Building a Safety Culture Through Employee Inductions

Creating a strong health and safety culture and reducing risks in the workplace begins with your employees. Raising awareness among workers and instilling the right behaviours from day one is critical!

The purpose of induction

The main purpose of induction is to help new employees settle into the organisation and become familiar with the processes and procedures in place. Good induction sets the expectations for the employee’s relationship with their manager and the organisation, and helps an employee understand the responsibilities and functions of their role so they can perform at their best.

Not only is induction necessary for setting the tone of the organisation, but it is also a legal requirement. PCBU’s have a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 to provide information, training, instruction or supervision needed to protect all workers, visitors and others from risks to their health and safety arising from work carried out at the workplace.

Health and safety induction

New employees are particularly prone to accidents and incidents in the workplace, especially if they are inexperienced. This could be due to a number of factors including:

• Poor training (e.g. induction, on-the-job training, etc)
• Lack of knowledge and understanding of workplace hazards and risks
• Lack of familiarity of the work environment and systems

Prioritising health and safety on-boarding and orientation in the workplace is essential to protecting new employees from harm. What’s more, failure to do so may lead to negative consequences for both the workplace and worker. Thorough health and safety induction will allow workers to learn how to work safely and how the workplace manages risks.

What should health and safety induction cover?

The induction must set the standards and explain the health and safety framework of your organisation. The content of your induction will depend on the nature of your business and the risks present, but common elements include:

• Tour of the workplace
• Outline of Health and Safety Policies
• Outline of employee responsibilities
• Workplace hazards and risks and risk management process
• Procedures for reporting incidents, hazards, etc.
• Emergency procedures

Induction should not be limited to only permanent employees. It applies to everyone working under your business such as contractors and volunteers. In terms of health and safety, induction training should be as specific as possible to the person’s role, the machinery and equipment they will be using, and the hazards that they are likely to encounter.

Our GOSH health and safety system includes an induction module where new workers can simply complete their health and safety on-boarding process. Our online induction helps workers familiriase themselves with your workplace’s health and safety processes and procedures, hazards, risks and more.

Give us a call on 04 499 0710 or visit our website for more information!