Key Takeaways from the NEBOSH Online Conference 2024

This years NEBOSH Online Conference saw a fantastic line-up of speakers and guests this year discussing crucial topics with the goal of improving health, safety and environmental practices in organisations. 

As a long-standing sponsor of the event, we have always believed in the value that seminars and events give to our learners and the wider health, safety and environmental sectors.

We also understand that finding the time to spare for an entire day event can be difficult alongside the demands of being a health and safety professional. However, ensuring you understand the key points from these talks could help you in your pursuit of a healthier and safer workplace.

What Is the NEBOSH Online Conference?

The NEBOSH Online Conference is an event designed to provide insights on emerging and trending health, safety and environmental (HSE) practices. This free, one-day event, features industry experts discussing practical strategies for creating safe, more inclusive and sustainable workplaces.

Key speakers from all over the globe contribute every year, and it serves as a fantastic opportunity to tap into these experts and ask questions. Each session has actionable takeaways for HSE professionals, blending theoretical knowledge with real-world applications.

Not only that it’s a fantastic opportunity to absorb and engage the latest insights from your fellow professionals with fascinating polls conducted throughout.

NEBOSH Online Conference 2024 Session Summaries

There were several key speakers during the conference, and the key ones we’ll be summarising are as follows:

• Creating a Work-Related Stress Risk Assessment
• Creating HSQE Excellence Through Sustainability
• Creating a Workplace Risk Assessment: Confidently Navigating the Qualitative Process
• Creating a More Inclusive Workplace
• Creating Safety Cultures
• Health and Safety Market Insights: Over Candidate and Client Challenges
• Creating a Robust Mental Health Management System

Depending on which one you would like to learn more about, you can navigate to the heading that interests you the most. If you wish to view any of the sessions

Creating a Work-Related Stress Risk Assessment

Led by Phoebe Smith, Human Factors Technical Lead for the Health and Safety Executive Science Division, this session discussed the most vital elements of assessing work-related stress and the processes you can use to help identify, communicate and manage the risk factors of stress. 

Session Key Takeaways

• Work-related stress has a significant impact on individuals and organisations.
  • 822,000 people felt that work caused or increased their anxiety and depression. This echoes the Burnout Report that we covered earlier this year, from Mental Health UK, which showed worrying statistics on stress in the workplace.
  • 17 million working days lost are attributed to work-related stress sickness absence.
• By managing work-related stress, businesses will notice:
  • Improved worker performance and productivity.
  • Reduction in potential litigation.
  • Improved organisational image and reputation, meaning you’re more likely to recruit the very best talent for your business.
• Employers are often not aware of their legal duties or how to recognise and responds to signs of stress, key pieces of legislation that cover this are:
  • Health and Safety at Work Act 1974
  • Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999
    • Employers must carry out a workplace risk assessment to identify potential risks, including those that impact mental health.
  • Equality Act 2010
• Process for managing work related stress:
  • Identify Stress Risk Factors
  • Decide Who Might Be Harmed and How
  • Evaluate the Risks
  • Record Your Findings
  • Monitor and Review
  • Repeat this process, whenever necessary to do so.

Creating HSEQ Excellence Through Sustainability

Shermin Shali, HSEQ Specialist, covered how sustainability can ensure the well-being of employees, the environment and the quality of products and services, with some best practices and recommendations.

Session Key Takeaways

• Organisations that integrate sustainability into their HSEQ practices see a 20% increase in operational efficiency.
• Sustainability across the full breadth of HSEQ is vital for the following reasons:
  • Evolving Business Landscapes and Growing Focus on ESG
  • Enhancing Operational Efficiency and Cost Savings
  • Compliance and Futureproofing
  • Risk Management and Resilience
  • Reputation and Brand Value
• Building blocks for sustainability in HSEQ:
  • Driving a sustainability focused HSEQ culture.
  • Identifying and mitigating risks through sustainable practices.
  • Minimising waste and optimising resource use.
  • Fostering a safety culture that values sustainability.
  • Leveraging data and feedback for sustainable progress and continuous improvement.

Creating a Workplace Risk Assessment: Confidently Navigating the Qualitative Process

This session on building comprehensive workplace risk assessments featured a panel of experts from NEBOSH including David Towlson, Director of Learning & Assessment, and Matt Powell-Howard, Head of Product Development. 

Jayne Housson, Health & Safety Director at James Hall & Co Ltd and Astutis learner, also made an appearance to provide her expert insights. Having won the Overall Best Candidate Award for the NEBOSH Level 6 Diploma at the 2023 NEBOSH Graduation, Jayne continues to be a leading voice in the industry and we’re so honoured to have been a part of her development.

This session highlighted common pitfalls, resources to guide your decision-making, and recommendations for proportionate controls without getting lost in extremes or trivial details. 

