The dangers of working on a construction site are numerous—working at hazardous heights, operating heavy machinery, noise-induced health problems, trips and falls, and collapses, just to name a few. The number of injuries that go hand in hand with this industry is staggering.

However, the truth is that this situation can be turned around with proper training. The cause of all these problems is lack of knowledge and, more importantly, lack of knowledge retention. Simply attending seminars on health and safety won’t yield positive results if employees don’t apply their newfound knowledge.

Employees lose more than ninety percent of new knowledge in a month. Here’s how to fix that.

1. Build Contemporary, Engaging Content

First, focus on the content of training courses. If a company is still using old, dull handbooks to transfer knowledge to employees, it can’t expect those employees to actually pay attention.

Modern construction workers use technology that exceeds the knowledge that can be found in old manuals. Training content needs to be rich in useful information. Contractors need to share clear, transparent tips that can be put to action right away.

2. Get Rid of Old-Fashioned Technology

Since your employees are up-to-date with the latest technology—they all use smartphones on a daily basis—contractors won’t be able to grab their attention by using old CDs to conduct training.

Instead, turn to effective tools such as a Learning Management System (LMS). With LMS software, contractors will be able to build courses and corporate training that will engage employees. This platform will enable them to develop engaging and interactive content.

Because of this, construction workers will be able to participate in the training, instead of it being a one-way street.

3. Make Room for Self-Paced Training

It’s important to keep in mind that each employee has a different professional background and each employee will have a different learning process.

For all of them to be able to master a new knowledge unit, give them room to pave their own path. LMS software enables contractors to implement different types of content, including audio, video, text and images. Because of this diversity, contractors will be able to address all types of learners.

4. Use Quizzes to Put a Circle Around a Unit

Repetition is the most effective way for employees to store new information in their long-term memories. A staggering percentage of new knowledge is lost quickly once training has been conducted. To prevent loss of information, quiz employees. This is an old, but quite efficient method for knowledge retention.

With the right LMS software, contractors can incorporate quizzes into corporate training. A quality platform will provide different options to help form diverse questions. A quiz also needs to be engaging. For that reason, include rating scales, matching, as well as multiple-choice, open-ended and fill-in-the-blank questions.

5. Don’t Forget About Evaluation

To improve the knowledge retention of employees, understand that a training course isn’t complete the moment you’ve conducted it.

To be confident that employees are applying their newfound knowledge, monitor their work, which includes keeping a close eye on the construction site, encouraging the desired behavior and evaluating the employees.

An interesting side effect of employees knowing that an evaluation is approaching is they will pay more attention to their activities. Just announcing that an employer plans on monitoring its employees can positively affect their productivity.

6. Pay Close Attention to Feedback

The fact is that employees want to learn. More than seventy percent of workers have a desire to broaden their skillset, but employers need to learn how to listen to your team. If employees know there’s room from professional development and progress in their current position, they won’t feel the need to leave the company.

However, employers need to collect feedback to find out what their employees aspire to. So it’s important to give them a say in the matter and allow them to direct their own professional development. If a contractor provides employees with the growth they need, their ability to retain knowledge will increase significantly.

Contractors will notice big changes in their companies they offer their teams contemporary content that can be applied to day-to-day activities and allow employees to make progress at their own pace. LMS software can provide an effective options for building training courses using quizzes to enhance retention after each unit and encouraging positive behavior. With this kind of incentive, companies will be able to grow more smoothly.