2025 State of Safety

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Page 1: Survey results | Page 2: Advice for new safety pros | Page 3: Attracting new people

RESPONDENT COMMENTS

What advice do you have for people who want to or have recently joined the profession?

Discover your passion; safety is a vast field full of possibilities. Stay open-minded and eager to learn, and remember to put yourself in others’ shoes. This perspective will enable you to truly grasp the challenges they face and empower you to contribute to solutions and innovation.

The first goal is to earn the respect of the workforce. Credibility is everything.

Always have that willingness to learn. Safety is an industry that requires adaptability, requires constant learning and frequent research. You have to be a forever student.

Listen first. Anyone new to a position can come in excited to change the world and make it a better place. However, a person can't improve a system they don't understand. Listen and learn what already works, and what doesn’t and why, before trying to change things.

This is not a job to sit at a desk, although at times you will. The biggest responsibility in this profession is to get out and talk with employees, hear their stories, ask them about what hazards they deal with each day. In the safety profession, decisions need to be made but that should not always fall on safety’s shoulders; it takes a team, and what’s important is you must be comfortable with working hard to involve as many areas of the business as you can so that everyone feels they play a part in creating that safe work environment.

Be prepared for people to not want to change even though it will make their work safer. They will still try to find shortcuts.
Try to obtain management buy-in for incremental changes that reduce risk. Improvements do not always need to be 100% but partial improvement can make all the difference in reducing frequency, likelihood and/or severity of risk. Don’t let the idea of perfection stand in the way of incremental improvement in risk reduction. Start with the most severe and/or most immediate risks first.

It’s OK to accept that not everyone sees the same value in what you are responsible for as you do. It’s typically not personal or intentional.

You’re entering a leadership career. Network to find a mentor or sponsor. While you're climbing the ladder, continue to seek out educational opportunities that focus on leadership and technical skills.

Listen, ask questions, do not go in heavy-handed. You have to help people identify solutions without making them feel forced. Help them to come to the correct answer on their own using communication techniques to help get buy-in and help leadership to view you as a valued partner rather than someone bringing in a bunch of definitive programs that they can’t or won’t support.

The greatest professional growth opportunities are those that take you outside your comfort. Seize those opportunities to grow and develop your skillset and knowledge base.

Realize you can’t fix everything today.

You are the bridge between management and laborers. You have to know that and be able to meet both where they are and find a way to keep laborers safe and show management you care about the bottom line. Be flexible, be creative, be patient, compromise where you must but don't bend where you shouldn’t!

Be professional, always. Know that the business is likely managing multiple priorities at any given time. Safety needs to be accounted for and supplying a real working budget is key to success. Alignment with leadership and understanding their needs will help you gain a seat at the table as a business leader/influencer.

Don’t get discouraged. If you prevent one injury or accident from happening, that’s a win. It takes time to build a safety culture, especially if you’re starting from scratch. Join the National Safety Council, get with your workers’ comp provider – they have training resources that they will share with you.

Learn all you can from an experienced professional. If you can’t find one, go online or seek them out in your community and listen close to them. If you have a specific craft you’re the safety person for, learn elements of that craft from someone who has knowledge in that craft. Old salties can teach you a lot.

It is a great job but be ready for a challenge.

Persevere. Oftentimes within the EHS profession, you’ll run into barriers to the work you’re trying to do: budget, culture, management commitment, etc. The best thing to do is the right thing to do. Keep pushing to do the right thing and you’ll see the results you need over time.

Building a safety culture is challenging. You lead by example. Don’t give up. Your enthusiasm will pay off.

Connect with your co-workers. All employees that you oversee will be your eyes and eyes when you’re not around and, when you earn their trust, they will come to you. Don’t start this position coming off like a prison guard. Get involved in the work; how can you correct someone when doing their job if you never did it yourself? Put yourself in their position and get their thoughts on ways to improve an area.

Thicken your skin. Learn how to not take personally criticism that is geared towards the organization.

Listening is very important; we are not always right and can learn from one another. Don’t do it for a paycheck; do it because you care about the company, crews and what you do for a living.

Be open to going into a branch of safety you didn’t originally expect to go into. Get a diverse background in safety.

If you do not know the answer, DO NOT make one up. Always ask the person doing the work (frontline workers) what would work and what would not when it comes to altering a work process.

