You know the saying “safety first.” But now that the time has come to move your safety training online, is there a way to ensure it’s as effective as in-person instruction?
After all, the last thing you want to do is skimp out on safety training. Not only could cutting corners be detrimental to the well-being of your employees, but it could also be expensive for your organization: The average cost of a workplace accident is $36,500.
In this article, we’ll delve into the world of virtual safety training and give you tips to make sure your online course is a success.
Is Online Safety Training Effective?
The short answer is yes. The evidence supports online safety training as a valid approach to educating employees. It can be more flexible, accessible and cost-effective compared to in-person courses, and it can also allow people to progress at their own pace. This helps them better understand and retain crucial safety information.
Take Imperial Oil as a case in point. In an effort to streamline its worker safety training, the company moved its pre-access event training online for over 4,000 workers. This shift resulted in reduced logistical expenditures and personnel time that drove a return of $2.9 million on a $95,000 investment.
Tips for Making Safety Training Online a Success
Online safety training can be effective if you focus on three key areas: engagement, verification and scale. Let’s unlock the secrets of how to make it a success.
1. Get Employees Engaged With the Material
The more engaged employees are, the stickier the training will be. To get employees connected with safety training materials, use strategies that make the content memorable and relatable.
Approaches include:
- Scenario-based training: Keep employees involved by presenting them with real-life scenarios relevant to their work environment. When they’re actively participating in decision making and problem-solving, the training will be that much more impactful.
- Case studies: Human brains are wired to engage with stories, so another way of capturing employee attention is by sharing stories that connect employees emotionally with the learning material, further motivating them to embrace safe practices in their daily work routines.
- Unmarked knowledge checks: In-course questions serve as self-assessment tools, allowing employees to gauge their understanding and receive immediate feedback on incorrect answers. This interactive approach creates a sense of ownership in learners while reinforcing key concepts along the way.
Additional strategies to enhance engagement include quizzes, gamification, multimedia presentations, group discussions and hands-on activities. By providing a variety of interactive and participatory elements, companies can create a dynamic learning experience that captures employees’ attention and promotes knowledge retention.
Course design must attract the learner not only to complete the course, but also to implement it in real-time scenarios.
Scott McRae, program development manager, Energy Safety Canada
2. Choose the Right Identity Verification Solution
Another critical component of high-stakes safety training is choosing the right identity verification solution. A training event in a database that can’t confirm participation won’t prove regulatory compliance; it also puts in doubt the mitigative benefits of the training. In short—tracking progress alone doesn’t cut it.
Integrity Advocate has years of experience assisting organizations in delivering training online to capture the savings of training online without enduring a loss in either training efficacy or legal admissibility.
Robert Day, CEO, Integrity Advocate
Integrating the latest technological developments for identity verification and participation monitoring can help your organization easily monitor and maintain the integrity and authenticity of online training. This means the worker can now complete training from anywhere, at any time—even using their smartphone.
3. Use a Scalable Learning Platform
One of the main benefits of online training is its scalability. Creating and updating online content is easy because changes can be distributed to all learners simultaneously at the push of a button. You don’t have to go through the hassle and expense of printing out booklets, sending around presentations or coordinating in-person trainers. Plus, your employees only need a laptop and an internet connection, making training easy to access for all.
Revolutionizing Online Safety Training
By implementing these three strategies, your company can create a culture that fosters both workplace safety and organizational resilience. Effective, engaging safety training leads to more knowledgeable, safety-conscious employees.
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