Training new staff, or completing annual training for all employees, is not always relevant or meaningful with mass-produced videos. A perfect example is the health care industry. Lifting procedures, evacuations, and safety is different in every facility. A general video on lifting may not be enough to keep people safe and reduce workplace accidents.
Why?
The reason is due to the differences in patient behavior, responses, and capabilities. Mass-produced videos present an elderly patient being lifted with a mechanical lift. In most cases, that person is quiet, calm, and very helpful. That is not going to benefit employees who have to use a mechanical lift on a dementia patient who may decide she is not happy about it while in mid-air. It will also do nothing to educate new staff on how to maneuver that lift in limited spaces.
Hiring a local video crew to film procedures on actual facility residents or patients is more relevant, more helpful, and more able to keep both staff and people at the facility safe and secure. That will make a higher impact on reducing workplace injuries, accidents, and incidents. It also depicts real staff working together.
The Importance
In purchased training videos, the staff people working together are all approximately the same height and weight, which has an effect on how lifting, either manually or with a hoyer, is done. That is seldom the case. One person may be short, while the other one is heavy. One may have great strength, while the other is a weaker lifter. Realistic portrayal of working with many types if coworkers will help prevent injuries.
Unrealistic presentations will not hold interest. Staff will be doodling, fidgeting, or mentally making a grocery list instead of paying close attention to the information. If it is not relevant, it will not meet the goals. Professional crews, such as Crews Control camera crews, are affordable, highly skilled, and available in most cities worldwide. The cost will be much less than on workers compensation claim, or one investigation into a complaint of unsafe conditions.
Engage New Hires
Seeing actual staff and residents in training videos typically increases participation and engagement of new employees. They may have questions, wish to discuss a particular scenario, or become interested in interacting with those staff and residents. Those questions may lead to other questions or suggestions and a dull training becomes an exciting and successful one. That is the best way to improve safety on the job.