<p>In these tough economic times, it's difficult to determine the best way to train your employees and still maintain a reasonable budget that management will approve.&nbsp; There are expensive methods such as hiring outside agents or agencies or sending a representative of your company to a training seminar so they can come back and train your people.&nbsp; With the advent of the internet, times have changed dramatically in how we get up-to-date information to our people.</p> <p>One of the newest and most cost effective methods available today is on-line training.&nbsp; You can sign up you company and for roughly $20 to $50 per employee, train them in a wide variety of topics such as Hazard Communications, Back Care, Fire and Electrical Hazards and a whole host of job specific, related topics.&nbsp; What's more, this is available in a wide variety of industries:&nbsp; Manufacturing, Construction, Hospitality and Retail to name a few.</p> <p>With the cost of almost everything skyrocketing, some things have remained relatively the same.&nbsp; For example, 15 years ago, video production was charging about $1,000/fpm (finished production minute) for corporate and industrial videos.&nbsp; Today, they are charging about the same amount while adding higher quality; HD cameras, digital editing bays, portable green screen and many other innovations that have made it possible for small video production services to compete with the bigger boys.</p> <p>Yes, the "big guns" have all the bells and whistles to produce truly beautiful and remarkable videos, but the average safety supervisor doesn't have the budget to hire these companies.&nbsp; That's where the smaller "boutique" facilities are flourishing.&nbsp; Some are specializing in producing health and fitness videos, while some are going toward websites, commercials, testamonials, corporate imaging and so on.&nbsp; Still, some are specializing in safety and training.&nbsp; That's where a safety manager for a small to medium size company can find great deals these days.</p> <p>Generic videos are a dime a dozen and don't necessarily provide your company with site specific training.&nbsp; But they are relatively in-expensive.&nbsp; Your employees watching themselves and their co-workers doing their jobs in your facilities, is the very best method of training.&nbsp; They pay closer attention to what's happening, meaning, they hear and understand the message being promoted.&nbsp; The willingness of the production company to comply with not just OSHA, ANSI or industry specific codes and regulations, but also with the specific needs of the company and their locations, puts some safety video specialists above the rest.</p> <p>That's where a truly knowledgeable safety manger comes in.&nbsp; How to train each and every employee, in their specific duties, in a cost effective manner.&nbsp; There are lots of video production companies vying for your small budget.&nbsp; With a little research, some word-of-mouth and a few pertinent questions, you can make an informed decision about where to spend your safety and training budget with the most bang for your buck.</p> <p>What should you look for in a safety video?&nbsp; First, you need to know that the message you are trying to convey is getting through to your employees.&nbsp; No matter what you're trying to get across, if they're not paying attention, it's wasted money.&nbsp; Second, will generic videos provide your employees with the necessary information they need to do their jobs safely?&nbsp; If not, then a custom or semi-custom video may be what you need.&nbsp; Find out the experience the production firm you're thinking about hiring has and what messages they promote.&nbsp; Third, is one video going to provide for all your training needs or will you need a variety of topics?&nbsp; Depending on your industry, your employees may need to be trained in a variety of situations from chemical handling (chlorine, sodium and calcium hypochlorite, bleach) to gases, lockout/tagout, PPE, bloodborne pathogens ... the list can go on and on depending on your industry</p> <p>Lastly, are videos enough?&nbsp; Do you need to train on forklifts, dump trucks, backhoes?&nbsp; If so, you need to do driving training and evaluations also.&nbsp; OSHA says your employees need to be trained on the specific equipment they are going to be operating.&nbsp; If they're driving skid steers, you can't just evaluate them on one accessory the machine can use.&nbsp; Tillers, trenchers, hoe arms, all are available to use and your employees need to be trained on each and every piece they are expected to work with.&nbsp; This can become a nightmare in expense and time.&nbsp; Bookkeeping is one criteria OSHA bases it's training competency on.&nbsp; If your records show up to date training schedules with dates, times, who attended and what was covered.&nbsp; If you keep fastidious records, your probably in the clear if there's an accident.&nbsp; Especially one that has a serious injury or even a death involved.</p> <p>It has never been more difficult times to spread your meager safety budget over multitudes of situations.&nbsp; More and more regulations are being placed on business and especially public agencies to the point where some are finding themselves buried under mountains of paperwork.&nbsp; Finding a reliable, quality and experienced safety and training production company, can put a lot of that burden on helpful shoulders.&nbsp; You know you've found someone who can actually help, not hinder, when they have the experience, resources and respect in the community, to provide you with the specific training requirements your company needs.</p> 2009-03-28T16:51:54Z -9.0028 219 3889 true 6 26751 training-your-employees-in-tough-economic-times 0 2009-04-04T22:00:00Z 2009-04-04T17:48:33Z

With OSHA breathing down our necks about training our employees, it is not a luxury to do so ... it is a necessity.

1 2009-04-04T17:48:33Z