Safety Incentive Bonus Programs

For safety incentive bonus programs, I believe that most of the focus should be on the team rather than the individual. Although every team member has his or her specific role in the big picture, I like to see incentive plans that are based on group performance rather than individual performance. If we remember the Hawthorne Effect, this philosophy fits 

A particular lucrative program with which I was associated consisted of a cash bonus for almost all of the department members. The workers who actually performed the work were eligible to receive one day s extra pay per month. Key operators and lead personnel (both of these positions were union and not considered management) would receive up to two days pay per month depending on the general foreperson s recommendation. Supervisors would receive one week s pay per month if all of their reports qualified. General forepersons and above were not eligible for a safety bonus. 

One important point not mentioned in the previous discussion was that this was not just a safety bonus, but also an attendance bonus. The attendance part was that workers must show up on time for work every day. They were allowed to be tardy twice and still qualify, but an unauthorized absence disqualified both the worker and the supervisor. Also, for the operator and a lead person, the recommendation for the bonus seemed to be more political in nature rather than based on objective data. The following are some of the principles that this particular lucrative safety bonus program was based on  

Field supervisors (front-line supervisors) are the most important link in the safety chain. 

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A tight economy could have a serious effect on a company s safety culture and programs. After all, when everyone is pulling together to control costs, this means the safety department does too—or does it The answer to this question is more complicated than one might realize. In most cases, there is very little leeway to cut costs for safety. Let s take an example of a safety incentive plan or safety bonus plan. 

Several years ago, I consulted with a chemical plant well-known for exemplary safety performance. The annual number of OSHA recordables among approximately 550 employees had varied from 3 to 10 over several years. At the start of 1 5, management initiated an outcome-based incentive program to reach a "step improvement" in safety. Specifically, 20 percent of a year-end bonus, amounting to 800 per employee, hinged on having 6 or fewer OSHA recordables at the end of the year. 

One popular approach is to tie safety into supervisors bonuses—for example, the year end bonus. Safety should not be the sole criteria for bonuses, but it should be an equal part. (As noted above, an5dime safety and incentives and bonuses are tied together it s a tricky subject. It may be a little more tricky for employees than for supervisors, but still you want to make certain that the bonus/incentive program is actually promoting safety and not hiding injuries.)... 

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