You’re training and a question comes up that completely baffles you … no idea at all how to reply, and no wish to give the wrong information. Is it panic city? Not according to our Safety Training Tips editor. This Friday, he gives you the answers … to not knowing the answers.
If you are training and don’t know how to reply to a trainee’s question …
–Don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know. No matter how experienced you are as a trainer or how much you know about workplace safety, a question could come up in a training session to which you simply don’t have the answer. What should you do? The best course of action in a situation like that is to say something like this: “That’s a really good question. I don’t know the answer, but we’re sure going to find out.” Never be tempted to guess at an answer or brush a question aside just because you don’t know how to reply. That could come back to haunt you. Unanswered or incorrectly answered safety questions can lead to accidents and injuries.
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–Ask trainees to suggest an answer. One approach to handling these situations is to use them as an opportunity to make your training more interactive. For example, you could ask members of the group to suggest possible answers. Of course, you’ll have to check the accuracy of suggested answers after the session and get back to the group with a definitive answer. But this kind of discussion can be a good way to get employees thinking about safety problems and solutions. And it can also get them more involved in the training process.
–Research the issue, or check with an expert. Depending on the nature of the question and the composition of the training group, you might decide to delegate researching the question to one of the more experienced and knowledgeable employees in the group. The employee can report back at your next safety meeting with an answer. If the issue is something you need to research yourself, you might check with an experienced colleague, your boss, or your safety coordinator. If necessary, you could even check with a safety expert, such as one of your organization’s safety consultants. You might also search for an answer on the Internet, but be careful—not all sources on the Web are equally reliable. Make sure any information you get online is from a government agency, industry organization, or other equally trustworthy source. Also make sure the information is up to date. Some sources fail to keep their websites up to date with recent regulatory changes or the latest scientific safety data.(Special note to Safety.BLR.com subscribers: You can e-mail a question to our experts and get a reply in 1 business day.)
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Get back to employees with an answer as soon as possible. Once you have a complete and accurate answer to an employee’s question, get the information out to all the members of the training group as soon as possible. The most effective way to do this is to call another safety meeting to discuss the issue and any related information of interest. If this is not practical or necessary, send out a memo or e-mail to all the members of the training group. But if you use either of these forms of communication, remember that employees don’t always read or pay attention to memos and e-mail. Make sure to follow up with a phone call or face-to-face to make sure that everyone got the answer and understands it. You don’t want any misunderstanding or confusion about a safety issue.
Why It Matters…
–Trainees’ questions are an important part of any training session and always deserve an answer.
–Unanswered questions could lead to an accident.
–Inaccurate or incomplete safety information could be as dangerous as no information at all.