Who is Odhran Molloy, tell us a little about yourself? What relation do you have with H&S?

 Odhran Molloy is CMSE’s Lead Recruitment Specialist in charge of Permanent recruitment. Having started his career in IT consultancy, Odhran worked with some of the largest telecom and satellite companies in the UK and USA developing automated software solutions. Bringing this knowledge to technical recruitment, Odhran used his commercial experience to provide bespoke recruitment solutions to some of Ireland’s biggest technical companies. Now with CMSE, Odhran can offer advice and guidance for people looking for permanent moves in EHS roles.

We would love to know more about your organization, CMSE’s division, its structure, composition and area of work etc.

Chris Mee Group or CMSE, has been in operation since 1996. We are split into 4 distinct departments; Training, Consultancy, Recruitment and Carbon Action. We have of four different locations, an office in Cork, Dublin and London and a fire centre also in Cork. We are a very well known brand with in the industry and have been expanding rapidly in the last number of years.

Our recruitment division is responsible for permanent, fixed term and contract employment of EHS professional across many different industries. Our most prevalent industry is pharmaceutical, as Ireland host facilities from each of the top 10 biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world. We also work with many medical device, biopharma, energy and construction companies.

There exists many differences in the management of H&S at work between Spain and other EU countries, such as the UK, Germany etc. In some countries it is common for companies to use their own internal resources to manage H&S at work however in Spain it is more common to outsource. Both approaches have advantages, but what do you think it is more effective?

Both certainly do have their advantages. Internal resources know the company very well, know the staff very well and make it easier to get support from the organisation of the whole. This along with a deep understanding of the company’s policy, procedures, history and culture is a major benefit.

External resources and can become greater subject matter expert as they have exposure to much more varied workplaces and ways of working. Seeing how other organisations and projects work can only improve a professionals understanding of the industry.

Individual organisational needs, budget and size would determine the best fit for internal or external resources.

H&S training courses are necessary for risk mitigation (injury, illness etc.) but also to development a culture of prevention, however there are not always sufficient resources, budget or time. How do you believe a good H&S policy can be implemented considering the above restrictions?

I think support from upper management is one of the most important aspects of creating and keeping a company safety policy. To develop a culture of prevention and of risk mitigation a company needs to invest from the top down. When there is buy in from the management and down through the organisation, it makes everyone more invested in ensuring health and safety standards and polices are adhered to.

Many times it is less about budget and resources and more about individuals understanding of why a safety policy is necessary and acting upon that knowledge.

Chris Mee Group are ISO,NEBPSH,IOSH,CSA,SOLAS certified. How do these accreditations contribute to the training CMSE provide?

These accreditations ensure that we are recognised nationally and internationally as a premium provider of expert training across environmental, health and safety. By working with these organisations we insured that we offer only the highest level of training, consultancy and recruitment on the market. This gives our clients confidence that we are subject matter expert and can assist them with whatever needs they might have. Accreditation ensures continued quality and accountability within our company to give the best service possible.

One division of CMSE is dedicated to recruitment, looking for H&S managers for example. Frequently candidate selection is based mainly on technical skills but when it comes to the H&S area it is necessary to keep in mind softer skills such as communication empathy and so on. With regard to H&S what skills profiles are most in demand by your clients in your experience?

There has been very clear leaning towards soft skills in the health and safety recruitment area in the last number of years. The ability to communicate with people throughout an organisation at all levels are what separate some effective safety adherence from those who are not so effective. Cultural fit within the organisation is extremely important to ensure that health and safety importance is understood from day one and that employees at all levels are mitigating risk as much as possible.

How is the “internationalization” of companies affecting the management of occupational risk prevention/ H&S? And in the selection of H&S candidates? Please discuss any challenges/ changes you’ve seen or envision…

I think multinational companies have brought together best practices from across countries and continents that has led to greater safety protection for all stakeholders. It has allowed companies to view how health and safety is managed in different areas of the world and ensure the best practices are amalgamated and shared across the organisation. This means for candidates it can be a little bit more to work to completely understand different locational differences but it has led to safety professionals exploring new opportunities and new ways of doing the work.

Do you think organisations, in general, are measuring levels of prevention in the workplace? Of those that do, what methods or tools are these organisations using to measure these levels? Which items are most important to pay attention to?

Many organisations are measuring all types of data now across the workplace, as the world moves towards more integrated IT systems. This started with the multinational companies and is now becoming increasingly important for the small to medium size enterprises.

The most important aspect of health and safety measuring is ensuring we are collecting data about the correct issues. There has been a push to collect data for everything, which has lead to pushback from employees. There is no point measuring for things that aren’t important. By understanding what data we need to measure, we can build our processes around it.

Many organisations are using bespoke health and safety IT programs that seem to cater to different industries.The most important aspect that we seem to see for health and safety in these organisations is as we’ve talked about earlier, the buy in from all levels of the organisation.

A greater understanding of how IT systems can assist EHS professionals and everyone in the organisation will lead to less incidents and an overall safer environment.

CMSE will take part in the ICP this year as a recruiter stand. Can you please tell us what we will see and why the professional in H&S should go to visit you?

The Chris Mee group recruitment team will be visiting the Congress this year and very much looking forward to speaking with EHS professionals. We will be looking to talk with EHS and safety professionals who are interested in a move to Ireland for work opportunities. Should you be interested in talking about this opportunity beforehand please email us at careers@cmse.ie or give us a call any time. Find out more at www.cmse.ie

Why you think the H&S & wellbeing professionals should attend this congress

This will be our first year attending and we are doing so because of the congress’ fantastic reputation. There will be talks, seminars and classes that will surely increase your knowledge of the profession. Also you can come and speak with us about potential job opportunities in Ireland.