Environmental Healthy & Safety Managers: A Rapidly Rising Role

LinkedIn's data team recently identified the 25 fastest-growing roles in the US. Of particular interest is the role ranked at number 3: the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) Manager. Given the ever-growing complexity of risk and safety management, it may come as no surprise that this position has been seeing such a rapid rise. In today's article, we'll examine the what the EHS Manager's responsibilities entail, and how that aligns with the trends that can be seen in risk management tech.

Understanding the Role of EHS

First, it's important to understand how EHS Managers fit into business operations. These safety experts play a vital role in ensuring the well-being of both employees and within a given organization's environment. They are responsible for developing and implementing safety programs, policies, and procedures to maintain compliance with local, state, and federal regulations. EHS Managers work closely with various departments, including risk, operations, legal, and finance, to identify potential hazards and provide guidance on risk mitigation strategies.

They also conduct regular investigations, audits, and inspections to assess the effectiveness of safety protocols and make necessary improvements, and play a vital role in creating emergency crisis plans. Overall, EHS Managers are dedicated to creating a safe and healthy work environment for all individuals involved, all while ensuring the overall business minimizes the number of hazards threatening its operations at any given time.

The Growing Demand for EHS Managers

As can be seen in the LinkedIn report, demand for EHS Managers has been risen rapidly over the past year. This growth can be attributed to several factors:

1. A growing awareness of the importance of workplace safety. Organizations are recognizing the need to prioritize the well-being of their employees and reduce their environmental impact. Just a few months ago the Bureau of Labor Statistics found a 7.8% increase from 2021 in non-fatal workplace injuries (about 2.8 million total.) Keep in mind that in 2021, workplace injuries and deaths ultimately cost businesses billions of dollars and millions of lost work-hours. 
   
   
2. Regulatory requirements are becoming stricter, requiring companies to invest in professionals who can ensure compliance and minimize risks. Back in summer 2023, we covered OSHA's new record-keeping rules that, which were recently unveiled at the time. Those rules will be taking effect this winter, meaning that businesses will need to shore up their abilities to stay on top of these new guidelines and avoid hefty fines.
   
   
3. EHS Managers play a crucial role in protecting a company's reputation and brand image, as safety and sustainability are increasingly valued by customers, investors, and the general public. In the past few years, workforce has become a hot-button issue when considering a company's value. Having a team that focuses on addressing these issues is a top priority for organizations trying to maintain a sterling reputation.

EHS Managers and RMIS

With the increasing complexity of safety management, EHS leaders need to build their operations to meet the challenge, relying on sophisticated, yet streamlined SaaS platforms. Solutions such as risk management information systems (RMIS) help streamline processes, improve data collection and analysis, and enhance communication and collaboration. These provide tools for incident reporting and tracking, risk assessment, compliance management, and training management. They also enable real-time monitoring of environmental conditions and automate workflows for better efficiency. By leveraging these tech solutions, EHS Managers can more effectively ensuring employee well-being and workplace safety.

Some key functionalities include incident reporting and investigation, hazard identification and risk assessment, compliance tracking and reporting. EHS Managers should evaluate their organization's specific needs and requirements to choose a platform that aligns with their goals. By leveraging these platforms, EHS Managers can effectively monitor and mitigate risks.

To learn more about how Aclaimant empowers EHS Managers to more effectively maintain safety and ensure compliance, feel free to check out our Solution pages or schedule time with an Aclaimant team member to get a demo of our platform.