Always consider the practical application of safety programs and integration into normal operations. The number one thing that slows safety progress is safety tasks appearing as "additional work" piled on top of the other things they have to do. Most safety activity is not conducted by a safety professional. We advise, measure and develop the practices that others need to use.

Stay humble in your approach to safety, and never stop asking lots of questions. Don't ever let your own bias cloud your judgement or actions when it comes to safety in your organization.

Become a member of a safety-affiliated organization; read the trade magazines, etc.; attend the webinars/continuing ed/conferences to keep learning/keep up with the profession and be able to network with likeminded people.

Be curious and listen! Understand the job task your workers are doing and how equipment they use operates. Ask them what scares them the most about their jobs and what are their suggestions are to make things safer. Really listen and act on their responses.

The best approach is to collaborate with people and not have the “gotcha” mentality. Although compliance is an important part of the job, you build the compliance with trust and education – which you will never achieve if you are looked at as the “Safety Guy” who is here to catch us doing something wrong.

Get the respect from your organization prior to you trying to change safety immediately. Watch and listen before doing.
Don't assume you know how to implement safety programs just because you have a degree. The work reality is very different than the theory.

Develop and continuously grow your foundational and functional knowledge of the aspects of the profession. Don’t rely on Google knowledge or AI to tell you what to do. AI does not have passion and empathy, people do. To have effective interactions with others, you truly need to care, listen effectively (listening is not waiting for your turn to talk), be understanding and humble.

Stay curious and keep learning – whether it’s through formal education, self-study or on-the-job experience; continue exploring new trends, tools and techniques in the field. The more you learn, the more you'll grow.

Depending on the organization, safety is either viewed as an asset or a hindrance. Just be prepared for both and don’t get discouraged. Prioritize and communicate with employees that their safety is #1.

Ensure you maintain a healthy work/life balance. DO NOT bring your job home with you.

My biggest advice when it comes to safety is to be as professional as possible because you are going to have people mad at you during your career. Another advice I would give to people is to go out there and do walk-arounds to be out there with the employee because they are the biggest hints you can get form safety violations.

Every aspect of your organization depends on safety, from sales, to operations, to recruitment and retention. Make the “safe” choice the easiest choice by supporting workers with the tools and resources they need to be safe at work. Do what’s right, report what’s wrong, and empower employees to do the same.

Stay curious and keep learning: The learning process doesn’t end with a degree or initial training. Whether it’s through formal education, self-study, or on-the-job experience, continue exploring new trends, tools, and techniques in the field. The more you learn, the more you'll grow.

Learn to really listen, w/out interrupting or attempting to solve/assign corrective actions, to what your workers are saying about H&S conditions, about the reasons for an incident that just occurred. Be their champion with management - learn how to “fight” for worker training; for implementing realistic & sensible H&S protocols at the jobsite.

Don't expect to make $100K right away. You will have to gain several years of shop/field/real life experience and change companies a few time before you find the right company who actually takes safety seriously and cares about the workforce and doesn’t just see safety as a “we have to have it.”

Do not give up! Continue to strive for the employees and work towards a cohesive relationship between management and workforce.

Your soft skills are more important than your ability to regurgitate safety standards. If you cannot get managers and employees to like you and listen to you and TRUST you, it won’t matter what you know.

Production pays the bills. Without work there are no workers; with no workers there is no need for safety. Learn to balance out the task, the employee and the situation. There is a time to stop, a time to work and a time to work smart.

Add an HR component to their professional skillset.

Network with fellow safety professionals.

Don’t stop learning. Take classes, read, go to conferences, whatever, just don’t stop learning. You’ll never know it all.

You have to love people. They will see through someone who is all about “me.”

Attend free webinars and subscribe to industry newsletters, join local ASSP chapters, network with other safety professionals. Get CSP certification; work in the field first.

Find a mentor and learn all you can with a focus on soft skills.

Know your trade.

How important it is to like people and genuinely care about them.

We have two ears and one mouth. Listen to understand twice as much as you speak. When you do speak, speak with authenticity and commitment. Follow through on the actions you say you’ll take and don’t commit to things you don’t intend to follow through on.

Locate a mentor in your business field (utility, construction, office) who exhibits an “into safety” demeanor.

Communicate upstream as much as possible to get a feel for how they want to look at things.

Avoid being the police; that is not this job.

Don’t let the critics get to you. Know your job and help the people you care about.

Be passionate. Don’t take attacks/resistance personally.

