Karen Maher

It’s true, a great culture isn’t magic. It takes dedication and great leaders. Great leaders must be underpinned by systems and strategy.

The organisations with the best workplace cultures are very intentional about what they do.

During this session Karen will share the five pillars of the SmartCulture® solution and what the best of the best organisations are doing right now to take their workplace cultures to the next level, and stay there.

This engaging session is dotted with case stories, critical insights, and a touch humour to lay the foundation for key learnings.

Key learnings:

• Why a good culture is absolutely good business, but a great one is even better
• The 5 essential pillars of SmartCulture® solution (Safety, Measurable, Awareness, Respect & Team) that paving the way for a great place to work
• Top tips for great leadership in 2024

Perfect for: leadership level and above.

We all know the consequences that can occur within organisations when people don’t feel safe and supported to speak up about concerns they have at work. Notwithstanding this, the fear of speaking up in our workplaces is still very real.

Time to change that!

The advantages of having psychological safety and strong speak up cultures within our organisations are game-changing. Psychological safety is based on trust and is an essential ingredient for increased engagement, productivity, innovation and a thriving workplace culture, and to be honest, it saves lives. Let’s learn, empower your people and leaders to make this happen.

In this keynote, Karen Maher deep dives into the concept ‘psychological safety’, weaving in mindset-shifting stories from her career in this space and practical tools and strategies.

Key learnings:

• ‘Psychological safety’… why every organisation needs it
• The advantages of psychologically safe workplaces
• Practical real-world strategies to empower your people to speak up and enhance your Speak Up processes now.

Perfect for: all levels, Karen will pitch the session according to the level of attendees.

In 2020, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) released their final report on the landmark National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. According to the findings and subsequent statistics released in 2022, we still have a very long way to go to eliminate sexual harassment at work in Australia. This work will not be easy, but it is essential.

With so much change in this space with the new Respect@Work positive duty and the increased focus on sexual harassment as a psychosocial WHS hazard, it’s time to overhaul to our current approach from a reactive complaints-based model to the proactive preventative/response model.

This is Karen’s area of strong speciality, as a former employment and health and safety law, she currently works with a diverse range of organisations across Australia to get this done.

During this presentation, Karen will deep dive into the topic of sexual harassment, Respect@Work and the new AHRC Guidelines to Comply with the Positive Duty to provide your attendees with current and practical information and strategies to get focused and pave the way for real cultural change.

Key learnings:

• Moving beyond #MeToo, understanding the current context around sexual harassment in Australia, it is a WHS psychosocial hazard
• The key learnings and changes following the AHRC National Inquiry and what these mean in real terms for your organisation and people
• Getting proactive with practical strategies and tools to guide your people and leaders to start eliminating sexual harassment within your workplace for good. It’s all about safety and respect.

Perfect for: all levels, Karen will pitch the session according to the level of attendees.

We have all seen poor behaviour at work, sometimes we freeze or just don’t know what to do. That is an opportunity lost. If nothing changes, nothing changes. Actually, sometimes the inaction sets the bar lower for things to get worse.

The Workplace Bystander Intervention Approach is a game-changer for organisations and has been recommended for implementation in recent times by our Australian Human Rights Commission in the recent Respect@Work research and changes.

Karen is a leading Australian expert in this space and will explain why and how we can be stronger in the moment and pave the way for safer and more respectful workplaces. Karen has worked with organisations across Australia and overseas including our top Federal government agencies on how to empower staff and leaders and create stronger systems in place around bystander intervention. You’re in good hands.

In this keynote, Karen shares critical insights, powerful case stories and key strategies on workplace bystanders.

Key learnings:

• The Workplace Bystander Intervention Approach… and why it works!
• The 5Ds of Bystander Intervention (direct, distract, delegate, delay & document)
• Putting the ideas into action with some tailored real-life scenarios so everyone can practice the 5Ds
• Simple strategies to focus on right now to empower your people to be active bystanders and strengthen your systems.

Perfect for: all levels, Karen will pitch the session according to the level of attendees.