Employees are quitting or leaving at record rates, and finding replacements is proving to be difficult
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Have you heard of the great resignation? It refers to the voluntary mass exodus that’s currently plaguing organizations across Canada. In short – employees are quitting or leaving at record rates, and finding replacements is proving to be difficult. That’s the simple explanation of the great resignation.
Some specialists believe it’s a little more complicated, posturing that it started before the pandemic and that the pandemic only served to exacerbate what was already going to be a precarious labour situation. |
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The great resignation is without a doubt creating new stafety hazards
Why are People Leaving?
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Retirement – We’ve known for some time that Baby Boomers who make up a percentage of the workforce are set to start retiring. Some retired sooner due to pandemic stresses.
Relocation – Workers aren’t as willing to relocate for positions, leaving only local talent pools Reconsider – Employees are reconsidering what’s important to them and valuing work-life balance more than ever. |
Reshuffle – Employees are making switches among or within industries, often to their benefit when it comes to pay and perks.
Reluctance – It’s clear – workers do not want to come back to the office, and those who are being forced are reluctant to do so, causing them to leave in favour of full-remote positions. |
Is the Great Resignation a Safety Issue?
The great resignation is without a doubt creating new safety hazards. What are some examples?
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Lack of experience When people with years of experience start leaving, they take that experience with them along with opportunities for mentorship and apprenticeship. That means that as new employees start, there are being shown the ropes by workers with only a few months more experience than themselves. Inadequate training or lack of training resources
With so many new workers starting, it’s challenging for health and safety administrators and/or in-house trainers to get them all adequately trained. Employers that outsource training feel pinched by increased training costs and may be tempted to delay or skip training to ensure that workers will stay. Unstable Safety Culture Frequent turnover impacts the stability of the safety culture at work. Building and maintaining a strong culture requires stability in the workforce. A weak safety culture impacts buy-in, exercising a proactive stance against accidents and injuries, and supporting a strong Internal Responsibility System (IRS). |
Program Management
When staffing concerns, recruitment and selection, and onboarding take centre-stage, things like safety program management and regular training may fall by the wayside. This creates risks of training lapses, which is especially impactful for operators that need valid licences to operate equipment. As well, when JHSC members due for Refresher do not take it in time, they must re-take JHSC Part 1 & 2, resulting in employers having to send the worker to, and pay for, five days of training when staffing is already a challenge. |
New Worker Safety Concerns
Did you know that new employees are three times as likely to sustain a lost-time injury than seasoned workers? Almost half of all lost-time injuries among new hires happen within the first three months of training. Your organization can buck the trend. To ensure your new hires don’t become a statistic and end up costing your organization in lost-time claims and recruiting costs, consider the following:
- All new hires should participate in an orientation training program that includes safety training
- Employees should be trained in worker rights and responsibilities before starting job training so that understand their safety rights
- As part of orientation, cover the process for reporting hazards
- Company-specific policies and procedures training should be included in the orientation training package
- Orientation training should include a tour that shows new workers where the health and safety board, emergency phones, first aid kits, eyewash stations, etc. can be located
- If there are hazardous materials, show new employees where and how they’re stored, and where the SDSs can be located
- Walk new employees through the emergency evacuation route, and show them where all fire extinguishers are located
- If the employee’s new role includes the use of any PPE, proper training for its use must be included as well
New Worker Orientation Training
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Certain training needs to be completed as part of orientation. Orientation training must include:
You don’t have to go it alone. MidSouthWest Training and Consulting has created a FREE downloadable checklist that you can use to ensure that your orientation program has everything it needs to effectively protect your new hires and prevent workplace accidents and injuries. |
Trust MidSouthWest Training and Consulting
MidSouthWest Training and Consulting offers consulting services, and we can help you design or assess your organizational orientation program to ensure that it is effective. We also have a downloadable checklist you can use to ensure your orientation program is complete, and we offer New Hire Safety Training online.
As well, we provide JHSC training in association with Langlois Safety Training and Consulting Services, an approved CPO Provider. You can trust MidSouthWest Training and Consulting to provide you with cost-effective training solutions tailored to meet your organization’s unique health and safety needs.
To ask questions, contact us online or call 289.309.1143. Visit us 24/7 on the web at midsouthwest.ca.
As well, we provide JHSC training in association with Langlois Safety Training and Consulting Services, an approved CPO Provider. You can trust MidSouthWest Training and Consulting to provide you with cost-effective training solutions tailored to meet your organization’s unique health and safety needs.
To ask questions, contact us online or call 289.309.1143. Visit us 24/7 on the web at midsouthwest.ca.
Last updated November 9, 2022
