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Safety Induction Preventing Workplace Injuries

Do you consider Safety inductions something that you do purely because you feel they should be part of your induction process? Do you wonder if they have any real importance, as you are not sure that the information within is properly transferred to your employees, leaving inadmissible gaps in their knowledge? Safety inductions are meant for more than just informing people about safety issues and the precautions they should take, they are meant to prevent injuries and save lives ensuring the wellbeing of all employees at the company.

Safety inductions can assist with the reduction of the amount of stress a new position brings. Stress is a big contributor to burnout and mental health issues (checkout the work related stress information at Safe Work Australia if you would like more info). Meaning that employees are likely to leave your employment quicker creating a higher turnover of staff and higher costs for your company as you scramble to replace workers and begin the training process again, if the stress is not managed appropriately. Reducing stress can also lead to employees having a clearer mind whilst working, allowing them to focus on their task and surroundings which will ultimately lead to a reduction in workplace incidents.

Aside from stress a large amount of injuries caused at work can be traced back to a lack of retention of the information within a safety induction. If you want your workplace to see a reduction in injuries, then you have to make sure that people are truly engaged in the induction and that it is memorable in all the right ways.

If keeping your induction engaging is key to reducing injuries, then it is important to remember that Safety is a fairly broad category and so covering all sections in an engaging way is improbable. It is however definitely important to cover as many areas as possible so as to not leave the employee frozen by decision in a potentially life-threatening situation because they don't know what to do.

Here are some tips of the generally more important areas to help you resolve this conundrum:

Make sure...
- that employees know how to report hazards, incidents, risks and eliminate them in a safe responsible way. This can also help them with the handling of unexpected situations when they arise.
- they know the kinds of protective work equipment that you supply/provide and where and when to access and use it.
- they know how to use the tools, machinery or other equipment safely in your organisation, no matter the type whether it be farm or office. In creating a safety induction, it is important to measure the previous experience of your employees. In doing this you will gain the information you need to make sure that the information they are receiving is the information they need to hear and by reducing the unnecessary information they are more likely to pay attention. It is also important to assume that they have not used the equipment that is utilised at your workplace previously even if they have done the same role in another company.
- The use of safety industry jargon should be kept to a minimum as its utilisation can disengage your audience. If it is to be used it is important to remember to make sure it is adequately explained.

Utilising an online induction process allows several bonuses to the induction process to help keep the employee engaged. Firstly, the employees can go through the induction at their own pace (handy if they are falling asleep as they can walk away and refresh themselves before continuing). You are also able to customise the induction to specific employees giving them only the information that they need to know. Additionally, to help retention you can include quizzes and other games to test their knowledge of what they are being taught.

A well-done safety induction doesn't have to cost the earth and the costs it saves in the long term will be well and truly worth it. By following the ideas that are mentioned above, your employees are more likely to retain the information they need to contribute to creating a workplace free of injuries. Also, by undertaking these ideas you are communicating that your serious about safety and that your employees need to take it seriously as well.

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