Employee involvement is undeniably a cornerstone of effective Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) management systems. Engaged employees are more likely to adhere to safety protocols, report incidents, and actively contribute to a culture of safety. Gamification is a growing trend that organizations are using to encourage greater employee participation in EHS initiatives. This innovative approach leverages game design principles and mechanics designed to grab the attention. This article will give an overview of the ways that gamification (when applied to EHS management systems) enhances employee involvement and fosters a safer and more sustainable workplace.
Understanding Gamification
Gamification is the application of elements implicit to games (competition, rewards, and challenges) in non-game environments (such as the workplace). Engineering various aspects of EHS management in this fresh way allows organizations to tap into the innate human desires for achievement, recognition, and play. Gamification transforms repetitive (and sometimes mundane) EHS tasks into compelling challenges, motivating employees to participate actively and consistently.
- Enhancing Training and Education
One of the primary ways that gamification boosts employee involvement in EHS management is through training and education. Instead of traditional, rote safety training modules, gamified modules transform training with fun. Employees can complete interactive quizzes or virtual simulations to reinforce safety knowledge. Utilizing methods such as leaderboards, badges, and scoring systems allows employees to compete with their peers, creating the opportunity to gain a sense of achievement and encouraging excellence.
Gamification also promotes ongoing learning. Regularly updated challenges or quests will garner a desire to stay up to date with the latest safety procedures and regulations. The interactive nature of gamified training ensures that employees are actively engaged in the learning process, which is crucial for long-term knowledge retention.
- Improving Reporting and Incident Management
Reporting incidents and near misses is a vital aspect of EHS management. However, employees may hesitate to report incidents due to fear of repercussions or a belief that their input will not change anything with their organization. Gamification can address these issues by creating a safe and rewarding environment for incident reporting.
By implementing a gamified incident reporting system, organizations can reward employees for reporting incidents and near misses promptly. Points, badges, or other incentives can be awarded for timely reporting, accuracy, and the quality of incident descriptions. This not only encourages employees to report incidents but also ensures that reports are detailed and informative, facilitating better incident analysis and prevention.
- Promoting Safe Behavior
Changing negative employee behavior towards safer practices is one of the fundamental goals of EHS management. Gamification can serve a purpose in promoting safe behavior by injecting a bit of play and ownership into safety compliance practices. Employees can earn points or rewards for following safety procedures, wearing personal protective equipment, and reporting hazards. Leaderboards can display top-performing employees, creating an atmosphere of friendly competition that pushes others to improve their safety practices. Additionally, “challenges” can be introduced to tackle specific safety goals or put focus on high-risk areas. Employees can work together to achieve these goals, building camaraderie and a shared responsibility for success in safety programs.
- Fostering a Safety Culture
Developing a robust safety culture is a long-term objective for any organization. Gamification can advance this by making safety an accepted part of daily work and lending a feeling of ownership of safety to employees (for themselves and their colleagues). Gamified safety campaigns can raise awareness of specific safety issues (ergonomics, hazard identification, emergency response, etc.) and promote continuous improvement. Employees who actively participate in safety challenges can receive recognition and rewards. This, in turn, reinforces the idea that safety is a top priority to individuals and the organization.
- Encouraging Employee Feedback and Suggestions
Employee involvement in EHS management extends beyond compliance. It includes actively seeking feedback so that processes are improving with the help of those performing them. Gamification can make the procedures for collecting valuable insights from employees enjoyable and interactive.
Organizations can use gamified platforms to have employees submit safety-related ideas, suggestions, and improvements. This kind of creative solution is much more approachable than “office hours,” more appealing than a “suggestions box,” and offers the gratification of having comments instantly received and acknowledged. Recognition and rewards can be given to individuals or teams with the most innovative and impactful suggestions, as a means of positive reinforcement for advancing safety.
- Increasing Awareness
Gamification can be used to raise general awareness of EHS initiatives. Regular safety quizzes, challenges, or daily tips can help keep safety at the forefront of employees’ minds and continually reinforce safety knowledge. Additionally, combining gamification with mobile apps or online platforms allows safety content to extend beyond the workplace and employees to engage even when they are off-site. This puts safety beyond the confines of the workplace so that it can become a part of employees’ everyday lives.
Employee involvement is critical to the success of EHS management systems and gamification, offering the power to easily engage, motivate, and reward, is a solution that makes this component more attainable. By incorporating game elements into training, incident reporting, safe behavior promotion, and culture-building initiatives, organizations can achieve a sustainably safer workplace. However, to make sure the technique properly reinforces desirable outcomes, it is important to remember that gamification should be thoughtfully designed, considering the preexisting organizational systems and mentalities. Additionally, to create a meaningful and lasting impact on safety culture, gamification must be implemented correctly. Once the creation and introduction of a gamified EHS management system have been carried out, safety can be transformed from a compliance-driven endeavor into a shared journey. As technology continues to evolve, the potential for gamification in EHS management is only expected to grow, making it an exciting and promising tool for the future of workplace safety.
AUTHOR BIO:-
Cary comes to the SafetyStratus team as the Vice President of Operations with almost 30 years of experience in several different industries. He began his career in the United States Navy’s nuclear power program. From there he transitioned into the public sector as an Environmental, Health & Safety Manager in the utility industry. After almost thirteen years, he transitioned into the construction sector as a Safety Director at a large, international construction company. Most recently he held the position of Manager of Professional Services at a safety software company, overseeing the customer success, implementation, and process consulting aspects of the services team.
At SafetyStratus, he is focused on helping achieve the company’s vision of “Saving lives and the environment by successfully integrating knowledgeable people, sustainable processes, and unparalleled technology”.
