Biggest Problems in Safety Incentive Programs

In our opinion, the single biggest problem in safety incentive programs is not setting your program goals in such a way as to motivate performance toward achieving that goal.  The fundamental challenge for anyone designing a safety incentive award program is to have a program that will produce results…or at the bottom line reduce incidents which will result in lowering costs.  That becomes the ultimate objective you want to achieve, but should not be the overt goal of the program.  The goal should be those specific work behaviors that an employee can effect on their own.  

Think about it this way…don’t tell your employees… “if you don’t have an accident we will give you an award.”  That’s actually a little silly if you think about it as no one intentionally goes out and has an accident. You really don’t change behaviors when you use reducing accidents as your goal.  But, you can change those specific behaviors that lead to accidents by rewarding the specific improved performance.  The collection of those improved performances will lead to reduced accidents. 

 The best type of reward system to design is one that gives consistent and continuous small awards to reinforce the changed behaviors.   Research has shown that these types of structures will improve results.

Don’t get caught up in thinking that the big carrot or the grand prize will drive reduced accidents, they won’t.  It is consistently using small and incremental awards for working in a safe manner that will create the habit that will provide better safety results in the long run.

This approach to safety is more long term and consistent with the long term goals of reducing accidents and keeping them low. 

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