So be careful how you use awards. Don't over-use them, or you risk creating more negative than positive feelings. Money Employees readily will take the money and run because cash gives them the freedom to decide how to reward themselves, in effect. They can buy what they want. A problem crops up, though, when you try to decide how to disburse cash incentives in a way that all employees will view as fair, objective, and acceptable.
Feelings run high when there's money to be had.
One solution is to return to employees part, if not all, of the monetary savings resulting from achieving the safety goal. One of the more successful methods is to return savings realized from reduced insurance premiums, especially workers' compensation savings. This method is easily administered by management and easily understood by employees. Its objectivity can be demonstrated through typical company records. Other methods of rewarding meritorious employee performance can be based on increased profits resulting from fewer manufacturing defects, improved productivity reflecting value-added processes, and reduced overhead costs.