Health and safety can be monotonous and dull sometimes, but it is absolutely essential for the safety and performance of your business.
Training sessions can often be overlooked, but engaging with staff in health and safety training is a vital process. So, how can you run an effective health and safety training session?
The importance of health and safety
Health and safety measures allow you to protect workers and anyone else that could be harmed at your workplace, such as sub-contractors and customers. Even members of the public could be at risk, for example, if a construction site is located close to the sidewalk. However, health and safety is not only necessary in construction. As an employer you have the responsibility to ensure the safety of everybody who is connected to your business. Not only can you effectively avoid injuries, but you could also be fined or have to deal with a lawsuit against your firm, which can be very costly. If workers have to take off time due to illnesses or injuries, this could slow down your business operations.
How to run an effective training session
Make it casual
People who are more relaxed will engage more openly and absorb more information. Creating a stress-free environment to work in will allow everything to run more smoothly.
Get hands on
Getting hands on with tools, equipment and activities is a good way to engage your audience and provide practical experience. For example, getting to grips with eye and face protection can be a good way to outline the benefits of appropriate PPE and identify potential dangers.
Engage with the group
Training can be particularly boring when trainees only sit and listen – engage in conversation and involve the group, take suggestions and time for feedback and questions.
Visually appealing material
Any slides or handouts you provide should be to the point and visually appealing – avoid lots of dense writing on screens. This will allow people to focus on the trainer and the message being sent.
Learn from session to session
Experience is the most valuable resource in the workplace, so ensure you utilise your experience from training session to training session. Adapt what needs adjusting and reinforce areas that were successful.
The more training sessions you run, the more experience you will gain. Eventually, you should naturally be able to engage your staff and make training sessions as productive as possible, no matter if you are setting up a virtual class or are talking to employees directly in a classroom.
