Ensuring candidates have ‘softer’ non-technical skills is crucial for recruiting health and safety professionals, a panel has claimed at the SHExpo keynote theatre.
Anna Keen, director of Acre, which has been building a competency framework with 50 leading professionals, said the firm was ‘really starting to see a change around what clients are looking for’.
The firm built a psychometric profiling tool that shows not just who you are, but the impact of your character against core competencies – and the results showed a number of interesting findings about health and safety professionals.
She said: ‘We wanted to give people an understanding in how they could progress their career and understand what their teams looked like.
‘There were a number of things that challenge the stereotypes, we were seeing a lot about high-caring individuals, and natural intrigue.’
Confidence
Keen said one of the key discoveries was about confidence.
She said: ‘It’s a real issue – having the confidence to challenge at executive level and with those people who you work with on an everyday level.
‘Self-awareness is also something we are challenging too – and how they understand themselves. For example, if someone says they aren’t good with data, we looked at how that impacts their business.’
Richard White, quality, health, safety and environment (QSHE) director at CBRE said the themes from Keen were now ‘commonplace’.
He said: ‘My view has changed. I used to think a relevant degree was the most important aspect, but now it’s also about softer skills, the ability to present and speak the right commercial language of the business, and you can train the other technical aspects required.’
‘Softer skills are crucial to the success.’
Never enough
Ruth Denyer, head of operational risk at ITV, agreed: ‘You can never have enough technical knowledge to do every production – it’s all about engagement with those that can help.
‘The technical piece gives you a comfort factor, and the engagement piece is much softer. You have to change your thinking about White said: ‘You can’t be good at everything – if you get the right mix of people around you, that works for the whole team.’
Keen also said that Acre found ‘people recruiting a reflection of themselves’, which needed to change.
Broad church
Denyer added the entire way conversations were held with associated elements of other industries and professions was also needed across risk assessment.
‘Health and safety is just one of the risks being is managed – there is a lot which can be learned from the broader risk framework.
‘Much broader conversations about risk are required.’
The Safety Conversation with SHP (previously the Safety and Health Podcast) aims to bring you the latest news, insights and legislation updates in the form of interviews, discussions and panel debates from leading figures within the profession.
Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts, subscribe and join the conversation today!
