There is no silver bullet to address the unique needs of adult learners.

Part of creating an effective safety training program is understanding how adults learn best. Whether the delivery method is online, Web-based curriculum or traditional classroom training, the program needs to engage the adult learner, satisfy cognitive interest and promote personal advancement.

However, there is no silver bullet to address the unique needs of adult learners. Rather, it's about getting back to the basics and doing three things right: Getting the right material, delivering it in a way that makes sense and presenting the training at an optimum time for learning.

The Right Content
The goal of any training program is comprehension and retention. If employees cannot apply the training, it is a waste of time and resources and, in the case of safety training, endangers lives. The proven-effective techniques for increasing comprehension and retention of safety training are:

• Deliver credible content that demonstrates desired action with real-life examples. Adult learners recognize authentic materials and reject manufactured, staged content. Effective training videos include films of real people doing real work. Mock-up scenarios are always unrealistic and, therefore, are an inferior way of training.
• Provide technically accurate material. Out-of-date or misleading information can be life threatening.
• Use material that engages adult learners. It has to be relevant to the life experiences attendees bring to the table. Engagement rises with audience participation in live sessions and with interactive content when training is online.
• Use online programs and classroom presentations that are specifically geared to the audience. Take into account blue-collar vs. white-collar jobs, differences in learning styles, comprehension level and educational backgrounds. Tailor the materials so that they are understandable to the recipients of the information.
• Develop material that is customized to the company. If it is necessary to purchase an off-the-shelf training program, at least choose a package that approximates the actual work conditions at the company and then customize. Augment the material with company-specific examples so people can relate what they learn to the work they do on a daily basis.

Here is an example of relevant, customized material. A company that provides cleaning equipment for hotels and restaurants had a safety problem: Its account reps were involved in too many traffic accidents. Because the reps sold, installed and serviced the equipment, they were so busy that they were running stop signs and red lights rushing from site to site.

The company created a comprehensive safe driving program that included a personal video message from the president. In addition, trainers developed an easy-to-remember acronym, SPACE. It stood for speed, patience, awareness, concentration and exit, and summarized the desired approach to safe driving from job to job.

Training programs were organized around the acronym and dashboard stickers reading “SPACE” kept it foremost on the reps’ minds. One year after the implementation of the safe driving program, the company had a 48 percent reduction in its at-fault traffic accident rate. This resulted in a half-million-dollar reduction in insurance costs the next year.

Stand and Deliver
The delivery of a training session comes down to a four-step formula:
1.) Tell students what they are to learn
2.) Cover the material
3.) Review what has been covered
4.) Test   

In addition to observing the formula in each training session, the following implementation strategies will help achieve maximum results:

• Whenever appropriate, show; don’t tell. Although adults don’t need games, toys and props to learn as children do, they are still visual creatures. Reading is useful to get a background on a topic, but it’s much easier to remember what to do in an emergency when one has seen the desired actions demonstrated.
• Use a variety of delivery channels that let adults learn despite bad learning habits they may have acquired over the years. Some can’t seem to focus on anything for more than a minute; others lack attention to detail or fall asleep as soon as the room is darkened for a video. When a variety of channels are used, everyone has a chance to learn in their own way despite shortcomings.
• Convey a consistent message across all delivery channels. Content parity is essential to avoid confusion, whether the training is by live lecture, video or Web-based format. When the same content is deployed to a diverse population of students with the same objectives, everyone will be on the same page and be able to communicate and collaborate as a team.
• Select an environment that’s conducive to learning. Whether people train on their computers or gather for a classroom session, a quiet, distraction-free setting makes a difference.

The Web-based delivery channel may fulfill many needs of adult learners, but it cannot stand alone in safety training. For example, even if an employee has successfully completed several modules on forklift safety, only an actual demonstration will assure the supervisor the worker knows how to drive and operate the equipment safely.

Web-based training, even when engaging and interactive, produces book-smart trainees who are not necessarily street smart. Therefore, the intelligent approach to training is to get the proper mix and balance between various methods of delivery and testing.

Timing Makes a Difference
Timing is important, both in terms of the length of a session and when it is delivered. With regard to the first, consider the adult learner’s attention span. According to some experts, the average adult’s attention span for a training program is 12 to 15 minutes; others say after any one-hour training session, adults retain only 20 percent of the material. Don’t cover too much information all at once and don’t make sessions too long.   

One of the greatest challenges of adult learners is setting aside time for training. Administering a live session or showing a video in a warm room right after lunch is generally a bad idea because just about everyone will be drowsy. While some people learn better in the morning and others in the afternoon, around 10 a.m. may be a good time to accommodate most people. When training occurs on a weekly basis, it may be more effective on a Friday than on a Monday. On a monthly schedule, mid-month may be better than the beginning or the end. For annual training, the third quarter may be a better time, at least in companies where business is slower at that time of year.

ABCs of Adult Learning
Whatever shape safety training may take, it always needs to be part of a company-wide “safety first” initiative. Training programs are most effective when they are championed at the highest levels and viewed as critical by everyone from the top down. When the training is embedded in a culture for learning – one that presents the right material in the right format at the right time – learner comprehension, retention and application will be maximized. 

Bryan Hornik is general manager for Summit Training Source Inc., a resource for environmental, health and safety training solutions. For further information, call 800-842-0466 or visit http://www.safetyontheweb.com