Top 5 reasons Health and Safety Professionals are seeking a move!

In the 1st part of my series on Environment, Health and Safety professionals, I looked at the reasons behind the growing demand for this skill set in the market. Today I am looking at why EHS professionals are seeking a move!
Having spoken to hundreds of EHS professionals over the years, I have heard a myriad of reasons as to why they are looking for a move. Much is down to career progression and search for new challenges but more stem from a sense of frustration with their current role. Since June this recruiter has spoken to over 50 EHS professionals across Ireland and the UK. Below is a list of the top 5 reasons they are seeking a new employer;
Travel; This can be broken down into two areas. Firstly, many EHS candidates I am speaking to are involved in a demanding daily commute of 90 minutes plus. One chap I spoke to sets his alarm for 4:45am to make it on a construction site for a 7am start. He arrives home each evening after 6pm meaning a 13 hour day and consequently a poor work life balance. The second part of travel for many EHS staff is those who are covering increasingly large geographical areas. One candidate I spoke to was covering up to 10 counties for a large pipe laying company. He was spending between 4 and 5 hours per day in his van. This sedentary existence is very bad for mental and physical health.
Administration; The demands being placed on EHS professionals with regards the production of documentation such as risk assessments, method statements, compliance plans, accident investigations, KPI reporting etc continues to grow. Many companies are not supplying sufficient administrative support meaning EHS staff are catching up on their admin in their cars on the side of the road or on their arrival home that evening.
Span of control; Due to a lack of EHS staff to meet with the operational contractual demands, many EHS professionals are having to cover too many contractors or indeed sites at one time. This is placing undue stress on the EHS teams as they fear that their inability to be on site will result in below par control of the environment. This inability to be present can result in needless risk and will ultimately affect the reputation of the EHS professional and company.
Recognition; For some companies, the existence of EHS programs and staff is considered but a necessary evil by senior management. By not promoting a culture of health and safety adherence from the top down, the EHS professional can often be found banging their heads against a wall of non-conformance and general apathy. This can result in life becoming almost impossible for the EHS professional as his or her contributions are not valued.
Terms and conditions; Despite the levels of responsibility and knowledge required to ensure compliance for companies, many EHS professionals are undervalued by their employers in terms of pay and conditions. The global recession certainly stalled average salaries for EHS professionals for a number of years but some companies have not kept up with market changes. The economic uplift over the past couple of years allied to the lack of EHS professionals means that candidates can expect increases should they look to move. The fear of the unknown that kept many in their roles during the recession is vanishing as employees are more inclined to move once more. On this last point, a word of warning. The fatter salaries on offer with some companies can come with other disadvantages……more travel, more responsibility, less support etc etc. Make sure you consider all the facts before jumping for the bigger pay check!
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!
Ciara Lawless
Recruitment Specialist
Ciara is a personable and results-driven Recruitment Consultant with 4 + years combined experience serving clients in the Construction, Corporate Office, Accounting and Finance Sectors. Experienced in managing full cycle recruitment, she has built her network in several industries and has successfully identified and placed candidates across Ireland and Canada. Her strong relationship building skills, resilient nature and customer focused attitude ensures a favorable outcome for both client and candidate alike.
Ciara holds a BSc in International Business and prides herself on her creative approach to recruitment.
Elizabeth Brady
Recruitment Specialist
Elizabeth takes an integrated and person-centred approach to recruitment, to ensure she not only delivers talent, but encourages prosperous relationships for all involved.
Elizabeth holds a BSc in Podiatric Medicine from the National University of Ireland, Galway. Her diverse career background within the areas of Healthcare, Event Management, Customer Service and Sales has strongly developed her ability to understand, communicate and facilitate the unique needs of individuals and companies.
Elizabeth’s affable and diligent nature ensures that both clients and jobseekers alike find what they’re looking for, whilst making the process as stress free and enjoyable as possible. She loves a challenge and her commitment to finding the ‘perfect fit’, takes her across a variety of sectors, from Telecoms to Medical and Pharmaceutical – and everything in between!
Peter Brady
Recruitment Specialist
Peter has a keen eye for detail and is highly skilled at discovering key client and candidate information for the purpose of achieving a great recruitment fit.
Peter holds a degree in Business and Management along with a Master’s in Strategy and Innovation from Maynooth University. During his studies and after graduation, Peter has honed strong negotiation and communication skill’s from his time in retail, sales, and account management.
His key areas of expertise are technical and general recruitment across a range of industries from IT, Telecoms, Construction, and Engineering. Peter is highly adept at dealing with candidates and clients alike and has received awards for his customer service skills over the course of his career.
Peter is also a keen sportsman and has played both golf and rugby at a high level.
Kevin Connolly
Recruitment Specialist
Kevin’s vision and passion in recruitment is to find the best fit for both client and candidate alike.
Kevin holds a BA in Business & a BA in Business Management from Dublin Business School along with a decade of experience in both Retail and Business Operations in a managerial/leadership capacity. Throughout his career, he has recruited, worked alongside and led teams in various business settings from local SME’s right up to large Multi-nationals.
Highly experienced in people and team management, Kevin has led and coached people from various backgrounds to excel in their career and progress into more senior roles.
Since progressing into recruitment Kevin has developed and become highly proficient in volume and general recruitment across a range of industries. Kevin specialises in local and Pan-European recruitment of field professional’s across the entire Fixed Line Telecom’s sector. Along with this, Kevin is adept at sourcing top talent for senior roles in a variety of industries.
Stephen Cunningham
Recruitment Specialist
With 3 years’ experience in Recruitment, Stephen is adept at finding the right talent for companies.
Stephen holds a degree in Business Studies from Trinity College, Dublin as well as a Yellow Belt in Lean Six Sigma. He has 3 years’ experience within Recruitment. His key area of expertise is Wireless Telecoms Professional’s and high volume recruitment within the Utilities and Construction industries. Stephen is also highly adept at finding talented Engineering, Health and Safety as well as Management talent.
Stephen is a keen sportsman with All Ireland medals in Gaelic Football for Dublin at U18 and U21 level as well as appearances for the Dublin Senior team. Stephen is also an avid traveller having spent time in India, The Caribbean and the US!
Niall Browne
Managing Director
Niall’s vision in any project is to deliver talent to an organisation to alleviate pressure and achieve results. How has he learned to do this?
Niall holds a BA in Business Studies & Human Resources, a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, specialist training in Aptitude and Psychometric testing and analysis along with a Black Belt in Online Recruitment Search. He has over a decade of experience in HR and Recruitment. Throughout his career, he has recruited and led recruitment teams for technical, high volume and executive search for SME’s right up to large multi-nationals.
An expert in recruitment, Niall has found thousands of job seekers their next career move whether as part of a one-off project with a small company or as part of a volume campaign with a blue-chip brand. Thousands of conversations, interviews, CV’s and stories have helped Niall become a specialist professional in dealing with job seekers and hiring managers alike to ensure that the right fit happens!