Do you give comprehensive safety training, only to find your employees dismissing critical safety protocols shortly thereafter? Unfortunately, safety training in the workplace has lost its effectiveness over the years, often being associated as a boring or even unnecessary part of the onboarding process – which could not be further from the truth! As an employer, it’s your responsibility to make sure your employees are fully immersed in your safety program and committed to implementing safety practices on the job.  

If it’s been a while since you’ve updated your safety training, here are some ways to elevate your program:  

Establish key safety goals and objectives

To be successful in implementing any safety program, it’s imperative to first establish your key goals and objectives. Goals and objectives are ultimately what connects your employees as a team, and most importantly, hold them accountable for their behavior and actions in the workplace. In many ways, safety goals are strongly related to cultural practices, with many companies being focused on creating a “culture of safety” for their employees. As you develop safety goals, keep in mind they’ll likely vary depending on what department of employees you’re training (i.e., managers and front-line supervisors versus assemblers).  

Use storytelling to make safety training more interactive  

You can make your safety program more engaging by incorporating elements of storytelling within your training. With most employees associating safety training with lecture-style seminars, consider making your program more interactive with real-life scenarios, role-playing, case studies and visuals. The art of storytelling in teaching safety involves sharing stories to get your message across, rather than just telling employees what to do. When you engage employees in this way, you’ll communicate the impact of safety decisions and help them understand their individual roles in keeping the workplace safe.    

Monitor performance and seek feedback 

One of the most underrated ways to improve safety program outcomes is to include your employees in the process! After the completion of each safety training cycle, make a plan to closely monitor the safety performance of employees on the job. This involves regular check-ins with managers and supervisors to make sure staff is applying training principles on the job, as well as having your entire team provide feedback about the program in the form of surveys or one-on-one feedback sessions. Depending on the results, you can continue refining your training so that it best meets the learning needs of your employees.  

Finding opportunities to elevate your safety program will ultimately improve your employees’ commitment to safety on the job, making them more aware and mindful of their actions and choices. The sooner you re-invest in safety, the better off your company and people will be in the long run!

Are you in need of safety-minded employees?

Get in touch today and learn how a staffing partnership with Carlton Staffing will help your organization reach its workforce development goals.