Have you ever wondered if employees in a workplace need refresher training? A better question to ask is: are employees working as safely as possible? If the answer is yes, then you have a done a great job in ensuring they know what they need to about workplace safety.
For everyone else that is wondering what more can be done, here are few things to consider. First, each employee receives training when they first start. How you teach that person varies but topics are often similar; tasks, workplace hazards, preventative measures, etc.
If training is considered adequate once an employee is hired, there is still no certainty that the employee has retained all the information. That’s why it’s important for supervisors to observe behaviours by new employees to ensure that they are competent.
If supervisors notice unsafe behaviours, it would be wise to implement refresher training. This will give the employee another opportunity to learn essential safety skills. This may seem tedious, but it certainly emphasizes the company’s commitment to safety.
The second thing to consider is the length of time that has passed since the initial training. Most employees will not recall every topic they learned during initial training unless it’s communicated to them frequently. This is where the awareness side of safety comes into play.
Communicating safety topics to employees is a key aspect in ensuring their safety. The challenge for the employer is to, of course, make the information interesting and relevant. There are a number of ways to get the information across, e.g. crew talks, videos, posters, etc.
Check safetydriven.ca website for resources to use in communicating workplace safety.
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