Starting a new job can be an exciting time for most new employees. For young and inexperienced workers, it can sometimes be downright dangerous.
Research has shown that, when injuries and illnesses happen in the workplace, they are more likely to occur in the early days and weeks of a new job. Young workers, who don’t have experience with workplace hazards, are among the most vulnerable.
What makes a young worker at greater risk? In general, young workers tend to be uncomfortable challenging authority or questioning directions for fear of "rocking the boat". Anxious to impress, they may be more likely to take chances.
Research suggests that new employees who go through a structured orientation program are 69% more likely to be with the company after three years than those who are left on their own to sort out the job.
John Lewko, Director, Centre for Research in Human Development, Laurentian University has spent several years researching issues involving the safety of new workers. He suggests that integrating health and safety into orientation is an extremely important part of getting employees started on the right foot - yet it is often one of the most neglected. "Health and safety orientation for new and young workers can be spotty at best, at least in environments where the size of the organization is smaller or less organized," he notes. "A young worker deserves the same quality of orientation as any new employee. We need to realize that it is just as important to orient new workers because they are the most vulnerable."
Orientation may also help retain these employees. Research suggests that new employees who go through a structured orientation program are 69% more likely to be with the company after three years than those who are left on their own to sort out the job.
Orientation is a process that introduces new employees to the workplace as well as to their specific job. According to Lewko, the approach taken to orientating new employees is pivotal. "You want to build an open relationship from day one," he notes. "If that happens, new employees are more likely to participate in health and safety, and are more able to say, ‘I don’t know how to do this’ because they feel they are active participants in the process."
Lewko stresses that orientation must include consideration of the new employee’s prior experiences and mindset. "Employers can’t assume they’re dealing with a clean slate just because they view the new worker as inexperienced," he notes. "A new worker is not necessarily an inexperienced worker. For young people, those experiences may stem from everything from a babysitting job to the way they view safety at home. We need to find out what those mindsets are."
To orient a new employee effectively, employers should start by identifying what the new employee all you can find out a lot about your prospective employee’s perceptions of safety," says Lewko. "An interview can also give you an idea of skills they have and how they were trained." Identifying the employee’s prior experience can also help you compress areas for training that the new worker already knows about, and identify areas where their prior experience is different from your standards.
To give employees a reason to tune in right away, the health and safety orientation should clearly identify how the training will benefit the employee and their job performance. Procedures and tasks that are detailed should be presented in small bits of information. This helps with retention and allows new staff to master basic skills before they are assigned to more advanced and potentially hazardous jobs. Lewko suggests conducting the orientation before the employee’s first day of work. "It’s a valuable opportunity for them to digest the information before they have to do the job."
In situations where the job tasks are more complex, "just in time" training or staged learning of new jobs and tasks give young workers the chance to achieve basic skills first. For example, showing a new worker how to use the deep fryer before starting the first shift is likely to be more effective than learning how to use all the equipment in a kitchen but not being required to work with it for several months.
It is important to demonstrate the correct way to do something, and to be specific. This strategy appeals to learners who like to observe, and can help with retention. For example, showing new staff how to use a box cutter will be more useful than showing them a picture of it. The new worker should then be given opportunities to practice their new skills.
A New Employee Health and Safety Orientation Checklist is an important part of the orientation process. This record should be completed and signed by the employee and the supervisor. The checklist can be placed in the employee’s personnel file as a record of the training they received before starting the new job.
Once the employee has moved into their work area, a buddy or peer system involving a capable and experienced employee can show the new employee how to carry out the job in a healthy and safe way.
Lewko stresses the importance of evaluating buddies before teaming them up with a new worker to ensure that they are good health and safety role models. "If you don’t choose a safe worker with good practices you may be buddying this new employee up with someone who is going to teach him all of their bad habits," he notes. "In the research we’ve done, we discovered people who work safely personalize safety. You have to be sure the buddy is the right person for the job."
Finally, as an employer, it’s important to convey the message that it pays to care about health and safety. Lewko notes that, "if managers don’t subscribe to this approach, if they believe a little fear is good, their orientation program is never going to work. To be effective, everyone has to share the same vision and work together to accomplish it."
Excerpted from: Safety Mosaic, Vol 7., No. 1, Spring, 2004
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