IMPLEMENTING A
SAFETY INCENTIVE PROGRAM
Abstract
A package to assist employers in implementing a safety incentive program based on employee
actions, recognition, and reward.
Construction Safety Nova Scotia
Construction Safety Culture
What is a Safety Incentive Program?
A Safety Incentive Program is a way of celebrating Occupational Health and Safety that
encourages workers to work safe and help their coworkers work safe by reporting injuries,
illnesses, near misses, or hazards; while also encouraging their involvement in the company’s
health and safety program, by offering incentives and recognition.
One of the key components to job satisfaction is by celebrating your employees’ participation
and achievements. It is important to show employees you are all part of the Safety Team and
that you care about their safety and the efforts they take daily to be safe on the job.
What are the benefits of implementing a Safety Incentive Program?
Safety incentive programs can be highly effective at changing or reinforcing employee daily safe
behavior. Senior company leaders, department managers, and field supervisors must
continuously and visibly endorse and support the overall importance of the company’s safety
program. Supervisors/Foremen/Crew Leads are also critical to employees incorporating safety
into their daily activities. They are the ones that are the leaders in the on-the-job safety and are
often the ones to first witness positive OH&S activities. To ensure success, participation must
start from the top down in the organization, thus promoting a positive safety culture throughout
the company.
A well designed and managed safety incentive program offers many benefits, such as:
• Encourages employee involvement • Improves morale and employees
in the safety program have a sense of recognition and
• Gives employees a sense of value
ownership in the safety program • Improves employee
• Strengthens good work habits attendance/turnover
• Financial savings • Aids in preventing
incidents/accidents
• Motivates behavior
changes/encourages proactive
behavior
Developing Your Program
The first step in developing your incentive program, is to identify the reasons why you want to
implement it. Are you wanting to recognize employees for their current safe work practices, or
as a mean to help motivate positive behavioral changes? Your reasoning may help dictate your
approach. Other aspects to consider include:
•Senior management involvement and required level of support/endorsement.
•Worker involvement in the development and deployment of the program (Includes JOHSC or
Safety Representative).
•Ensuring the incentive program aligns with company’s overall safety objectives/program.
•Costs associated with supporting the program.
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The most important aspect of a safety incentive program is ensuring it raises employees’
awareness of, and dedication to, workplace safety and best practices, without creating an
environment that hinders incident reporting for fear of losing an incentive.
Incorporate a Safety Incentive Program that focuses on leading indicators of workplace safety,
as opposed to rewarding employees based on zero incidents or accidents. This allows an
opportunity for employees to receive positive reinforcement of day-to-day safety behaviors.
Examples of leading indicators include but are not limited to:
1. Safe Work (Workers) – This would include things like participation in safety meetings,
specific safe acts or habits recognized by a supervisor, improved/perfect attendance,
adhering to PPE policies/requirements, following safe work procedures, etc.
2. Proactivity (Supervisors/Workers) – this would include reporting a near miss,
reporting unsafe conditions, good housekeeping, completing safety training (aside from
compliance training), participating in daily stretching (MSI prevention), participating in
inspections and hazard assessments, providing safety-related suggestions, etc.
3. Safety Leadership (Supervisors/Workers) – this would include leading a safety
meeting or stretch exercises, shadowing or mentoring a new employee for safe
behaviors, participation in an accident investigation/root cause analysis, and recognizing
an employee for a safe act.
4. Safety Engagement (Supervisors/Workers) - this would include recognizing an
employee for going above and beyond as it relates to safe behaviors, or being a true
‘safety champion’, achieving good results on a safety inspection, engaging with
coworkers to promote safe behaviors on site, etc.
Raising and promoting the level of safety awareness in your organization, and recognizing your
employees for conducting safe work, are key aspects of a successful safety incentive program.
It is also important to ensure that the emphasis is placed on motivating people rather than
constantly giving incentives. One of the most effective incentives, is management’s
acknowledgement and recognition of an employee’s good performance – particularly when that
recognition is witnessed by the employees’ peers (i.e., toolbox meetings,
monthly/quarterly/annual safety meetings). While the incentives are nice, most of the emphasis
should be placed on building teamwork and creating a safe workplace. Involve both supervisors
and workers as everyone likes to be recognized for a job well done. Inclusion of all parties helps
keep everyone involved in safety and the company’s program therefore creating a strong safety
culture!
A good safety incentive system will recognize and promote a safer workplace, which will
ultimately prevent accidents/incidents and helps save money on the bottom line.
If you have a Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committee (JOHSC), they can help with
promoting and administrating the system.
