According to Business and Legal Reports, there are 7 reasons new hires are injured early-on in their employment. Your risk is high, especially with new hires. And that is why it is so important to have an effective new hire safety orientation plan.
7 Reasons New Hires Are Injured
- The employer assumed safety involved more “common sense” than proper training.
- The new hire was afraid to ask questions.
- The new hire is unfamiliar with their new work environment.
- New hire training was too focused on how to accomplish tasks and didn’t fully cover specific safety training.
- The new hire was unfamiliar with hazardous substances used on the job.
- The new hire did not thoroughly understand the importance of using the required personal protective equipment.
- Safety was not clearly communicated as an important part of the job.
These 7 items seem easy enough for any company to cover in new hire training. But still, one of eight workplace injuries occur to employees on their first day on the job. And approximately 40% of all workplace injuries occur to employee who have been on the job less than one year.
You can reduce the chances of this happening to you by creating and using a new hire safety orientation plan.
New Hire Safety Orientation
Your new hire safety orientation plan should address all of the above 7 reasons new hires are injured.
You must also ensure the plan is implemented among every single employee, including existing employees.
Some employers may feel the need to rush training in order to get “warm bodies” ready to work. However, this will do more harm than good. The cost of training might seem daunting but the cost of an injury is far worse.
The average medical-only claim costs in excess of $1,000.
To guarantee your new hire safety orientation plan is fully utilized, try using a checklist. Your checklist should include all teaching points that must be covered. Have all new hires initial next to each checklist point as they are properly trained on each topic. The manager, supervisor, or trainer should also initial next to each checkpoint as it is covered.
The checklist should also include the required OSHA training topics, emergency exit routes, use of fire extinguishers, calling 911 and employee responsibilities in case of an emergency.
Finally, there is nothing worse than having put together your new hire safety orientation only for your workforce to ignore it. Every single person in your company should work by the safety plan. Violations of this plan should be addressed and corrected immediately including disciplinary actions taken. Safety is never a joke and should be treated with respect.
At Employers Resource, our safety team works with our clients to develop and implement new hire safety orientation designed to lessen the potential for injuries, especially with new hires. Give us a call to see how we can reduce the number and severity of workplace injuries in your business.
Stay safe out there!
Download the New Hire Pocket Guide for Employers Here
