National Safety Month: 5 Ways Learning Helps Build a Safer Workplace

Posted on 06/11/26 By Lorman Team

June is National Safety Month, an annual observance led by the National Safety Council to raise awareness about preventing injuries and improving safety at work and beyond. While many organizations use the month to review policies and complete required training, it also presents an opportunity to think more broadly about workplace safety. 

According to OSHA, an estimated 2.7 million U.S. workers experience workplace injuries or illnesses each year. While organizations invest heavily in compliance and risk management, creating a safer workplace requires more than policies and procedures alone. 

Lasting safety improvements depend on clear communication, strong leadership, and a culture where safe behaviors are reinforced consistently. Training plays a critical role in building that culture by helping employees recognize risks, understand expectations, and make safer decisions throughout the year. 

Whether your organization operates in healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, education, government, or another industry, learning and development can help create safer workplaces by improving awareness, reinforcing expectations, and encouraging accountability. 

For example, workplace safety may mean preventing patient handling injuries in healthcare, reducing equipment-related incidents in manufacturing, protecting employees from workplace violence in public-facing roles, or reinforcing cybersecurity and data protection practices in financial services. While the risks vary by industry, the need for ongoing learning remains the same. 

Here are five ways organizations can use learning to strengthen workplace safety year-round.

1. Move Beyond Annual Compliance Training 

Compliance training is an important part of any workplace safety strategy. It helps organizations meet regulatory requirements and provides employees with foundational knowledge about workplace hazards, reporting procedures, and safety expectations.  

However, annual training alone rarely creates lasting behavior change. Employees often complete required courses months before they encounter situations where the information is most relevant. Over time, key concepts can be forgotten if they are not reinforced and applied. Learning science has consistently shown that knowledge retention declines significantly when learners do not have opportunities to revisit and use new information in their day-to-day work. 

A stronger approach is to view compliance training as the starting point rather than the finish line. Organizations can build on required training by providing periodic refreshers, role-specific learning, and targeted training tied to emerging risks or workplace changes. 

For example, a manufacturing organization may provide refresher training when new equipment is introduced, while a healthcare organization may reinforce infection prevention protocols during periods of increased risk. Timely training helps employees apply safety practices when they are most relevant. 

Organizations that want to strengthen compliance while improving engagement should consider how training is delivered throughout the year, not just during annual certification cycles.

2. Reinforce Safety Throughout the Year

Safety is most effective when it becomes part of everyday work rather than a once-a-year initiative. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) emphasizes the importance of ongoing safety and health programs that continuously identify and address workplace hazards. Organizations that regularly reinforce safety expectations are better positioned to reduce risk and strengthen workplace culture. 

One way to accomplish this is by integrating safety discussions into existing workflows. This may include team meetings, manager check-ins, onboarding programs, and short learning opportunities tied to current workplace priorities. 

Examples include: 

• Reviewing lessons learned from recent incidents 
• Sharing brief safety reminders before high-risk activities 
• Providing microlearning on specific hazards or procedures 
• Discussing workplace wellness, ergonomics, or fatigue prevention 

These conversations do not need to be lengthy. A five-minute discussion about proper lifting techniques in a warehouse, patient safety procedures in a healthcare setting, or phishing awareness in an office environment can help reinforce important behaviors before problems occur. Frequent reinforcement helps employees connect safety expectations to their day-to-day responsibilities and keeps learning relevant throughout the year.

3. Equip Managers to Model Safe Behaviors

Managers and supervisors play a significant role in shaping workplace culture. Employees often look to leaders for cues about what behaviors are expected and valued. When managers consistently reinforce safety practices, employees are more likely to follow them. 

A production supervisor who consistently follows equipment safety procedures, a healthcare manager who reinforces reporting protocols, or a department leader who encourages employees to report cybersecurity concerns all help establish expectations through their own actions. 

Unfortunately, many managers receive little formal training on how to lead safety conversations, respond to concerns, or address unsafe behaviors constructively. Organizations can strengthen safety culture by helping managers develop skills such as: 

• Effective communication 
• Coaching and feedback 
• Accountability 
• Conflict resolution 
• Hazard recognition and reporting 

When leaders model safe behaviors and regularly discuss safety with their teams, safety becomes part of the culture rather than just another policy. This is one reason why safety training and leadership development often go hand in hand. Organizations that invest in manager development are often better positioned to reinforce expectations, improve communication, and encourage accountability across teams.

4. Make Training Accessible and Relevant

One of the most common barriers to training is lack of time. Employees are balancing demanding workloads, competing priorities, and constant information overload. When safety training feels disconnected from their work or requires significant time away from their responsibilities, engagement often suffers. 

Organizations can improve participation by making learning easier to access and more relevant to employees' roles. Effective strategies include: 

• Short, focused learning modules 
• On-demand access 
• Role-specific training recommendations 
• Real-world examples and scenarios 
• Learning that can be applied immediately 

When employees understand how training relates to their daily work, they are more likely to engage and apply what they learn. Accessible learning also helps organizations deliver timely training when new risks, regulations, or workplace challenges emerge. 

Organizations looking to streamline training delivery often benefit from centralized learning platforms that make it easier for employees to find relevant content when they need it.

5. Track Participation and Accountability

A strong safety culture requires visibility. Organizations need to know whether employees are completing required training, engaging with learning opportunities, and understanding key safety concepts. 

Tracking participation can help identify gaps, ensure compliance requirements are met, and support accountability across teams. However, completion rates alone do not tell the full story. 

Organizations should also look for indicators that training is being reinforced and applied. This may include: 

• Manager observations 
• Employee feedback 
• Safety audit results 
• Incident and near-miss trends 
• Compliance outcomes 

Depending on the workplace, successful application may be reflected through fewer safety incidents, stronger audit results, improved reporting of near-misses, reduced workers' compensation claims, or increased compliance with required procedures. 

Combining learning data with workplace safety indicators provides a more complete picture of program effectiveness and helps identify opportunities for improvement. 

Safety Culture Is Built Through Continuous Learning 

National Safety Month serves as an important reminder that workplace safety requires ongoing attention. 

While compliance training remains essential, organizations that build the strongest safety cultures go further. They reinforce learning throughout the year, equip managers to lead by example, make training accessible, and create accountability at every level of the organization. 

If your organization is evaluating its safety and compliance training strategy, Lorman can help. Our enterprise training solution makes it easier to deliver safety, compliance, leadership, and professional development training through a single platform, helping organizations reinforce critical knowledge, support accountability, and build a stronger culture of safety year-round.