HSE Community Insights - Wade Needham
Wade Needham – General Manager - Environment, Health & Safety at Fresh Country Farms of Australia
What do you think the 3 biggest opportunities that the EHS profession are faced with in the constantly changing world of work?
One, the EHS Profession has never been more in demand, yet I wonder in the current context are we making the biggest impact we could in an upstream, risk based approach. Often we wait for Regulators and Health Departments to provide compliance requirements rather than building our internal capabilities to withstand risks to our people and organisations. There was little from COVID19 which was not already written in Infection prevention control documentation and lessons learnt from prior pandemics, yet few went out and sought these sources of information to stay ahead of the pandemics curve. There are few new risks, yet many leaders, employees and organisations who haven’t navigated them prior.
Two, the interface with other Enabling Functions which has always been a contentious issue for me when I see those happy to sit in their silos and navel gaze. Yet to throw it back on ourselves in the current context, are we actively working with People and Culture & Legal functions on the issue of Occupational Violence and Aggression in the workplace to align on both a preventative and reactional approach? This will be one of the largest impacts we can have on our workplaces for the greatest amount of our employees outside of COVID19, it’s a great opportunity to show how a proactive, risk based approach can enable high performance teams and workplaces
Three, the intersection between EHS and ESG. Capital markets drive change, often faster and deeper than regulators yet are we watching capital markets closely enough to take advantage of the rise of ESG disclosures? I see few people commenting or networking on better indicators of health and illness/ injury and typically referring back to LTIFRs or activity measures of ‘safety work’. We need to lead with what works, is representative and showcases what has been learnt over the past 10 years in our field. Its one of the reasons why I took the role I am in now.
What are the top 3 capabilities required in your view for success in the future?
One, understanding who to learn from and when & where to learn Capabilities. Key questions for readers are; Are you learning to use low code / no code? Are you learning from practise and leveraging a coach? Do you understand the different ESG disclosure frameworks? If you answered no you may want to do some rapid reading on how to leverage your skillset and 10x your output and capabilities. If you want to earn more and gain larger more impactful roles, solve larger problems for stakeholders.
Two, understanding how to quickly determine what is material at different levels of an organisation (and within functions), and how to create impact. This will never not be top three, work hard at honing your knowledge and skills (Hint – take a look at ForgeWorks content)
Three, How to integrate within and work with specialty disciplines which can affect EHS ie Workforce Scheduling, Hygienists, Workers Compensation, Psychologists etc. As an individual you will never be enough to be all things to all people. Can you outline how you work along the Employee journey from hire to exit and how you impact their trajectory? People Risk gets bandied around a lot yet it’s a useful frame to reposition activities along a different continuum, one which is time phased and one which puts the employee at the centre of what we do and can enable. Find good service providers and learn and partner with them deeply.
Looking back over your career, if you could change one thing, what would that be?
To be more patient with myself, sometimes being passed over for an opportunity is often the best thing that can happen. Often this has provided motivation to deepen my craft and reflect upon why I wasn’t successful. You often will find that being ‘ready’ is more about relationships, outcomes and networks that you may want to admit. Organisations are socio technical systems, and not all things are merit based nor linear in trajectory.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in EHS today?
Networks matter, shoot your shot and ask questions of those outside of your company (and industry) to build rapport and knowledge. If you ask, people respond. Most want to give back to an industry which has afforded them opportunity and success, tap into this.
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