Selecting a temporary staffing agency should involve more than filling open positions. Host employers should work with agencies that demonstrate a strong commitment to worker safety, proper training, and effective communication. A staffing agency should understand the hazards of the work being assigned, provide workers with appropriate general safety information, and coordinate closely with the host employer to ensure temporary workers receive all required site-specific training before beginning work.
This toolbox talk reviews the importance of evaluating staffing agencies based on their safety performance and establishing clear responsibilities to protect temporary workers throughout their assignments.
Why This Matters
- Safety-focused staffing agencies help ensure workers arrive prepared for their assignments.
- Clear coordination reduces gaps in training, supervision, and hazard communication.
- Qualified workers are less likely to be assigned tasks beyond their abilities.
- Strong partnerships improve incident prevention and overall jobsite safety.
- Shared safety expectations help protect temporary workers from their first day on site.
Key Safety Considerations
- Verifying worker qualifications, experience, and required certifications.
- Confirming responsibilities for general safety orientation and site-specific training.
- Sharing accurate information about job hazards and physical demands.
- Establishing clear reporting procedures for hazards, injuries, and near misses.
- Determining responsibilities for providing personal protective equipment (PPE).
- Maintaining communication when job assignments or hazards change.
- Reviewing safety performance and incident history as part of agency selection.
- Ensuring workers are not assigned duties beyond their training or authorization.
Safety Checklist
Before Workers Arrive
- Select staffing agencies that demonstrate a strong commitment to workplace safety.
- Clearly define safety responsibilities between the staffing agency and the host employer.
- Provide the staffing agency with accurate descriptions of job duties, hazards, and required qualifications.
- Verify that workers possess any required licenses, certifications, or experience before assignment.
- Coordinate orientation, task-specific training, emergency procedures, and PPE requirements.
- Establish communication procedures for reporting hazards, incidents, and changing work conditions.
During the Assignment
- Monitor temporary workers to ensure they are performing only assigned and authorized tasks.
- Provide additional training whenever job duties, equipment, or hazards change.
- Maintain regular communication with the staffing agency regarding worker performance and safety concerns.
- Investigate incidents promptly and share appropriate findings with the staffing agency.
- Encourage temporary workers to report hazards, injuries, and near misses without hesitation.
- Periodically review the effectiveness of the staffing agency's safety partnership and identify opportunities for improvement.
Crew Talking Points
- Why is safety an important factor when selecting a staffing agency?
- What information should be shared with a staffing agency before workers arrive?
- Who is responsible for providing site-specific safety training?
- How should hazards, injuries, and changing job assignments be communicated?
- What should temporary workers do if assigned work beyond their training or authorization?
- Speak up immediately if you believe additional training, supervision, or coordination is needed to perform work safely.
Stop Work If
- A temporary worker has not received the required orientation or task-specific training.
- A worker is assigned duties beyond their qualifications or authorization.
- Responsibilities between the staffing agency and host employer are unclear and create a safety risk.
- Required PPE, supervision, or safety resources are unavailable.
- An uncontrolled hazard presents an immediate danger to workers.
- You are unsure whether the assigned work can be performed safely.
Final Reminder
Choosing a staffing agency with a strong safety commitment helps protect temporary workers and strengthens the entire jobsite safety program. Clear communication, defined responsibilities, proper training, effective supervision, and ongoing coordination between the staffing agency and host employer ensure every temporary worker has the knowledge, resources, and support needed to work safely every day.
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