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PROGRAM SAMPLE
<ABC Company>
Safety Incentive Program
Objective
<ABC Company> is committed to providing a workplace that provides minimal hazards and
risks to employees in the workplace. Company safety policies, procedures and rules exist to
ensure the safety of employees and compliance with regulations. To support this objective, the
following Safety Incentive Program has been developed and shall be implemented across all
divisions of our company/at each company facility/for all employee involvement. It is important
to note that the safety incentive program is guided by and related to the overall safety program
for <ABC Company>. It is designed to provide employees, with recognition for safe work
behaviors and compliance with the overall company safety program.
Since safety is <ABC Company>’s number one priority, our safety management programs focus
on ways to help motivate employees to perform all activities in a safe manner. We value the
extraordinary efforts our employees make to maintain a safe work environment and we strive to
recognize best practices wherever possible.
As part of our overall commitment to a positive safety culture we have implemented a Safety
Incentive Program for all employees. This program will aid us in promoting OH&S in our
workplace resulting in motivated and committed employees and allow to achieve the desired
company wide safety goals.
Purpose
The safety incentive program has been developed to assist in managing safety related
behaviors along with promoting consistency of recognition and enforcement of our safety
program.
It is designed to motivate and recognize employees who perform their job in a safe and efficient
manner and recognize those that go above and beyond in their daily OH&S actions. The
program is driven by leading indicators, which, when performed diligently will eliminate or
reduce incidents/accidents.
Incentive Program Guidelines
Example:
Every supervisor/manager/foreman will have the opportunity to recognize their employees with
two, 5-dollar gift cards monthly. If there have been no recognizable actions, then this should be
noted. Recognition can be immediately following the action or during a toolbox meeting. Prior to
the annual general safety meeting all past entries will be considered for the annual recognition
award.
Additional program guidelines depend on how your company wants to implement it and how you
will involve your employees in supervisory roles. Be sure to create guidelines that reflect your
company’s needs and internal structure.
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Recommended:
• Ensure supervisors/foremen are also rewarded and determine how you will reward them.
• Ensure supervisors/foremen are keeping notes as to who was rewarded, for what and
why.
• Use a monitoring system (i.e., tracking document/spreadsheet). Use this for
monthly/quarterly management reviews and long-term recognition (i.e., AGMs). Can also
be incorporated into monthly/quarterly/annual statistics to assist with identifying trends
such as:
• Is this program working for the company and the employees?
• Are there measurable improvements being made as an outcome of the program?
• How many near misses and incidents are being reported since implementing the
program?
Incentive Examples
Gift cards are commonly used in safety incentive programs as they give the recipient an
opportunity to splurge on themselves, making the recognition more meaningful.
• They allow employees to select their own reward which offers choice and flexibility.
• They allow for on-the-spot incentives/immediate recognition.
• They are cost-effective for employers. They come in many denominations, from as low
as $5, and can fit any safety incentive/recognition budget.
• They are easy to use at most retailer/online stores or at your closest coffee shop.
• They can be shared with family and friends if the recipient wishes to do so.
Immediate Recognition (value $25 or less) Long Term (AGM, Quarterly, Monthly –
value $25 or more)
Gift Cards (Coffee, gas, grocery, dining, etc.) iPad/tablets
Company Swag (consider both site and office Bluetooth speaker or earpiece/earbuds
employees) Smart Speaker (Google Home, Amazon
baseball hats, toques, coffee/travel mugs, Alexa)
touch gloves, neck warmers/balaclavas,
phone charger packs, water bottles, face TV Streaming technology (Amazon FireStick,
masks, pens, notebooks, etc.) Roku TV, Chromecast, etc.)
Movie Theater Packages (Costco) Higher value gift cards (ie: Pizza Voucher for
family of 4, year subscription to Netflix, etc.)
Thermal insoles (for Dunlops/rain boots) Cell phone car mounts (vehicles)
Odour control balls Thermos/travel mugs (Yeti/higher quality)
Hi-Vis Mesh T-Shirts CSA Safety Footwear/Boot dryers
Laptop sleeve/screen cleaner Work gloves (leather/winter)
Small desk fans or wearable fans Rain gear
Safety glasses (higher end/quality)
Pizza Party/Lunch/Company BBQ
Thermal Wear/Wick Away Clothing
Carhart Clothing/High-end Gear
Laptop bag/travel bag/lunch bag
Note: Consideration needs to be made around the “incentive”, does the employee have to pay
tax or activation fees?
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Communications
Management will be responsible for communicating this program to all employees.
The program will be communicated to all employees and results displayed on safety boards
throughout company facilities and worksites. Additional communications may be given at roll
out/kick-off meeting, annual safety/general meetings, toolbox talks, via email, etc.
Responsibility
Corporate Safety/Safety Manager/Admin/JOHSC is responsible for the overall administration of
this program. Supervisors are accountable for the implementation and execution of this program
at his or her location/site/area of responsibility. All supervisors are responsible for both
compliance with and enforcement of this program. Supervisor participation will be included in
the annual performance evaluation. Every employee is responsible for adherence to this
program.
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