The Need and Advantages of Safety Training

Today, firms have made remarkable progress in safeguarding the interests and wellbeing of their employees. The current situation contrasts sharply with the state of affairs in previous years where employees worked in hazardous conditions and were not provided with equipment to enhance their safety. For the most part, firms are being driven by regulatory requirements as they establish safety measures. However, there are many firms which have set up these programs in response to the need to ensure the safety of their employees at all times. Safety training is among the initiatives that are being implemented by companies across the globe. The training is part of efforts to guarantee employee wellbeing. It is important for firms which are yet to adopt safety programs to move with speed and establish these programs. However, before they create the programs, they need to gain a clear understanding of such issues as the need for safety training, the advantages that it presents and the drawbacks that they should be wary of. These issues have been the subject of extensive coverage in academic literature.

The Need for Safety Training 

Safety training serves a number of critical functions. In their article, Natalie Dope, Karen Slovak and Jarod Giger (2016) examine some of these functions. The insights shared in the article are based on the results of a study which sought to establish the impact that safety training has on case managers for geriatric patients. They note that after undergoing training, the managers felt confident that they were adequately prepared for emergency situations (Dope, Slovak & Giger, 2016). Moreover, the training enabled the managers to identify and eliminate risks among patients. While it is true that the study involved a medical setting, the insights that Dope and her colleagues share can apply to other environments. As they implement employee safety training initiatives, organizations should be moved by the desire to enhance the preparedness of their employees. Safety training is especially important for employees who face such risks as fires and active shooter situations (Matthew, 2016). Through training, they are able to conduct themselves in a fashion that minimizes harm resulting from these risks.

Enhancing employee preparedness is not the only issue that necessitates safety training. Compliance with regulatory and legal requirements is another purpose that safety training serves. Vytenis Babrauskas (2017) is among the scholars whose works examine how safety training enables organizations to meet requirements and safety standards. In his review of an explosion that occurred at a fertilizer company in Texas, Babrauskas notes that this firm flouted regulations regarding fire safety. He notes that had the company complied with the regulations and standards, the explosion could have been avoided (Babrauskas, 2017). His discussion makes it clear that safety training is among the measures that firms can institute as they comply with relevant laws and standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) is among the laws which stipulate that firms should take all necessary steps to enhance the safety of their workers (Ahn et al., 2016). Therefore, as a firm establishes a fire or active-shooter safety training for its employees, it should understand that the training will shield it against accusations of flouting safety guidelines.

Advantages of Safety Training 

The discussion above has identified the factors that make it necessary for firms to offer safety training to their employees. This discussion has set the stage for a look at the benefits that firms are set to gain once the training programs are operational. One of the benefits of safety training concerns discouraging workers against performing work or engaging in activities that pose risks to their health and wellbeing. Kristina Zierold conducted a study with the aim of understanding the impact that safety training has on teen workers. She observed that following the training, the workers were able to identify hazards (Zierold, 2015). While she also noted that the training that firms offer is mostly inadequate, she indicates that safety training has the effect of establishing a culture of compliance with guidelines and vigilance. Zierold is not alone in acknowledging that safety training has tremendous impacts on organizational performance and employee wellbeing. Joining forces with a group of other scholars, Mohammad Javad Jafari (2014) confirmed that safety training does indeed encourage a climate of safety. The article that these scholars authored recognize that firms in the construction industry record the greatest benefits since their workers are exposed to serious hazards. Mostafa Namian, Alex Albert, Carlos Zuluaga and Michael Behm (2016) also authored an article in which they endorse safety training as the key to promoting worker safety. The article notes that training programs that allow for high employee engagement challenge the employees to recognize hazards and determine the level of risk to which they are exposed. Namian and his colleagues essentially establish that safety training is an initiative that firms must implement if they are to secure the wellbeing of their workers. Therefore, firms which wish to enhance the wellbeing of their workers and create safe working environments need to conduct safety training.

