This year, retail customers are 25% – 35% more likely to shop online for the holidays, predicts Deloitte, a Multinational Professional Services Network. One very likely reason: Shoppers are looking to reduce their risk of Covid-19 infection by shopping in the relative safety and comfort of their own home.
For the world’s retailers, fulfillment and shipping companies, this equates to a massive surge in seasonal hiring to meet the holiday demand. And, since history has an annoying habit of repeating itself, this also means a surge in workplace injuries.
But it doesn’t have to.
One of the greatest and most significant factors in this dramatic rise in injury rates among seasonal workers is inadequate safety training. And – to a point – it’s understandable. After all, seasonal workers typically work at a place of employment for only 1 – 3 months. Training, therefore, is often rushed which renders it inadequate. The jobs themselves tend to be physically demanding, and fatigue is very common. These factors and more add up to a significant increase in the risk of injury to a seasonal employee. And possibly to those around them.
But it doesn’t always have to go that way. In fact, case studies show that effective safety training can reduce the injury rate at your workplace by up to 90%. And yes, that’s true even during the holiday rush. The good news: PowerLift® safety courses are now available online.
Work related injuries incur costs all around, and can seriously impact an organization’s bottom line. Effective safety training helps to alleviate that cost. But beyond the bottom line, there are many ways in which effective online safety training can serve to preserve your seasonal and full-time employees’ health and well-being. Here are 4 of them.
1. Online safety training without the limitations of time and space.
When it comes to your employees’ safety training, it’s never too late – or too early – to begin. With the rush of seasonal hiring and all the trimmings that come with it, there’s one big, relentless, solitary, ticking consideration when it comes to effective safety training: time. And there’s never enough of it. Any training you provide must work, and it must work now.
With PowerLift®’s online coaching sessions , seasonal and full-time employees engage in the training with an online coach. The employee provides the load (a box, a weight, any object that is representative of the load they will be handling while on the job), and the online coach takes them through the principles of PowerLift®. Because the training is interactive, PowerLift® can be customized to the needs of the individual on the spot. If participants do not have a weighted box at their disposal, lifting boxes can be purchased by visiting our shop.
The online component also means that the seasonal or full-time employee is not constrained by location. They can engage in PowerLift® training wherever they have access to a reliable internet connection: the training doesn’t have to take place in the employer’s classroom.
2. Seasonal new-hires can receive safety training before they start working.
Effective training equals effective preparation, and this is especially true for seasonal employees. But effective preparation also means that time and effort must be redirected and devoted to employees who will only be there for a relatively short time.
Online training changes that. Online courses make PowerLift®’s safety training available without the time and space constraints of in-person training. Training can take place at any time between their acceptance into employment and their first day on the job. Resources spent on on-location safety training can now be re-allocated to other areas, including orientation and further job-specific training. Imagine hiring seasonal employees who arrive on day one already trained to lift and move a load safely and effectively. It’s a win-win for both the hiring organization and the seasonal employee.
3. Effective training with no risk of infection.
With a virus as contagious as Covid-19, training new hires in a classroom without risk of infection is virtually impossible. Whether we like it or not, the global Covid-19 pandemic is far from over. New infections continue to rise and surge in several different parts of the US. Globally, some areas are experiencing a resurgence of the illness. The virus is known to be extremely contagious, and can lie undetected for several days. By the time the infection is discovered, it’s too late: with little to no warning, a significant number of employees must be immediately isolated and quarantined, impacting productivity. And that impact is amplified when the workload is compounded by the holiday rush.
Providing PowerLift® Training as an online coaching session allows seasonal employees to receive safety training with little to no risk of being infected. Exposure to a potentially contagious individual is nil, since all interaction happens via the internet. All contact with the master trainer is virtual, so transmission of the virus is completely prevented. Risk of infection is non-existent.
4. Seasonal employees can support their peers in safety practices.
All of the power of PowerLift® is available through the online courses. This includes PowerLift®’s Train-the-Trainer course, which certifies individuals to provide the training to their peers. PowerLift® also offers Staff training virtually which is most useful for seasonal employees. This means that full-time employees can peer-coach their co-workers (seasonal or not), providing support in maintaining effective safety practices.
PowerLift® offers a full range of resources in service to our customers and clients. To find out more, please visit our online shop.
Injuries Don’t Care If It’s the Holidays.
But you do. And your workers do. And, we do as well. While this blog post is specific to seasonal employment, the online training offered by PowerLift® is, of course, available to any and all employees of your organization. Like you, we are committed to a safe and healthy workplace for all workers, whether it’s the seasonal holiday rush or otherwise.
Please let us know how we can support you in your commitment to safety by using the Contact Us button below.
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