Visitor induction
Each time a new employee starts work they are taken through an induction process. During these inductions people are trained to carry out their jobs safely. But businesses often neglect to provide the same level of training to their volunteers and other people who might be visiting your worksites. It is very important to make sure that anyone visiting your site/s which also includes volunteers and visitors is aware of any current dangers. On top they would need to know safe work methods and what to do in case of emergencies. In this article we are going to explore visitor induction.
So what is an induction?
Induction is a formal introduction to a new job or position. In case of volunteers and visitors it would be taking them through your site’s safety policies and procedures.
What is your volunteer’s policy?
If you have volunteers in your workplace that does not mean that they must be treated any differently from your paid employees. You can’t expect your volunteers to just be safe at your workplace if you don’t take some time and effort to take them through your company’s rules and safety policies. Your volunteer’s safety is as important as one of your employee’s. The most efficient and cost-effective way to introduce your volunteers to your site safety rules and policies is via an online induction/s. The induction for your volunteers may be exactly the same as the induction for your employees, or you may prefer to make a modified version that excludes some portions which can be irrelevant to the volunteer’s tasks. Some of the key points to cover in your volunteer’s induction are:
- Introductions to key staff members.
- Acceptable standards of behaviour standards and codes of conduct.
- Company policies including dress codes, telephone usage, meal breaks and expenses.
- Chemical Training in safe handling of any cleaning materials.
- Personal protective equipment and clothing any other precautions.
- Fire safety in the workplace (click here for more info from www.gov.uk).
- Workplace Temperatures (click here for more info from www.gov.uk).
- Procedures to follow and people to contact in the event of any workplace accident or issues.
Depending on your individual workplace – your volunteer’s induction may also have to cover other safety procedures and policies which are relevant to your site.
And what about visitors?
Since your volunteers are in fact workers without a pay, it’s easy to understand why they must be inducted. But what should we do with all the visitors? You may not realise it, but induction, albeit a brief one, is also sometimes necessary for these individuals as well, particularly if your workplace is in a high-risk environment. Even if a visitor isn’t going to be using any equipment, you are still responsible for their safety as they may fall victim to an accident or cause an incident themselves.
Induct visitors, using visitor induction hosted on Induct For Work platform, into areas such as general safety in the workplace, fire safety, exclusion zones etc. It is also important to remember that visitors are only going to have a short-term access to your site, so keep it brief and stick to the essentials for ensuring visitor’s safety while on your premises.
It is also a very good idea to keep your visitors accompanied by your site supervisor while on site, as Visitor Induction may not be as comprehensive as Employee or Contractor Induction.
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