Federal and state health and safety regulators continue to view training as the life blood of an effective safety culture. At the same time companies are evolving from viewing their health and safety programs as a necessary evil to one of its primary organizational pillars. As a result, the number of training options continues to grow…..and…Options are good! The more options at our disposal the more likely we are to find the one which best fits our company culture. On the other hand, with more options come a greater accountability to understand the efficacy of each.
One increasingly prevalent option is online safety training. Online training does offer advantages such as low cost and flexibility. However, as with any option, be sure to also consider potential risks.
According to a study published by the American Journal of Public Health “Training involving behavioral modeling, a substantial amount of practice, and dialogue is generally more effective than other methods of safety and health training. The present findings challenge the current emphasis on more passive computer-based and distance training methods within the public health workforce.”
In-person instructor led training incorporating interactive and hands-on techniques often offers the greatest levels of retention and preparedness. Other benefits include:
Practice – employees have the opportunity to try a task more than once and address their mistakes
Prevention – of dangerous mistakes and accidents from first time skills application on a live work sites
Immediate Feedback – from instructors, other trainees and self-evaluation based on activity results
Accommodates multiple learning styles – combination of presentations, videos, discussions, role playing and hands-on activities appeal to multiple learning modalities
When it comes to selecting health and safety training for your employees be sure when they step away from their training they take the intended knowledge and skills with them.