If your company truly cares about workplace safety, one of the biggest challenges can be getting your employees to care about safety as well. It’s not always a given that workers will be safety conscious on the job. So how do you motivate employees to be more safety conscious?
Of course, it helps to have a set of safety protocols in place and let them know how seriously you take workplace safety. But that’s not always going to be enough. If that’s the case, here are some ways you can motivate your employees to take a more serious approach to safety in the workplace.
Play Follow the Leader
Safety always starts at the top with company leaders who need to set the right example. It’s important for leaders to talk about the fact that safety is important, but they also need to show it with their actions. This means talking with employees about workplace safety and keeping them updated on what’s going on and any changes in safety protocols. It also means that company leaders always need to follow safety protocols, including wearing protective equipment whenever they are anywhere near known work hazards.
Recognition and Positive Reinforcement
Negative reinforcement is not always useful when it comes to making employees more safety conscious. This is why it’s important to avoid punishing workers for safety lapses or getting upset about problems rather than trying to fix issues. Instead, try to focus on positive reinforcement when it comes to safety. That means recognizing and praising workers who are doing a good job and paying attention to safety protocols. That positive reinforcement will help them to remain focused on safety and get their co-workers to do the same. That doesn’t mean you can’t ignore safety mishaps and shortcomings. But it does mean trying to focus on the positives as well to get workers to care about workplace safety.
Seek Their Feedback
One of the best ways to get workers engaged in safety is to actively seek their feedback on safety topics. If you want them to be safety conscious, let it be known that you welcome their questions and concerns. If they know their suggestions will be welcomed, they will be more vigilant in looking for ways to improve workplace safety. It also helps if supervisors actively seek out their feedback and ask specific questions about what could be better. Doing this will help employees think about safety on a regular basis.
Hold a Safety Week
If you want to send the right message about workplace safety, it’s useful to have a dedicated safety week at least once a year, perhaps more frequently. This will help drill into the minds of workers that safety matters and should be on their minds at all times. Bring in speakers, play games, or do something to highlight the importance of workplace safety. You can even open it up to employees to share their thoughts and stories about safety to get everyone thinking more about safety.
Offer Incentives
When all else fails, the right incentives can get workers to become more safety-conscious. This relates back to positive reinforcement rather than negative reinforcement. Instead of punishing safety shortcomings, reward the successes. If an employee has done a great job, reward them for their efforts in workplace safety. You can also let all employees know that everyone will receive a reward or bonus if the company reaches its safety goals. This can help to galvanize the staff and get everyone thinking about safety.
Use the Right Safety Management Software
One of the best ways to get workers engaged in safety is to utilize the right safety management system. EHS Insight offers the best software for monitoring and managing occupational safety. Our system will incorporate training, communication, and every other aspect of workplace safety. It will also help make sure that every worker is part of the system and can contribute using the software.
If you’re interested in getting your employee to pay close attention to workplace safety, give us a call and we can help you get situated with our software.
