Five (5) Reasons Why You Should Get New Employees Off On The Right Track To Prevent Workers Compensation Injuries
Do you have an employee indoctrination program that provides specific training for new employees?
Getting new employees off on the right foot relative to your established injury prevention program is absolutely critical. Otherwise the new employee may simply apply his or her own safety habits (if any) learned form previous jobs. As a result, tools and equipment may be not used safely, safety rules will not be followed, unsafe acts may be performed, and accidents may occur.
If performed correctly, a new employee safety indoctrination program will bring the following benefits to the organization’s safety and health program. First, the new employee is quickly trained in the safety and health program before the “unwritten culture” gets to them. There may be times where the new employee has friends within the organization. Some are safe workers and some are not. Some may be completely aware and supportive of the existing safety rules and some are not. There will be a quiet “tug-of-war” between the safety culture the organization is trying hard to create and the “unwritten culture” defined by the norms of the workplace. Taking the time to explain the safety rules and procedures early in the employment relationship will go a long way towards winning over new employee and gaining a supporter of the program.
Second, the new employee safety indoctrination program will blend in well with organization’s probationary policy. Most organizations have a probationary period for all new employees. During this period the new employee must “past muster” and master his or her job responsibilities to the employer’s satisfaction. Adding the new employee safety indoctrination program to this process is a natural extension and reinforces this approach. As you will learn shortly, the proposed new employee safety indoctrination program will establish a “safety probationary period” that must be satisfied. It will be documented by the new employee and other key employees responsible for training the new employee. The process ultimately leads to their qualifying as a “safe worker” as defined by the expectations of the organization.
Third, the new employee will be put at ease in their new job. Because the safety and health team is taking the time to explain to the new employee that “Safety Is Job One” in the workplace, and what their responsibilities are, they will become comfortable in their new work environment. It also will give fellow employees a chance to get comfortable with the new employee. Keep in mind that the organization has the right and obligation to run a safe operation and to take whatever steps are necessary to prevent personal injury or damage to property. Untrained, unsafe new employees are a threat to this goal and should be “nipped in the bud.”
Fourth, the new employee will be encouraged and trained not to “overdo it” early in the new employment relationship. Frequently the new employee is eager to prove himself or herself to their new Supervisor and employer. By doing so they may try to operate the machinery too fast, use hand tools unsafely, lift materials incorrectly, or overexert themselves – all of which can cause workplace injuries to the new employee and to fellow workers. The new employee safety indoctrination program will go a long way towards preventing this.
Firth, bad work habits (unsafe acts) are identified early on and prevented. Frequently new employees bring with them old, bad work habits. Many are contrary to the organization’s safety rules and may create workplace injuries. Also, new employees often have come from a safety culture, or lack of one, at their former employer. Because they naturally will continue to do what they have always done, they may perform unsafe acts. Remember that unsafe acts are the cause of the vast majority of workplace injuries. The new employee safety indoctrination program will instill safe work habits and minimize injuries as a result.
The best opportunity to instill and teach safety awareness is when someone is learning a new job. After all, bad safety habits that are never learned do not have to be unlearned.
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CompEraser also 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.
