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Lucy D  
#1 Posted : 05 December 2025 08:56:32(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Lucy D

You may have seen an article published in the latest IOSH Magazine -  Exploring the role of OSH consultants in SMEs | IOSH magazine which gives an overview of the findings of some research carried out by Loughborough University into how OHS Consultants can work more effectively with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The final stage of the research is an online survey. 

If you are an OHS Consultant with experience of working with SMEs it would be great if you could take part - the link is below. It will only take 5-15 minutes depending on how much written feedback you want to add.

If you know of any consultants who also have experience of working with SMEs please encourage them to complete it - the more the merrier!

If you need any more information please contact g.e.kelly@lboro.ac.uk.

Thanks in advance for your help.

SME/OHS Consultant Assignment survey

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Evans38004  
#2 Posted : 08 December 2025 08:26:29(UTC)
Rank: Forum user
Evans38004

As an individual who does both consultancy whilst holding down a part time job as a EHS professional, are you seeking unbiased responses to this? Is it like asking turkeys what you think of Xmas?

peter gotch  
#3 Posted : 08 December 2025 14:41:27(UTC)
Rank: Super forum user
peter gotch

Hi Evans

An entirely reasonably question which has at least two elements:

1. Protecting the likes of you who might not wish your employer in your part time job to know too much about what you are also doing as a consultant, but that SHOULD be catered for via the anonymity this survey is promising.

2. The validity of the "research" in terms of probably bias in responses AND difficulties in getting enough respondents to provide anything like a representative sample of the market in terms of those providing a range of EHS etc consultancy services.

Seems to me that this is a matter for the academics to judge. The research will either be sufficiently robust or it won't be.

Could be that whatever the findings they have to be so heavily caveated as to make them of very little practical use.

Attempting any "research" like this is problematic. 

However, one of the values from an educational perspective could be that the student gets a better understanding of how to define a project for research that is motr likely to have persuasive conclusions.

thanks 1 user thanked peter gotch for this useful post.
Lucy D on 08/12/2025(UTC)
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