YOUR ELEPHANT, INC.

BENEFITS OF A SAFETY ASSURANCE INCENTIVE PROGRAM

Performing work safely is so fundamental to any organization's success, that some compa-
nies come to believe that there should be no added incentives for employees to behave safely be-
cause "that's just what they're supposed to do." According to a research study by the ASSE
Foundation that observed and surveyed 252 employees across six construction companies, the com-
panies with a safety incentive program consistently had lower lost time incidence rates, restricted
incidence rates and EMRs than those without a program.1 An effective incentive program is one
that does not replace an organization's safety principles and culture, but reinforces, rewards and,
perhaps most importantly, keeps safety procedures on the minds of employees.
As an added benefit to employer, due to the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the cost of employee
achievement awards are tax deductible. If the employer establishes a written award program plan,
then they are able to deduct $1,600.00 per employee. This award, though, must be an item of
"tangible personal property" and must be part of a meaningful presentation. It cannot simply be
something given during salary adjustments to make the difference look like an award, nor can it
simply be a private, unnoticed transaction. Beyond improved employee morale and loyalty, a well
run program to recognize an employee's safety achievement, productivity, or length of service is an
extremely beneficial financial move for any organization.2
According to research published by the University of Chicago, cash awards as incentives
can boost workplace performance by 24%, whereas tangible, non-cash awards can boost it by
38.6%.3 Part of why money is less motivating, is that it has little, to no memory value at all. Once
an employee has it, they use it, and forget about receiving it, because that's not what mattered.
With a tangible award, it is a daily reminder of why they received that award, and it will keep their
success in safety procedure on their mind. Another benefit of tangible awards is that there can be a
meaningful ceremony, even a small one, in which its presentation reinforces the organization's cul-
ture of safety and acts to show other employees that their competence will be recognized and re-
spected. With a well designed and implemented safety assurance program, like that of Your Ele-
phant's, an organization can foster an atmosphere of proactive, safety aware employees who know
their vigilance will be recognized.

P. O. Box 1236 1) Goodrum, Paul and Gangwar, Manish. "Safety Incentives: A study of their effectiveness in construction". 2004. [http://www.asse.org/
Taylors, SC 29687 foundation/research/docs/foungrnt_july04_goodrum.pdf]
Phone: 800-970-1502 2) Delta, George. "Primer on the Federal Income Tax Treatment of Incentive Awards" [http://www.incentivemarketing.org/?43]
3) Jeffrey, Scott, 2004, University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business, The Benefits of Tangible Non-Monetary Incentives.
www.yourelephant.com