Motivation-Based Safety

Introduction

History

Analysis

Traditional Approach

Behavioral Approach

Motivational Approach

Cycles for Improvement

Cycle 1 - Identification

Cycle 2A - Ownership

Cycle 2B - Training Out

Cycle 2C - Training In

Cycle 3 - Reinforcement

Steps to the Next Level of Safety

Summary

Writer's Biography

Clarifying the Cycles

Cycle 2C. "Training In" Positive Motivations Based on Capabilities.

Management’s question cannot be "How can I motivate?" but "What motivational strengths does the worker bring that I can use?"* Management must be trained to use the tools available to ensure workers are hired, trained, and managed appropriately to perform their assignments safely.

Management should be aware of the screening steps used in the employee selection process. The results of that process may be used to find the appropriate employee assets that will add to his or her productivity and effectiveness. Progressive companies have found that the information obtained through assessment provides a career path for success throughout the length of tenure.

"Having knowledge or experience in a job does not guarantee that you can do it in a different environment."

Judith Dobrzynski, "Executive Tests Now Plumb New
Depths of the Job Seeker", New York Times, September 2, 1996

*R. C. Martin, one of the key elements of the Quality of Motivation Theory.

Knowledge and experience do not make the person safe or productive. Leading edge trainers wisely identify the whole person’s skills and utilize those skills to facilitate learning. The employee accepts the training, institutes the concepts into their job, and becomes happier and more productive.

To be a player in the high-stakes world of high performance requires a perspective that focuses not on how much training is delivered but on how fast people gain more capability to improve performance and how much of that capability the organization is able to use for strategic purposes.

ASTD Web Page 5/97

This quote indicates that individuals must learn from their own unique perspective. Information used for hiring may also be used for training. Performance based training is appropriate. Safety trainers must address the global learner as well as the linear learner. The global learner learns through the assimilation of the large picture; the linear learner learns one step at a time. Managers must understand their "customer" (the employee) the same way retailers do and customize training to fit individuals, not large groups. Managers must maximize the employee’s personal skills to facilitate training, then reinforce those skills.

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