Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/117833
Operations What Types of Motivators are Meaningful? Once you have identified the behaviors (not outcomes!) that you want to reward, it is equally important to ensure you have the right motivators in place. Cash or gifts? How much? How frequently? These are all key questions that can make or break your incentive program. As a starter, employees, if asked, will always say they prefer cash. After all, cash is universal and flexible; i.e., ���I can get whatever I want.��� However, an extensive research study with more than 8 million employees in 1,600 organizations showed that $3 in cash was required to affect the same result as $1 in noncash awards. So, if you are going to use cash as an incentive, ensure you���re dangling enough at the end of the carrot. Further, cash awards tend to have lasting impact of about two weeks in duration; and they are most often used to pay bills, as opposed to purchasing something special that is in some way linked to the achievement. And when noncash awards are being offered, a broader choice of awards (within a predefined value range) is always much more effective than a single predefined noncash award which has the possibility, despite great intentions, of missing the mark. Is it possible for the award to be too large? On the surface, you might think that���s impossible ��� more is better, right? While increasing the level of reward, cash or otherwise, does typically increase effort and output in most cases, an interesting study demonstrated that once the awards got too rich, the ���choking��� factor came into play. The scientists offered financial rewards based on performance, anywhere from zero to $100. Would the cash help? At first, the scientists found that the participants improved as the incentives rose. However, after a certain point the participants gave in to the pressure and choked. By studying brain activity, they determined that when incentives rose, their aversion to loss kicked in, and participants started thinking more about losing than winning, thus derailing their performance. In terms of designing incentive programs, creating incentives that are too rich, particularly when the participants are not in complete control of achieving the goals, can be very discouraging and counterproductive. Who Designs the Program? This seems like a simple question with an obvious answer. The safety incentive program should be designed by the health and safety director or possibly the senior management team. After all, these individuals know exactly what needs to be accomplished and how. While I would give the leaders some credit for knowing what behaviors need to be driven, I would hesitate to give them full marks on how this needs to be accomplished. Incentive programs structured with employee input work better, and incentive programs that are less prescriptive and allow for more creativity in terms of how specific objectives are to be met are found to be most successful. A final and critical element within any incentive program is timeliness. In general, the closer the incentive is in time to the desired occurring behavior, the stronger the association will be between the incentive and the behavior. Consequently, incentives that are given days, weeks, or worse yet, months after the behavior has occurred are not likely to be very effective. In fact, smaller, more frequent incentives are more effective at driving a change in behavior than larger rewards that take substantially more effort to earn. Summary: Keys to Success Incentive programs can be one useful tool in helping to drive a positive safety culture if thoughtful consideration is given to the following: n Incentive programs can only be successful if the organization already has a fair compensation program in place and the work environment is supportive and respectful. n Safety incentive programs should seek to identify and emphasize those critical behaviors that will, if ingrained over time, create a safety culture that is self-sustaining and intrinsically motivating. n Team-based awards that foster collaboration produce better longterm results. n Employee involvement in structuring incentive programs will increase engagement, buy-in and effectiveness. n Cash awards are more easily diluted and less valued over time, yet, when noncash awards are offered, choice is important. n Smaller, more frequent rewards linked directly to specific behaviors and achievements are more effective at driving permanent change than the big reward tied to the ���big win.��� However, the incentives must be given on a timely basis in order to be effective. n Measure the results, and if you are not achieving the desired outcomes, then take a pulse check to ensure you���ve structured incentives around the right elements. A closing point is that Rome wasn���t built in a day. However, during construction, the team learned many useful skills and strategies, and refined their process so that the next city they built went much more smoothly. Re-evaluate your program regularly, make changes to keep it fresh and exciting, and be prepared to toss out what���s not working and embrace new strategies. When the above strategies are thoughtfully executed, your safety incentive program will be one effective component of your overall safety culture. n Maria Vomiero is is the Health and Safety supervisor at Toromont CAT, in Ontario, Canada. She can be reached at mvomiero@toromont.com. April 2013 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 41 38_Safety_Feature_KP.indd 41 3/25/13 12:22 PM