Did you know that new, young and inexperienced workers are five times more likely to be injured at work in their first four weeks on the job? It makes sense. These workers are often unable to perceive the hazards and risks because they lack experience; they may over-rate their own skills; young workers in particular may be adrenaline junkies and thrive on risky behavior, both on and off the job; and they may have difficulty understanding and applying general orientation training.

You can help keep new, young and inexperienced workers safe by providing proper safety orientation. And if your idea of safety orientation of a new worker is to quickly introduce him around and show him the bathroom and coffee room, you need to re-orient yourself.

Set an Appropriate Pace for New Worker Safety Orientation

Employee orientation training isn't a one-style-fits-all proposition. People learn in different ways and at different rates. For effective orientation, be sure to choose carefully your timing and pace to avoid information overload.

5 Objectives of New Worker Safety Orientation

When providing worker orientation, your five objectives are training workers to:

1. Understand their role in a safe workplace;
2. Follow safe operating procedures;
3. Know the hazards of their workplace;
4. Use protective equipment, and
5. Comply with rules.

Topics to Cover During New Worker Safety Orientation

For new, inexperienced or transferred workers, your orientation should include:

• An introduction to managers, human resources personnel, supervisors and co-workers;
• A tour of the facility; and
• An introduction to the job and duties, including health and safety issues.

The introduction to the health and safety issues should include an explanation of:

• Your company's health and safety policy;
• Safety guidelines;
• Regulations;
• Workplace hazards;
• Hazard identification;
• Health and safety responsibilities;
• Incident reporting procedures;
• The right to refuse unsafe work; and
• Disciplinary procedures.

New workers should also be assigned an experienced "buddy" to help them stay safe and answer health- and safety-related questions.

Conclusion

Senior management commitment to new worker safety orientation is key to its success. To keep new workers safe, employers must be very clear on performance expectations and adherence to safety requirements. Build safety orientation into your operation's daily routine and tailor it to both the organization's needs and the needs of individual workers, especially new, young and inexperienced workers.

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