Allied Waste Incentive Program Wins Excellence Award
The Incentive Management Association presented a 2007 Circle of Excellence Award to a safety incentive program created by All Star Incentive Marketing for Allied Waste Industrial Services, Inc. The Dedicated to Safety (DTS) Rewards Program was in effect throughout 2005 and 2006; it was continued and further enhanced in 2007. It was showcased at IMA's Circle of Excellence Award Luncheon held during the 2007 Motivation Show in Chicago.
Allied Waste, one of the nation's leading waste management companies, has approximately 20,000 employees for whom safety is a primary concern, including drivers, mechanics, heavy equipment operators, and sorters. All Star (Sturbridge, Mass.) created and launched the bilingual, online/offline rewards program to reinforce workers' safety training, improve communication about safety goals, foster a safer work environment, and reward employees for safe work practices.
Managers recognized monthly performance with 10- and 25-point safety vouchers, and workers redeemed more than 40,000 safety awards for brand-name merchandise and travel selections during the initial two-year period, All Star said. A comprehensive communications effort kept employees and their families energized and informed through a customized Web site, award catalogs, posters, announcements, promotional flyers, thank-you cards, and surveys.
"Of all the types of incentive programs that we provide, safety incentive programs are the most gratifying because we know that our solutions prevent injuries and in some cases actually save lives," said Brian Galonek, president of All Star.
Allied Waste reported a 27 percent reduction in the frequency of safety-related claims at the end of 2007 and reduced the number of claims by 2,520 compared with the previous two-year period, thus saving millions of dollars. More than 93 percent of workers in the program reported communicating at least monthly with their managers on safety-related topics, signifying a significant increase in safety awareness.