Question: “Ideas for improving and encouraging peer-to-peer safety conversations?’

Answer: Employees get excited about things they see as valuable, right?

So I think first of opportunities to demonstrate leadership, achieve recognition, earn promotions, assume key roles and responsibilities, etc. Not everybody cares about that stuff, however.

That’s okay. There are a many motivational levers to pull around safety, starting with gift cards or cash prizes. I’ve also seen workers earn time off, preferred parking, snacks, kudos, or get their picture on the wall, etc.

Every employee has a smartphone these days, so I also think about how to make this peer-to-peer communication easy, for increased participation.

You can use apps like Skype to encourage workers to share safety tips, unsafe images of working behaviors, or start a pop quiz on a safety subject, etc.

Incentivizing safety is one way to ‘put your money where your mouth is’ or ‘walk the talk’ around organizational safety commitment. Workers notice and appreciate that kind of leadership, which sustains a positive culture around the topic.

This is a smart question to be asking.

If you do happen to catch lightening in a bottle, share your idea with the rest of us, okay?