Mark was worried.
He had worked his way through the organisation over 20 years and was now in a senior role in the Workplace Health and Safety team.
He called me because he had to deliver a presentation to more than 60 team leaders, and he had never presented formally before.
“Here’s what I need to deliver,” he said, as he dropped a two-inch thick bound document in front of me.
Those who know me know I have a very expressive face. You can imagine my expression when I saw that document.
“Alright,” I said, “why do you need to present this?”
“Because that’s the way it’s always been done,” said Mark.
“Okay. I’m here to help. Let’s start at the beginning.”
“What’s the problem?” I asked. “Do you have a safety issue?”
“No,” replied Mark. “If anything, we’re too safe.”
“What’s the problem with being too safe?” I asked.
And then Mark dropped this gem.
Safety builds complacency.
When I help clients build presentations, I’m always listening for sound bites, and this one was a cracker.
As we talked further, Mark explained that while employees had high safety standards, the organisation had experienced several significant near misses with contractors.
When we unpacked it, the gap became clear.
Employees needed to be more assertive with contractors to ensure they met the same safety expectations as the organisation.
From that moment, Mark’s presentation shifted from a data dump to storytelling.
We focused on three contractor incidents, and Mark shared each story in detail.
He then posed three questions to the audience.
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Do apprentices need to be more assertive with senior contractors about safety standards?
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Who decides the safety standards, the contractor or the organisation?
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What does accountability look like when someone sees something that isn’t right?
The audience broke into groups to discuss the cultural shifts needed to strengthen safety across both employees and contractors.
I didn’t attend Mark’s presentation, but I did hear from one of the attendees.
They said it was outstanding, and more importantly, it created measurable change within the company.
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