Tips on how to train your team to stay safe

Written by Gary Broadley CMIOSH TiFireE OSHCR, Health and Safety Technical Manager

In today’s fast-paced and often hazardous work environments, ensuring employee safety is essential. Safety shouldn’t be treated as an add-on; it must be embedded into the core of your business. That means going beyond simply listing it as a value and actively working to build a strong safety culture.

Whether your employees work in an office, on a construction site, or in a retail space, keeping them safe requires a combination of clear communication, practical training, and a culture that prioritises safety. This includes identifying and mitigating risks, providing the right equipment and procedures, and encouraging open, honest discussions about potential hazards.

Here are some key tips below to consider when creating and maintain a safe working environment for your employees.

Create a Comprehensive Health & Safety Policy:

Employees need to know what is expected of them in the workplace. Therefore, a health and safety policy should be created which sets out your general approach to health and safety. It explains how you, as an employer, will manage health and safety in your business. It should clearly say who does what, when and how.

If you have five or more employees, you must write your policy down. If you have fewer than five employees you do not have to write anything down, but it is useful to do so.

A health and safe policy should:

• Be written in plain language.
• State your general policy on health and safety at work, including your commitment to managing health and safety and your aims.
• List the names, positions, and roles of the people in your company who have specific responsibility for health and safety.

Give details of the practical arrangements you have in place, showing how you will achieve your health and safety policy aims. This could include, undertaking risk assessments, training employees, emergency procedures and reporting protocols.

Comprehensive/Awareness Training:

Make sure all employees know the potential risks in your specific workplace:

• Hold periodic safety meetings.
• Conduct thorough safety training for all employees, especially new starters, and ensure refresher courses are offered regularly.
• Adapt training to specific job roles and tasks, covering relevant safety procedures and potential hazards.
• Utilise various training methods like workshops, demonstrations, and online modules to keep delegates engaged.
  • Employees retain more when they undertake practical training e.g. use of fire extinguisher training, machine safety walkthroughs.
  • Online eLearning can be a cost-effective way of getting all of your staff to complete training courses. SafeWorkforce offers cost effective health and safety courses.
• Emphasise the importance of situational awareness, training employees to be mindful of their surroundings and potential dangers.
• Provide clear instructions on how to respond in emergency situations, including evacuation procedures, first aid, and reporting procedures.
• Practice responding to simulated training.

Open and Effective Communication:

If employees do not feel safe to speak up, problems can and will be missed. Therefore, it is advisable to ensure that:

• Clear channels for employees are established to report hazards, near misses, and unsafe conditions without fear of retribution by creating a no-blame culture.
• Encourage two-way communication between management and staff, fostering a culture of safety where everyone feels heard and valued.
• Conduct regular safety meetings to discuss current safety concerns, review incident reports, and reinforce safety protocols.
• Use visual aids like posters, signs, and diagrams to reinforce safety messages and procedures.
• Communicate safety information in a clear, concise, and easily understandable manner, avoiding jargon or technical terms.

Creating a Safety Culture

Safety should be part of the company’s overall vision and messages, and safety initiatives should be designed into every aspect of the organisation. A safety culture program needs to be more than just a written manual or book of procedures, but rather a mindset or attitude engrained into all daily functions by the following examples:

• Lead by Example: A commitment to safety by the Senior Leadership team should be demonstrated ensuring that management and supervisors’ model safe behaviours.
• Involve Employees: Employees should be encouraged to participate in safety planning and decision-making, thereby fostering a sense of ownership and accountability.
• Recognise and Reward Safe Behaviour: Acknowledge and reward employees who demonstrate safe practices and contribute to a positive safety culture. Any dismissive attitudes towards safety should be addressed, reinforcing the importance of prioritising safety above all else.

Provide the Right Equipment

It should be noted that adequate training only works if employees have the right equipment, and the relevant personal protective equipment is up to the correct standard.

Maintain Records, Measure and Adjust:

A continuous improvement process should be put into operation which regularly reviews safety procedures which should ensure accurate records of training, incident reports, and safety inspections should be kept and maintained. This will enable employers to review what is working and therefore be able to update training regularly and make adjustments based on feedback and incidents.

By implementing the above strategies, companies can create a workplace where safety is prioritised, and employees are empowered to work safely and confidently.

How SafeWorkforce can help

We know how important it is for your staff to have an understanding of health and safety procedures. So, we’ve developed a range of training courses to help your business and people grow. All our courses are delivered by experienced trainers who have in-depth knowledge and expertise in their chosen fields. Each course can be tailored to meet your needs to ensure you get the most from them.

Learn more about our training courses here.