Safety orientations play a crucial role in the onboarding process. When employees are provided with safety training and information early in the employment relationship, it can help prevent accidents and injuries in the workplace.
Benefits of safety orientations during onboarding
Employee safety: The primary purpose of safety orientation is to make sure employees understand the potential hazards and risks associated with their new job. When employees are given training and information, it helps protect them and other colleagues from any potential accidents and injuries. When employees are aware of safety protocols, they are less likely to engage in behavior that could put them at risk.
Legal compliance: Many industries have specific safety laws and regulations that employers must comply with. If employers do not comply with these laws, they are at risk of being fined and penalized. To help prevent legal issues, employers need to make sure they provide their new hires with proper safety training so that they understand what could potentially put them in danger.
Reduces costs: Employees who receive proper safety training are less likely to be involved in workplace accidents and injuries. This not only helps protect employees, but it helps protect companies from workers’ compensation claims and medical expenses.
Improved morale: Companies can show respect for their employees by making sure they provide them with everything they need to stay safe. This includes safety training, proper equipment, and having specific safety protocols and procedures. When employers provide everything that they need to stay safe, it shows employees that their leaders truly care for them, which improves morale.
Increased productivity: When workers understand how to stay safe, it helps prevent them from getting injured, which increases productivity. When workers are constantly getting injured and taking time off to recover, it significantly decreases productivity which will negatively impact your company.
Tips for conducting safety orientations
Address relevant information: During safety orientations, businesses should address information that is relevant to employees’ roles and responsibilities.
Provide resources: In addition to conducting a safety orientation, leaders should provide their employees with a variety of resources for them to learn from. This includes safety manuals, safety protocols and procedures, return-to-work process, and industry specific safety programs. Providing employees with a proper number of resources informs them how to be safe, and what they need to do if they are involved in an accident.
Follow up: After onboarding, be sure to follow up with employees once they have started their day-to-day tasks and ask them if they need any additional resources or equipment to stay safe.
Employee safety needs to be a top priority for all employers. Conducting safety orientations during onboarding provides a good baseline for safety standards and protocols with new hires. This gives new hires the information and training they need before starting their job tasks, and it allows them to ask any questions they may have regarding safety in the workplace.