Do incentive promotions work?
That is the great question and there are many opinions as to the effectiveness of incentive programs. According to a survey of Safety Professionals by the National Safety & Health Council, 74% of those surveyed agreed that incentives motivate employees to work safely. In addition, 64% said they use incentives as part of their over-all safety and health program. The biggest problem and objection to incentives is the prospect of employees failing to report an accident or incident in order to receive incentives. To avoid this, use incentives more so to focus on performance relative to leading indicators, (attending safety classes, watching safety video, etc) rather than lagging indicators like loss time accidents or recordables. Incentives also motivate employees to participate in promotions like Safe-T-Word bingo. This promotion and/or any promotion using incentives should focus on awareness and education to safe behavior. Knowledge of safe behavior more than incentives for safe behavior