All organizations desire to have employees who are engaged, productive and motivated. There are various measures that the firms can use to achieve these outcomes. Effective safety training has been identified as among the most effective strategies to creating an engaged and productive workforce. Jalal Hanaysha (2016) established that employee training has a significant impact on the levels of employee productivity. In her article, she also links training to enhanced teamwork and employee engagement. It is true that Hanaysha does not make specific mention of safety training. However, the insights that she shares extends to safety training programs. Through these programs, organizations make it clear to their employees that they are committed to their welfare. Consequently, the employees respond with increased productivity, motivation and engagement. The safety training programs also offer employees peace of mind as they understand that they are properly prepared to respond to hazards.

As has been established in a previous section, such laws as OSHA mandate that employers should safeguard employee wellbeing. Failure to comply with the stipulations of OSHA and other legal guidelines exposes organizations to the risk of lawsuits. By conducting safety training, organizations essentially forestall lawsuits (McStowe, 2017). Through the training, they enable employees to identify and avoid hazards. As a result, the organizations deny the employees reason to file lawsuits. It was noted earlier that safety training helps organizations to create a culture and climate of safety. This culture allows the organizations to secure the safety of customers and other stakeholders who could be exposed to hazards while in the premises of the organization. Therefore, by facilitating the establishment of a safe workplace environment, safety training shields organizations from costly and lengthy lawsuits whose damage to an organization’s image can be devastating.

The scholarly community has supplied the bulk of insights on safety training for employees. While the efforts of scholars should be recognized, it is also important to acknowledge that such other sources as the Bible also contain important insights on the need for safety training. Ephesians 2:10 highlights the value of training. It reads as follows: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (NKJV). It is true that the Bible does not explicitly require employers to institute safety training programs. However, the verse above can be interpreted as challenging workers and employers to demonstrate such values as integrity and concern for the wellbeing of others. Safety training initiatives embody these values. Proverbs 16:11 provides further insight on the need for safety training. It states that “the Lord demands fairness in every business deal; he sets the standard” (NKJV). Here, the Bible makes it clear that fairness is among the key principle that should govern business operations. When they set up safety training programs, organizations are complying with God’s instructions and promoting fairness. Through the programs, they display their dedication to treating their employees as the law requires and as the employees deserve. Therefore, all organizations which uphold Christian values need to conduct regular employee safety training.

Drawbacks of Safety Training 

The discussion above has identified the gains that safety training delivers to organizations. Now the focus should shift to understanding the challenges that organizations should expect to encounter as they roll out safety training. The high cost of conducting training is among the drawbacks that could hinder successful implementation. Charan Teja Valluru, Sidney Dekker and Andrew Rae (2017) collaborated to understand why the construction industry reports an unusually high number of workplace accidents. They suggest that the high cost of conducting safety training is among the factors that hinder the firms in this industry from training their workers on how to protect themselves against safety hazards. The high costs are not confined to the construction industry. Delivering effective training is a cost-intensive undertaking. Before they set out to implement training programs, firms need to ensure that they have adequate financial resources. While training may be costly, firms need to understand that the many benefits that the training offers justify the high costs incurred.

Ensuring that the individuals conducting the training are adequately competent and qualified is another challenge that organizations often encounter. It is nearly impossible for workers to gain the skills and knowledge they need to create a safe workplace and respond to safety emergencies such as active-shooter situations, if their instructor lacks competence and relevant qualifications (Laberge, MacEachen & Calvet, 2014). Hiring qualified instructors adds to the cost of implementing safety training programs. In implementing these programs, firms should be willing to incur extra costs and hire qualified instructors. It is also important for the top leadership of the organizations to be intimately involved in the training. They possess key insights, expertise and experience that will prove critical to the success of the training program.

