Onboarding is the process through which new hires, employees, and contractors are provided with information, training, instruction, and through a process of supervision are prepared to meet the demands of their workplace. Onboarding processes start before a worker’s first day of employment, where working and job conditions are clarified, documentation is prepared, prior education is completed. This is also the time in which necessary information like qualifications, insurance, construction cards, and other must-have information is collected. The pre-employment stage is when the workplace meets its obligations to provide clear, consistent, and concise information about the work to be performed (Kumar & Pandey, 2017).
A comprehensive onboarding process introduces the worker to the physical and organisational environment in which they will operate. This includes familiarisation with workplace layouts, equipment, workflows, and the environmental or task‑specific hazards that may be present. When considering onboarding within the context of OHS, onboarding must consider the interaction between the worker, the work, and the workplace, ensuring that new hires are not only informed but supported in developing the competencies required to work safely and sustainably (Davina & Pina-Ramirez, 2018). This is particularly important in environments where exposures, processes, or operational demands may be unfamiliar to the worker. This may require assessment of the worker at specific tasks or knowledge checks to ensure competence. This may also identify gaps for potential worker training as a safety and knowledge control.
Onboarding further serves as a mechanism for integrating workers into the social and procedural ecosystem of the business. Engagement with and introduction to supervisors, colleagues, and support personnel helps establish communication pathways that are essential for supporting safe, sustainable, and successful work. Workers must be introduced to reporting structures, escalation processes, and the systems through which information, training, and instruction are delivered. This relational component of onboarding is critical for building trust, enabling consultation, and ensuring that workers feel confident to raise concerns or seek clarification as they adapt to their new roles.
Onboarding is not complete once forms have been signed and filed. Information, training, instruction, and supervision that is provided during the onboarding process should be provided on an ongoing basis rather than as a once-off. As workers continue in their engagement in a role, their exposure to new tasks, environments, and responsibilities changes, as does their physical body, their capabilities, and their relationships with work and workers. Support must be provided to mitigate hazards that arise from changes that occur as the function of time and any risks to which workers may be exposed as a consequence of that change. Structured follow‑up, supervision, and review ensure that workers continue to develop the skills and knowledge required for the safe and complete management duties, and that any emerging risks or challenges are identified early.
Each workplace is different, with different demands, methods of business, and is staffed by people whose capacities, needs, and risk profiles are different. Managing ergonomic, environmental, and occupational health and safety challenges requires a business to examine and engage with the ecosystem of factors that give rise to risk, and how that risk may affect people. Each workplace is different and so sometimes the same problem will require different solutions. This applies to workers as well - every person is different and so may require different support, supervision, or resources to perform comfortably and sustainably. Under Work Health and Safety law, consultation with the workforce, the control of risk as far as is reasonably practicable, and the provision of information, training, instruction and support to the worker by the workplace, is essential to meet obligations to provide workers with a workplace that is as free of risk as far is reasonably practicable.
In our capacity as consultants, Atlas Physio will explore and scope the business and its needs, examining how exposures, risks, and processes contribute to the hazard ecosystem, best inform the design and arrangement of procedural, policy-based, and practical risk controls. Our solutions are tailored to the needs of those with whom we work, implemented in a simple, sustainable, and supportive fashion, designed to be robust and resilient, and to support the ongoing life of the business as well as the sustainable wellbeing of the workers who undertake the day to day activities of work.
At Atlas Physio, we provide reporting, structured control, and ongoing management of risk onsite, on the road, and wherever work is done. We are open seven days a week, and are happy to offer a brief complimentary discussion to explore the needs of your business and your workers if you are an employer, and your needs if you are a worker. Reach out today to arrange a discussion and take the first step toward managing risk and working safely, supported by expertise that is practical, reliable, and designed to deliver lasting results.
References
Davila, N., & Pina-Ramirez, W. (2018). Effective onboarding. Association for Talent Development.
Kumar, N., & Pandey, S. (2017). New employee onboarding process in an organization. International Journal of Engineering Development and Research, 5(1), 198-206.