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KieranD  
#1 Posted : 04 December 2017 08:56:33(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
KieranD

Directors in a company that is a leader in its niche market are recovering from a storm occasioned by an allegation by its sole female executive that she was, in her words, 'propositioned' by the managing director.

To learn from the episode and to, in the words of the direcrtors 'move on', they are considering appointing a HR specialist whose role includes responsibility for advising them about safety and health.

They have invited guidance on both the design of the new role and title as well as guidance on how to choose an external or intenal candidate.  

As both the MD and FD have earlier asked for advice about improving the performance of the Sales Director, they are anxious not to multiply problems by fluffing this appointment, yet are also chary about ceding what they call 'too much' power to the person in the new role, which they decline to appoint at dirctor level.

It is the first time they have asked a charered safety and health practitioner for advice on appointing a manager.  

CDL  
#2 Posted : 04 December 2017 09:09:37(UTC)
Rank: New forum user
CDL

Will the following in mind I would be more worried about the culture of aledged harrassment rather than one of safety. Although the role aims to cover both aspects I would argue that more time will be spent juggling tasks rather than being able to focus on either HR or Safety priorities.

Sounds like a cost saving exercise to me ;)

RayRapp  
#3 Posted : 04 December 2017 09:41:35(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
RayRapp

Whilst there is the question of the expertise required of this person there is nevertheless two different skill sets which are required. No doubt some h&s practitioners are also responsible for HR I suggest they are far and few between. There is also the potential for conflict on some ocassions between the two disciplines. Sounds like a recipe doomed for failure to me. 

David Bannister  
#4 Posted : 04 December 2017 09:42:13(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
David Bannister

Perhaps (if its a fact) the MD should have just come clean and said " yes, I asked her for sex but she turned me down" End of story.

imwaldra  
#5 Posted : 04 December 2017 10:30:12(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
imwaldra

Kieran,

Some interesting issues and, unlike some of the posts above, I don't think it would help to just suggest the Directors think of a different model! That could be misinterpreted as unhelpful, when it's the first time they've asked for assistance in this area.

However, the two sets of professional competences are different, though with some overlap. But maybe the appointee doesn't necessarity have to a professional in either capacity? On a couple of occasions during my career I worked as an OSH professional for a manager who wasn't also one - but both had previous wide-ranging managerial experience, were happy to listen and act on advice from the professionals who worked for them and gave me great opportunities to deveelop my non-OSH competences..

So for this organisation, if their supporting staff are highly competent in one or (hopefully) both fields, why not look for someone with proven line management competences, including for OSH and people development results in their areas of responsibility. The new role could then include giving managerial deveopment opportunities to their dirct reports, so that some of them could be realistic candidates next time round?

I'd also suggest to the Directors that, even if there is such a candidate internally, they also look externally, as someone with 'new eyes' might help them better understand and tackle any cultural issues revealed by the challenge from their sole female executive. If the appointee is female, that might also help to demonstrate its not a systemic issue?

So, in this case, I suggest the key input from the OSH professional they've consulted for the first time might be to help assess the OSH competences of the other staff, and thus any key 'gaps' that need to be thought about when assessing applicants for the executive replacement.

KieranD  
#6 Posted : 04 December 2017 13:23:06(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
KieranD

Thanks for thoughtful comments.

Enough to assist the company (with a headcount of 61) to move on from the custom in many firms their size to use a solicitor or CIPD member with a LLM to provide OSH services as well as HR of questionable standard.

It may well be that the solution to the problem lies in dividing the job veritically rather than horiztonally, i.e. to have a Leader with an assistant, with the Leader responsible for development and implementation of coherent and lawul policies.  Interestingly, the directors were influenced to look more widely than they have any time earlier by the informaiton that the currrent leader of the IOSH is not qualified technially as an OSH specialist.

The remaining challenge lies in the willngness of the directors to make space for a person with the requisite cultural understanding.  As the elephant in the room concerns the belief of the sales director that he has no responsibility for meeting any staff (his own words in a meeeting with other directrors), the process of appointing a capable person to the vacancy is fraught with elephant traps.  

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