So now you’re hiring staff.
Congrats, you just got the bid and you’re ramping up for the new project. You put out feelers with current staff, take out ads in the local paper, post on a website and start to sort through applications. Certain criteria are non negotiable while others are “nice to have”. You choose the successful candidates and welcome them to the team.
“See ya Monday morning for orientation!”
So now you’re orientating the new hires.
If you’re like a lot of small companies, the shortcuts start here. When you attend orientations at a project, you’re told about how the prime contractor values the environment, their people and the public. You may be told of certain things to watch for and actions to take when “stuff happens”, which is usually limited to “call your supervisor”. You may be told of certain specific “Safety Absolutes or Red Rules” that will not be tolerated and will be just cause for immediate dismissal. All of this is good and necessary, but it’s basically not for your benefit or understanding and is very generic in scope. However, it does serve the purpose of meeting the legislative requirements for employers to communicate the known hazards of the site or task. So what does your onboarding process look like? Are there mandatory items that must be included in the orientation for new hires?
What are you gonna tell em?
As this will be the first real exposure that the new hire has to see the workings of your company, care must be taken to provide important information at this time.
Items such as:
Company-specific safety rules, policies and procedures
Safety compliance-Reporting near misses, incidents.
Hazard communication-Where’s the SDS sheets located?
Site tour-Where are the extinguishers and muster points?
Emergency procedures- Where do I go and who do I call?
Personal protective equipment (PPE)- What’s mandatory? Specialized?
Safety and emergency contacts- Who do I call and how?
Modified Work Program-What are the responsibilities of all parties?
Training-What will be provided, when and how?
This isn’t an exclusive list, only some of the elements of a good orientation. You should review your companies’ activities and add relevant material.
Different provinces have various “New Worker” publications that may be helpful.
Here are a few links to legislation or publications.
http://www.worksafenb.ca/docs/WorkSafeNBOrientationGuide_e.pdf
New Brunswick
http://www.albertacanada.com/employers/retain/orientation.aspx
Alberta
Brandell Safety Consulting builds workflows that automate the onboarding process, let’s set up a call!
0 Comments