An employee induction programme is vital for new employees to gain the appropriate information about the company and also to assimilate them into the organisation’s culture and goals. In addition to that, adding a safety induction program to the general induction program or creating a separate programme is also vitally important. A proper workplace heath and safe induction programme which is designed to provide the most up to date information can pay back to the organisation in terms of savings in other areas. It also shows commitment by management to the employees, protecting and creating a more aware workforce, along with providing compliance to government obligations.
Designing an appropriate and cost-effective safety induction package is the most complex task for employers to do, since the programme has to provide all the information that new employees need, and are able to assimilate, without being overwhelming or diverting them from learning the essential processes of their new department.
Here are some simple steps on how you should plan and structure an employee safety induction programme:
- Agree on the outcome you want for the employee induction programme. The purpose of the programme is to allow for effective integration of new employee into the organisation, but what do you want the outcome to be?
- Make the programme uniform across the whole organisation but allow for changes to be made to content depending on where the new employees will be working. The length and nature of the safety induction programme after given the general organisational information will depend on the job and responsibilities the new employee is taking on.
- Use proven adult learning techniques. A lot of research has been conducted on how adults learn, and that there are different types of adult learners. Some prefer visual presentations, some prefer on-the-job type of training, so ensure that your induction program can be tailored to each employees’ learning styles.
- Consider using an online induction programme for part or your entire employee induction programme. Unless you have a large HR department within your organisation, the time and energy spent creating and maintaining an induction programme could be too expensive and using an online induction program alongside supervisor training could be a good combination for some companies.
- Engage a company that could look after your HR functions and handle your induction processes, this way you have the consistency and a thorough record keeping.
An OHS induction programme has to cover number of thing, You need to consider your workplace as well as on the type of industry. One way to ensure that the induction process is always consistent and thorough you should consider having an induction check-list.
Here is a list of recommendation that should be included on your OHS Induction Program:
• Work Health & Safety Law
• Employer & Worker Responsibilities, including the reporting incident procedure
• Risk Management: how to prevent injuries and accidents in the workplace
• Housekeeping (waste removal, clean up of spills)
• Slips, Trips and Falls
• Hazardous Substances: including the use of drug and alcohol at the workplace
• Electrical Safety
• Personal Protective Equipment: how to properly wear and maintain PPE
• How to Lift and Carry
• Emergency Procedures, First Aid and Office Safety
• Workplace Bullying
You would be crazy not to go through orientation because most companies will say you were trained.
This induction program is designed to provide an understanding of general health and safety issues in the workplace for new employees. It also provides a platform for them to be able to identify and, in some cases, avoid and/or control hazards that they may come across. To some extent, those hazards can be relatively obvious i.e. fire, trip hazards, lifting kegs etc; however, some are not – such as the inert gas threat in cool rooms, chemical handling, and some electrical hazards. The handbook covers the type of hazard that an employee in a small hotel will find in the normal course of their duty. The handbook describes how to deal with these hazards and prevent injury or harm to themselves and others.
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