New Employee Safety Indoctrination Reduces Workers Compensation Costs
Getting new employees off on the right foot relative to the established safety program is absolutely critical. New employees are at times uneasy and lack a sense of belonging when they are initially hired and brought into the workplace. They are eager to learn and want to succeed. This setting produces an opportunity for the organization’s safety and health team to develop a positive working relationship with new employee in addition to general safety awareness. It also creates significant safety hazards if not addressed early in the employment relationship.
Once a new employee has been assigned to a department, the Supervisor should be responsible for taking following steps. First, immediately after the new employee is introduced to the department the Supervisor should give a copy of the employee safety handbook to the new employee and take the necessary time to review the applicable safety rules and regulations. In this way the new employee is made aware of his or her responsibility to follow all safety rules that apply to their job.
Second, the Supervisor should introduce the Safety Mentor to the new employee. The Safety Mentor should be someone who displays a high level of safety awareness and would be a good example to the new employee in the areas of safety awareness, follows the organization’s safety rules, and exemplifies quality work habits. Ideally, the Safety Mentor should be someone who is familiar with the equipment, tools and process that the new employee will be working with as well.
Third, as part of the new employee indoctrination process, the Supervisor should be required to completely fill out the “New Employee Safety Checklist.” A sample of this form can be obtained by emailing me at info@CompEraser.com. This form must be filled out and returned to the Safety Director at the end of the first day of employment. It must be signed by the Supervisor, Safety Mentor, and the new employee.
Fourth, the Supervisor and Safety Mentor should be expected to observe and monitor the new employee daily and to make sure that safety rules are being obeyed. It is also important that the Supervisor touch base with the Safety Mentor regularly to get his or her feedback as well. Here is a tip that may prove effective. While the new employee is on “safety probation” give them a different colored hard hat. Some companies use a yellow or green hard hat for this purpose. That way everyone knows that the employee is new and under safety probation.
Fifth, once they are satisfied with the progress of the new employee (or at the end of the probationary period), the Supervisor and Safety Mentor will make a recommendation to the Safety Director that the new employee be recognized in some way for his or her accomplishment.
Finally, the new employee should be recognized by the Safety Director and, where possible, receive a certificate of accomplishment.
CompEraser provides a number of on-line, on-demand resources to help you implement a New Employee Safety Indoctrination Program. Resources also include the formalization of your safety team, injury prevention, OSHA compliance, safety training, workers compensation disability management, plus more. These resources are available 24/7 and used irrespective of which workers compensation carrier you select. Its patent-pending technology also provides unique financial reports for monitoring the effectiveness of your safety and health program on an on-going basis. For more information visit our website at www.CompEraser.com.
