Predictors of safety training transfer support as in-role behavior of occupational health and safety professionals

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify individual and contextual influences on in-house safety trainers’ role orientation toward the transfer of training (TT). Design/methodology/approach The authors tested a model where felt-responsibility for TT mediates the influence of job resources (i.e. autonomy, access to resources, access to information and organizational support) on trainers’ definition of their role and where training safety climate exerts a moderator effect. Data were collected from 201 Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professionals, all in-house safety trainers, of large public and private companies. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Findings The model highlighted the mediating influence of felt-responsibility in the interplay between job resources and role orientation, the moderating influence of safety climate on the relationship of autonomy and organizational support on role definition, but not access to resources and access to information on role definition in the TT. Results suggest that how much safety trainers consider supporting the TT as a part of their overall role is affected by autonomy and organizational support through a sense of responsibility regarding training results, and these effects are influenced by the perceived importance of safety training to the organization. Research limitations/implications The study is cross-sectional and used self-reported data, meaning that causal inferences should be carefully drawn. Further studies should explore other sources of influence over felt-responsibility, for example, supervisors’ support for transfer, the relationship between how in-house safety trainers define their role in the transfer process and trainees’ effective application of their new knowledge and skills. Practical implications Companies should overtly signal the importance of safety training to in-house safety trainers because it will elicit, by reciprocity, a greater sense of personal responsibility and increased efforts concerning training success. Originality/value No previous research looked at how in-house trainers define their role in the TT, as well as the individual and contextual factors that influence their efforts toward the efficacy of training.

Perceptions of accountability for the transfer of training by leadership trainers

“…Whether a trainer is employed by a company might be related to her accountability and her role as a transfer manager. The finding by Freitas et al (2017) that job resources such as autonomy and support within an organisation can affect in‐house trainers’ felt responsibility supports this assumption. Therefore, future studies should investigate in‐house and external trainers and potential differences in their accountability regarding transfer.…”

Sustainability learning for improved safe work environments for construction semi-skilled workers in Zimbabwe

“…Although, Ricci et al. (2016) and Freitas et al. (2017) are in agreement that good HSW of workers can be achieved by allowing for self-realisation and continuous training within the workplace, Kronner (2005) contends that contextualised sustainability education is paramount in relaying adequate prevention strategies.…”

“…The LO9 was considered the most significant of the sustainability learning objectives with the highest Cramer's value of 0.972 (site/project managers) and 0.912 (semi-skilled workers). Although, Ricci et al (2016) and Freitas et al (2017) are in agreement that good HSW of workers can be achieved by allowing for self-realisation and continuous training within the workplace, Kronner (2005) contends that contextualised sustainability education is paramount in relaying adequate prevention strategies. The possibility that the semi-skilled workers would have not received prior learning in these aspects is very high and makes it pertinent that they be trained accordingly.…”

“…They further support additional training by highly qualified instructors beyond the compulsory training required by legislation. Freitas et al. (2017) concur that adequate HSW of workers can only be ascertained when the interventions by professionals are disseminated by in-house OHS trainers that continually transfer the knowledge in the workplace.…”

Factores condicionantes de la transferencia de la formación permanente del profesorado no universitario.

“…La transferencia de formación es un concepto complejo y dinámico. Se puede definir como la generalización al contexto laboral y el mantenimiento a lo largo del tiempo, de la aplicación efectiva de los conocimientos y habilidades adquiridas en un contexto de aprendizaje (Baldwin y Ford, 1988;Baldwin et al, 2009;Freitas et al, 2017;Govaerts et al, 2017;Newstrom, 1986). Ciertamente, se han realizado muchas investigaciones, no tanto en promover y evaluar la transferencia de la formación sino en la medición de los factores condicionantes (Baldwin et al, 2017;Bawono y Purnomo, 2016;Feixas et al, 2013a;Gafas González et al, 2018;García et al, 2018;Vélez Álvarez et al, 2018).…”