Advice for people who start a new job is often simple: “Make a good impression. Be a hard worker.”
Although helpful, this council overlooked a decisive aspect for a newcomer at work: security.
In 2021 and 2022, almost 278,000 employees experienced an incident that led to days from work – in the first 90 days. According to facts for injuries, this applies to an online source for avoidable death and injury statistics created by the National Safety Council.
“The data states that this is one of the most dangerous times in the career of someone,” said Larry Pearlman, President and founder of Safety and Consulting Associates Inc., a subsidiary of Safestart.
Chris Hayes, deputy vice president for transport and workers' compensation for insurers who travelers who traveler, says that many of these injuries can be prevented with proper precautionary measures, training and onboarding.
“These first 90 days are critical,” said Hayes. “Then cement the employee access to the right security instruments, the right resources, the inclusion of corporate culture and help you to process misunderstandings or gaps in communication that may arise.”
When and where I should start
When should the process of security new workers begin? At the moment, an applicant is learning about the opening of your organization, says Pearlman.
“Let's start before you start,” he said. “Do the job descriptions, the job advertisements and the employment authority talk about security? Do you give a realistic preview of what the job will look like and some of the risks?”
The goal is not to deter potential employees, but the work requirements (e.g.
Pearlman said that some employers use YouTube videos to show applicants that “people actually do and what the work environment is.”
Then the interview comes.
“When we ask security-relevant questions? It can't be a subsequent thought,” said Pearlman and proposed a question about a time when the applicant decided not to follow a security rule or not to follow-and why. “Set the concept of security so that you can think about security in the selection process and evaluate people against security.”
Pearlman, who also worked in the HR department, encourages employers to enable the current employees to build potential new attitudes to build a “feeling of shared responsibility”.
The role of a security professional
During a typical onboarding process, new employees receive a lot of information about it.
How can security be an essential and unforgettable part of these conversations?
“If we knew the answer to this question, we would have much fewer injuries,” said Peter Smith, President and Senior Scientist at Toronto's Institute for Labor and Health.
During the attempt to learn the ropes of the job, new employees also try to remember the names of their superiors and employees, to adapt to the work environment and to choose the correct health insurance plan provided by employers. Together all of this information can be overwhelming.
“There is stress and distraction,” said Rich Ives, Senior Vice President Business Insurance Claims for travelers. “Over the years, I have seen numerous examples that try to do the right person and try to be a good employee, but not to understand exactly how the company works.”
IVES recommends that security subjects and employers send clear messages about the importance of the security culture of the organization, build good relationships with all employees, build proven procedures in terms of security and keep communication channels open.
“The message that every employee's security is important must come from day 1 – not just in response to injuries,” said Smith. “From the beginning, this states that we appreciate security within this workplace.”
In his “2024 Injury Impact Report”, in which data was used by more than 1.2 million employees -Comp -COMP claims that were submitted by companies and industries between 2017 and 2021, travelers show that employees make up 35% of the claims in their first workplace. However, this group only accounted for 24% of the workforce.
The training plays a key role, especially if there is a strong security plan.
“If there is no well -understood, well -documented and well -communicated security plan, you really don't know what you should train when you come in,” said Hayes.
This includes the definition of safe work practices for all critical tasks, the investigation of previous injuries and the highlight of “Hot Spots” on the construction site.
“Spend the time to build the structures so that you have defined these things well,” said Hayes. “It helps absolutely.”
Success strategies
Certain industries have high sales rate. This means that new employees are up to date is a necessity. A technique that Pearlman uses to protect the new employees is to let others know who is “green” on the construction site.
“I can give you a green vest, a green shirt, a green protective helmet,” said Pearlman. The clothing says: “Hey, this person is new and you will not understand the risk.” So we will help you together. “
Pearlman asks employers and security attempts not to be satisfied with PowerPoint presentations in order to bring the importance of security home. “This is an interactive and iterative process,” he said, emphasizing that employers should go beyond the ongoing training for new employees by checking them after certification and competence. “Much of it depends: training is not enough. Training plus certification must be, and it must be more risk awareness than regulations.
“The security specialist plays a major role in the skills that have to be embedded in this person to prove that they are safe.”
When a new worker demonstrates competence, celebrate them as an achievement.
“I will withdraw the green protection helmet. I will withdraw the green vest,” said Pearlman. “Let us make a big deal of it. Here is someone we know, sure. Congratulations!”
Jobshading or mentoring can also pay dividends.
“It works in two ways,” said Smith. “If you have a good role model, you will follow these security guidelines. Two show the employees that we are willing to only pay them just to shade someone because we are important for security.”
Show the way
If you see a demonstration about how a job is done safely, it can help new settings. A company Hayes worked with stock food transactions across the country last year and has a regular flow of new workers. The task includes a certain series of tasks that include traveling to business, unloading the product, moving facilities in the furnishings and setting up the product.
“You defined the right way to carry out each of these steps,” said Hayes.
From there, the company received feedback from employees and managers. Regardless of whether it lifts, carry or moved, the employer worked on “really close definitions of the best ways to do it safely”. With the help of video, the steps were documented with a story to ensure uniformity and consistency throughout the company.
“It was a great tool,” said Hayes. “People appreciated the understanding of what was expected of them and how to make it safe. The definitions took out this doubt and this uncertainty that will enter into these early days of a new job.”
If you concentrate on new workers who certainly carry out tasks, you can make the process less stressful.
“It is not the case that we don't employ new people because they are injured,” said Smith. “If you do this, make sure you are safe. This is the message we want to convey.
“We cannot change the novelty, but you can set up systems to ensure that these new employees are exposed to dangers without protection.”