Effective Communication in Food Safety Employee Training
Approximately 600 million people globally fall victim to food poisoning annually; of those, 420,000 succumb to foodborne illnesses, according to the World Health Organization. Improper handling during food production and the packaging process can introduce bacteria, parasites, and viruses that cause foodborne diseases. Those in the food industry should learn and practice mandatory safety precautions to reduce food contamination and poisoning. Food safety is a set of practices for aiding in the safe processing, handling, packaging, and distribution of food products.
Whether you have a multi-billion-dollar food production industry, a roadside kiosk, or a mini-bakery, you should invest in employee food safety training. Food safety training is available in in-person, real-time, and online training sessions. Real-time food safety training presents a one-on-one virtual connection between the trainer and the trainee.
A food safety training session facilitated through real-time communication lets the trainer offer a real-time presentation of the live activities from the trainer’s end. The sessions involve using session initiation protocol (SIP) and real-time transport protocol (RTP) to create and sustain communication between the involved parties.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
Effective communication fosters a seamless connection between trainers and trainees during complex and long food safety training sessions. Real-time communications systems establish uninterrupted food safety training without message alteration or confusion. In this rewarding learning atmosphere, each party feels satisfied and engaged. There are many reasons to get everyone in your company trained to handle food safely, including:
Improving the handling and maintenance of machines;
Increasing sanitization and cleanliness of components;
Reducing food packaging leaks;
Reducing food contamination and poisoning issues;
Improving the quality and health of food products delivered to clients; and
Boosting brand image and reputation.
The average human has a relatively low attention span of 8.25 seconds, and effective communication is the key to extending these short spans. Boring safety training sessions could reduce a learner’s attention span, so trainers need to communicate effectively to get trainees fully engaged and boost their attention spans.
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There are no boredom issues during training sessions in which the speaker and audience communicate effectively. Trainees will ask the right questions, and the trainer will answer them correctly, facilitating efficient learning.
Training sessions in which resourceful communication is the center of everything foster problem solving, active listening, nonverbal communication, confidence, and questioning.
TOP BENEFITS OF COMMUNICATION DURING FOOD SAFETY TRAINING
Sometimes, employees may not properly respond to food safety-related hazards. Training informs workers and boosts their confidence levels so they can raise alarms when they detect potential hazards. Properly trained employees understand the basic protocols to handle food during packaging and distribution to reduce the potential for leakage and contamination.
Communication is an indispensable tool in food safety training and determines the learning curves of each involved party. Food handler training increases knowledge and equips learners to address future food safety issues more easily. Learners can only grasp food safety protocols and management systems when the training programs are communicated effectively.
When a food safety trainer passes information effectively to the target audience without leaving holes, they help them better understand the key points of interest while preparing them to practice what they learn in the future.
Training programs with clear and easy-to-understand training materials enable workers to properly comprehend lifelong and new safety practices. Proficient communication can help learners understand and complete their training courses much faster while increasing the success rates of the training programs.
Food industries should adopt training programs that use clear and feasible videos and photos, infographics formatting, and all-inclusive training materials. Message recipients feel more at ease when training messages are presented knowledgeably and confidently.
BEST PRACTICES
To reduce misunderstandings, real-time food safety training supports key facets of communication, such as facial expressions, eye contact, and body language. As a trainer offering real-time food safety training programs, it integrates engagement, logistics, scope, etiquette, and facilitation. Training focused on these fundamental aspects helps with troubleshooting issues, implementing safety strategies, and gives insights on planning.
Proper scope and preplanning: Although virtual training sessions cannot replace in-person interactions, proper preplanning and strategizing help you create the best scopes to optimize and track the training sessions. Know the topics to address, the length of the session, the availability of training materials, and the credulity of the lecturers. Create an interactive real-time online training session by allowing participants to ask questions and give suggestions when necessary. Longer sessions will get participants bored. Limit the programs to about three hours with 10-minute breaks to reduce screen fatigue.
Practice etiquette. The host’s etiquette is one thing that can break or make a training program a success. The host has to set clear session rules and press accountability penalties to limit misconduct. Everyone in attendance must avoid distractions and behaviors that could affect other learners’ attention spans and listening abilities. Effective communication requires sticking to the main agenda and not wandering outside the session-specific topics. Timing should be a priority, ensuring timed sessions for the welcome, guest speaker instruction, breaks, and wrap up.
Engagement. Virtual food safety training programs offer a seamless engagement, interaction, and knowledge acquisition platform. But since there is no in-person connection, attendees can get bored and lose focus. Calling those in attendance by name fosters smooth interaction while keeping everyone alert. Using “raise hand” unmute and chat features to answer open-ended questions can boost engagement. The use of virtual tools such as surveys, polls, and whiteboards reduces screen fatigue and boosts knowledge retention while increasing engagement.
REAL-TIME COMMUNICATION DURING FOOD SAFETY TRAINING
Real-time food safety training hosts and facilitators can use two basic ways to present their programs. The best method depends on the availability of resources and everyone’s location.
In-person training sessions: These sessions offer opportunities for face-to-face interaction, which can provide greater understanding and clarity than virtual methods. The heart-to-heart, human-level interaction offers a hands-on learning experience. These sessions are more collaborative, as multiple learners can attend classes simultaneously. The person-to-person connection between learners and lecturers makes learning fun and more interactive.
Interactive online training modules. These modules offer a greater range of programs, cost-effective sessions, and the opportunity to connect and interact with people from around the world. These programs are streamed in real-time from the host/facilitator’s computer to the learners’ device. Although cost-effective, they don’t offer the same person-to-person connections as in-person training sessions.By Rick Farrell
