Let Safety Incentives Strengthen Fall Protection and Boost Your Safety Culture

Implementing safety incentive programs can significantly improve compliance with fall protection standards and strengthen overall workplace safety culture.

• By Buck Peavey
• Sep 10, 2024

Fall protection is a critical aspect of ensuring worker safety. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts to implement rigorous safety protocols and provide high-quality fall protection equipment, compliance issues and safety lapses can still occur. Properly designed safety incentive programs have been proven to enhance adherence to fall protection standards.

The Importance of Fall Protection

The statistics will show that falls are among the leading causes of serious injuries and fatalities in the workplace. In some industries, they account for nearly one-third of all workplace fatalities. Comprehensive fall protection involves not just the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) — such as harnesses, lanyards and guardrails — but also adherence to safety protocols, proper training and a proactive safety culture.

Given the high stakes, ensuring that workers consistently follow fall protection measures is crucial. This is where safety incentives come into play, offering a way to drive the behavior of these practices through positive reinforcement.

Understanding Safety Incentives

Safety incentives are rewards or recognition given to employees for adhering to safety protocols or demonstrating safe work practices. But don’t underestimate their ability to invigorate a culture of safety awareness and improve safety program participation dramatically. Ways of “incentivizing” can vary widely, from using monetary cash-type rewards (including gift cards) to non-monetary recognition such as time off, pizza parties, company branded items and, of course, actual reward merchandise. In the end, the goal of safety incentive programs is to create a motivating environment where employees are encouraged to prioritize safety and participate in certain safety initiatives that they might otherwise not.

Steps to Implement a Safety Incentive Program for Fall Protection

1. Define Clear Objectives and Metrics

To effectively use safety incentives, it's essential to set clear, measurable objectives. These goals might include:

• Consistent use of fall protection equipment, such as harnesses and lanyards.
• Completion of mandatory fall protection training modules.
• Adherence to safety checklists and protocols.
• Reporting potential fall hazards and suggesting improvements.

It’s important to establish specific metrics to evaluate whether these goals are being met. For example, one option is to track the number of safety violations, the percentage of employees wearing proper fall protection or the frequency of completed safety training modules. Once these metrics and desired behaviors are created, attach the incentive reward to them directly. It’s going to be critical to attach smaller, ideally weekly, rewards to these safe behaviors.

2. Communicate the Program Clearly (and Simply)

Effective, simple and easy-to-understand communication is key to the success of any incentive program. Ensure that all employees understand the objectives of the program, and how they can earn rewards. Communication should be ongoing and transparent, including frequent updates on program performance and any changes to the incentive rewarding criteria. Consider hiring an experienced incentive company to help do this. Some packaged programs will automatically handle the communication and rewarding, saving time.

3. Develop the Proper Reward System

Choose a reward system that aligns with employee preferences and company culture but also has already been proven to motivate employees. Stay away from the old “dangle the carrot” cash-type programs that can turn the program into entitled compensation. Focus on an incentive system that will drive weekly and daily, safe behavior.

• Stay with merchandise versus cash. Think of that trophy you won in grade or high school. It meant more and was certainly more memorable than the $20 that the trophy actually cost. Points collected and redeemed for rewards they “want” have been proven to work better than offering cash or items that people “need.” This can be confusing because employees will often say what they want for an incentive is “cash” or the equivalent (gift cards). However, cash is not what has been proven the most effective at driving behavior.

• Reward for specific behaviors, frequently. First, use an easy-to-administer reward “vehicle” that delivers smaller-value points that can then be collected over time to redeem a larger-value reward. Doing so will give you more bang for your buck. Gamecards containing points have been proven to work well for this. These cards/points should be attached to the weekly behaviors that lead to the desired end result.

• Add Gamification: In today’s high-stimulation world, simply dangling a merchandise “carrot” doesn’t work. Creating or selecting a program that has a game component will build teamwork and interaction between employees that boosts the safety culture and creates more safety banter in the organization.

• Offer both individual rewards AND chances at big prizes: Over decades, strong data shows 50 percent of employees are more motivated by collecting points that will “for sure” result in a reward they can redeem. The other 50 percent? They are more motivated by a chance at a bigger grand prize. No fret, there are programs available on the market that include tickets or gamecards that deliver both points and chances for national sweepstakes-type drawing prizes or drawing prizes exclusive for your company.

• Reward teams as well as Individuals: Once a rewarding vehicle such as a ticket or gamecard is in play and is attached to fall protection and other weekly safe behaviors, to maximize effectiveness, don’t forget to also reward these cards or points to teams that reach certain safety milestones or achieve their monthly goals of high safety participation or achievement levels.

4. Monitor and Evaluate Program Performance

It does not need to be complicated, but add some simple systems to track compliance with fall protection protocols. This can involve regular safety audits, inspections, and performance reviews. Collect the key data on how well employees are adhering to safety practices and use this information to evaluate the effectiveness of the incentive program.

Regularly review these performance metrics and make adjustments as necessary. For example, if certain safety practices are not improving as expected, consider revising the objectives or the incentive reward criteria.

5. Show Commitment to Safety Culture

Incentives can motivate employees and take safety culture to a new level, but it’s important to show safety culture commitment from the beginning. Get upper management involved and have them help lead the way in communicating this. Encourage employees to support each other in adhering to safety protocols and create an environment where safety is a shared responsibility. Including Peer recognition and team-based rewards can enhance the collective commitment to safety as well.

Promote open communication about safety concerns and encourage and even reward employees for reporting potential hazards or unsafe practices without fear of retribution. This proactive approach can help identify and address issues before they result in accidents or non-reporting issues.

6. Review and Adapt the Program

Regularly review the incentive program to ensure its continued effectiveness. Solicit feedback from employees to understand their views on the program and identify any areas for improvement. Be prepared to adapt the program based on this feedback and any changes in the work environment or safety regulations. Some programs offered by incentive companies actually have built-in employee surveys to help lower any potential administration.

Reviewing the Benefits of Safety Incentives

1. Enhanced compliance. Safety incentives can lead to improved adherence to fall protection protocols. Employees are more likely to follow safety procedures when they know that their efforts will be recognized and rewarded.
2. Increased awareness. Incentives can raise awareness and reinforce the message from the top that safety is a top priority.
3. Improved morale. Recognizing and rewarding safe practices can boost employee morale and job satisfaction. A positive reinforcement approach creates a more engaged and motivated workforce over the traditional “consequence for doing something wrong” type of program.
4. Reduced incidents. By encouraging consistent use of fall protection measures and adherence to safety protocols, incentive programs can help reduce the number of fall-related incidents and injuries as well as any other type of accidents or injuries they may be experiencing.

Conclusion

Safety incentives can be a powerful tool in enhancing fall protection and overall workplace safety. By setting clear objectives, effectively communicating the program — including frequent rewarding and gamification — and regularly evaluating program’s impact, you can create a motivating environment that encourages adherence to safety protocols. While safety incentives offer numerous benefits, it’s crucial to balance them with a strong safety culture and ensure that they support rather than detract from the core values of workplace safety.

This article originally appeared in the September 2024 issue of Occupational Health & Safety.