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Such behaviors include one employee coaching another about a specific safe practice, or daily notices and reminders about
upcoming situations that may need a heads-up. Such behaviors include safety audits of specific environments to measure progress
toward objectives. But the reporting of near misses must also be a targeted and encouraged behavior.
All safety programs must have management front and center as the sponsors of the campaign. Such programs work when employees
see their supervisors and top management as serious about safety, and when management views employees as the key players on the
safety team. After all, the employees can probably list countless safety concerns with little provocation. The question: why aren’t they
coming forward with the list? Not only may there be no incentive for them to do so, they may also be scared to cite safety
problems. This reluctance is often the biggest hurdle to changing the workplace safety culture for the better.
How safety programs go wrong – Are these too familiar?
A faulty definition of safety: Organizations that define safety as loss prevention are not serious about safety. Safety
signs alone will not work. The culture must change, not the signage, and the focus must be on achievement and success, not losses
and costs. Accidents can no longer be seen as acts of God; they are a breakdown of the safety system.
No teamwork: An effective safety and health program is a three-legged stool: employees, their supervisors, and
management. But take one leg out and the program collapses. Proactive participation is needed all around. Each member of the team
is motivated to change the culture toward zero tolerance.
Unintended results: Programs that focus merely on accident free days may actually discourage incident reporting, leaving
unsafe conditions to prevail unchecked. Such incentives can infect employee morale with the notion that management cares more
about OSHA reports rather than real safety.
Poorly constructed objectives: Safety programs that have no clear objectives cannot work well because employees do not
know what is expected of them. What’s more, the safety manager cannot measure progress if no benchmark goals and
objectives are established at the beginning. According to the American Society of Safety Engineers, the greatest problem with
safety programs is measurement.
When money doesn’t talk: Monetary rewards are not effective. Employees subconsciously perceive it as a payoff for
being safe.
Safety program successes around the country - Could these ideas work for you?
Successful safety programs are using unique incentives to help change the workplace culture:
- Accumulated points used for merchandise redemption in an incentive catalog.
- Gift certificates, dinner certificates, movie and athletic tickets.
- Achievement cards that, once filled, can be redeemed for rewards.
- Management randomly calls employees with safety questions. Correct answers earned points toward merchandise.
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