seeing positive changes in the data you’re collecting and are able to verify that safety awareness is growing over time.
Regularly track the metrics you established at the beginning of the process and use the information collected to make data-driven decisions surrounding your approach. If you find that the rewards you integrated aren’t resonating the way you expected, consider trying a new format that may improve engagement.
Make Safety a Higher Priority for Your Business
Safety programs are an essential element for many businesses today, ensuring employees’ safety and meeting industry-specific safety regulations. By incorporating a safety incentive program into your current safety initiatives, you can significantly improve your employees’ engagement rates in workplace safety and get a better return on the time and resources you put into safety training.
By Cindy Mielke, Vice President of Strategic Partners at Tango
Cindy is passionate about the incentive industry. In addition to her role as Vice President of Strategic Partners here at Tango, she is a Certified Professional of Incentive Management who proudly serves on two industry boards. When she’s not working, Cindy enjoys spending time with her family—including three cats, two dogs, and a horse—and sharing her love of nature as a Nebraska Master Naturalist.