New hire safety programs

This can be a major blow to any company, but especially for a small business. Woodward suggests taking a look at all of your on-the-job injuries for the past years. Were any of them new hires? How long were they on the job before they were hurt? If new hires are getting injured at your business, now is the best time to make a change. To prevent new hire injuries in your workplace, Woodward recommends creating a hiring checklist.

This is a list of best practices to use each time you consider a potential candidate for a job. Create a list that works for your business and industry.

Then, use it every time. Use these four essential practices to start your list:. POET is a great way to protect new employees. Many jobs require physical skills, like lifting , using ladders , or the safe use of machinery. Then, they receive a full physical. A doctor can often spot health problems that may cause issues in the future, like high blood pressure. POET results sometimes mean that a candidate may not be hired. But other times, it just shows areas where they need to improve before they can start working.

A job can be a great fit for certain candidates — but those candidates also need to be a good fit for the job. Employers should carefully consider any potential job candidates. There are important warning signs that they may not be the best choice. Woodward has seen employers make poor decisions. For example, hiring a candidate the same day without thorough testing, or offering to pay untrained workers in cash.

Woodward recommends that employers speak to an employment attorney about these signs if they are able. If you are looking to hire, referrals from employees can be a great place to start.

Take the time to screen any and all potential workers. Even if a candidate has past job experience, train them for your workplace. These numbers can be significantly reduced by developing and implementing a New Hire Safety Orientation Program. When applied consistently with EVERY new hire, the program can help ensure that newly hired employees are armed with the knowledge necessary to work safely in your business.

According to Business and Legal Reports, there are seven reasons why new hires are injured early-on in their employment:. A well-planned and executed New Hire Safety Orientation Program will address all seven of the items stated above.

The key however is to ensure that there is sufficient time for the program to be implemented with every newly hired employee. Many companies build into the hiring process a day, week or longer to make sure the new hire is properly trained to be safe on the job BEFORE he actually begins work.

This means that the employer must pay the new worker to be trained. While the expense of doing so may seem daunting, the benefit of having a safe worker far exceeds the cost of the training time. Salary for a day or two of training and orientation is indeed a small price to pay.

To ensure that the New Hire Safety Orientation program is applied to new workers consistently, use a checklist. Create a list of teaching points that must be covered with new hires. Have the new employee carry the list with him throughout the orientation process. Every supervisor, manager, or lead person who has orientation responsibility for items on the list should initial beside each item that they cover with the new hire.

Once the list is complete, the employee should be ready to report for duty. Be sure that the checklist includes required OSHA training topics, general information regarding work hours, break time, lunches etc. The list should also cover training on emergency exit routes, use of fire extinguishers, calling and employee responsibilities in an emergency.

There is nothing worse than having safety rules, policies, and procedures that are not followed by the entire workforce. Everyone from the lowest position to the highest in your organization should be held accountable for following all safety rules. Violations of safety rules MUST be corrected with the appropriate disciplinary actions taken against the offender. At Employers Resource, our Safety Team works with our clients to develop and implement a New Hire Safety Orientation program designed to lessen the potential for new hire injuries.

Why not give us a call today to see how Employers Resource can reduce the number and severity of workplace injuries in your business. I think that the reason safety measures can seem like common sense is because they have been practiced for so long. I kind of think that is a good thing. With a new employee you have a blank slate, and this is the best opportunity to ingrain the importance of safety. Contact us today to find out how. We take great pride in our ability to deliver prompt, cost-effective and relevant workplace health and safety solutions.

Introductory Safety Training for New Employees Introductory safety training will be at a high level, somewhat general in scope, and applicable to all new employees.

Evaluation of New Employee Training Progress This is the stage where the new employee will begin his job specific training. Testing and Certification of Safety Training During the on-the-job training there are normally several meetings between the trainer and safety and operations managers to discuss training progress. Recommended Blog Posts. Related Courses. Mandatory Safety Awareness.

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