Safety expert: To keep trainees' attention, vary the teaching method

In well-run warehouses and DCs, employee training is high on the priority list. But simply standing in front of warehouse associates and lecturing them isn't very effective. If you want workers to apply what they've learned when they head back out onto the floor, you'll need to make the material both interesting and memorable.

Varying the presentation method is one way to keep employees engaged, says Dixie L. Brock, manager, Americas safety and claims for APL Logistics (APLL), which manages more than three-dozen warehouses and DCs in North America. Brock has used everything from PowerPoint slides and webinars to on-site lectures and demonstrations, training films, and self-study modules.

Another way is to make the training interactive, so that students must do more than just listen. Brock says a multimedia safety training program developed for APLL by its insurance carrier has proved to be especially effective. The program requires trainees to interact with the program and the instructor not only at frequent intervals but also in different ways. For example, at different points, they must answer questions, engage in discussions, and use electronic polling devices to respond to questions and compare their responses with those of coworkers.