July 11, 2023
It starts with the interview: Tips for your clients to reduce new hire injuries
Did you know that agents can play a role in their clients’ good hiring and safety training practices? Claims statistics show that new employees are more susceptible to injury. Those work comp claims come with a cost to the employer and can impact a company’s premium.
In this article, we’ll share some of our top tips for hiring and onboarding, and how you can pass this information on to your clients to help them get the right person in the role from the beginning and instill safety training from the start.
The right interview questions can help employers find safety-minded candidates
Asking about an applicant’s disabilities or past work injuries is prohibited by state and federal laws; however, employers can glean helpful information by asking other, related questions.
For example, an employer can use the job description to demonstrate the requirements of the role and ask whether the candidate can perform the tasks listed.
Employers can also ask them about their previous workplace safety training and if they feel ongoing safety checks are important.
Keep in mind that as part of the job offer, employers have the option to require a new employee to sign the job description to confirm that they can perform the duties outlined. Then, if a work injury does occur, the employer has the employee’s affirmation of capabilities documented.
Keep safety top of mind while training a new hire
Employers should include safety training as part of new hire onboarding and then follow up afterward to reinforce the training. SFM Loss Prevention experts recommend checking in three, six and nine weeks after a new hire is onboarded to answer any questions they have and to reinforce the safety training they heard early in their new role.
Share hiring resources
SFM offers several resources to help employers with the hiring process. We encourage agents to share these resources with their clients.
Hiring best practices CompTalk – This downloadable handout for policyholders offers hiring tips from the application period to the interview and through the job offer and vetting steps. Share this handout with clients so they can evaluate their current hiring process and make any helpful additions or changes.
How to hire the right people – This blog post written for policyholders is an easy-to-understand breakdown of hiring best practices. The link to this piece is easy to share with clients the next time you email them.
This is not intended to serve as legal advice for individual fact-specific legal cases or as a legal basis for employment practices.
