By Janette Iachini, Ed. D

Picture this, if you will, an administrator looking at a year-end injury-accident report with his/her head propped up by one hand and one finger across their lips with a baffling look of “why are these costs so high?” Or, picture a department leader not reporting a small injury on the last day of a flawless (injury-free) month saying, “I want my bonus for an injury-free month.”

Got the picture? Before pin-pointing why employees take risks and their motivation for changing a behavior, let’s take a field trip to radio station WII FM (What’s In It For Me). On this trip, you will be enlightened to human behavior. Such enlightenment will help you answer that million dollar question – Why do employees take risks and how can it be changed?

Our tour begins on the first floor of a five story building. On the other side of the observation window are employees who are working well enough to get a paycheck. The paycheck helps to keep their basic biological and physiological needs met like, food, shelter, warmth, and sleep. Unannounced to coworkers or management, one of these employees may be providing a car or small camper as shelter for his or her significant other and children.

Fortunately, employees on the second floor have quickly moved up from the first floor due to a steady paycheck. A paycheck that provides safety needs such as stability and security. Physical and emotional well-being are being satisfied by order and protection given by a place called home.

Employees on the third floor are showing a different type of behavior that isn’t as predominant on the first two floors. Third floor employees are demonstrating cooperation, group work, and signs of belonging; teamwork. This is not to say they are no longer concerned with biological, physical, or safety needs; these issues aren’t on the forefront of their thoughts.

Moving up to the fourth floor of WII FM…finally, employees are taking responsibility. Employees have telltale signs of increased self-esteem by wanting to achieve. Employees are motivated by recognition of how their friends and co-workers perceive them.

There is limited access to the fifth floor. Only a small percentage of employees achieve this level. At the top are those who aim for self-actualization; self-knowledge; those who realize ultimate personal potential; those who search for personal growth without wanting recognition for an achievement.

At this point, the WII FM tour has concluded. If you didn’t notice, WII FM resembles Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Hierarchy of Motivation). Maslow says, even though an employee may achieve a higher order of need, if things in a lower order are taken away, he is no longer concerned with the maintenance of the higher level. For example, looking at today’s economy, it’s hard to motivate an employee to meet target goals when he’s next to be laid off.

Which floor of employees does your current safety/wellness program motivate? WAIT! Before answering that question or thinking you can answer the million dollar question of “why do employees take unsafe risks”, add another dimension to each floor. Add past experiences, both positive and negative, non-work (external) influences, and willingness to change to the formula of motivation.

Aaa…don’t shoot! I’m just the messenger. It’s not my fault people are complex. I believe the million dollar question should read, “How can we motivate employees to change a risky behavior that accommodates all levels of employees’ needs?”

Answer: The first step is to stop dictating requirements, and promote/develop/reward (which ever word you want to use) employees as individuals. Hence, a learned behavior that is internalized and was learned with “fun”.

Dictating (negative reinforcement) requirements, though may be vital to the organization, can build sound-proof walls between “what’s right” (the organization) and “What’s In It For Me” (the employee). Helping an employee discover the requirement through guided positive reinforcement can be fun and personally rewarding; therefore, most likely, a behavior change. The following situation perfectly depicts negative and positive reinforcement for behavior change in the workplace. In his webinar at www.greenbeansandicecream.com, Bill Sims tells a story about negative reinforcement and construction workers in the UK…

From this scenario, we can learn that negative reinforcement gets you the behavior change—as long as you’re there to yell or scream at the person. The minute you leave, guess what? Their behavior goes back to where it was originally.

Now contrast this phenomenon with another story. The same problem—a safety director was trying to get employees to wear hard hats and they wouldn’t. So as their consultant, we said, “look, why don’t you stop nagging and screaming since that isn’t working. Instead, perhaps you should consider positively reinforcing the right behavior.” After some buy-in and setting up a tangible incentive as positive reinforcement, the safety director went back to the same site and, instead of yelling at all those who weren’t in compliance; she picked one guy out of the crowd that was indeed wearing his hard hat. She goes over to the guy; she hands him a little “You did it right” card on the spot thanking him for complying with the rules. She also tells him that she appreciates what he’s doing and to keep up the good work. The gift card allowed the employee to obtain a nice gift for himself. Everyone on the construction project took notice of that behavior.”

Immediate, frequent, positive reinforcement is the key to guided behavior change. This method may take a longer time to get the results you want; however, in the long run, the results will be lasting and more cost effective. Employees will figure out for themselves WIIFM. Have a million dollar answer yet?