Session Key Takeaways

• In a poll, asking attendees if they feel the most significant health and safety risks are adequately controlled in their organisation, 25% said “No” and a further 6% said “Not Sure, with 69% answering Yes.
• Another poll, on whether attendees felt competent to do a risk assessment when they had been asked, concluded with 53% answering “Yes” and, shockingly, 47% answering “No”.
• Common pitfalls in risk assessment include:
  • Using a generic assessment when a site-specific assessment is needed.
  • Not involving a team of people in the assessment or not including workers with practical knowledge of the process / activity being assessed.
  • Failure to identify all hazards associated with a particular activity.
  • Failure to fully consider all possible outcomes.
  • Not linking hazards with risk controls.
  • Not doing anything with the results of the assessment.
• Steps needed to manage risk:
  • Identify hazards
  • Assess the risks
  • Control the risks
  • Record findings
  • Review the controls
  • Repeat the process when necessary
• When is it necessary to conduct a new risk assessment:
  • Change of process or technology
  • Changes to personnel or the circumstances of workers
  • Changes to the workplace or operations.
  • Maintenance or cleaning.
  • Following an incident, near miss or report that indicates that current controls are ineffective.

Creating a More Inclusive Workplace

Dr Parul Malhotra shared her expertise on neurodivergence to create a more inclusive environment to help improve understanding for OHS professionals, and suggest coping mechanisms for each area.

Session Key Takeaways

• Neurodiversity refers to the natural variation in brain functioning, affecting areas like learning, attention, and social interaction.
• 20% of the world’s population is Neurodivergent.
• Conditions include:
  • ADHD
  • Autism
  • Dyslexia
  • Dyspraxia
  • Tourette Syndrome
• Most common areas of difficulty for neurodivergent people include:
  • Memory and concentration. (90%)
  • Organisation and time management. (75%)
  • Written communication speed and accuracy. (65%)
  • Managing stress. (65%)
  • Verbal communication difficulties. (65%)
  • Managing intense emotions. (65%)
• Strategies for inclusion:
  • Train staff and leaders to understand neurodiversity.
  • Address misconceptions through awareness campaigns.
  • Clear communication channels and structured processes.

Creating Safety Cultures

Dr Daniel Snyder, guided attendees through the process of measuring a safety culture in an organisation by including cultural assessments through semi-structured interviews with employees.

Session Key Takeaways

• Measuring the maturity of a safety culture in an organisation requires a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods and data in order to succeed.
  • Qualitative Data: In-depth methods like interviews assess engagement and communication.
  • Quantitative Data: Surveys test perceptions and hypothesise trends.
• Gathering both sets of data is vital to ensuring you have an accurate representation of a safety culture.
• Singular surveys often misrepresent reality due to poor design or lack of follow-ups. Another common failure is a lack of asking meaningful questions or not providing opportunities for dialogue.
• Safety Cultures can be measured on a spectrum, outlined from pathological to generative:
  • Pathological: “We do not place any importance on health and safety.”
  • Reactive: “We only consider health and safety when we have an accident.”
  • Calculative: “We have effective systems to manage health and safety in our business.”
  • Proactive: “We actively seek out health and safety issues and work to resolve them.”
  • Generative: “We put health and safety at the heart of everything we do.”

Health and Safety Market Insights: Over Candidate and Client Challenges

Phillip Muston, Head of UK Careers at Shirley Parsons, reviewed how candidates are securing their next position with some hints and tips on how employers can stand out in the market. 

Session Key Takeaways

• Salaries for HSEQ and Sustainability professionals continue to increase, year on year.
• Flexibility has become one of the most important aspects of a HSEQ role for candidates, so employers should seek to arrange flexible worker arrangements in order to secure the best talent.
• Employers should seek to optimise salary and package. Package including healthcare, bonus etc.
• Taking a proactive approach is also essential as Shirley Parsons’ survey indicated that only 14% of respondents were actively looking for a new role. However, 60% of respondents were open to hearing about new opportunities.
• Employers should also seek to be as quick as possible during the hiring process to avoid losing out on their chosen applicant.

Creating a Robust Mental Health Management System

Duncan Spencer, Head of Advice & Practice at Institution of Occupational Safety & Health, outlined how to create a more robust mental health management system and how to approach the subject more holistically. 

Session Key Takeaways

• 301 million people lived with anxiety and 280 million people lived with depression in 2019, many of whom we’re working age adults.
• 15% of working age adults had a mental disorder in 2019.
• 50% of total societal cost of mental health conditions is driven by indirect costs such as reduced productivity.
• 12 billion working days are lost every year to depression and anxiety.
• Employers need to focus on preventative control measures for mental health and wellbeing, rather than just being responsive when an incident occurs. Having helplines and mental health first aiders is important, but they are a reactive measure.
• Organisations should also seek to predict and mitigate more stressful times of year depending on industry trends:
  • For example, retail workers experience high levels of stress around Christmas times as they are extremely busy during that time of year. If an organisation can identify these busy periods, they should seek to put control measures in place to support staff where possible.

If you haven’t already and would like to understand any of these topics in greater detail, we strongly encourage you to watch each session, as they are available on-demand and house immense value, completely free of charge.

Don’t let your education stop at just the conference, NEBOSH offer a wider range of courses for workforces, such as the NEBOSH General Certificate or NEBOSH Level 6 Diploma. Start your journey to becoming an expert by heading over to the course library below.