A new article published by the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) underscores how poorly managed safety incentive programs may lead to underreporting of injuries and incidents—and offers several research-based considerations.
Drawing from an article by author Matthew Jacquel, vice president and national construction risk control consultant at McGriff, the organization notes that while safety incentive programs fall under three categories (traditional, rate-based programs; behavior-based programs; and non-traditional program), it is important to understand how each program type works to ensure that companies select options that work best for them.
Furthermore, pressure to not report an injury can be prevalent. “If the reward is significant enough to have an impact, then people will want to get the award and may not always behave ethically. This can result in longer pain and suffering for the employee as well as increased claims costs for the company once the injury is reported. Essentially, instead of addressing the root cause of the problems, these programs may hide them,” Jacquel wrote, offering that the combined program approach may be the most effective way to implement a safety incentive program.
ASSP emphasizes that regardless of which type of safety incentive program—or combination of programs—organizations want to implement, it should align with OSHA’s guidance.
Access the article and ASSP’s considerations for safety incentive program rewards on ASSP’s website.
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