Picture this… you spend hours — days, even — arranging staff CPR training: coordinating schedules to ensure everyone will be available, meeting with managers to secure a location, double-checking that you have the right number of manikins and other equipment, and writing emails and creating fliers so everyone knows when and where to attend the training.
Then, class day comes around and three of the 10 students don’t show up. Now you have to go through the whole process again for those three students. How can you save yourself this headache?
While you may not be able to prevent no-shows 100% of the time, you can minimize them by helping your team understand the importance, benefits, and value of CPR training. Resist the urge to be punitive — that’s not a productive motivator and should be a last resort. Instead, focus on communicating why they should make CPR training a priority.
Here are six strategies for motivating your staff to attend CPR training, as well as a sample email tying them all together to help you minimize CPR class no-shows.
Reward Attendance
Instead of punishing no-shows, try taking the opposite approach. Offer an incentive for those who attend the class and complete their CPR certification on time.
- Provide complimentary lunch and snacks on the day of the training.
- Offer each attendee a gift card.
- Allow workers to leave early on a Friday afternoon, especially if everyone attends.
Certain types of incentives may work best for different people. For some teams, individual rewards motivate each person to make the effort to attend. For others, however, a collective reward that hinges on everyone attending can foster healthy peer pressure, motivating the group to hold each other accountable.
While offering incentives will cost the company a little extra, it communicates to employees that CPR training is something you value as an organization. It’s well worth the additional cost if it works to get everyone trained and certified in a timely manner.
Appeal to Savings
Attending CPR training costs your employees time, so make it clear that they’re saving on other costs by getting certified in-house.
Does your organization cover the cost of certification instead of having employees foot the bill? Do you offer overtime pay for attending class and completing other steps in the certification process?
If so, let your employees know just how much they can save by attending the provided training instead of seeking certification on their own. Even if they aren’t excited about attending classes, the opportunity to save money may just entice them to do it anyway.
Covering certification costs is another way to show employees that your organization believes CPR training is a valuable investment for all team members. Plus, it differentiates you from other organizations that aren’t willing to make that investment.
Empathize, Explain & Excite
Even with incentives, the reality is that some of your team members will view CPR training and certification as little more than an obligation that takes them away from their other duties.
To generate enthusiasm among these team members, try:
- Approaching with empathy. Express that you understand their reluctance to take time out of their busy schedules and attend class. Assure them it’s worth their time.
- Explaining your process. Share the measures you’ve taken to select a high-quality CPR provider with a proven track record for interesting, value-packed classes. Explain your selection criteria and why you’ve chosen this provider over others.
- Setting expectations. Your employees are more likely to be interested in CPR classes if they know what to expect. Share a class agenda ahead of time, outlining how long the class will last, what they can expect to learn, what they should bring, and any other relevant information that will help them prepare.
Clear, empathetic communication will help your team understand that you’ve chosen this training carefully and intentionally for its value — not just to check an administrative box.
Stress the Lasting Benefits
Don’t stop at informing your staff about immediate benefits like incentives, savings, and fulfilling certification requirements. Also stress the lasting benefits they’ll take away from the training that impact far more than their current job.
The skills your staff learn in CPR training are skills they’ll take with them wherever they go, and those skills could very well save someone’s life!
- Roughly 74% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in a home, so there’s a good chance they could end up using the skills learned during this work-mandated training to save their own friends or family members.
- Only about 40% of people who experience a cardiac arrest outside of the hospital get emergency assistance from bystanders. By getting trained and certified in CPR, your team members will be equipped to help fill that gap.
- CPR certification makes them a valuable asset not just to your organization but also to future employers as they advance in their careers.
The more valuable your team members understand CPR training to be, in both the short and long term, the more motivated they’ll be to follow through with it.
Make It Personal
As you explain the importance of CPR training both in and beyond the workplace, also stress the relevance of this training to your employees’ daily lives. In other words, look for ways to make it personal.
For example, if you have a staff member who has had to perform CPR in the past, or whose life has been saved through CPR, consider asking them to share their story with the rest of the team. You could also share local news stories of lay rescuers successfully performing CPR, especially if those rescuers come from a similar demographic as your employees.
Individual anecdotes — especially coming from people your staff know personally or can easily relate to — can be powerful tools to help put the reality and importance of CPR into perspective for your employees, much more effectively than simply sharing statistics.
Be Clear About Consequences
Applying punishment as a way to motivate team members to complete essential tasks should always be a last resort. That being said, if you must enforce consequences for employees not attending CPR training, be clear about those consequences up front — and be prepared to enforce them if needed.
Explain in advance that employees who fail to complete CPR certification by the given date might:
- Risk your company’s compliance and licensure along with their own
- Not be permitted to work until their certification is completed
- Need to cover the cost of their own certification (if your company covers the cost of the initial class they miss)
However, if some employees fail to complete their certification in time and are temporarily unable to work, you’ll need to be prepared to fill their vacancies. If you fail to follow through on the consequences you set, team members will be even less likely to comply with similar mandates in the future.
Try This: Example Email
With the above strategies in mind, here’s an example of an email you can send to your team members to motivate them to attend CPR training.
| Hi team, Our company’s mandatory CPR training will be held on [date] at [time]. Lunch and refreshments will be provided for all attendees. Please see the attached agenda for a detailed breakdown of the class materials, timeframe, and other expectations. While taking time out of your schedule to attend a class may not sound very appealing, the importance of this training cannot be overstated. Research has shown that around 74% of cardiac arrests that occur outside of the hospital happen at home, but only 40% of those people receive the emergency assistance they need from bystanders. By getting certified in CPR, you won’t just be checking off a required task — you’ll be gaining skills that could literally save the life of someone close to you. [If applicable, share a brief, personal story from a team member who has given or received CPR or a news article about a local lay rescuer successfully performing CPR.] Given the importance of this training, [company name] is covering the costs — all you need to do is show up and participate. We’ve intentionally chosen a provider that’s known for engaging, value-packed classes. You can find more information about them at [link to provider’s website]. Please note that, as per company policy, failure to complete the training and certification by [date] will result in that team member being unable to begin working until their certification can be completed at a later time. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns. Thank you, [Your name] |
Build a Safer World & Workplace
Instead of relying on punitive tactics to motivate your staff to attend CPR training, help them understand the importance of learning these lifesaving skills and the benefits of company-provided training. You’ll make it easier on yourself to get everyone trained and certified, and you’ll be helping build a safer workplace — and world — for everyone.
Looking for a CPR training provider for your team? Contact us today to learn more about how ProTrainings can help you make getting your staff CPR certified easier and more efficient.