Safety is a well known subject within the workplace. How often have you or your employees been made to sit through repetitive lectures on safety? However, safe work practices are consistently repeated both because of their performance and because sometimes taking a shortcut seems easier and faster than doing a job the proper way. The dangers of working in an unsafe manner are all too clear, and yet on a daily basis employees can often be found overlooking safety protocols in the name of getting a job done faster. One of the many ways to combat this is to implement a safety awards program.
A safety awards program recognizes and awards employees for abiding by safety protocols for the workplace and can also acknowledge and award those who go above and beyond safety protocols. Perhaps an employee has taken the time to address an unsafe environment within the workplace and has done something to help fix that particular area.
Further still, perhaps an employee has taken the time to teach others the proper way to do certain tasks in order to avoid unsafe situations. You may also take the time to reward an employee who has been in charge of safety for a certain period of time, or even let that employee liven up the next safety brief with a short awards ceremony. Award employees and groups of employees for taking charge of their workplace and showing care and concern for their coworkers, and you will see safety increase overall.
Recognizing these and other safety efforts with an award creates a similar response to what people felt as children upon receiving awards. No matter how old you are or what situation in which you are working, people love being awarded and recognized for their efforts. It reinforces good, safe work practices because it tells your employees, “I see what you are doing and I appreciate your efforts.”
Safety awards promote safe working because they work. Physically demonstrating that safety in the workplace is awarded and appreciated encourages the attitude to spread to the rest of your employees. This, in turn, will ensure that your employees strive to work in a safe manner and teach others to do the same.