Building a safety culture is challenging. You lead by example. Don’t give up. Your enthusiasm will pay off.

Rely on pull learning vs. push learning.

Always listen to your co-workers and engage in conversations.

We get an opportunity every day to make an impact in the lives of others. If you have a servant mindset, safety can be your career!

Listen to the frontline workers and help them, immediately, or at least communicate what you are doing to correct issues.  Keep them updated. Transparency has been the key for me.

Do what you say you are going to do.

Get engaged at the bottom level but engage those at the top level to interact and communicate with all employees.

Be patient. Learn all angles of the job.

Be patient, listen, get mentored and don’t be afraid to speak up.

Consult with / work with (and listen to) an experienced health & safety professional (e.g., one or more mentors). Never quit learning and studying. Keep an open mind. Keep on plugging – in health and safety there is no “finish line.”

See the larger picture and understand the drivers for executives, operations, HR and employees. Bring collaboration to these groups looking for the win where everyone can participate.

Don’t jump in thinking you can change the world.

Ensure that the company president, vice president, and all supervisors are 100% “into” workplace safety.

Patience of a safety coordinator is crucial and you can’t take problems personally.

Take time to personally talk with employees about anything. Get to know the people they are. If an employee come to you with a concern, make sure it gets addressed or circle back with specifics. If employees ask and realize nothing gets accomplished, they will quit asking.

Sometimes you will need a thick skin to perform your duties. Don’t lose sight of your principles.

Keep unsafe issue visible to the organization and keep moving issues to completion.

Be involved in interacting with the people and the process of what you produce/product manufacture.

Understand that as important as safety is operations, and production will always take priority over safety.

Safety can be a very rewarding career, but be prepared for resistance and learn how to overcome.

You never stop learning.

Take the time to learn the business.

Listen, observe and engage; these will serve you well to learn about the culture (and subcultures).

Keep learning! Be a mentor to others as you can. Learn other skills as you go along.

Collaborate across all departments. See the forest through the trees (big picture – cause & effect).  Communication is key – set the expectations and conduct follow-up and follow-through.

Recognize that you won’t make a lot of money.

Be persistent/tenacious about bringing issues to management’s attention.

Solve the problem/don’t overanalyze it. The statistics, data, and rah-rah is nice, but if you can’t fix the problems that managers encounter with health and safety issues/compliance, then nobody cares to listen to the stats – especially if they are always poor or subpar.

Work with the project team; don’t be the obstacle. Figure out how to make what’s needed a win-win for all parties.

Safety is a life-long learning career. It is constantly changing and evolving.

Network. Get involved with professional organizations like NSC early in your career. Get your safety certifications (ASP, CSP, etc.)

Advise – Ask questions and go slow.

It is okay to ask for help or admit not knowing. There are a lot of resources out there; look into it and use it.

Develop relationships.

Stay alert. Stay focused. Stay connected. A disciplined approach will overcome the difficulties of the challenge.

Don’t think one-size-fits-all when it comes to safety initiatives.

Be a person of your word.

Do not start with the rules and regulations, start with the heart. You need to make sure they know you care for the right reasons.

You have to love what you are doing and care for each employee.

Learn the jobs and associates in your company. After you learn what their duties are, get the supervisors on board with the Safety Vision. After the vision, create programs and train. Obtain metrics to measure then have outside audits.

Take as many online training courses and webinars as possible to get a holistic view of the profession and better understand what you can bring and use to your program.

Talk to the workers in the field. Spend time with them, ask their opinions. Ask questions & really listen – be a sponge. Learn from everyone – janitor to C-Suite.

Grow a contact list of other professionals.

Stay at it. It is a very rewarding career, with no two days the same.

Apply yourself constantly.

Work on establishing a meaningful connection with employees.

Increase your knowledge.

Take small bits. Don’t try to change the world all at once. Choose your battles and be passionate about your convictions.

Work on solutions, as monitoring hazards is useless.

Listen to concerns and let workers be part of the solution, while letting them learn the Hierarchy of Controls and risk management.

Learn, learn and learn.

Stay patient and remember this is a marathon, not a sprint. Change takes time.

Learn how to listen; don’t assume you know just how to “fix” it. Learn the jobs people are actually doing before you try to make changes.

We are very much outside of management and production; we need to see both sides to effect change or progress, involving ourselves with both production and management. Listening to both sides and making sure that they can understand the opposite viewpoint. As much as we want to, we cannot force the issue - often it takes explaining the background of the concern or the facts.

