Safety Knights

If there is no formal education in safety I would start with accessing character. The best safety practitioners do the right thing especially when no one is looking. Find the one who is motivated to increase their knowledge base and reduce exposure in all forms. The ASSE used to put out a hiring guide on safety professionals. It was a bit esoteric but nicely written. May be worth a Google search.

I would make sure their role is dedicated to safety and no other hats.

I am a Personnel/HR Manager of 46 years exp. I have interviewed literally so many people I cannot count them. I think the first things you should know it is what NOT to ASK! There are lots of laws and regulations against any kind of discrimination. OSHA is bad enough but you do not want some state or Federal EEOC office investigating you! Literally God help you if you work for a Federal Contractor and OFFCP is involved! So be careful and know what you cannot ask! A good HR person should prep you! I ALWAYS did for people like you! In fact in your case I would or another HR person would be with you! In short your questions must #1 stay centered on the job and the persons qualifications for the that job! These days you have to be careful and not even ask, "Are you married?", especially if you are male and the candidate is female! Also when I interview I pay attention to the intangibles like is the person prepared, how are they dressed (appropriately for the event), is the person interested, attentive, and even personable. Does the person keep eye contact and the like..... There are thousands of books and essays on interviewing! Opinions are on interviewing to HR pros are like butts, everyone has one. But the questions NOT to ask is what you need to know FIRST!

I got hired as a Safety Coordinator just not that title. I had no formal education, but in the interview questions were around work ethic and character. Make sure you have a written plan for them that includes training. Mine was not and I have to wear many hats besides my safety one.

What motivates you? Why are you interested in the safety role?

Write up a scenario where someone took a short cut and ask them to explain how they would approach the employee to discuss the finding.

Ask them about any interactions they have had with the safety dept and ask how they get about the outcome. If they didn’t like the outcome remind them that observing behaviors, discussing the findings and enforcing the rules is part of the job. Sometimes employees aren’t going to like the outcome. You still have to approach each situation as if there were no history. You wait until the supervisor gets you the write up and you get the personnel file to assemble the history.

I always like asking situational type questions, like how would you react to a situation where someone might be asking for you to overlook a safety concern for some reason (ethics) or how do you deal with workers found working non-compliantly (mentoring and training, or acting like a "safety cop").

Why are you interested in safety?

Are you willing to learn about the identification of risk in this work place? What do you currently see that concerns you?

How do you intend to improve compliance in the workplace?

What would you do when you find a worker ignoring all efforts to work safely?

How will you address the worker who tells you that you know nothing and you simply follow the dictates of management?

I want someone willing to learn, with a heart for others and who accepts that they may not know everything but will only guide in the right direction

The best interview experience I had was by Jim Poesl. He handed me real life photos from a job walk he made that morning. Asked me what I saw and used those answers to evaluate my ability. Best interview tactic I saw during my time spent as an interviewee. By the way I didn’t get that job, but the technique was first rate. Especially to separate real world knowledge from book knowledge. The other important thing to identify is the applicant’s EQ and understanding of how to communicate with both front line workers and management

What have you done in a previous job to improve safety, something you are proud of?