7 Simple Ways to Boost Safety Engagement Without a Budget

It's not always about spending money ...

“We’d have a much better safety program if only we had a bigger budget.”

I see comments like this all the time (and honestly have thought this myself on occasion), but relying on big budget items to improve your safety program is a mistake.

For one thing, getting management buy in to spend money on safety upgrades can be notoriously difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.

To do so, you typically have to show how budget increases can tangibly lead to better safety numbers. This is tough because, as I’ve written about before, it’s hard to know when you’ve prevented an accident. Safety interventions that work are invisible, there’s no injury and everyone goes home as if nothing happened.

As a safety professional, it’s only obvious when you fail. The successes are much harder to see and quantify.

But that said, there are lots of things you can do, independent of budget, to build your safety culture and make your workplace safer.

Let’s have a look:

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Key Points at a Glance

· Improving your safety program is not just about how much money you spend. There are several low cost or no cost ways to boost engagement.

· Clear and direct, 2 way communication is the best way to build engagement.

· Soft skills and recognition go a long way.

· Choosing a couple of counterintuitive ideas to spark engagement makes it fun and can lead to ideas you might not have expected.

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7 Simple, No-Cost Safety Engagement Tactics

1. Recognition Matters

People who are appreciated will often do more than expected.

This is especially true in safety.

Look for opportunities to catch people doing things right and call it out. Often this simple act of recognition when someone goes out of their way to work safely encourages not only the person who did the right thing, but also the people around them as they see the benefit of working safely.

Look for opportunities to encourage peer-to-peer recognition as well. Influence spreads faster peer-to-peer. When team members begin to build a safety culture within their own group, independent of the safety manager’s oversight, you’ve got something special.

2. Gamify Safety Routines

Turn routine safety checks into quick challenges. (First person to spot a hazard in a given scenario gets a perk or something similar)

Maintain a points and reward system for employees who spot safety challenges, work safely for a period of time or encourage others to work safely. Monthly leaders get a small reward such as a premium parking spot, choice of equipment or company swag.

3. Flip the Safety Talk

Instead of supervisors leading safety talks all the time, get employees involved as guest presenters on occasion.

This keeps the information fresh, builds ownership among employees and keeps people engaged. Look for ways to make them a two-way conversation. The more interaction you get, the more relevant and helpful these meetings will be.

A bonus point for safety leaders is it gives you a break from always having to present and come up with new content.

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4. Micro-Recognition Rituals

Pro sports teams have rituals where they give out a game ball or other token to a player who has distinguished him or herself during a game. It could be a wrestling belt, hard hat or special clothing item such as a team jacket.

Consider the same thing with your team. Perhaps a safety coin for the safest worker of the week or something similar. Make it fun, make it memorable and people will love it.

5. Ask for Input

People support what they help to create and nobody knows the job better than the people who perform that task every day for weeks, months and years.

Look for opportunities to involve employees in hazard identification and solutions and make sure it’s a two way communication, not just the safety manager on a soap box. Often your workers will have insight you haven’t considered.

Showing a little respect to folks who do the work goes a long way to building engagement and getting teams to buy-in to your safety program.

6. Safety Swap

Have employees from other departments or shifts join for a safety inspection once in a while. A fresh set of eyes often uncovers hazards that your regular team might overlook.

Given employees exposure to other departments and ways of doing things can lead to new ideas you may not have considered.

It is also a great way to build new connections among your team and get employees from different departments to interact.

7. Lead by Example

Nothing kills engagement faster than leaders who don’t follow their own rules. Make sure your supervisors are consistent models of safe behavior.

When leaders demonstrate that safety protocols matter, everyone else gets the message.

The reverse is true as well.

Safety engagement doesn’t always require big budget spending, it’s about smarter leadership and willingness to try something new.

This week I challenge you to give one of these methods a try and see if it doesn’t bring some new life to your safety initiatives. Let me know how it goes, I’d love to hear the feedback.

Also, let me know if you have any other ideas for no or low budget ways to improve your safety program. We’ll feature one in an upcoming edition.

Cheers,

Dan.