6 Solutions to Minimize Employee Safety Training Headaches

When building your employee training program, consider the following:

• What are the requirements for each of your employees?
• Do you need training for new hires? 
• Do you need specific function training? 
• Should you have refresher training for employees? 
• Is compliance training a requirement?  
• What are the best methods and practices? 
• Should training be on-site or off-site?
• Should training be in-house, third-party or web-based? 
• Should training be done individually or as a team?  

Any workplace safety program is only as good as the safety training provided to employees. In a survey conducted by Safety News Alert, safety professionals were asked what are their biggest safety training headaches. They identified: 

• Scheduling safety training (around production, for example): 33.1%
• Fresh new ideas: 27.2%
• Getting employees to remember what they learned: 20.9%
• Keeping up with regulatory training requirements: 10.9%
• Doing/presenting it: 4.3%
• Developing it: 3.6%.

Safety News Alert also asked safety professionals to rate each of these responses on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being "this isn't a headache at all," and 10 being "a major headache."

• Getting employees to remember what they learned: average score 6.25, with 33.5% ranking this as an 8, 9 or 10
• Scheduling it: 6.22, 39.5%
• Keeping it fresh/new ideas: 6.04, 31.7%
• Keeping up with regulatory requirements: 5.32, 25.4%
• Developing it: 4.85, 17.5%
• Doing/presenting it: 3.70, 8.4%. 

There are a number of techniques that can be used to deal with many of the concerns referenced above. 

• Blended learning: This combines two or more forms of delivering information—for example, a combination of classroom instruction and an independent, self-paced web-based course.
• Case studies: Illustrating your safety message with a real-life example is a good way to make a point. But a true case study should go beyond giving an example—it should provide opportunities for trainees to test and apply their knowledge of the subjects.
• Fresh approaches: For the sake of both your audience and your own sanity, it's time to give a makeover to familiar topics and their associated materials. It can be done without a major investment of either time or money.
• Handouts: When done correctly, handouts 
• Support and reinforce your basic message
• Sovide supplemental information not included in your verbal presentation
• Keep your audience's attention on the subject matter
• Create an overall positive impression of you.
• Multilingual training: The number of foreign born people in the United Sates has increased by more than 50% since 1990. Companies must ensure that employees understand safety training. OSHA is keenly aware of this, noting that workplace fatalities among Hispanics in the construction industry have increased at the same time that the total number of fatalities has declined.
• Web-based training: Deliver your presentation via the Internet in the form of written materials, slide presentations or videos. It may or may not be interactive. Its advantages include flexibility, self-pacing and standardization.

Many insurance carriers offer health and safety training as part of their risk management services. Compare your critical training needs and headache items with the solutions that your carrier offers. Your carrier should have a strong mix of internal and external resources as well as technology based solutions to assist you with your employee health and safety training development and execution.