Always give feedback.

Never stop learning.

Learn from others. Ask questions.

Have an open mind, be a good listener, have patience to solve problems and issues.

Follow this career path if you have the passion for it; most important thing is to enjoy and have passion for what you do.

Commit to a journey of lifelong learning by consistently seeking new knowledge and skills throughout your life, whether through formal education, self-study, or engaging with others. Embrace curiosity and remain open to new experiences, as each opportunity to learn can enrich your understanding and personal growth.

Find a company with a good safety culture. I created the safety programs at my company from the ground up, and if I wasn't here pushing still, it would probably fall by the wayside, so for sure find a company to work for that cares about safety.

Get a solid foundation of technical knowledge, dedicate yourself to improvement of soft-skills, and align yourself with an organization that truly believes in the value of EHS.

Develop skills using drone technology, Artificial Intelligence, and robots safety/collaborations.

Be curious & listen! Understand the job task your workers are doing & how equipment they use operates. Ask them what scares them the most about their jobs & what are their suggestions are to make things safer ... really listen & act on their responses.

Be willing to move as new opportunities arise, be flexible, continue to learn and constantly improve skills/education, find a mentor.

Find a great network and mentor.

Look and learn. Gain that experience and then use it as you continue to progress.

Document everything (emails, pictures, notes).

Find a way that works for you to stay on top of paperwork. Start tracking metrics ASAP and get support from yard supervisors/managers so not 100% of safety responsibility falls on you. Learn your industry & your people well.

Get out into the workforce to watch and learn what is really happening.

Get others in all levels involved. To have a true understanding of the safety culture and morale of employees you need to let others voice their concerns and share in making and enforcing policies and procedures.

Be open to listen and learn from the respective field specialists in the business of mining, construction, etc. Be interested in researching and reading safety-related articles and news/write -ups.

Stand up for yourself. Then, in turn, you can provide for your employees.

Understand the process before trying to determine controls for it.

Learn as much as possible of the details. The key to success is attention to details.

Our job is to help staff to be safe. Take time to talk to workers and try to mentor them.

Be patient.

Focus on solving the underlying problem from the point of view of the worker.

Be flexible.

Don't get too excited when something goes wrong.

Be professional, but not too professional.

Be a good communicator. Listen to others to develop corrective measures.

Not everything is black and white; you are the expert; tough to enforce a standard when one was never taught the standard.

Listen before reacting.

Be a sponge for safety. You can focus on your new boss or older employees in your organization or volunteer organizations.

Network.

Be self-motivated and willing to learn.

Stay the course because it is rewarding career and oftentimes well paying.

Spend as much time on the shop floor as possible - LISTEN to your people and they will tell you where the risks/hazards are.

Find a mentor.

Get time in the field as much as possible. It's not always the safety professionals with a degree that get the great jobs. It could be those with years of service in the field that know their line of work and care for the safety of others.

Be humble. Don't act like you know everything.

Go for it – just a must in any workplace.

Being compassionate about safety is what others are looking for. Take the time to know your employees so when you make appropriate changes to their work environment for their safety in mind, they will respect your decision.

You can trap more flies with honey. A person will forget what you have done for them, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Knowledge of workplace safety for a manufacturing environment, with some knowledge of both OSHA and ANSI safety standards.

An ability to effectively communicate with all employees, no matter their job responsibility, and treat those employees with respect.

Facilitate the company’s safety team and monthly safety team meetings.

An ability to effectively and efficiently provide safety orientation to all new employees, with the orientation experience being specific and targeted to the job the new employee will be performing. An ability to communicate with members of the administrative team as well as production supervisors relative to workplace safety issues. An ability to use a number of communication techniques so to engage all employees in existing safety programs, regulations, and responsibilities to ensure that safety is always top of mind for employees.

Do not try to be a “safety cop” sneaking around, trying to catch people. Work with the team, communicate, be open, do not be judgmental.

Communication is key to all facets of ES&S.

Ease into it.

Find out what your employer values and what the career opportunities are. It’s no longer clear, and many companies are mistaking letters after a name as competency, without knowing what those letters mean or understanding the value of experience.

Obtain as much knowledge and certification as possible.

Know your people! If you don't build trust, then you will not achieve anything.

Obtain your degree and certification.

