The statewide survey score for the state, "new employees are effectively trained on safety rules and procedures," showed a decrease between 2017 and 2019. Providing effective training is an essential part of building a positive safety culture in any organization. It is especially important to introduce safety training on day one for new employees.

Safety material recommended for new employee orientation

One way to create a positive safety culture and reinforce safety as a value of the organization is to strengthen the safety discussion and content in your existing new employee orientation. Here are some elements that should be included:

• Discuss the company safety goals and objectives
• Share the location of the safety policies and procedures
• Review the emergency response plan with employees
• Provide an overview of how to report injuries, hazards in the workplace, and any safety concerns
• Inform employees about the organization's safety committee and the opportunity to participate
• Inform new employees of the safety training plan in place and refer them to their supervisor or safety representative for additional information
• Provide contact information for the person responsible for safety, workers' compensation and training and development

Please review your current new employee orientation process for these elements and work with your human resources and training and development departments to incorporate any that are missing.

In case you missed them

Previous messages to improve our safety culture include:

• Proven strategies implemented by agencies that improved their safety meetings
• Improving safety meetings
• A guide to including safety language in a position description and performance appraisals