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Too often, traditional safety programs do not produce lasting change or may plateau because they are not encouraging and reinforcing the desired behaviors. For example, rewarding employees for accident-free behaviors may only discourage accident reporting without actually improving safety.
A systematic approach to safety based on positive reinforcement will produce lasting change. Instead of only using negative feedback or punishment to discourage risky behaviors, world class safety organizations encourage employees to choose the safe alternative by creating a system of accountability, communication, measurement, and feedback.
What Will You Say When They Ask What Happened?
Executives concerned about employee safety programs should ask themselves the following questions:
- Have we created a culture of safety or are we merely tracking accidents?
- Are individual employees as well as managers actively involved in the safety program?
- Do we use positive reinforcement or resort only to punitive measures to reinforce safety?
- Do we know which behaviors lead to accidents?
Who's Looking Out for You?
Marsh’s Behavioral Risk Improvement (BRI) process is a proactive, team-based approach to improving safety and operational performance. Involving employees and managers from across the organization, BRI relies on measurement and positive reinforcement with peer-to-peer interaction, which is visibly supported by management.
BRI focuses on identifying at-risk behaviors, analyzing the systems that support risk-taking, designing changes to the system to encourage safe behaviors, implementing a sustainable approach to behavior management, and continuously monitoring program effectiveness.
Behavioral science and safety management training for both management and employees builds buy-in, creates knowledge transfer, and encourages regular, productive participation. Internal teams are established to help drive the process forward. The five-phase process involves the following:
1. Assessment
- Evaluate safety management systems
- Analyze loss data
- Interview key stakeholders, managers, and a cross section of employees
- Assist in the selection of improvement team and core team members
- Identify critical, safe, and at-risk behaviors
- Identify the critical paths for success
- Evaluate readiness to move forward
- Review workplace- and work-task-induced risk factors
2. Management Coaching
- Identify management roles and responsibilities, as well as supporting accountabilities
- Review principles and fundamentals of behavioral change
- Provide continuous coaching around support behaviors
- Offer feedback associated with the assessment findings
- Provide an understanding of how the behavioral safety management process fits with existing risk-control programs
- Implement a measurement process to engage all managers and hold them accountable
- Develop a site champion
3. Core Team Training
Train a subset of employees, approximately 15–20 percent of the workforce representing different work areas on the BRI process, including:
- Behavioral root cause analysis and behavior change technology
- Observation skills, data collection, analysis, and continuous improvement
- Methods to provide positive peer feedback
- Peer-observation process review for quality
- Statistical feedback and positive reinforcement
- Team-based, problem-solving skills
- Safety observation skills for evaluating work processes and work environments for exposures that can influence unsafe behavior
4. Steering Team Development
- Organize and develop a team to lead the organization through the BRI process
- Coach the team on principles and fundamentals of behavioral change
- Develop team-based, problem-solving and decision-making skills
- Provide nonbehavioral risk management techniques, i.e., safety management fundamentals
- Customize the process to integrate it successfully into the organization
- Address systems, conditions, and design issues
5. Follow-up Consultation
- Assess the program and follow-up on key areas to assure smooth BRI implementation
- Assist management and core teams with sustaining the process
- Monitor effectiveness of the process and adjust accordingly
- Evaluate data trends
- Review potential roadblocks to change
If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact us.
If you are seeking information about insurance and related services, please visit marsh.com.
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