Professional Community of HSE Specialists: From Idea to Implementation

Professional Community of HSE Specialists: From Idea to Implementation

Creating a professional community of health, safety, and environment specialists is a natural step in the development of corporate culture. When specialists are isolated in their departments, sharing experience and best practices is difficult. In her presentation, Marina Shevchenko, Head of Safety Culture and Management Systems at Atlas Mining Group, shares her unique experience of creating such a community from scratch, from the inception of the idea to hosting the first specialized forum.

Prerequisites for Creating the Community

The idea of creating a corporate community was born from the need for regular experience sharing. The speaker notes that after attending major industry events, there is a desire to share the acquired knowledge with colleagues. However, logistical and financial constraints often prevent the mass participation of specialists in off-site forums. This led to the understanding of the need to create a local platform for communication and professional growth.

• Lack of a unified contact base: It is difficult for specialists to find colleagues in narrow fields (e.g., medical examinations or risk assessment) for consultations.
• Deficit in practice sharing: Without an organized platform, effective solutions and life hacks remain within individual departments.
• Need for collaboration: Complex problems require collective brainstorming and the development of innovative approaches by internal experts.

Work Formats and Initial Results

The presentation details the process of launching the community on the corporate portal. A key success factor was voluntary participation — those who truly value professional development joined the community. The speaker demonstrates by example how a variety of interaction formats helps maintain participants' interest.

• In-person thematic meetings: Discussing specific problems, such as contractor management, with the exchange of real documents (terms of reference, regulations). This allows participants to leave with ready-to-use tools for their work.
• Cross-functional visits: Visiting colleagues' production sites to study best practices on the spot. This format motivates and provides a clear understanding of implemented solutions.
• Test drive of new tools: Preliminary testing of new methods within the community before their implementation in production. This helps identify pitfalls and gather feedback, saving time and resources.

The Role of Management and Development Prospects

The successful functioning of the community is impossible without management support. The speaker emphasizes the importance of involving top management as business sponsors and communicators who motivate staff and help resolve organizational issues. Plans for community development include implementing a mentoring program and forming a core group to coordinate future work.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• How to initiate the creation of a professional community within a company?
• Which interaction formats are most effective for HSE specialists?
• How to organize the sharing of best practices without significant budgets?
• What is the role of management in creating and supporting expert communities?
• How to motivate colleagues to actively participate in the life of a professional association?