Selecting the Best Online Workplace Safety Training Vendor

Creating an effective online training program is important for the safety of your employees, and finding the perfect online safety training provider is crucial. It allows you to maintain regulatory compliance and ensures you are providing your employees with a safe environment. However, the process of selecting that training vendor can be daunting. By going in with a clear plan, you can make an informed decision that benefits your organization in the long run.

It is important to understand who needs to be involved, what you want out of the vendor selection, and what kinds of questions to ask of each potential vendor. Keep reading to learn more about each of these important pieces of the selection process toward finding the right online safety training provider for you and your company's specific needs.

Start Internally

Before identifying and evaluating potential vendors, you need to determine who will help make the final purchasing decision. Involving the right people from the start is essential. Think beyond the safety officers. Include key stakeholders from various roles like HR managers, IT professionals, and even finance or accounting. Each role brings a unique perspective, ensuring a well-rounded evaluation. Their input will help identify critical needs and potential red flags that might otherwise be missed.

Including diverse perspectives ensures that all aspects of the training platform and online courses are considered. Safety officers can evaluate the content's relevance to regulatory compliance and the safety standards of specific industries. HR managers can assess how well the platform integrates with existing management systems and the impact the new training content or platform could have on employee development. IT professionals ensure the platform’s technical requirements align with your company's infrastructure. Financial professionals help balance costs with benefits, ensuring a sound investment.

This collaborative approach ensures the chosen vendor meets all critical requirements, creating an effective employee safety training program and enhancing overall safety and compliance.

Identify Your Training Needs and Budget

Before engaging with vendors, define your specific needs and determine your budget. What employee training requirements do you have? Are there industry-specific safety regulations to consider? Understanding these factors will guide your search and help you focus on vendors that can meet your specific needs. Establishing a budget early on helps narrow down options, preventing overspending and ensuring a cost-effective way of implementing employee training.

Start by conducting a thorough needs assessment. Identify the skills and knowledge gaps within your organization. Determine if you need general workplace safety training or specialized courses tailored to your industry. For example, a construction company might have detailed training needs on fall protection and hazardous material handling, while a healthcare facility will be focused on infection control and patient safety.

Another important consideration is any regulatory compliance needs relevant to your industry, such as OSHA standards for occupational safety or NFPA for qualified electrical workers. When it comes to federal requirements, especially OSHA safety training requirements, it can be overwhelming to identify which safety regulations you need to follow. A good training needs assessment can help guide you in creating an effective employee safety training program.

And because you have already put together a team that includes members of different departments, they can help you identify the different types of employee training needed. For instance, in a manufacturing company, safety officers might highlight the need for employee training on machine safety and emergency care, while HR managers focus on onboarding new hires, soft skills, leadership/management training, and general company training. By involving human resources professionals in this process, you might be able to combine employee training needs, and budgets, to find a solution that meets both HR and EHS regulatory requirements.

Next, think about the size and geographic distribution of your workforce. If you have remote employees or people working in different locations, prioritize online platforms with strong mobile compatibility and easy online access across various devices. You want the learning experience to be the same for all employees, no matter when or how they complete a training session.

Something else to consider is if you only need online safety training courses or if you also need a learning management system (LMS) to administer the employee training. Many workplace safety training vendors offer their own LMS that makes it easy to assign and track employee training. But there are also vendors who only supply course content to be used with an existing learning management system. Identifying which category you fall into will help the selection process from the start as you can quickly eliminate any online safety training provider that does not meet your full needs.

Setting a realistic budget involves looking at both the initial investment and long-term value. Consider the potential return on investment from reduced workplace incidents and improved regulatory compliance. Remember to factor in costs for implementation, ongoing support, and any customization required to tailor the employee training to your organization's specific needs.

It is also wise to discuss a budgetary range, or perhaps different levels of budget, your company is prepared to spend on various levels of service. For instance, your budget might be one number if you end up only purchasing training content but you might be willing to spend more if an online safety training provider includes certain features you find beneficial (such as a dedicated account manager, 24/7 support, or access to future platform updates at no additional cost).

Prepare Key Product Questions

Armed with your training needs and budget, prepare a list of questions to ask potential vendors about the features and functionality of the product. This step is vital for a thorough evaluation. Focus on aspects such as:

• Course and platform usability: Is the interface user friendly? Will your employees find it easy to navigate?
• Mobile access: Can the training materials be accessed on mobile devices for flexibility? Does the training content require an internet connection?
• Engagement features: Are there interactive elements like quizzes and simulations to enhance online learning and knowledge retention?
• Compliance tracking: Does the platform offer tools to track employee training progress and certifications?
• Scalability and integration: Can the platform grow with your organization and integrate with existing systems? Is the course content library diverse enough for your specific needs?
• Analytics and reporting: Are there robust reporting features to monitor and improve the effectiveness of the training?

Throughout this process, additional questions are relevant and important to address; cost, support, implementation, etc. but this list can act as a good starting point for discussions with any online safety training provider you talk to. The white paper, "Buying Online Safety Training: 10 Questions to Ask Vendors" provides a more comprehensive list of topics to cover when evaluating vendors.

Evaluate Potential Vendors

With your questions ready, you can start evaluating vendors. Research their offerings, request demos, and see the online safety training courses in action. Pay attention to how well they meet your criteria and how responsive they are to your questions. This hands-on approach gives you a better idea of what each vendor can offer.

Set up multiple demos whenever possible. Having several opportunities to view the product, whether that is just training content or also a learning management system, gives you more chances to ask questions. This provides you with a clearer picture of the online safety training provider as well as their offerings.

But remember that the vendor is trying to sell to you, so you should also look at testimonials, case studies, and online reviews. Speaking with current or past clients can provide valuable insights into the vendor’s reliability, customer service, and the effectiveness of their online safety training solutions. And don't just rely on the online safety training provider's website, because of course they will only highlight their happy clients. Seek out third-party websites or review aggregator sites to try and get as whole of a picture as you can.

Once you have narrowed down your vendor list to a few choices, see if you can get access to a free trial or sandbox environment to test out the online platforms for yourself. This is a great way to ensure what you saw in the demos was an accurate representation of the platform. Sometimes a product can seem easy to use and compatible during a demo run by a salesperson, but once in the hands of someone not as familiar with the tool, it can be a different experience.

During a trial period, you can give online access to multiple test users to see if features align with everyone's specific needs and ensure there is a high level of usability. Giving test users free reign of accessing training content or a potential platform might even bring up more questions to discuss with the potential online safety training provider that hadn't yet been thought of. The more employees' hands you can get on a product, the better.

Having your own access also means you can test the online courses on different platforms, such as desktop computers, laptops, or mobile devices. As noted above, you want all employees to have the same learning experience. A free trial run of online safety training courses or a learning management system gives you time to ensure the vendor can provide a consistent look and feel — and overall user experience.

If you cannot get a free trial, you should eliminate that potential solution from your options. All reputable companies will allow a potential client to freely explore their online platforms.

HSI Can Help

Choosing the right online safety training provider involves careful planning and thorough evaluation. By involving key stakeholders, defining your needs and budget, and asking the right questions, you can find a vendor that fits your organization perfectly. This is the first step toward creating a truly effective employee safety training program.

To dive even deeper into this selection process, we encourage you to check out our white paper, "Buying Online Safety Training: 10 Questions to Ask Vendors." This comprehensive guide provides in-depth information to help you make the best choice for your organization. Access the white paper here and ensure you select the best online safety training provider and learning management system for your specific needs.