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Operations The principle behind this hierarchy is that lower level needs (also called ���deficiency needs���) must be satisfied before higher level needs can be met. Translated into organizational principles, if employees are not being fairly paid so that their basic needs can be met, or if they are in a hostile, unstable work environment, award systems that target higher-level needs for recognition will not be effective. Reward and incentive systems that provide challenges, stimulate creativity and attempt to drive sustainable safety performance results require individuals to feel that they are fairly treated, respected, and working in a positive, socially stimulating environment. Why Incentive Systems Fail Even with the fundamentals in place, however, implementing organizational incentive systems effectively can be problematic and therefore has been the subject of much heated debate. Proponents of using behavioral interventions argue, for example, that financial incentives can be useful in motivating employees to carry out certain behaviors, while opponents maintain that extrinsic incentives may in some way crowd out intrinsic motivations that are important in producing the desired behavior. Further, even if short-term gains or objectives are realized, there is the risk that when the financial incentive is removed that behavior will revert to previous levels, or, in many cases, deteriorate as the intrinsic drive for performance has actually been reduced. Studies in the education system in which incentives were linked to performance actually demonstrated discouraging results. In one example, a reading-based reward program was introduced to children for whom reading was already an activity of choice. While this activity proved very lucrative, because the kids already loved to read, the children���s motivation slowly shifted from reading for pleasure to reading for prizes. In other words, the intrinsic drive was actually diminished by the introduction of an extrinsic motivator. Certainly this might lead one to rethink the concept that an incentive program may be the key to organizational bliss. This is particularly alarming in an area such as health and safety, where you want individuals to make good choices 100 percent of the time. It is disturbing to think that an incentive structure would drive safe behavior solely contingent upon rewards, or, even worse, that once the incentive is withheld or removed, that unsafe practices will once again prevail. While we all understand that fear and coercion are demotivating, and while the good old ���kick in the pants��� leadership style may produce ���movement but certainly not motivation��� (according to Steven Kerr���s ���Ultimate Rewards, What Really Motivates People to Achieve���) punishment and rewards are viewed by some as two sides of the same coin. Rewards can also have a punitive effect because they, like outright punishment, are manipulative. According to some behavioral scientists, ���Do this and you will get that��� is not really much different from ���Do this or here���s what will happen to you.��� Specifically, an individual who is hoping to receive a specific reward, but for whom that reward is withheld, cannot really distinguish this feeling from that of being punished. So, while you may be making your award-receiving 5 percent safer, more productive and highly motivated, can you really afford to alienate or de-motivate the other 95 percent of your employees? Your organization���s injury rates would be through the roof! Can Incentive Systems Permanently Change Behavior? At this point, you may be wringing your hands or packing up your briefcase; there is no way that incentive programs can prove effective, and in fact, they may actually detract from performance in the long term. Take heart! Despite numerous challenges all is not lost. In fact, a well thoughtout, carefully designed safety incentive program can go a long way to help support key elements in your safety program and play a role in creating a positive safety culture. Don���t Confuse Objectives with Outcomes! One downfall of many current incentive systems is that they incent specific safety results as opposed to the behaviors that aim to drive these results. The most common focus of many organizations today is Lost Time Injuries (LTI), and the often elusive yet much coveted Zero LTI Rate is the target upon which many incentives are based. Nobody would debate the value of achieving zero lost time injuries. However, while we all agree on the merit of this result, is this a goal of your safety program or is it the outcome or byproduct of a having a positive safety culture? I would suggest that achieving zero lost time injuries, or your target recordable rate is the result of achieving a strong safety culture founded on safe practices. Therefore, the key is developing an incentive program that rewards the right behaviors that will help reduce injuries overall. In any (continued on next page) April 2013 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 39 38_Safety_Feature_KP.indd 39 3/25/13 12:22 PM