Be a good listener and jump in to assist with tasks and projects.

Be patient & willing to learn. Spend time on the shop floor with employees. Conduct thorough root cause analysis of incidents & follow up on corrective actions.

You must understand the business you are supporting to succeed as a safety professional. Then you can determine and assess employee safety.

Pay attention to what the customer is saying and don't be too quick to offer an opinion.

Be passionate about your calling. Choose your battles and don't try to swallow the elephant in one bite.

Always exercise good leadership skills, traits, and principles. Always seek continuing education and training opportunities. NETWORK!!

There is always something new to learn.

Take advantage of any training offered. Train as much as possible, as that is when you learn the most preparing to teach the class.

Be willing to stand on principles and ethics. Don't just worry about compliance enforcement.

Increase your reach; expand your social network.

Do not compromise on the requirements of legislation and standards.

Protect your values in all situations.

First think about the health and safety of humans, animals and our nature.

Continuously improve yourself.

Very good career choice. Compliance is Law.

Ask questions.

Don’t pretend you know everything.

Understand the regulations and think about how your organization can be productive/competitive while maintaining compliance.

Do not be a cop!!! Be a resource, and if you don’t know don’t wing it – ask for help.

Always talk about the elephant in the room.

Stay strong in your commitment in the safety and health field, continue to learn, be multidisciplined, continue to grow within your organization/company, hone your communication skills.

Be nice. Communicate with employees who are resistant to change that you understand their position, but safety has changed to help better protect them.

Learn all you can though training, videos, and mentors.

Deep dive into the technical matter first.

Try and win over your people and not go at it like a safety cop.

Understand and have knowledge of the work processes. Observe and gain insight into the dynamics of the workforce. If working in the capacity as owner responsibilities’ be respectful not to encroach upon peoples roles; go through the right channels and work on building a good rapport. It’s important to understand not everyone can be approached the same way. Never make assumptions, be an active listener.

Practice, patience – especially in large organizations.

A certain degree or cert will not automatically make you a HSE superhero. You have to do the work every day and be involved to get sustainable results.

Get as much formal education as possible.

Become a SME in your field, serve your clients, listen to your clients, leverage the expertise of other safety professionals.

Earn a safety degree from an accredited university and mentor under a qualified safety practitioner.

Learn the technical aspects of safety first, before you seek to be a manager, and do not chase job titles.
Learn about the costs of incidents. Many don’t know workers’ compensation. If you can help cut costs, you can show value. That is how you get your foot in the door to save people from pain, discomfort and loss.

Train yourself to understand how safety and risk management impact the bottom line of a business.

Take things one step at a time. Let all levels express their ideas/concerns. Clearly state priorities and what you can/can’t currently do.

Buckle up – safety is a wide range that covers many topics in a variety of work industries.

Don't give up or give in; stand true to the changes or processes that need to be done

Safety and compliance are two different things.

Stay positive and learn as much as you can about the operation. Spend time doing what frontline employees do, so there is credibility.

You are in this profession not only for yourself or paychecks but for others: communities and making difference!

Establish the ability to have a set annual safety budget that you have a voice in setting, and have training allowance included in your starting package.

Be open to listening to the crews. They are the ones doing the work & understand what needs to be done, then can support it being done safely.

Take the OSHA 510 and 501 classes at Georgia Tech. Then take the recurring OSHA 503 class. If any environmental compliance will be involved, also take the “Managing Environmental Compliance” class at Georgia Tech.

Keep an energetic and positive mindset even when events are challenging.

Always be willing and show by example your willingness to follow all suggestions you make for others to follow.

Don't stop learning. I am not an EHS expert ... and I have never met one.

Embarking on a career in the safety profession can be both rewarding and challenging. For those who aspire to join or have recently entered this field, it is crucial to cultivate a strong foundation of knowledge and skills. Start by immersing yourself in the latest safety regulations, industry standards, and best practices. Earning relevant certifications, such as OSHA or NEBOSH, can significantly enhance your credentials. Building relationships with seasoned professionals through networking events and professional associations will provide invaluable insights and mentorship opportunities. Embrace continuous learning and stay updated with technological advancements that can improve workplace safety. Develop excellent communication skills to effectively convey safety protocols and foster a culture of safety within your organization. Lastly, always prioritize empathy and attentiveness in your approach, as understanding the human element is essential in ensuring a safe and healthy work environment.

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