Ralph,
Great question. I'll let others speak to swag per se, but I am most concerned with the effectiveness of our safety training. Its usually ineffective because people are bombarded with information and "one-and-done" safety training is not retained well, even when we post-test. Repetition is required to remember things long term (and best done in conjunction with some sort of mnemonic). In an academic setting, repetition occurs when students read the accompanying text or take notes and review them later. (Almost no one takes notes at our in-person safety trainings. Why? Because they see the class as an unwanted requirement instead of a learning opportunity.)
So, I think the most important "swag" is your second item: summary of the key points of the content.
OK, most will toss it in the trash on the way out the door, but some attendees might look at it after class. If so, that content is more likely to be remembered. And if that paper summary is useful (e.g., printed on post-it paper), pretty, funny, cute, weird, or novel, etc. (i.e., a mnemonic) it is more likely to be retained, looked at, and remembered. Another way to do this would be to send a follow-up email or text* to all attendees with the key points. I recall that studies suggest that follow-up communications should be done 3-7 days following the training.
If you fail to do something like this your training content is unlikely to be remembered.
Pete Reinhardt
Yale EHS
*Many students no longer read their emails regularly. A text would be more effective. An Instagram post might work well if they followed you. Instagram has the added advantage of including a memorable funny/weird/novel image.
On 10/21/22, 11:23 AM, "ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety on behalf of Ralph Stuart" <DCHAS-L**At_Symbol_Here**Princeton.EDU on behalf of ralph.stuart**At_Symbol_Here**KEENE.EDU> wrote:
I’m giving a presentation next week to Keene’s State upper class course on safety training.
One question that I’d like to address during the presentation is whether "safety training swag" has value. Over the years, programs I have been involved in have given away a variety of things for people to take with them after training, including:
- paper handouts of the presentation
- paper summaries of the key points of the content
- certificates of training
- lab gloves
- magnets with pithy sayings and/or key phone numbers to place on lab equipment
- opportunities to win gift certificates for food at the campus facilities
- EHS branded trinkets
Beyond food at the event itself, none of these seem to have much impact on the audience, either at the time or over the longer period. I wonder if anyone knows of any studies that have assessed the value of this practice?
Thanks for any help with this.
- Ralph
Ralph Stuart, CIH, CCHO
Environmental Safety Manager
Keene State College
603 358-2859
ralph.stuart**At_Symbol_Here**keene.edu
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