Think back to your school days.
If you're like a lot of people, you don't remember much from most of your classes. Yet, there's probably one course that sticks in your head. You might not remember every detail of the class, but the critical information sank in. That all comes down to quality instruction. It makes learning interesting and dynamic in a way that many programs don't.
That’s the kind of warehouse worker safety training program you want.
It's the training that sticks with associates long after it's over. They didn't just hear the information; they also understood and retained it. That kind of training makes an enormous difference for your organization and for your team.
Read on to learn:
The benefits of a strong safety training program often go unseen.
That is, until you don't have one. This training forms the foundation for the success of your warehouse. It touches every single aspect of your organization, ultimately deciding your business's future. As such, common benefits for your organization include:
Yet, the benefits extend beyond what's in the organization's best interests.
Quality safety training benefits employees as well. Here are some of the benefits workers gain from top-notch training:
Bottom line: There are no downsides to comprehensive warehouse employee training.
We’ve all been to trainings that felt like torture.
You're sitting there with your coffee, just trying to stay awake. You learned nothing. You felt like you wasted the day, and all you have to show for it is a box checked in your HR file. That's an unsuccessful training. It's a drain on your time and energy with no tangible value.
What separates that from a successful training comes down to three things.
They do this for a specific reason. You can train skills and offer experience, but you can't fix a poor attitude. By "poor attitude," we don't mean grumpy or surly. We mean someone who isn't excited about the material and value it provides to the learner.
An enthusiastic instructor makes learning a dynamic and engaging experience.
Passion is contagious, and a passionate instructor finds ways to make the content exciting. They go beyond just telling. They invest in the learner. They view learning as a means to uplift their students and enhance their lives.
Often, this enthusiasm is shared simply by demonstrating the value of the content through real-life stories of application.
People are more interested in learning new material and retain it better when they understand how it directly impacts their lives. That interest grows into enthusiasm when they see how it benefits them in the real world.
That said, it never hurts to throw in a joke or two.
Value comes from content.
Comprehensive material ensures there are no gaps in the training, and consequently, no barriers to real-world application. Training that doesn’t touch on every relevant aspect of the topic is setting workers up for failure. They might feel like it all makes sense in the classroom, but when they go to apply it, they get stuck. When that happens, associates start to feel like the training was a waste of time, which makes it harder for them to take future training seriously.
Additionally, when possible, include new and updated content.
There's nothing wrong with review topics (in fact, they're necessary). Still, learners engage more with the material when they learn something new. That can be a struggle when teaching experienced associates, who have often been through this kind of training before. So, updating training programs with the latest news, advancements, and improvements in best practices helps keep things fresh for experienced staff.
However, it’s also important to segment material for new team members.
For new learners, tackling all the material can feel like drinking from a firehose. They'll miss a lot if the instructor dumps all the information on them at once. Instead, divide up lengthy programs into manageable chunks with topic reviews interspersed between the sections.
This reinforcement, combined with the measurable progression of material, will make your training programs more accessible to new staff.
Even with a winning attitude, teaching is a skill that requires expertise.
Invest in your trainers, and that investment will pay dividends when they lead their programs.
Developing a new warehouse safety training program is challenging without guidance.
Working with an expert makes this process much easier. Regardless, the actual content of your training program will ultimately depend on your organizational needs. Consequently, every training program will be unique. However, here are a few topics relevant to most warehouse employee training programs.
These few examples provide a solid foundation, but your team will need to supplement them with additional topics relevant to your field, equipment, and facility.
They say experience is the best teacher, and we have the experience.
Our solutions team has the expertise to help you build the training programs you need to keep your staff safe. We offer warehouse safety planning assistance, forklift safety training for pedestrians and operators, and a comprehensive selection of safety products for forklifts, loading docks, and other areas of your facility. Leverage our experience and equipment to develop the safety training that will save lives and money in your warehouse.
An investment in training is an investment in safety.
To learn more about safety training for warehouse workers and warehouse safety equipment, contact us online or visit one of our locations:
Florida
Jacksonville
Lakeland
Ocala
Orlando
Tampa
Winter Haven
Georgia
Albany
Macon
Columbus
Valdosta
Further Reading
Warehouse Safety Tips: Pedestrian Safety
Going the Distance for Warehouse Safety
Strain, Strain, Go Away: Warehouse Ergonomics