Logotown is your ultimate advertising specialties source for imprinted promotional products.

With figures in hand and estimated savings, management will be more than ready to listen to your ideas for a safety program - one that will save not only money but also quite possibly, lives.

A. Defining the Safety Goals

Start by making a list of your major safety concerns. It's a good idea to ask for assistance with this from foremen, supervisors and department heads - those people who would know best what the safety problems are in their area of responsibility. Check the previous year's accident and injury reports too. These will give you an even clearer picture of your work environment, specifically where and how accidents most frequently occur.

Remember - safety hazards lurk in all areas of your office, warehouse or plant and affect workers as diverse as tool-dye operators, truck drivers, office workers and ticket agents.

You may even want to go so far as to hire ergonomics, medical or chemical specialists to help expose hidden problems. Your own workers can also provide you with valuable input from first - hand experience.

Next, make a personal inspection, monitoring workplace and equipment conditions for all types of hazards and use the findings to develop recommendations for effective control strategies.

Once you've targeted your safety goals, you can craft your incentive campaign objectives. Your goals should always be:

• Simple and Specific. Spell it out. Focus on one or two objectives and keep the wording simple. Objectives should contain the desired activity, the units of that activity that will be measured, the expected performance level and behavioral change and the time allotted to do it.
• Realistic. Objectives must be attainable or safety program participants will wind up discouraged when they can't reach the goal. Focus on one or two key objectives and take into account the number of people on staff, workplace conditions, the financial support you're receiving from management and the time allotted for training. All these factors determine how much you can realistically achieve.
• Well-timed. Objectives should correspond with peak injury periods in the workplace. Holding a program in a toy factory after the Christmas rush will not be as effective, nor will it be an accurate reflection on how you can improve a safety record when it most counts.
• Measurable. Make the objectives measurable so that they can be evaluated fairly. You have to be able to quantify behavior or participants won't know what you expect of them. If you want truck drivers to go for so many days without accidents, say so.
• Acceptable. Top management as well as the people who oversee the day-to-day operations of the company must approve goals. Both groups of people can steer you away from objectives that can't be measured or that work against corporate policies. Objectives often used in safety programs include:
• Proper use of safety equipment
• Eliminating chargeable driving accidents, such as speeding or drunk driving
• Appropriate storage of tools and machinery
• Proper techniques for lifting and carrying
• Proper handling of hazardous materials
• Making sure doors and walkways are not hazardously blocked
• Replacing faulty lighting fixtures
• Establishing safety-training programs for workers
• Replacing outdated equipment
• Proper use of equipment to avoid damage

[Back to Table of Contents]

Once the program's objectives are defined, decide when and how long the campaign will run. Most safety programs last anywhere from three to six months which allows time for education and training sessions and to really achieve results. Take into account the complexity of your work environment and how many behaviors you want to change. More complex programs will require more time.

Another thing to decide is if participants will work as individuals or in teams to accomplish safety goals. While many programs target and quantify individual achievement, many programs work well with a team-based structure. If you choose a team program, make sure that:

• Each worker feels he or she can attain the goal and that rewards will appeal to each individual on the team.
• Each worker has the chance to be recognized for outstanding achievement, even if the team doesn't meet its objectives. Supporting programs such as safety suggestions or poster contests allow for individual participation and reward.
• Teams consist of no more than six to eight members to keep the group cohesive and focused.
• Teams are made up of both supervisors and workers who perform similar tasks and encounter the same safety hazards.

After you've set your goals and decided on individual or team structure, it's time to write the program rules. Rules should always, like the program goals, be simple, straightforward and specific. They must also answer these questions:

• When will the program run?
• Who is eligible to participate?
• How will workers achieve awards?
• How are workers disqualified?

If there's a golden rule for writing rules, it's "keep it simple." Rules should always be free of industry jargon, easily understood, specific, straight forward and above all, fair. Get a second opinion before officially releasing them by giving a copy of the rules to several potential participants for feedback. If they don't understand them, others won't either. Go back to the drawing board and carefully edit and rewrite the rules until they're clean.

[Back to Table of Contents]

The budget for a safety program should be broken down into three major cost categories: administration, safety promotions and safety awards. But the following factors should also be considered when determining the budget:

• The number and type of safety incentive program objectives
• The number of participants
• The cost of awards desired by your participants, taking into account their demographics and preferences of potential awards
• The length of the program
• The time and cost of necessary training
• The cost of program administration, including program promotion
• Rate of employee turnover. Not only does high turnover increase the risk of accidents, but also new employees must be informed and trained about safety issues and the safety program.
• Financial commitment from management

Incentive experts recommend spending a maximum of 50 percent of the anticipated savings you expect your program will produce. This is generally computed by multiplying the cost-per-accident amount by the percent reduction. The final figure will represent your working budget.

As a rule of thumb, awards should make up 60 to 70 percent of the total budget, with each prize representing 2 to 5 percent of each participant's total income (i.e.. a $600 award for a machinist who earns $30,000 per year). In a short program (three months) the award should be of higher value to produce quick results. Another rule of thumb: the higher the participant's income, the more valuable the award should be to motivate outstanding performance.