Janette Iachini, Ed. D., freelance writer, owner of Umpqua Testing, Educational Services, & Tutoring, author of IQuit4Me self-guided smoking cessation book, www.jiachini@msn.com

“We don’t need to reward safe performance. We give our employees a paycheck and they deserve nothing more for working safely. It’s part of their job.”

If it’s true that no deserves a bonus in return for doing what is expected, then why are Fortune 500 CEO’s given year-end bonuses based on company performance? Why is it fair to reward them for performance while ignoring the efforts of the thousands of hourly employees below them?

“Rewards do not effect the attitudes that underlie unsafe behavior. They merely cause employees not to report injury.”

Actually, many safety incentive programs now reward employees for reporting injuries. Employees are recognized and then rewarded for reporting and correcting unsafe acts and conditions before injuries can even occur. Other programs offer incentives for taking pro-active safety steps such as attending safety meetings and passing safety inspections.

“With a reward program, management ignores the true cause of the problem. Rewards discourage changing the safety system.”

W.R. Grace documented over 1800 bright ideas from it’s employees, with over 50% of these ideas centered on improving processes and procedures involving safety.

“Safety rewards are unnecessary. All employees have intrinsic motivation and should be willing to do a job safely for the compensation received.”

In a study by Dr. Kenneth Kovach, quoted in Bob Nelson’s book: 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, recognition for a job well done is the single most important factor in employee job satisfaction.

Those same employees said 68% of the time that they were not recognized enough by upper management. In another survey, employees who leave a job or quit a job consistently rank lack of recognition and praise as the primary reason for leaving. So recognizing employees for being safe fills a vital need that all of us have.

Further, the Workmen’s Compensation system is a temptation many employees cannot resist. Workmen’s Comp is an incentive program that rewards people who don’t return to work. Many companies report that a healthy safety incentive program helps combat the temptation of Work Comp fraud.

Clearly, no one knows all the secrets of human nature and employee motivation. It’s a constantly changing and highly complex subject. But that’s what makes it so intriguing. One thing can be said for sure: companies experimenting and learning how to use incentives and recognition often significantly improve safety much more rapidly than companies which do not. And these companies also have higher morale and lower turnover than companies who think managing people is only about cutting a paycheck every other week.

By Bill Sims Jr.

Most safety managers in the trenches for any length of time have seen the negative  effects of poorly designed safety incentive programs.  These are the programs that only reward employees for reaching an injury-free milestones without changing underlying behavior.

Programs like these could lead you to conclude that all safety incentive programs are ineffective in creating a safer workplace.  You might even believe they do just the opposite and actually encourage injury hiding.  However, we have uncovered cases where injury hiding occurs without ANY incentive programs — leading us to a new understanding of injury hiding.

Consider the following story.

A certain non-profit organization builds houses for underprivileged people. The work is done by volunteers who receive support and housing from the organization. During a  building campaign, the organization placed an emphasis on safety, establishing a goal of achieving 200,000 injury free hours.  There was no incentive or recognition program involved because there was no budget for one. There was only this common safety goal, shared by 1,000 workers.

During the construction project a worker suffered a broken arm, had it reset at the infirmary and returned to work the next day so he wouldn’t blow the record for his crew.

The concerned safety staff placed him in a light duty assignment. But why did he return to work? The answer was he wasn’t trying to win a prize, he was trying to be a hero.

Human beings are goal oriented. We are taught that being a hero is admirable and that giving 110% when our bodies are functioning at only 50% is having “the right stuff.”

Newspapers are filled with stories of heroes –  pulled from the sports arena, battle field and the like.  Reporters can attest to their wide appeal among the general public.  So is it any wonder then that We seek to imitate such heroic behaviors?

Human beings inherently want to be heroes. Often, the root cause of injury hiding may not involve an incentive at all, but a drive for recognition. Some employees want to be heroes and seek to establish themselves as the toughest guy on the crew — someone who can work through any pain or trauma.
We have heard of many employees who proudly show off a lost finger or hand.  We’ve  heard coworkers tell stories like, “… after his arm was cut off he picked it up with the other hand and walked to the ambulance.”
We are convinced that many behavioral safety experts have missed a major reason people hide their injuries in the work place.  Being a hero and working “hurt” allows them to get needed recognition and positive affirmation from their peers.
Is it possible that employees might even fake or stage an injury, or even create one at home to gain that recognition? Sounds far-fetched, but perhaps some of the injuries employees “hide” result from trying to gain hero status after news of the injury “mysteriously” leaks out.

