Employee incentive programs are all about rewarding employees for desired behavior, and working as an organization invoke this desired behavior as the standard. One of the biggest applicable verticals for employee incentive programs is to help maintain workplace safety. Here are a few quick tips on how to maximize the effectiveness of your safety rewards incentive program.
- Successful safety incentives reward behaviors, not outcomes. Instead of basing your safety rewards program off of a total organizational safety record, reward employees who go above and beyond to maintain a safe workplace. Recognizing individual accomplishments has an enduring impact on employees who are rewarded, and when individual rewards are given non-rewarded employees take notice.
- Rewards should be issued immediately, or as soon as possible. Issuing safety rewards quickly creates an immediate connection between the employee and the incentive. Issuing safety rewards in a timely manner also helps associate the reward with the specific behavior the employee exhibited to earn it.
- Along with rewards, use recognition. Rewarding safe behavior in a public forum helps perpetuate an organizational culture of safety. Making an example of a safety reward shows other employees exactly what type of behavior is desired by the organization and what type of exemplary actions need to be taken to earn a reward. Keeping the conditions of safety rewards transparent keeps employees more engaged.
- Don’t use cash rewards as safety incentives. Monetary incentives get lumped in with regular income and tend to lose the "trophy value" of a totally independent reward currency. Using non-monetary incentive such as gift cards to retailers popular amongst your workforce such as gift cards to CVS/Pharmacy, Boston Market, or Burlington Coat Factory offer employees a choice of where to redeem their reward and add value in the employee's experience. Non-monetary rewards such as an extra vacation day can also add the same type of "trophy value" to a safety reward for employees.
