Orientation is your first—and perhaps best—chance to shape new employee safety attitudes and behavior. It’s an opportunity you can’t afford to miss.
New employees are at considerably greater risk of injury than more seasoned workers. That’s because:
- New employees often have insufficient skills and job knowledge.
- Even if they are skilled and experienced, they lack familiarity with your workplace, its particular hazards, and your specific safety practices.
- New workers may be less likely to ask questions or express safety concerns.
- They may be young, which means that in addition to lacking skills and knowledge, they may also be less aware of hazards and more inclined to take risks.
Statistics tell us that employees are most likely to be injured during their first few months on the job than at any other time during their employment. That’s why your safety orientation program has to be efficient, hard-hitting, and packed with information.
Win/Win
Too often, orientation is considered a necessary evil. It’s not given sufficient attention by employers, who see the time employees spend at it as lost production, rather than what it really is, an investment in safety and protection.
For their part, workers are frequently bored and distracted during tedious "talking head" sessions. Even if they’re pleased to have paid time off from regular duties, that still doesn’t guarantee they’re going to be paying attention.
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But when orientation is done right, everybody gains. Safety orientation is an excellent way to get new hires on board, to shape their safety attitudes, and to bring them up to speed on your policies and programs.
It’s also your first official opportunity to educate them about your company, your expectations, and the importance of safety. This is the time when you set the tone, letting employees know you care about them and that you’ve got rules and procedures in place to keep them safe.
Minimum Requirements
The most important aspect of orientation is the informational content. New hires require essential safety training as soon as possible after they’re on the payroll.
Make sure yours covers at least these minimum safety orientation requirements:
- General site hazards
- Specific hazards involved in each task the employee may perform
- Safety policies and work rules, including accident-prevention strategies and injury- and hazard-reporting procedures
- Location of emergency equipment like fire extinguishers, eyewash stations, and first-aid supplies
- Smoking regulations and designated smoking areas if you have them
- Steps to take following an accident or injury
- Proper reporting of emergencies, accidents, and near-misses
- Selection, use, and care of PPE
- Emergency evacuation procedures and routes and security systems
- Safe housekeeping rules
- Safe use of tools and equipment
- Safe-lifting techniques and material-handling procedures
- Hazardous materials in your facility and the location of material safety data sheets
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Get Them Off to a Good Start
Some organizations like to add a little drama to safety orientation and bring in an employee who has been injured to explain what happened and the effect of the injury on the employee and his or her family. A first-hand account of an accident and its aftermath can capture new workers’ attention like little else and orient their attitudes toward safe behavior.
Whatever methods you choose to orient new employees to your workplace safety programs and policies, make sure they do the job. Those organizations that put an emphasis on those first few days and weeks of employment experience a lower accident rate among new hires.
Tomorrow, we’ll wind up our review of safety orientation with six suggestions for making your orientation a successful and memorable experience for all new employees.