Edition No. 15

Your New Year’s Resolutions:
10 Things Every EHS Professional Should Commit to Achieving in 2006

With the New Year approaching, we asked Kerrie Romanow, vice president of Operations at EORM, Inc. to speculate on resolutions the environmental, health, and safety (EHS) professional may want to consider for 2006. Kerrie has 17 years of EHS experience as a regulator, consultant and as the EHS and facilities manager for a semiconductor fabrication facility. Here are her suggested top ten resolutions for the coming year—maybe these will give you some ideas for some resolutions of your own.

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1. Resolve to get the EHS acronyms out of your communications

Whether it’s in your speech or your presentations, learn to speak in everyday language that everyone can understand. If you continually use EHS-specific terms in your conversations, people may not understand what you’re talking about, they’ll get distracted (or worse, bored) and you’ll lose your effectiveness. It’s fine to explain several key EHS terms to people you work with outside your department, but don’t overload with acronyms.

2. Make a commitment to learning something about the bird flu

It’s the SARS of 2006 and if everybody isn’t already talking about it at your company, they soon will be. You may not think that a pandemic is possible, but people in New Orleans didn’t think the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina was possible either. Next, consider a rational, comprehensive preparedness and response – just in case.

3. Resolve to understand how extended producer responsibilities impact your company

If you work for a company with a global business focus (and what company isn’t international these days?), resolve to learn more about how customer requirements and global product regulations are influencing your businesses operations. Understanding principles of Product Stewardship, Green Business, and Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives currently underway within your organization will keep you in the know

4. Commit to having a list of “A” priorities to work on next year

Most businesses don’t place strategic value on fire fighting. And on a personal level, it’s not very rewarding to keep battling those everyday blazes. If you are always in fire-fighting mode, your value in the organization could plummet. Be more proactive. Decide on a list of top priorities, review and update them constantly (at least quarterly) and let the people you work with know what they are. It will keep you more focused and less likely to get singed.

5. Plan to read your company’s Annual Report

Now that you have your A list of priorities, make sure you know what your company’s goals are, too. Frequently EHS professionals don’t know their organization’s big picture. If you don’t know the goals your company is aiming for, how can you align your department’s goals to match?

6. Work on your sales skills

Whether you are selling your supervisor on a new idea, selling yourself for a new position, or just trying to persuade your children that your ideas aren’t outdated, sales skills are used every day. Find ways to actively learn these skills – and not from another EHS professional. (They may not be the best source.) Attend a class, read a sales book, check out a video at the library. If you are trying to influence people at your facility, and don’t have the authority to make them respond, sales skills can become invaluable.

7. Resolve to get internal customer feedback.

What do people think of the EHS function in your organization? If you don’t know, don’t guess. Even if you think you know, your assumptions could be skewed by your own bias. There’s a simple solution – ask them. Do an informal verbal survey or use a tool like Survey Monkey on the web for something more formal. In larger companies, the Human Resource department should be able to help gather feedback. And don’t get complacent; the longer you’ve been at your company, the more you settle in and make assumptions that may not be accurate.

8. Read a business book

Don’t just brush up by reading your chemistry book. Everybody else in business is reading the latest business books. Learn the current language, topics and business thinking so you have more to talk about than just those EHS acronyms we mentioned earlier.

9. Learn about Return on Investment (ROI)

Learn how to show that you (and the EHS function) are a value to your organization. Much of business language revolves around return-on-investment; so find out how your company looks at ROI. If you don’t know what Lean Manufacturing is and how it pertains to your situation, you’d better find out. Don’t know where to start? Do a Google search!

10. And finally…resolve to get out of the plant this year

You might want to attend one association meeting a quarter. Not just because the topic is interesting and useful, but to meet other people. Trade ideas, network, find out what’s working in other facilities and what’s not. Also, listen to who is hiring and what they’re looking for. It’s a great way to see if your skills are up to date.