Numerous industry surveys have shown that employees rate the need for recognition as the number-one factor in job satisfaction, while money ranks a distant fifth. You may be surprised to learn that 73% of all employees report that they are not thanked or praised enough.

In work environments where employees are thanked and praised regularly for positive behaviors, responsible management is meeting that need for support and recognition.  These environments don’t just “happen” – they are created with the help of a well-planned safety recognition program.  Companies that cling to the misconception that, “a paycheck is recognition enough” have created a culture where employees will hide injuries to be a “hero” or “help” the team.

Regarding the ongoing debate of whether incentive programs lead to injury hiding or not, we would like to assert that yes they can — if misused or abused. (Keep in mind that there is a difference between incentive programs and recognition programs.  The former focuses on prizes while the latter focuses on recognizing changes in behavior.)

Regardless of where you sit on the issue of injury hiding, I would caution that nobody is the master of human behavior. There are no easy answers or quick fixes. Anyone who supposes otherwise will always find himself proven wrong.

Safety Incentive Plans (Performance plans) share the same concept as Employee Stock Ownership plans or Profit Sharing plans; participants have a stake in the results!
When participants are rewarded for positive results, and coupled with a strong injury prevention program (training and workplace design), management commitment, and an employee safety committee, a successful safety incentive plan can be the key that opens the door to success!

SafetyIncentives.com Safety Performance Systems offers targeted performance plans which you customize to your site specific needs and budget. A new plan can be implemented annually so interest is always maintained!

There are many plans – from targeting back injuries to slips, trips, and falls; from near misses to attentiveness to labels and warning signs! Add some fun and excitement to your safety program and more importantly,value, by achieving favorable results!

” I never was much of a Skinner fan but I agree with that statement. When an employee suddenly puts on safety glasses because the “safety man” is walking down the aisle, the employee’s behavior wasmodified.

Was the behavior modification due to the sudden realization that he was in a mandatory eye protection area? Of course the employee’s sudden burst of compliance carried a “taillight guarantee.” The safety glasses will have a way of removing themselves when the ‘coast is clear’. Employees make trade-offs like this all the time. They trade personal safety for comfort and convenience. An employee’s level of compliance rises or falls in direct proportion to their perceived level of risk.

In the aforementioned instance, the employee considered the chances of injury were less than the chances of disciplinary action. Fortunately, for employees such as this, the responsibility for a “level of risk” determination is not theirs to make.

I like the “carrots, stick, carrots” approach to workplace safety. Positive reinforcement first, progressive discipline if that doesn’t succeed, and carrots again if it does. Safety Performance plans combined with the above mentioned safety principles, help foster such a positive environment.

Safety performance plans share the same concept as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan or Profit Sharing plan, in that the participants have a stake in the results. Coupled with a strong injury prevention program (training and workplace design), management commitment, and an employee participant safety committee, success is right around the corner.

I have found it to be more effective to change the themes of the plans on a yearly basis. This maintains interest and allows the performance plans to be directed towards specific areas of concern or focus, such as back injuries or slips, trips, and falls, for example. In addition, continuing the identical plan may be construedas a benefit or other employer provision.

Like the Thanksgiving turkey provided to each employee, Safety incentive awards that are tied to specific targets over established uninterrupted periods may be considered precedent setting. You will notice, while all of these plans reward positive performance, they each differ in theme, number of recipients, types and quantities of awards, etc. None of the Performance Plans discourage accident reporting since they all hinge on reducing a business’s real adversary – lost time injuries!

Naturally, you can alter the plans in any way you see fit. In fact I strongly recommend it. Personalizing the Performance plan will make it more attractive and less “pre-packaged.” Employees are less interested in some of the “canned” safety incentive programs. If there is initial interest, it will certainly wane after the first year. That is why it important to change the plan annually.

Whether its politics, insurance, labor relations, even dating and marriage, the ability to persuade the other party to adopting your view is the key to success – no matter what the undertaking. An individual may possess limitless knowledge about a given subject but may not convey his or her message without luring the other party into a “state of involuntary prayer.”

As a Safety Professional, you can’t “wait in the showroom” like a plaid-suited car salesman expecting customers to come to hear your “pitch.” You have got to meet your customers in their element, establish a rapport, speak their language, hone in, and sell the message! Selling Safety provides both an entertaining and informative perspective on the true consequences of work place injuries and illnesses.

Selling Safety is an effective presentation that will be well received by senior management, supervision, as well as non-management personnel.

Learn more by ordering our Free DVD