Challenge

For the past three years, Shannon Construction had maintained a safety record with zero accidents, but this success was largely due to rewarding foremen with company gifts and bonuses. The downside? This approach only changed the behavior of supervisors, not the entire team. The company struggled with tracking these rewards and couldn’t provide the consistent feedback needed to reinforce safe behavior across all roles.

Additionally, manual tracking of safety activities—such as weekly site meetings and incident logs—was cumbersome and inefficient. Shannon Construction needed a way to engage all employees, from frontline workers to leadership, in prioritizing safety consistently. They also wanted a streamlined system that would provide clear feedback and rewards for individual behaviors, motivating workers to maintain high safety standards.

Solution: Whistle Rewards Implementation

The decision to implement Whistle Rewards was driven by the need to create a safety program that was personal, immediate, and impactful for every worker, not just the foremen. The new program allowed Shannon Construction to shift from a top-down enforcement model to one focused on individual engagement.

With Whistle Rewards, each worker could now be recognized for their positive safety behaviors in real time. The program provided clear feedback on performance, making it easy to reward individuals for following safety protocols. Moreover, Whistle’s integration with Procore allowed Shannon Construction to track safety incidents and behaviors seamlessly, eliminating the need for manual tracking and simplifying reporting.

Results

The impact of Whistle Rewards was felt almost immediately. The first quarterly report revealed impressive results—employees were actively engaged in safety practices, and rewards were being distributed more equitably across all levels. The company was now rewarding not just foremen and supervisors but also frontline workers who exhibited safe behaviors. The transparency and clarity of the system ensured that everyone understood what behaviors led to rewards, reinforcing the safety culture across the entire workforce.

Unexpected Benefits

In addition to improving safety culture, the implementation of Whistle Rewards provided several unexpected benefits. Spot bonuses became a powerful tool for incentivizing behaviors outside of safety, such as encouraging employees to adopt new software systems and complete online training, including safety and IT security courses. The system also allowed Shannon Construction to use Procore reports to track participation, providing further incentives for those who engaged with training and safety initiatives.

“We’ve had zero accidents in the past 3 years, but we realized that rewarding foremen alone wasn’t enough. Whistle allows us to measure individual behaviors at a more granular level and reward everyone for their contribution to safety.”

– Sandy Shaw, Vice President of Support Services

Case Study Q&A:

1. How and what were you rewarding before you implemented Whistle? “We had a system of rewarding with gift cards and company merchandise, but it was difficult to track and mostly rewarded foremen.”
2. What challenges did you face with your previous system that Whistle helped fix? “Manual tracking of safety activities was cumbersome, and the lack of clear feedback meant that employees didn’t always understand why they were being rewarded. Whistle solved these problems by automating tracking and providing real-time feedback.”
3. Was there a particular ‘aha’ moment that signaled success? “The first quarterly report was a huge moment for us. It was exciting to see how much had been accomplished in such a short time. Plus, the clear connection between reward and behavior was evident.”
4. What unexpected benefits have you seen since using Whistle Rewards? “We’ve been able to use spot bonuses for new initiatives, such as encouraging employees to use new software or complete online training, which has helped reinforce our safety and IT security training.”

Conclusion

The integration of Whistle Rewards at Shannon Construction has transformed the company’s approach to safety. By shifting from a top-down reward system to one that recognizes individual behaviors in real time, Shannon Construction has not only maintained its excellent safety record but also fostered a stronger safety culture across its entire workforce. Whistle Rewards has provided them with the tools to motivate every employee—whether a foreman or a frontline worker—to prioritize safety and engage in behaviors that keep the jobsite safe.