Safety is the primary job of employee management. Believe it or not, there are over 340 million workplace injuries and accidents every year, and businesses of all sizes need to do their part to lower these staggering numbers.
Fortunately, with the right employee safety training tips, you can help facilitate a safe workplace for everyone. Here’s how to get started!
1. Walk, Don’t Run
This is one of the most basic, yet important, safety tips on the job. Jobsites are filled with enough hazards, so always having one foot firmly planted on the ground can make a world of difference.
Of course, we all want workers to move as fast as possible. However, a brisk walk is safer and often faster than a light jog. Training employees to walk at a brisk pace instead of running can make everyone more stable and alert throughout the day.
2. Identify Hazards
One of the best skills you can teach workers is to identify and understand hazards they will face in the workplace. There’s no workplace in the world safe from all dangers, whether you work in a factory or an elementary school.
Consequently, safe employees should have no trouble recognizing hazards in their workspaces and different jobs. Recognizing is the first step to preventing.
For example, if workers understand that the open space poses a hazard of falling, workers will know not to work too closely to it unless absolutely necessary. They may choose to have an extra worker available if they need to lift something through that space or take extra safety precautions while working in that area.
3. Use Plenty of Visuals
Did you know that our brains process visual imagery up to 60,000 times faster than text? It makes sense when you think about it, as the human visual system didn’t evolve simply to read.
Visuals are far more eye-catching and easier for our brains to process. For this reason, use plenty of them so that workers know what you’re talking about and can have a visual cue to remember.
Otherwise, some safety factors could be lost in translation. For example, do you have a piece of equipment that you wouldn’t expect a new employee to know the name of? You almost certainly do, so having a visual available to them can help them understand the hazards you try to depict.
4. Teach About Equipment
Workers need to become familiar with both safety equipment and work equipment. The more they know about this equipment, the more prepared they’ll be to perform their jobs safely.
This includes how to use them properly, what to do if something isn’t working, and what to do if someone isn’t using them as directed.
5. Take Breaks
People need time for information to soak in. Otherwise, they won’t have enough time to absorb the information, as it can be overwhelming to constantly switch between topics.
Some companies prefer to do safety training in small increments once or twice a week, or for employees to go at their own pace when training new employees. This way, they have plenty of time to absorb new information and apply it to their job before taking in more. However, this is entirely up to you!
6. Don’t Treat Employees Like Children
Your employees are adults, not children, so treat them that way. Use the right language with them, try not to “talk down” to them, and encourage them to engage in the training.
Teaching adults comes with some benefits as well. For one, you can be more direct with them about safety hazards and even give real-world examples of these threats.
Also, they can offer more to the discussions, and they often know the job better than the supervisors. Give them the freedom and respect they need to learn and thrive on the job.
7. Involve Employees in the Training
We’ve all gone through one form of education or another. Have you ever had someone simply speak facts at you? Conversely, have you ever had an engaging educator who involved you in the lesson plan?
If so, from which lesson did you learn more? For most of us, we don’t simply want to be told what to do. Instead, we want to understand, engage, and learn for ourselves.
Telling somebody not to perform a task a certain way is one thing, but if they don’t understand why, then they may ignore it. On the other hand, if you challenge employees to answer questions, practice safety tasks, and engage in the training, they’ll walk away with a better understanding of the topics discussed.
Make sure employees know how to fill out their safety data sheets, lift heavy objects safely, and follow best safety practices throughout the day. Don’t just throw information at them and hope for the best; encourage them to practice and demonstrate their knowledge.
Also, ask them for their feedback, especially including their individual safety concerns! This can help draw attention to essential hazards and empower your employees to solve safety problems for themselves.
Use the Right Employee Safety Training Today
When hiring employees, it’s essential to use the right employee safety training to facilitate a safe working environment for everyone. Safety should be the primary goal of every workplace, which can’t happen unless everybody is on the same page. For this reason, structured, uniform training is essential.
Stay up to date with our latest workplace safety tips, and don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions or for help with your workplace safety needs!
