Interview Questions to Hire Safety Officer

Safety Officers are integral parts of the health and safety of various types of workplaces. They often go to high school and either study environmental or HSE in further education. Most Safety officers are IOSHH or NEBOSH certified, depending on the industry they work in. Strong candidates should demonstrate subject matter expertise in their industry, along with having strong communication skills and analytical, auditing, and reporting abilities.

Skill-based questions

It is good practice to ask various types of questions, including skill-based, role-specific, behavioral, and situational questions, to identify strong candidates.

• Why are health and safety important at work?
• What courses have you taken regarding health and safety?
• What types of risk assessments have you written or reviewed?
• What is a safe working procedure?
• How would you conduct a safety audit?
• Have you ever implemented a change to existing safety guidelines to improve safety?

Situational & Behavioural questions

• You have some outdated risk assessments and need to update them; how do you ensure they are reviewed at the right time in the future?
• An employee has consistently broken safety guidelines in the workplace. How do you deal with this?
• You are asked to produce a report on logged safety incidents. How do you curate the information?
• Tell me about RIDDOR reportable accidents and incidents. What are they, and how are they defined as RIDDOR Reportable?
• Tell me about a time you have worked to tight deadlines.

General Questions

• What are some things you would like to achieve in your work career within the next five years?
• What have you done in your career so far to learn and develop yourself professionally?
• Why did you decide to enter the safety industry?
• What are the top three skills you have that you think you can transfer to this role?
• Why have you applied for this role? How do you think you will benefit from working in the role?

Conclusion

The questions above will help you to identify quality candidates who are going through your recruitment process. Remember to look for candidates who demonstrate strong communication and negotiation skills, a keen eye for detail, and analytical abilities, along with subject matter expertise.