Johannesburg, – Safety training is critical, particularly in high-risk industries such as aviation, manufacturing, mining and logistics. This training ensures that every employee understands how their actions, or lack thereof, can impact their wellbeing and the safety of others on their team. It also ensures that facilities, machinery, processes and operations are tightly aligned along rigorous safety parameters to mitigate risks and prevent accidents. It is also, according to research, vital to ensuring that the organisation establishes resilient occupational health and safety (OHS) management systems.
The problem is that safety training is boring.
Yes, every organisation and leader knows that health and safety training will improve the quality of the workplace, the culture, worker wellbeing and overall risk reduction. Everyone is aware of how clarity around operations, machinery and processes can fundamentally change how workers operate and environments thrive. Yet, the training that goes hand-in-manual with safety protocols and processes can be dusty, dry and boring, making it difficult for people to understand the concepts and apply them in real-world scenarios.
“Safety training cannot be neglected or ignored, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be renovated and given some much-needed inspiration,” says Paul Hanly, founder and CEO of New Leaf Technologies. “There are far better ways of ensuring that employees engage in mandatory safety training than by forcing them to sit through reams of work that doesn’t always stay in their memories or allow for them to apply their training effectively. Today, organisations should look at creating safety as a skillset, one that can enhance careers and improve workplace experiences, rather than as a mandatory process.”
Achieving this shift from ‘mandatory’ to ‘engaging skillset’ isn’t that complex either. It simply takes the business training platforms and approaches in a new direction, allowing for employees to engage with an advanced and adaptive learning platform that’s personalised and provides each person with a unique experience that connects with their unique learning style. Companies can use existing materials and mandatory content to inform the development of the platform – after all, the content and the mandates are specialised and targeted at specific company’s and requirements – but can then invest into modern tools and gamification techniques to make the content exciting and informative.
“Up-to-date training platforms reinvigorate safety training by adding in fresh elements that allow for users to become more engaged with the process,” says Hanly. “This includes interactive elements, gamification, case studies, role-playing, videos, accessible content that aligns with different learning styles, and a lighter tone that makes challenging topics more interesting and engaging.”
New Leaf offers an impactful array of Safety Skills courses both made-to-order and off the shelf, aligned to the unique requirements of each organisation they work with through their Learning Experience Platform. Leveraging the latest in learning tools, pedagogies and methodologies to provide companies with an edge-of-your-seat learning experience, embedding a culture of safety awareness. We can help you transform training around safety from mandatory and boring to compelling and interesting, and build a safe and engaged workforce.
