Effective Safety Training Techniques – Those That Work And Those That Do Not Work

 

Communicating the essence of the safety message in an understandable and motivating way is clearly the name of the game in safety training. The communication skills that go into instruction and motivation are such an everyday part of the safety trainer’s job that he or she may not give much though to them. But a great deal of study has been done to determine the skills and traits that lead to effective safety training.

 

Effective safety training has two basic components - what is said and how it is said. To begin with, it is important that the safety trainer stick to the topic at hand. Do not get sidetracked or distracted. The audience could come away with a different interpretation of the same message or lose interest entirely.

 

What the trainer says also depends upon the audience. Put yourself in their shoes. The trainer needs to know their attitudes that day, what is going on in the workplace, what is their attention span and sense of humor. Ask yourself how you would respond if you were an attendee at this safety meeting. Would you get the message? Would you be motivated to be more careful?

 

Here are a few tips that should help make your safety training more effective:

 

  • Immediately satisfy the employee’s WIIFM (What’s In It For Me). Trainers call this “the hook” but if it is not done right the employee will just sit there and bide their time but not learn anything. On the other hand, if they can quickly and easily relate to the topic they will listen and learn.
  • Present “the hook” in emotional terms. Rather than running through statistics, focus the topic in terms that the employees can related to emotionally and personally. For example, let’s say you are giving a training session on hand injury prevention. Rather than give OSHA statistics on the number of hand injuries or their causes (something you may do later in the presentation), you want to first put the topic in a personal, emotional context. Get them to actually visualize what would happen to them personally, and the impact on their family, if they lost the use of their hand. Once they make that emotional connect their level of interest will carry throughout the presentation.

  • Do not talk down to your listeners. Assume that you are talking to intelligent people who think that safety is important.
  • Use clear language.  Do not try to “fancy up” the presentation. Use the same language you would use during normal conversation in the facility.

  • Make eye contact. If the trainer is constantly looking down at a piece of paper or at a spot on the wall, the audience will get distracted and lose interest. Look people in the eye, moving your gaze around the audience. Do not, however, single any one person out. They may think that they are the problem and feel resentful.
  • Use a warm and friendly tone of voice. Remember that safety is a mutual need and concern. The trainer’s tone of voice may threaten or upset the participants in such a way that they are negatively motivated. If this happens not only has the trainer lost them but also their safety habits in the facility may be the opposite of those you were trying to encourage.

  • Use a moderate pace and volume of speech. Not to fast or slow, not too loud or soft. By the same token, make sure that everyone can hear you.
  • Sound firm and convincing. When you make a statement, do not let your voice trail into a question. Avoid qualifiers such as “but,” “except when,” or “unless.” Your preparatory work prior to the meeting is specifically designed to assist you in this area.

  • Watch your body language. If you cross your arms in front of you while you talk or answer questions you look defensive or threatened. If you keep playing with a pencil or paper, you look nervous. All of these are distractions and detract from the presentation.
  • Watch your audience’s body language. Crossed legs or arms usually mean they are defensive and may also mean that they are resisting the message. Leaning forward usually indicates that they are interested.

  • Get feedback. This will help ensure that the message is getting through. Respond to all questions. If no one asks any questions, do not hesitate to ask the participants questions. Give people time to develop their answer and to say what they want to say in response to the question. If the trainer just says - “Any questions?” - and then instantly move on, they are actually saying that they really do not want to take any questions. Asking specific questions is the best way to make sure that the audience has understood what has been said.

 

It has been consistently shown that effective safety training will reduce both insured workers compensation costs as well as indirect workers compensation costs. CompEraser has found that, when analyzed on a total worker compensation cost basis (insured cost plus indirect workers compensation costs), the return on investment is often 20:1 or more the first year. Safety training truly is one of the easiest and more cost effective forms of workers compensation cost reduction.

 

CompEraser provides two levels of resources to the employer to assist in their training efforts. First, its Resource Library is loaded with safety training resources to help plan and implement an effective safety training program. The staff at CompEraser is also available to assist in the design of individual safety training programs. Second, CompEraser provides a host of financial reports that will quickly indicate on a total cost basis those sources of worker injuries that will provide the greatest impact and ROI.  For more information, go to www.comperaser.com.