Training and competency assessments need to meet your risk management obligations

Risk Management has become the must do for C-Stores today, especially those with fuel forecourts.

The "new" culture of potential litigation and prosecution under the numerous governing laws, such as Occupational Health and Safety, Food Safety, Tobacco Retailing, Equal Employment Opportunity, Trade Practices Act, etc; has every business small and large, pre-occupied with compliance training.

All the various legislations state that ignorance is not a defence. The laws usually indicate that it is the responsibility of the business owner, operator and employer to ensure that they have taken all reasonable steps to comply with the laws. Lack of knowledge about the law is not acceptable.

Being able to provide 'evidence' of Duty of Care and Due Diligence under the laws is the prime concern today. Usually this means an audit trail and documentation is required.

The main areas that you need to meet your responsibilities and obligations are:

  • Conducting hazard and risk assessments in your workplace
  • Implementing and monitoring risk/hazard controls
  • Implementing emergency procedures
  • Training and assessing staff competency in safe work practices and legal compliance.
  • Providing supervision and consultation for staff in safe work
  • Reporting all incidents and near misses.

In the training arena this means that businesses need staff induction training, competency assessment, annual refresher training and most importantly documentation that records the staff member's skill and knowledge has been demonstrated and established.

There is a saying often quoted- "Training is an investment not a cost". Ensuring that your employees meet their obligations under the relevant laws and that no harm, injury or damage occurs to them or customers in your workplace surely is an investment for your business. However, many retailers and other businesses still under invest in training and competency assessment. The potential consequences for non-compliance under the various laws can be huge.

There has been an upsurge in training processes and programs within organisations in recent years focused on compliance training, and that is a good thing. Businesses need to be compliant, they need to minimise risks.

But how do you engage staff today to want to do the training and more important to complete the necessary documentation (or assessment workbooks, etc) required for your records?

We can roughly split today's workforce into those who are used to writing - that is completing written questions and those who prefer to use technology such as lap tops and I Phones. Small business need to think about shifting the 'tools" they adopt to cater for both types of employee today. Much is being made of the Y generation and the generation shift and this means that traditional methods of training, assessing and engaging staff might need to be reviewed.

Some statistics recently quoted at the UCB conference indicated the shift in technology and who is embracing it today.

  • "75% of generation Y don't read newspapers
  • 7 out of 10 teenagers have lap tops
  • Young adults and teenagers play video games regularly

Training and assessment needs to begin using similar touch points to "grab staff attention".

Compliance training is important - designing ways to get staff to want to learn and provide the necessary records is the new challenge.





 

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