Despite hiring competent instructors and challenging its leaders to become involved in the safety training process, an organization may still fail to witness significant improvements in the preparedness of its employees to respond to emergencies and hazards. The failure to align the training with the needs of the employees is among the factors that could be responsible for the ineffectiveness of the training (Laberge, MacEachen & Calvet, 2014). When designing safety training, it is important to account for such issues as the knowledge and education levels of the employees. It would be ridiculously wasteful for a firm to deliver training to low-level employees using technical language. If organizations are to be successful in readying their employees for emergencies, they should ensure that the training approaches incorporate the needs and competence levels of the employees.

Even after accounting for the needs and educational experience of employees, firms could still encounter challenges while implementing the training programs. Failing to ensure that the learning environment mirrors the situation in the actual work environment could be responsible for the ineffectiveness (Laberge, MacEachen & Calvet, 2014). In most cases, training is conducted in a classroom setting. While firms strive to ensure that this setting reflects the situations that the employees will encounter in the actual workplace, it is simply impossible to replicate the workplace reality in a classroom. Therefore, whereas they should continue to use the classroom setting, firms should also incorporate elements of the real world. For example, the firms should conduct drills with the goal of assessing how employees respond to simulated emergency situations.

Features of Effective Safety Training 

This far, the discussion has examined the advantages that firms enjoy when they implement safety training and the drawbacks that discourage the firms against adopting training. The discussion cannot be considered complete without a review of the literature on the features that constitute effective safety training initiatives. Sevilay Demirkesen and David Arditi (2015) investigated the attributes that make safety training effective. These scholars noted that for a program to be effective, it needs to account for the unique issues and problems that employees encounter. For example, employees working in a dangerous construction site would need training that addresses such hazards as falling debris and handling dangerous equipment. Demirksesen and Arditi add that while conducting safety training, firms need to seek the feedback of their employees (Demirkesen & Arditi, 2015). The feedback allows the firms to establish that the training is delivering the desired outcomes. For example, when workers report that they feel confident that they can handle an emergency, an organization can take this feedback to be indication that the training has worked. Another issue that Demirkesen and Arditi explore in their article is that it is important for training to be delivered in a language with which employees are conversant. As noted earlier, if technical and unfamiliar language is used, the training is unlikely to be effective.

The literature reviewed above is authored by scholars who despite possessing expertise may be unfamiliar with the actual scenarios that employees and organizations encounter. It is therefore important to hear the thoughts of parties which have first-hand experiences with employee training. Scontrino Powell Inc. is among the firms which have earned the authority to educate firms on how to design effective safety training programs. Writing for this company, Robert Bullock (2013) shared his perspectives on the attributes that enhances the effectiveness of a safety training initiative. Bullock advises that firms should begin with a needs assessment. The assessment allows the firms to design the training initiative in a manner that meets the needs of the employees. Bullock’s article adds that effective training programs have clear goals, desired outcomes and have stated purposes. Moreover, the programs should deliver relevant content (Bullock, 2013). For example, if a firm wishes to prepare its employees for active shooter situations, it needs to deliver content which trains the employees on how to hide, flee or confront the shooter. Bullock also reminds firms to integrate practical demonstrations into the training. Furthermore, the training should allow the employees to become active participants. Active participation and practical demonstration elevate training from a theoretical subject to an issue with real and practical implications. As he concludes, he calls on firms to create opportunities where the employees can demonstrate the skills and the knowledge that they have acquired through the training (Bullocks, 2013). Drills are examples of opportunities that employees can leverage to practice the skills acquired. The insights that Bullock and the other scholars who have been discussed above are practical and will go a long way in enabling organizations to design training approaches which work.

Conclusion 

That safety training holds the key to encouraging a culture of safety is not in question. Various scholars agree that when they implement safety training, firms equip their employees with practical skills which enhance their competence and readiness for emergencies. The training also allows firms to comply with regulatory standards while inspiring employees to become more motivated, productive and engaged. While the benefits of training are numerous and varied, firms should understand that the training comes with challenges. The challenges include high costs and the difficulty in hiring qualified instructors. To tackle these challenges, the firms should urge its top leadership to play an active role in the training process.

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