New Guide from ÇEİS for Rewarding and Recognition in OHS Culture

The Cement Industry Employers' Union (ÇEİS) continues its efforts to develop occupational health and safety (OHS) culture in the cement sector with a new guide. The "Rewarding and Recognition Guide in OHS Culture," prepared for the "Rewarding System," which was identified as one of the areas open to improvement within the scope of the Occupational Health and Safety Culture Analysis Project in the Cement Sector carried out in 2024, has been made available in two different versions, academic and practical.

Within the scope of the Occupational Health and Safety Culture Analysis Project in the Cement Sector carried out by ÇEİS in 2024, field visits were made to 51 member factories, surveys were conducted with 463 employees, and in-depth interviews were held with 56 employees. As a result of the analysis, the "Rewarding System," one of the universal dimension indicators of OHS culture, was evaluated as one of the areas open to improvement in the sector.

The new guide prepared in line with this finding offers an implementation framework aimed at establishing rewarding and recognition systems that support the continuity of safe behaviors, encourage employees' active participation in OHS processes, and are based on transparent, fair and measurable criteria.

Proactive behaviors come to the fore in OHS performance

The guide emphasizes the encouragement of proactive safety behaviors instead of outcome-oriented approaches that wait for occupational accidents to occur. It is emphasized that behaviors such as early recognition of hazards, reporting of risks and near-miss incidents, and contributing to system improvements are important components of safety culture.

In the design of rewarding systems, it is stated that the risk profile and operational structure of businesses should be taken into account, and that evaluations should be based on objective and measurable criteria.

Instead of outcome-oriented performance approaches that may negatively affect the reporting of accidents or near-miss incidents, systems based solely on material rewards, and non-transparent evaluation methods, the guide centers proactive reporting culture, visible leadership, continuous improvement and measurable performance criteria.

Şardan: "We want to make safe behavior visible and sustainable"

ÇEİS Secretary General Dr. H. Serdar Şardan, in his assessment of the guide's preparation process, stated that in developing OHS culture, it is important not only to measure the current situation but also to translate the results obtained into practices in the field.

Şardan said, "We believe that in order to develop OHS culture, it is as important to transform the results we obtain into field applications as it is to measure the current situation. For this reason, we comprehensively addressed the rewarding system, which we identified as one of the areas open to improvement in our Culture Analysis Project. With the guide we prepared, we aim to make safe behaviors and approaches that recognize risks in advance and contribute to improvement visible and sustainable."

Şardan stated that they aim for the guide to contribute not only to practices in the cement sector but also to the development of OHS culture in Türkiye.

Offers institutions a 9-step implementation model

The academic version of the guide addresses basic concepts such as safety culture, behavior-based safety, positive reinforcement, rewarding, recognition and appreciation, as well as the sustainability of systems, risk management and international good practice examples.

A nine-step implementation model is presented, ranging from determining the purpose and focus points for establishing rewarding and recognition systems to impact measurement, reporting and continuous improvement.

The practical guide, which is a simplified, application-oriented version of the academic guide, contains tools and templates that businesses can use directly. In this context, it includes scoring and evaluation templates, near-miss and risk reporting forms, budget planning tools, behavior monitoring and KPI tools, communication texts and procedure examples.

The guide, which also defines the roles of different stakeholders within the system, offers a flexible structure that businesses can adapt according to their own operational conditions and needs.

The "Rewarding and Recognition Guide in OHS Culture," prepared in two different versions, academic and practical, has been made available for use by ÇEİS members and the public.

About ÇEİS

The Cement Industry Employers' Union (ÇEİS) was established in 1964 to protect and develop the common rights and interests of its members in labor relations, support their efficient operations, manage collective bargaining agreement processes, improve the quality of human resources, and develop occupational health and safety.

In addition to industrial relations and human resources, ÇEİS carries out studies in the fields of occupational health and safety, vocational training, talent development, occupational standards and vocational qualifications, representing 67 facilities affiliated with 34 organizations covering 95 percent of the sector in national and international platforms.