Workplace Safety training is a big industry…every year companies are spending millions of dollars on training their employees.
I have always doubted the efficacy of repetitive and boring training sessions whether personal or virtual (Will your Refresher Training Work?). What is more surprising is that organizations are increasing their training budget without evaluating efficacy of their training program.
NIOSH recently released a report regarding Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) training supporting this view (A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Training & Education for the Protection of Workers).
I would like to highlight one of the key conclusions regarding engagement during training sessions.
“There is insufficient evidence to determine whether a single session of high engagement training has a greater impact compared to a single session of low/medium engagement training.”
We all agree dull training sessions will never create the desired impact…but a great training session may not sufficient either. This is especially true for workplace safety training which often is intended to modify behavior/habits and is more than merely a knowledge imparting exercise.
You need to have regular follow up mechanisms in order to get to the desired results.
For the benefit of other readers, please share strategies you are currently using to increase safety training effectiveness.
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