Thanks to COVID-19, it has become increasingly important to have multiple options for delivering safety trainings and meetings for farmworkers. This can be challenging especially for farm managers who are already on a time crunch. And yet we must find a way to make safety training a priority, without sacrificing time or money. Harvust is here to help! Follow along with this blog and let us show you the simple side of farm safety on Harvust. 

Scheduling Safety Meetings Ahead of Time

Have you ever missed a monthly safety meeting on your farm? It is a costly mistake that happens more often than you might think. This can result in potential fines for missing records as well as cause serious injury to a farmworker if your safety topics are not consistent and timely for the hazards that are seen on the job. With Harvust, you can schedule all of your safety meetings for the year. Not only that, but the Harvust safety training library can help Take a little bulk off of your monthly to-do list by providing you with relevant meeting topics to choose from.

PRO TIP: Harvust has partnered with Washington Farm Bureau and other agencies to assure that the training materials on Harvust are the most up to date and engaging training content available. 

Sending Trainings Remotely to Your Employees’ Own Device

The events of the last two years have greatly affected the access we have to in-person training. Though it is possible, the reality of training a dozen employees or more at a time can not only create a health hazard but can result in diminished quality of the training as well as increased time and workload of the person planning and executing the training. One of the most popular features on Harvust allows you to train all of your farm employees without any physical gathering at all! Trainings will be sent directly to each employee's cell phone. This allows your farm employees to take time while traveling to the job site, or before they clock out for the day to complete their assigned safety meeting.

PRO TIP: Farms using Harvust have found that more than 85% of farmworkers own a smartphone and are easily able to view and complete safety trainings on their own device. Harvust also has a “no phone” feature to easily get your farm to 100% compliance.

Using Text-to-Speech Translations & Anonymous Feedback

Along with gaining access to trainings when it is convenient for your employees, Harvust also offers text-to-speech translations of all written safety meetings in English and Spanish. This allows farmworkers to listen to any meeting instead of reading the information. We have found that this can significantly increase farmworkers’ understanding of topics. After your employees have watched, listened to or read the safety information, they will be given the opportunity to include anonymous feedback before completing the training. This feedback is sent directly to a specified member of your team. We have seen many farms using this feedback received on Harvust to proactively correct workplace challenges such as: Lack of handwashing or drinking water, Sexual harassment, and many other common challenges in agricultural work.

PRO TIP: Allowing farm employees to include anonymous feedback with their safety meetings will often bring up issues that management did not previously know about. Don't forget to thank those employees for their transparency and honesty by using the Harvust communication tool to send them a quick text. Most importantly, follow through with changes that need to be made. This will reinforce the use of these tools and instill confidence in your employees that they are a critical part of creating the safety culture in your workplace.

Keeping Records Organized & Accessible

Harvust not only makes things easier for your employees, it also makes things easier for you! If a safety meeting is not completed within 24 hours, Harvust will send a reminder message to each employee that needs to complete the meeting. When the meeting is completed, Harvust will create an easy to access report of the safety meeting for your records. These reports can be downloaded and saved in case of audit, and can always be accessed 24/7 on your Harvust account. 

PRO TIP: 3 ring binders are a part of the past! Your organized safety records can be easily accessed by anyone you give permission to. This will save you time each month and (yes! We promise!) even some peace of mind in case of an audit. 

As you can see, Harvust is ready to support you and your farm with quality safety trainings sent directly to your employees. Contact us today at www.harvust.com for more information. Come join us on the simple side of farm safety!