BEHAVIOUR-BASED SAFETY MOTIVATING SAFE BEHAVIOUR BEHAVIOUR-BASED SAFETY

What does motivation have to do with safety? “Our behavior is motivated by the consequences we expect to receive for our behavior.” (Carnegie, 1936)

MOTIVATING SAFE BEHAVIOUR Most traditional safety incentive programs do more harm than good, because they focus on injury reduction or other outcome measures They can encourage people to hide/not report injuries; by… Leading people to think safety isn’t within their control, then… People think that safety improvement requires luck or cheating

MOTIVATING SAFE BEHAVIOUR Behaviour-based measures are within OUR control… because They’re observable, and are our main indicator of success; not accident rates This means luck no longer has anything to do with it We can now be accountable for OUR own behaviour

BEHAVIOUR-BASED SAFETY PROGRAMS It’s about doing something before people get injured Gives people a chance to make a positive contribution toward safety Gives people feedback on the improvements they’re making to THEIR workplace

LEARNING OBJECTIVES At the end of this session you will be able to... Use the A-B-C model to analyse and improve peoples safety-related behaviour Explain why both direction and motivation are needed for long term behaviour change Design effective activator’s to direct safe work practices Design effective consequences to motivate safe work practices Explain why positive consequences motivate safe behaviour

LEARNING OBJECTIVES At the end of this session you will be able to... Distinguish between natural and extra consequences, and external and internal activators and consequences Deliver and receive behaviour-based recognition Organise an effective group celebration to motivate interpersonal caring for safety Design and implement an effective safety incentive program to motivate involvement in safety-related activities

CONTENT OF TRAINING This module will cover... The ABC Model Activator intervention Consequence intervention Recognising Safety Performance Safety Celebrations Safety Incentive Programs

THE ‘ABC’ MODEL Activators direct, and come before behaviour Behaviour - anything observable Consequences motivate, and come after behaviour

COMPETING CONSEQUENCES Several consequences can motivate our behaviour at any one time Say you running late for a plane… The strongest consequences at the time will motivate your behaviour … like the motivation to ignore a safety procedure can be very powerful at times

NATURAL CONSEQUENCES There aren’t many natural motivating consequences to behave safely But, when we take short cuts or ignore safety procedures the natural consequence is the job is done faster and easier So, we need to “build in” some extra consequences for people to act safely

EXERCISE An ABC Analysis of AT-Risk Behaviour “Why safety can be considered a continuous fight with human nature.” (Geller, 1997)

HABITUATION To prevent habituation (“tuning out”), we need to ensure the activators are: Specific Change every now and then Work when required

RULES FOR ACTIVATORS 1 Specify behaviour 2 Vary the message Be specific about the behaviours you want 2 Vary the message Look for different ways to keep the message fresh 3 Vary the method Look for different ways to deliver the message

RULES FOR ACTIVATORS 4 Involve the participants Leads to ownership and commitment 5 Activate close to response opportunity Remind near time of requested behaviour 6 Implicate consequences Make sure people realise the consequences available to them if they follow an activator

EXAMPLES OF ACTIVATOR INTERVENTION Increasing the impact of signs The Safety Share Goal-setting Setting examples Walking the talk “It won’t happen to me, but it could happen to someone else”

SETTING EXAMPLES “The eyes a better teacher and more willing than the ear; Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear; And the best of all the preachers are the ones who live their creeds; For to see the good in action is what everybody needs. I can soon learn how to do it if you’ll let me see it done; I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run; And the lectures you deliver may be very wise and true. But I’d rather get my lesson by watching what you do. For I may not understand you and the high advice you give. There’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.” (Forrest H. Kirkpatrick).

CONSEQUENCE INTERVENTION How do we stop people taking calculated risks (consciously incompetent) To actively care for safety, people need to feel good about it Positive consequences do this The key to this is praise and positive recognition

EXERCISE Assessing Motivation Versus Attitude “Positive consequences improve behaviour and attitude at the same time.” (Geller, 1997)

Consequences motivate THE ‘ABC’ MODEL Activators direct behaviour BEHAVIOUR Consequences motivate behaviour

RECOGNISING SAFETY ACHIEVEMENT Research suggests, we learn more from our successes than our failures… Learning from our errors shows us “what not to do” Success provides the most learning

TIPS IN RECOGNISING SAFE BEHAVIOUR 1 Do it during or immediately after it happens 2 Make it personal (meaningful) 3 Connect the specific behaviour with higher-level praise ie.Leadership, trustworthiness etc. 4 Do it privately

TIPS IN RECOGNISING SAFE BEHAVIOUR 5 Let it stand alone and sink in Don’t over do it 6 Be careful with ‘tangibles’ Don’t focus on material reward - it takes away significance of the achievement 7 Secondhand recognition is good Positive ‘gossip’

EXERCISE Recognising the Good Others Do This exercise involves people looking for good behaviour in others.

RECEIVING RECOGNITION Avoid denial I.e. “It was nothing” or “it was a group effort” It’s OK to acknowledge you did well Listen actively To identify what behaviour they liked Ask for the specific behaviour they liked Be appreciative It took effort for the person to give the feedback

RECEIVING RECOGNITION Relive it later to make you feel good Make the most of it - you more often than not don’t get recognised for behaving safely Recognise the person for recognising you When you accept recognition well, you reward the recognising person for their extra effort Ask for recognition when it’s deserved but not forthcoming Reminds people of the importance of feedback and recognition

EXERCISE Giving and Receiving Recognition

CELEBRATIONS Don’t announce celebrations of injury reduction Increases motivation to cheat Celebrate not the outcome but how it was achieved Gives credit where credit’s due Ensure ‘bottom-up’ involvement in the celebration Ensures journey milestones are acknowledged

CELEBRATIONS Relive the journey Managers do more listening than talking Acknowledge success AND failure along the way Ensures realism and shows how significant the progress was that WE made Be creative and ask for input in designing them Look at our last safety celebration. What would we do differently now?

WHAT IS AN INCENTIVE? Can be defined as “An inducement to do something in order to receive a reward”. (Geller, 1997). In other words, if people meet certain conditions, they’ll receive something they like in return

OUTCOME-BASED INCENTIVES Pass the “Deadmans Test” Reward people who behave unsafely Oxy burn story Encourages people to hide injuries BEHAVIOUR-BASED INCENTIVES Reward people for what they do (not the outcome) “We have control” Develops openness and trust

BEHAVIOUR-REWARD CONTINGENCIES Options: Behaviour-based raffle Credit Economy system (flybuys method) Give rewards to charity Etc

EXERCISE Developing An Incentive/Reward Program

IN CONCLUSION Natural consequences motivate at-risk behaviour, so we need to: Design activators and extra consequences to motivate safe behaviour How do we get people to care for safety Get them involved We need to give more positive recognition Give people the opportunity to ACT Action is the key

IN CONCLUSION Instead of: “It won’t happen to me”. We want people to say: “It may not happen to me, but it’s going to happen to someone, and I care about that. I care enough to set a good example, and I care enough to do some extra things around here that might prevent someone getting hurt.”