The virus invaded our homes first, spreading quickly. Let's face it; we had no idea of the viral impact of smartphone and computer technology. I wondered if the same would ever happen to the working world.  I said to myself, it would take decades for this modern technology to make it to the safety incentive market.

The tech virus indeed continued its unstoppable path, as we now know. This market is typically slow to change, but not anymore. It started with clients simply rewarding pizza parties for safety compliance and remaining accident-free; then came the cash and gift cards, which worked for awhile. Point programs for merchandise worked too, but started becoming tough to administer. We heard it all over the years: “We want to reduce accidents but don't want all the tracking and administration.”

Solution appears

Then came the solution: all-inclusive reward programs that were game card-based. This structure would reduce administration and actually deliver stronger results by enticing employees with jackpot chances as well as rewarding smaller reachable rewards to all those that followed safety protocol. We saw the results skyrocket. Average accident reduction was over 60 percent.

Then OSHA reminded us that all safety incentives must be “compliant” and not cause non-reporting. This caused incentive program structure to change. Now employees could not simply be rewarded for completing a week with no accidents, but rather they were rewarded for safety rule compliance, attending safety meetings, taking safety training and scoring well on safety quizzes. This meant we were delivering much stronger, effective incentive programs, but there was one huge problem. The administration for the training, rule compliance and quiz scoring was overwhelming companies. Many simply stopped using safety incentive programs. Accidents went up as a result. Little did any of us realize that modern day technology would change the once-antiquated and slow-to-change safety incentives industry.

What if we could launch a game card-based, computer/mobile phone safety incentive system that actually moved beyond just the incentive part and delivered, tracked and rewarded safety training and compliance?

Online rewards take off

Incentives programs that run online-only can award game cards for safety compliance. The cards can be scratched off and traded amongst coworkers online. Cards can then be redeemed for brand-name merchandise. Training is typically delivered through the portal, and those who retained the training and scored well on quizzes were automatically rewarded.

Modern day tech is no longer a nuisance; it's now responsible for reducing accidents and saving lives in the workplace.

At this point most obstacles have been removed and the programs are now being delivered via smartphones. What if your employees don't have computers or smartphones?  Inexpensive tablet kiosks can be placed in employee common areas. Today, we have seen employers enjoy the flexibility of walking the workplace and pulling out their phones when they witness great safe behavior. Employers can make a few taps on their phone and reward employees with online game cards on the spot.