For anyone spearheading health and safety initiatives at their workplace, it can help to have access to articles, opinions and expert advice all in one place. LinkedIn is a social network for professionals that can keep safety folks apprised of the latest industry news by joining relevant safety groups and following companies that produce interesting content.
With thousands of groups, it’s hard to know which is the best to join. On the SafeStart company page, we specialize in helping workers develop 24/7 safety skills. We put a big emphasis on producing free resources to support safety managers and supervisors, highlight how human factors can affect safety issues, and share news and info on a broad range of topics.
In addition to following SafeStart, safety professionals should follow all the major safety organizations like the NSC, ASSE and VPPPA, as well as notable safety publications such as OH&S, EHS Today, Safety + Health, ISHN, and EHS Daily Advisor.
Finally, there are several safety groups with a great deal of interaction and discussion but you’re sure to find value in joining the following LinkedIn safety groups:
EHSQ Professionals
This group boasts over 130,000 members and is truly a global online community and discussion forum for environmental, health and safety, and quality professionals. If you have a question regarding implementing a safety program, improving PPE compliance, or even the effectiveness of your toolbox talks and visuals in the workplace—members of this group will be able to offer you some pointers. The rules of the group state: “We encourage members to share resource links, blogs, conference info, training opportunities, selling of their EH&S products and job posting in the Promotions area only.”
EHSQ Elite (No. 1 IN SAFETY) Environmental Health Safety Sustainability Security Quality Elite
Not to be confused with EHSQ Professionals, EHSQ Elite has a vision to prevent accidents and subsequently minimize the impact to people, the environment and property by connecting safety professionals on LinkedIn. With over 83,000 members, you’ll have access to EHSQ expertise across multiple industries. It’s also a place to have conversations about new OSHA regulations or those in the process of being altered, health and safety legislation, laws affecting EHSQ, workers’ compensation, and occupational risks.
Occupational Health and Safety Network
With a smaller circle of just over 34,000 members, Occupational Health and Safety Network offers the same (if not more) value that the bigger groups do. If you’re responsible for environmental health and safety or conducting safety training at your workplace you’ll find a common ground with the group administrators and members, who are predominantly supervisors and managers. This group shares stories, tips, resources, ideas, their own best practices and the challenges they face day to day in upholding or changing safety culture.
Rather than scouring for information on websites and forums all over the internet, simply searching an EHS topic on LinkedIn can save you time, energy, and offer more concrete solutions. LinkedIn allows you to join up to 50 groups, and choosing the ones best-suited to your interests will allow you to stay better informed about issues you care about and industry news and advice you might not know you were looking for.