A safety manager’s responsibilities vary depending on several factors. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register, or OSHCR, a safety manager’s role can vary due to the industry they work in or the size of the company.
A safety manager’s role includes—but is not limited to—providing training on health and safety as well as making sure the company is legally compliant with legislation.
With how crucial the role of a safety manager is to the integrity of a company, hiring the right safety manager is vital.
To help your hiring process, we’ve put together the top 3 safety manager interview questions to consider asking your future candidates.
Top Safety Manager Interview Questions
What is your knowledge of this industry’s EPA guidelines?
As a safety manager is in charge of ensuring your company is compliant with industry guidelines, this question looks at how knowledgeable your candidate is. To elaborate, you are assessing how well your candidate understands the industry’s EPA guidelines.
An efficient safety manager must be knowledgeable about your specific industry and its guidelines. This knowledge is crucial in developing processes that keep the company in line with mandatory industry guidelines.
For example, if your company is in the automotive sector, a candidate with experience in the agriculture sector may not be a great fit. Those two sectors have different guidelines they must meet.
Also, you want to see what experience your candidate has with EPA guidelines in their past employment. Do they have experience implementing processes for a similar company within the same industry?
If so, this experience can be beneficial when looking at how well a safety manager will fit into your company’s current needs.
In the end, a safety manager with experience in your industry can make sure that your company remains on track with being compliant with EPA guidelines.
What is your experience developing and leading health and safety training?
Another critical role for a safety manager involves developing and leading any necessary safety and health training. These can include employees as well as the managers that oversee them.
Another aspect to consider with how your safety manager handles training is the impact this training has on your employer brand. While employer brand may not be the first thing that comes to mind with safety training, it is impacted by it nonetheless.
To explain further, a company that has a comprehensive training system in place is likely to have a positive employer brand as well.
Essentially, a positive employer brand means that employees find working for your company to be beneficial. Plus, future candidates will see that positive brand and wish to come work for you.
In this context, an effective safety manager can help your employer brand. To elaborate, this improvement happens due to a safety manager’s training being both accessible and understood quickly by employees.
Overall, a good safety manager will make sure that all employees are adequately educated. In doing so, you reduce any potential risks in the workplace.
A safety audit has shown a safety deficiency in the workplace. What steps would you take to address and fix this issue?
By giving your candidate an example situation to resolve, you can see their problem-solving skills.
Additionally, you can compare and contrast different candidates easily by looking at how each responded to your sample situation.
Is their response in line with what you expect, or does it clash with your company’s current structure? Or, does the candidate present a solution that you didn’t consider but would benefit your company regardless?
All of these are helpful indicators for how well a safety manager would perform on the job as well as how they fit with your company’s current structure.
Therefore, finding a safety manager that aligns with your company’s culture is essential. A talented safety manager can champion the company’s culture without significant changes.
While change is always good, you want a smooth transition process when placing a new safety manager for a reason. This way, employees can recognize any change that is implemented without it causing any delay in the company’s current productivity.
Prioritize Safety With the Right Safety Manager Hire
In any workplace, prioritizing health and safety is essential to maintaining a successful and motivated workforce. That’s why the hiring process is crucial to placing the right safety manager.
Not to mention, the above safety manager interview questions are only a few you should ask during an interview.
Partner with an executive search firm such as TruPath to find a high achieving safety manager. TruPath has placed over 17,000 individuals at jobs that span a variety of industries.
With their team’s experience, Trupath can fill your executive positions with candidates dedicated to achieving the most for your company.
For more information on how TruPath can help you find your next safety manager, contact their team at 1-844-TRUPATH, or fill out their contact form online.