Workspace Culture

Building inclusive workplaces where everyone feels safe, respected and included

Our Approach

Changing attitudes is important for preventing gender-based violence — but real prevention requires changing behavior.

We implement primary prevention approach that focuses on the policies, cultural setting, training and leadership values that influence human behavior, creating workspaces where safety, belonging, and inclusion are the norm.

By equipping every staff to influence team dynamics in positive ways, this can support stronger performance, higher engagement and retention, more respectful interactions, and healthier work environments.

Policy Design

Crafting clear anti-harassment and inclusion policies tailored to your workspace dynamics.

Training & Sensitization

Building capacity and Interactive sessions that empower teams to prevent harassment effectively.

Support systems that foster ongoing dialogue and accountability among the leaders, managers and across the team

Support

How it works?

Our module applies a social norms and social network approach to spark change from the inside out.

Research shows that unspoken ‘norms’ — what people see as expected and acceptable in group settings — often guide behavior. That’s why we work with influential staff and leaders to model prosocial behaviors through customized, interactive workshops tailored to the specific needs and realities of each workplace.

The Process

We implement our approach over 6-8 months, including by:

Familiarizing ourselves with a workplace through meetings with select leaders, key informants, document review and site visits.
Consulting with staff to identify their priorities for an enhanced workplace environment, and to hear their perspective on opportunities and challenges in the workplace.
Identifying formal and informal influencers within departments and teams, including people in supervisory roles and/or who are liked and respected.
Facilitating customized learning sessions with these influencers to build their capacity to address the priorities identified through the consultations.
Facilitating leadership workshops with executives and other senior leaders, so they can support and reinforce the work of the influencers.
Periodically following up with participants by email to provide further resources and supports (e.g., podcasts, videos, one-pagers, etc.).
Evaluating the approach through feedback forms after each learning session, interviews, and a survey.

The Strategy

We implement our approach over 6-8 months, including by:

Work with 18–25% of a network: research shows that when about a quarter of a group consistently models a new behaviour, it will spread to the rest of the network.
Recruit influencers, not just allies: we work with participants who are liked and respected regardless of their beliefs, because behaviour change depends on social credibility, not ideology.
Start with organizational priorities: we begin by addressing the issues participants care about, building trust before tackling more sensitive topics.
Custom, not cookie-cutter: content is tailored to each workplace’s realities and culture.
Frame around psychological safety and belonging: this focus engages even those who don’t see violence prevention as a priority.
Minimize defensiveness: we centre curiosity, empathy, and perspective-taking, not lectures on privilege.
Focus on behaviours, not attitudes: the aim is tangible change in daily actions.
Bottom-up culture change: while leaders are involved, we focus on working with frontline supervisors and employees.

FAQs

How have organizations responded to our approach?

When tested with over 200 members of the Calgary Police Service, feedback from those who participated in the approach was overwhelmingly positive:

“Incredible value. […] There has been a change in [my district] that is just about palpable. Not only did our folks value the training, they actually use the tools – which, for cops, is just about unheard of.” (Inspector)

“[Gave us] more tools in the toolbox to help become better leaders.” (Sergeant)

“[I appreciated the facilitator’s] patience to redirect and focus the conversation … These are sensitive and hot button issues for us, and it is easy for us to become defensive. You just kept us moving forward.” (Sergeant)

“Well done. Not preachy. Down to earth information that can be practically put into use.” (Constable)

The vast majority of participants came away from the learning sessions with:

Improved understanding of how safety and belonging impact team performance,
Increased capacity to positively influence team dynamics,
More aware of how discrimination shows up in the workplace,
Increased capacity to disrupt problematic behaviours, and
Improved capacity to provide feedback and manage conflict in ways that signal safety and belonging.

Who should use these services?

How do you prevent harassment?

Can you customize policies?

How to start working with you?

Our services are designed for organizations wanting safer, more inclusive work environments.

We provide tailored training, policy development, and ongoing support to address and prevent workplace harassment effectively.

Yes, we work closely with your team to create policies that fit your unique workplace culture and needs.

Reach out via our contact page to discuss your goals and schedule an initial consultation.

Building Respectful Workplaces

We help organizations foster inclusive cultures where everyone feels valued and safe, focusing on preventing harassment in all forms.

A diverse group of coworkers engaged in a collaborative meeting, smiling and exchanging ideas in a bright office space.

Our Mission

What We Do

Through tailored policies and training, we empower teams to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion while effectively preventing workplace harassment.