Training should account for 10 percent of the budget, depending on the amount and complexity of the safety goals. Budget another 10 percent for program promotion with the remainder going for administration. This is an important element of an incentive program, especially if participants need training to improve their performance.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Administration includes enrollment and database maintenance, points and award tracking, updating and mailing of performance standings reports, preparing management reports, collecting data for 1099 and/or W-2 forms for winners and conducting a post-program evaluation. Following is a checklist of these important administrative tasks:

• Enrollment: have each participant fill out an enrollment form or card with information including his or her name, address and social security number
• Participant Database: Use the enrollment cards to create a database of participants.
• Send promotional mailings: Information from the database can be used to generate labels for promotional mailings. Promotional mailings keep interest in the program alive.
• Track awards: The database tracks award credits or points and notifies winners quickly of their status. Fast, accurate payoff helps maintain motivation-of the winner and his or her coworkers.
• Distribute management reports: Keep reports for top management on the progress of the overall program and participants.
• Gather earnings/tax-reporting information: At the program's completion, 1099 and/or W-2 earnings data must be provided for tax purposes. Don't wait until the program's end to collect this information.
• Analyze program results: Set up a system that will help you evaluate results. Compilation and comparison of your tracking data will be critical here, but you should also create a questionnaire to solicit input from participants.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Safety award selection criteria rarely varies from one type of incentive program to another. The important thing is to know who makes up your target audience so you can choose motivating awards. Once you identify the group that needs to be motivated, find out more about them as individuals with the help of a questionnaire. For starters, you'll want to know the ratio of males to females in the group, how many are married or single, their hobbies and interests, median income, level of sophistication and lifestyle. The answers will guide your award choice.

While your tastes may be truly exquisite and personal interests fascinating, avoid selecting awards based solely on them. What appeals to you may not to others. That's why' the demographic information you've been collecting and storing in the database will prove extremely valuable.

Tips for Selecting Safety Awards

• Seek out the advice of an experienced award distributor. They can offer expertise in selecting awards and promotional materials needed to enhance your program. Merchandise relating to an individual's personal interests and hobbies or that is used to enhance the home are always desirable awards.
• Offer a wide variety of gifts so recipients can choose what they' want.
• Select merchandise with trusted, brand name recognition and warranties.
• For on-going programs, merchandise should have continuity.
• Choose awards that can be delivered within a timely manner Quick turnaround time ensures participants remember they are being rewarded for a particular achievement.

[Back to Table of Contents]

Without a strong promotion campaign, your safety program may' never get off the ground. You have to get the word out, so make developing communications a top priority before the actual program launch. With safety programs, it's not that difficult because every worker can relate to the risk of safety hazards.

Develop a theme that is short, catchy and memorable and that will be carried throughout all promotional correspondence, posters and campaign literature. Keep the theme down to three to five words: "Put Safety First" "Play It Safe," "Drive Safely," "Safety Saves Lives."

You should communicate with your target audience every two to three weeks, especially during shorter (three- to six-month) safety programs.

The Communications Portfolio

Your safety communications portfolio should include these six basic pieces:

• Teaser letters drop a hint about the coming safety program. Your teaser may be a letter from the CEO that encourages employees to make the office a safer place to work.
• Special announcement meetings, including a kickoff meeting to introduce the safety program, further meetings to hand out and discuss training materials, and other meetings to announce progress on goals.
• Weekly team meetings, in which managers can reinforce the message of the safety program (perhaps by going over some basic safety rules) and also receive an update of the program's progress. Keep these meetings light by handing out inexpensive but motivating items such as bumper stickers and buttons.
• Posters can serve as a constant reminder of the safety program. They can spell out the goals of the safety incentive program, describe safety procedures or spotlight an achiever. You may even want to run a poster contest to get everyone involved and reinforce their commitment.
• Qualification mailers are sent to participants who are meeting or are near meeting their goals. These letters follow through on and detail the award structure that you announced when you first began the safety incentive program.
• Don't forget to send a congratulatory mailer at the program's end to tell the winners their final standings and celebrate their success. Personalize them with letters from top management that recognize their hard work and value to the company

[Back to Table of Contents]

The end of the safety incentive program is its most revealing part. It's then that you discover whether you met the set goals. If you established concrete, measurable safety goals and tracked your participants' progress throughout the program, you'll have no trouble at all seeing the results of their efforts. You'll have a clear indication of any progress in safety from production reports, accident reports and lost-time reports, as compared to those from previous years.

Equally important is to find out if the program met the participants' expectations. An evaluation questionnaire should cover the following:

• Were the program goals made clear to you?
• Did you receive enough safety training and incentive support from management to meet your goals?
• Did you receive written and verbal feedback in a timely manner?
• Were you motivated by the safety awards presented?
• What changes would you make to ensure the success of future safety programs?

Ask the administrators if they encountered any snags in the running of the program and what elements they thought were successful.

Then consider all the tangible and intangible aspects of the program. Ask yourself such questions as:

• Did the incentive program help the company achieve its safety' goals, improve morale or generate new ideas for operating more safely?
• Did the safety program and its awards meet or exceed the participants' expectations?
• Which incentive awards were most popular with recipients?
• Were there any unexpected fringe benefits, such as renewed enthusiasm or an obvious improvement in workplace quality of life?
• Is there anything you'd do differently next time around? Are there different safety objectives you'd include?

This important analysis, documented and forwarded to management, will tell you exactly how successful the safety campaign was and point out ways to refine next year's.

Don't get discouraged if this first safety program hasn't met your goals - or if you get criticism from participants. Your first safety program is an important step toward developing an ongoing and consistent incentive program for behavioral change and ultimately a safer work environment for everyone.

[Back to Table of Contents]

When it comes to selecting the perfect award for your safety award program, consider a Bulova timepiece. Watches and clocks as promotional producst have been traditionally recognized as excellent awards because of their visibility, usefulness and beauty. Whether traditional in style or fashionably high-tech, watches and clocks are available in a wide range of price points to suit all budgets.

Logotown is proud to be a distributor of fine Bulova timepieces. Please e-mail us for more information

[Back to Table of Contents]