Building a Safety Culture That Reaches Every Generation

By Laura Page, Director – Green Tree Risk Partners

Walk into almost any workplace today and you’ll likely see something that would have been unusual decades ago: four generations working side-by-side. Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z bring different experiences, expectations, communication styles, and approaches to learning.

From my perspective in the workers’ compensation industry, this isn’t simply an HR or training issue. It is a risk management issue. Safety training has traditionally been approached with a one-size-fits-all mindset. Everyone sits through the same meeting, watches the same video, signs the same form, and goes back to work. The problem is that completing training and actually learning from training are two very different things.

If we want safer workplaces, we must start thinking differently about how people receive, understand, and apply safety information.

Here are four ways employers can improve safety training:

1. Training is Not a Single Event

Safety training shouldn’t be something employees complete once a year, check off the list, and forget about. While annual training may satisfy certain compliance requirements, it takes consistent reinforcement to turn that knowledge into safe habits on the job.

Use a combination of formal training, toolbox talks, short refresher videos, hands-on demonstrations, and ongoing conversations about hazards. Regular touchpoints help keep important procedures top of mind and give employees opportunities to ask questions, address changing conditions, and learn from real situations as they occur. The goal is to create a continuous learning environment where safety is part of how work gets done every day.

2. Give Employees More Than One Way to Learn

Different generations may respond to different learning environments, but we also have to be careful not to turn generational differences into stereotypes. Age alone should never determine how someone is trained. People learn differently regardless of their generation.

The goal shouldn’t be to create four completely different safety programs. Instead, employers should create safety training that provides multiple ways for employees to understand and retain the same critical information.

Use different formats to reinforce the same message such as visual demonstrations, hands-on practice, videos, written materials, and group discussions. The more opportunities employees have to interact with the information, the more likely it is to stick.

3. Create Opportunities to Learn From Each Other

Don’t underestimate the power of peer-to-peer learning. One of the biggest opportunities in a multigenerational workforce is also one of the easiest to overlook: institutional knowledge.

Experienced employees often possess years, sometimes decades of knowledge about equipment, processes, customers, hazards, and situations that don’t appear in a training manual. That experience is incredibly valuable.

At the same time, newer employees may bring strengths that experienced workers haven’t had the same opportunity to develop, particularly when it comes to technology, digital communication, and new ways of accessing information.

The objective isn’t to determine which generation has the “right” way of doing things. It’s to combine the strengths of each generation.

4. Communicate Where Employees Actually Pay Attention

A safety message is only effective if employees see it, understand it and remember it. Employers should consider how their employees are most likely to receive information and use multiple communication channels when appropriate, including toolbox talks, email, text messages, mobile platforms, posted reminders, and face-to-face conversations.

Most importantly, critical safety information should be clear, timely and easy to understand.

The Future of Safety Is Personal

A multigenerational workforce isn’t a problem to solve. It’s an opportunity to build stronger organizations. The best safety programs will recognize this diversity and use it as a strength.

The future of workplace safety isn’t about creating four different training programs. It’s about creating one strong safety culture that can reach four generations of workers and meets people where they learn best.

Because ultimately, safety training isn’t successful when everyone watches the same video. It’s successful when everyone goes home safely.