SH& E professionals interested in advancing their career in the direction of business partner can benefit from John McBride’s Safety 2012 session, “Advancing Your Career: From Safety Manager to Business Partner.” McBride says the move to safety manager to business partner is one’s personal decision, but that everyone should make their own decisions about their career, rather than not having any focus. “Don’t let your career make decisions about you,” he says.
McBride discusses differences between the job functions, such as an SH&E manager might design SH&E plans to meet the company’s strategies, while the partner participates in developing those strategies. Or, that managers audit the SH&E program, while partners audit the business process operation and articulate business goals and the role that SH&E plays in reaching them.
McBride says that the business partner is the highest and most independent role in the SH&E profession, but that it involves more exposure that can come with high risk. Where can a partner role take you? Well, that depends on you. “It’ll make you a priceless member of the management team,” he says.
A Blog From the American Society of Safety Engineers