Employers today have so many other factors to deal with than their predecessors did in years past, before organizations were created to implement and enforce health and safety in the workplace. The Health and Safety act of 1974, OSHA, H&SA, and ENETOSH to name a few of these organizations, came into fruition to standardize practices, and identify common goals to address their respective populations, and overlap one another to ensure a safer worldwide workforce. For this reason, recruiting the right person with specific health and safety experience for your organization is of the utmost importance.
Education and Certification
Employers actively looking into health and safety recruitment for their companies have several avenues to explore for competencies. Online accreditations, and courses through government agencies are available for students in primary school, university, and businesses, by way of continuing education and certifications.
Health and safety recruiters need to look at undergraduate and advanced degree recipients for specialty positions. Engineers, from industrial, design, chemical and mechanical backgrounds, to safety engineers, need to show competencies in design and controls. Industrial hygienists are expected to show that they understand the effects on humans from environmental factors, the stress caused from these factors and then ultimately how to apply methods to reduce and eliminate these factors when possible.
They must keep policy current and in place, in association with building a safety team. They must be knowledgeable in dealing with musculoskeletal disorders, proficient in record retention and capable of inspection and investigation activities. A health and safety professional must be skilled at building rapport with people in general, as they will be training new employees, and retraining tenured associates alike. They will also be a point of contact for employees, in some cases for customers and vendors, with health care providers when necessary and serve as liaison to government and regulatory agencies.
Expectations of the Health and Safety Recruiter
As with everything, a health and safety professional will have some concerns and expectations as well such as a competitive pay scale. Currently, depending upon the level of education, your health and safety professional will look to earn a minimum of €27,000 and as much as, €47,000 at the high end, annually. These are starting salaries and naturally more seasoned professionals will look to earn more. Surveys consistently tell us that the greatest expectation of the health and safety professional, aside from pay, is training, especially training that is specific to their ongoing education, and that of the associates. Along with training, having the buy-in of management, and their support for inspections and other remediation will be an important consideration for the prospective hire.
Health and safety recruitment teams need to be aware that their candidates are going to be working to drive a culture that is focused on safety. They'll want to hit the ground running with this ideal. Ultimately, however, what management expects from its associates at all levels, and their adoption of health and safety standards is what will ultimately drive the overall expected results. In hiring, be sure that the person you're considering bringing on-board has a plan for making that happen.
