Bright ideas to engage our... older gentlemen workers in H&S HI Brook
There can be a number of issues including what Peter mentioned. As someone in the profession I have attended many H&S talks in which I switch off, often because it is so generic that we've all heard it before and the presentors are talking down to the audience.
When working with people it is important to actually engage them and gain their trust, when this is done you will find that many of these older ones actually understand what you are trying to do and often then help you out by suggesting things that will improve the situation, giving good examples etc and will take on board what you tell them.
So it is always worth looking back at how you present, is it talk at the audience or is it engagement, the former is a switch off. I always have a chat with the older ones in a workplace and listen to them, it is always amazing what they know and see and it shifts the power base. By that I mean I learn from them and they see that they know more than myself on a number of areas around their job so it takes away the inspector mentality with a clipboard who is examing you and finding fault, or laying down the law, to one where it is just two people swapping information on an issue.
So I always adjust my talks presnatations to fit the auidence and engage them not just get info over on H&S.
So best ones I've been to enagage the audience and a good presenator will also adapt their talk/session to appeal to the audience in th eroom at the time. Watch their faces an dif they are disinterested change tack to bring them back.
On the workfloor take time to chat with individuals about what they do and if needed work alongside them for a while to experince what they go through. From my discussions on the workfloor many workers admit they don't enage with the H&S teams or events as the H&S are seen as living in an ivory tower who don't know what they actaully do.
So like Mark says engage them, talk to them, experince what they go through an dtreat them as indivudual human beings and not just a statisic to collect.