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Top Safety Professionals say OHS Harmonisation over emphasised
The angst surrounding the failure of OHS harmonisation may be overstated, as findings from the safesearch remuneration survey released today show top safety professionals have other priorities.
As the government, regulators and corporate Australia struggle to agree on how and when to implement the OHS harmonisation regulations, findings from the safesearch remuneration survey, released today, contradict the commonly held view that the new regulations are a top agenda item.
The majority of respondents said the biggest issue facing organisations was the difficulty in driving the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) message to all levels of organisations, to promote safety culture and leadership commitment to HSE.
This was closely followed by “staff attraction and retention and the competency of the HSE resources”. Interestingly, legislation and regulatory impact were considered important but least critical for the majority of respondents.
More than 80 of Australia’s top organisations contributed to the survey. Julie Honore, Managing Director of recruitment firm safesearch, which has conducted the survey for six years said the results were somewhat surprising.
“During the past year, we have observed a big emphasis on preparing for OHS across the country,” she said.
“While many corporates were disappointed with the news that some states are now delaying this, clearly it is business as usual for safety leaders. Their efforts are not going into simply meeting their legal obligations but rather ensuring their CEO and executive are driving a safe culture and ‘walking the talk’. “The message is that while regulatory compliance is important, to make a significant difference, you have to put the effort into capturing the hearts and minds of the organisation and the survey certainly confirms this."
For further information, please contact:
Julie Honoré, Managing Director, safesearch www.safesearch.com.au
03 96635513
Mobile: 0419 859 217
The 2011/2012 survey includes 84 participating organisations with analysis on data for 697 individuals across 11 job positions, with two newly introduced positions, Sustainability Advisor and Energy Manager.
Julie Honoré is the founder and Managing Director of safesearch and EnviroSearch, specialist search and recruitment businesses. Previously a Director with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, she led their national HR Consulting practice in Australia. She holds a Masters in Leadership and Management (MLM) and is actively involved with AHRI (FAHRI and past Victorian Councillor), the Safety Institute of Australia – FSIA (Hon) and various committee posts with the SIA. She also chairs a regular General Manager Health, Safety and Environment forum for ASX 200 leaders as well as being a committee member of OSHAC (WorkSafe OHS Advisory Committee Victoria).
