OHS induction procedures for your new employees

A well-planned and executed OHS induction for new employees can deliver many benefits to your business. It will help new staff understand the performance standards you expect and make them productive more quickly. 

The induction process can also go a long way towards making your business a healthy and safe place to work, through inclusion of occupational health and safety (OH&S) procedures. An OH&S induction is a smart way to get your new employees up to speed and focused on health and safety in the workplace. 

Protection from harm in the workplace 

As an employer you have a duty to protect the health and safety of employees while at work by providing and maintaining a working environment that is safe and without risks. 

As a result, workplace health and safety is possibly one of the most critical elements of any employee induction, says John Wellington of the National Safety Council of Australia.

"From a workplace health and safety perspective, the induction process should include an outline of those conditions and activities that are specific to employees, contractors and visitors," he advises.

"Any induction should highlight the safe work processes that must be applied or adhered to while working on or visiting the site," John says. This could range from OH&S procedures such as how to lift heavy objects, to rules for operating a forklift within a storehouse.

Providing information

During an OH&S induction, your business will need to provide information in a way that is suitable for your employees, both in terms of the language used and the style of presentation, to ensure that procedures are understood.

In addition to outlining OH&S procedures for your premises, you should also provide all employees - including recent hires - the names of people in your organisation who they can contact to make an enquiry or complaint about health and safety. 

Protecting your business

Yes, it is common sense, but remember it is also your duty as an employer to provide OH&S information, instruction, training and supervision to employees to enable them to do their jobs safely and without risks to health. 

The same is true for contractors - such as a bricklayer employed on a building site, or a person whose services are provided to you by a labour hire or recruitment agency.

Knowledge is power

There's no better way to ensure compliance with OH&S procedures than by equipping your staff with the right knowledge from the get-go. And if you inform them of the correct procedures during their induction, they will be more likely to encourage other employees to follow them too. 

To find out more about planning and executing an effective OHS induction for your employees, contact an occupational health and safety specialist today.