We use Safety Bingo as an incentive for our employees. It is a big hit with our company, but I'm not really sure how it works with others. Our Bingo game is for the entire company (130 employees). Winner gets $25 cash prize and their picture in the company news letter. But we don't have any departments in competition against each other, I'm not really sure why anyone would want to do that within the same company. All of our departments really do work together well, so why try to disturb that with having them compete against each other.
We reward perfect attendance and the like as well. Our Employee of the Month contest is handled differently than most I have heard of. This is also done with little or no competition. Every employee in our company has the opportunity to nominate anyone they want based on certain qualifications: appearance, quality, work ethic, attitude, attendance, safety, etc. The Employee of the Month is then chosen by a panel of representatives from each department, which gives everyone a fair chance. The people nominate and the people vote!
We try to recognize as much as possible those who work safely. We were accident free for 2006, so everyone got a prize with the company logo and safety slogan on it. I don't think that Bingo was the reason we had no recordables, but I think Bingo was a reward that everyone got a chance to play because they were accident free. If an accident occurs, the game ends for the whole plant, and everyone knows that. Does that mean that people don't record an accident just to keep playing a game? I would hope not. I would hope that everyone has established and inforces a safety policy to the point that everyone recognizes the consequences of not reporting an accident, instead of the benifits of playing a game. The game can always start over. A certain aspect of a person's life may not if it is neglected.
Be sure that whatever safety incentive you choose is appropriate for your company, not just a popular idea that sounds good. Safety Bingo may not be the right thing for everyone. There a lot of things out there that may work. Some incentive programs may put a little dent into your budget, while others (usually the ones I think work the best) really don't cost much at all. Anything that keeps the employees focused on safety is a great idea. And I truely believe that for every dollar you spend on safety you are saving so much more on workers comp and lost time!
Finally, we placed a sign which posts the current number of days we are accident free with the previous best record. We placed it in the breakroom where everyone could see it. This really gets everyone thinking about how many days they were once capable of accomplishing something remarkable, and hopefully will motivate everyone to push for a new record.
Tim Croley,
Safety Coordinator
CMCA