DEI Isn’t Dead – It Got Stronger.
From the Desk of Katriina Tahka, Founder & CEO
Respect is not a policy; it is a practice.
Safe Work Month is the right time to look beyond compliance and ask what truly keeps people safe every day – trust, respect and leadership accountability.
This edition focuses on how respect and inclusion work together to build workplaces where people feel safe to speak up, show up and stay.
White Paper: Inclusive Workplaces Are Safe Workplaces – From Toxic Culture to Respect at Work
Co-authored by Katriina Tahka (A-HA) and Sam Garven (Hello Canopy)
Workplace culture is changing fast.
Employees, regulators and the community expect respect to be a non-negotiable part of work.
Our latest white paper, From Toxic Culture to Respect at Work: The 2025 Workplace Evolution, explains how organisations can move from reacting to problems, to preventing them.
It shows that building a respectful workplace is not just about fixing what is broken; it is about designing environments where people can thrive.
“In HR, we know our leaders – their motivators, their teams, their goals,” said Sam Garven during the webinar. “If we want cultural change, we need to talk about the ‘why’ in a language that really wakes them up.”
Featured White Paper
From Toxic Culture to Respect at Work: The 2025 Workplace Evolution
This paper brings together legal, psychological and leadership expertise to guide organisations through Australia’s Respect@Work Positive Duty.
Inside, you will find:
- Ten practical steps to turn values into behaviour – from acting on red flags early to embedding accountability at every level.
- Four root causes of workplace toxicity: ignoring poor behaviour, misaligned values, lack of leadership accountability and outdated management norms.
- The cost of silence: only 18 per cent of workers who experience harassment formally report it, largely due to fear or distrust.
- The ecosystem model for respectful workplaces, showing how leadership, policy, communication and wellbeing interconnect.
- Trauma-informed HR approaches that respond to harm with care, not defensiveness.
- Case studies showing both the consequences of ignoring warning signs and the benefits of proactive cultural change.
Watch the Conversation: Turning Respect@Work into Real Culture
Featuring Katriina Tahka (A-HA), Sam Garven (Hello Canopy) and Deb Travers-Wolf
If you missed the live discussion, you can now watch the recording of our Respect@Work: Creating Safe and Inclusive Workplaces webinar, where Katriina, Deb and Sam unpack what it really takes to turn Australia’s Positive Duty into positive culture.
In this practical and honest conversation, they explore:
- Why psychological safety and reporting trust are the cornerstones of modern workplace safety.
- How to move from compliance to culture, making respect and inclusion part of everyday leadership.
- The ten practical actions from the 2025 white paper that help organisations act early, rebuild trust and lead with accountability.
- What trauma-informed leadership looks like in action, and how to prevent harm through empathy rather than fear.
- How technology such as Hello Canopy helps organisations rebuild confidence in reporting systems and monitor cultural health with transparency.
“In HR, we know our leaders – their motivators, their teams, their goals,” said Sam Garven during the webinar. “If we want cultural change, we need to talk about the ‘why’ in a language that really wakes them up.”
“Meet people where they’re at, and help them ask, who do we want to be in this moment? What do we want to be known for?” added Deb Travers-Wolf, reflecting on how leaders can link accountability with authenticity.
Watch this session to hear Katriina, Sam and Deb share real examples of change, what organisations are getting right and where leadership needs to evolve next.
Respect Is a Safety Strategy
When people feel safe to report issues, culture improves and risk decreases.
The white paper shows how systems like Hello Canopy, co-founded by Sam Garven, enable transparent and psychologically safe reporting pathways.
Technology alone is not the solution; trust is, and that trust is built through leadership follow-through and fair process.
As Katriina Tahka summed up, “The next phase is a thoughtful, caring approach that turns this work into real culture, not just a compliance report.”
Respectful workplaces protect people from harm, reduce turnover and strengthen reputation.
They also deliver the performance, innovation and loyalty that come from employees who feel valued and heard.
Key Takeaways for Leaders
- Act early, not after; culture problems rarely start big – they grow when ignored.
- Listen to the data; low reporting rates are a warning sign, not a success metric.
- Build psychological safety; people speak up when they trust they will be supported, not punished.
- Model respect daily; every conversation, decision and reaction sets the standard.
- Connect safety and inclusion; one cannot exist without the other.
Organisational Training and Coaching
Respectful Leadership and Reporting Culture
A practical half-day session for leaders and HR teams that explores how to prevent harm, strengthen trust and meet Respect@Work obligations.
- Leader Guide: Embedding Respect in Everyday Decisions
- Reporting Trust Checklist for Leaders
- Optional Team Coaching to Sustain Change
Quick Reads: Articles You’ll Want to Share
- The Hidden Cost of Under-Reporting Misconduct
- How to Lead with Compassion and Accountability
- Technology and Trust: Using Digital Platforms to Support Safer Workplaces
What Have A-HA Been Up To?
Delivering Inclusion and Respect in Action: Workshops Across Australia
This month we also had the privilege of running two powerful workshops.
The first was with a consulting company in the ACT, where we explored neuro-inclusive workplaces; helping teams understand how to recognise and support different ways of thinking, working and communicating.
The second was with an engineering firm, where we worked with their leaders embedding Respect@Work, bringing practical tools and confidence to lead conversations about behaviour, accountability and culture.
Both sessions reminded us that when organisations create space for awareness and action, inclusion becomes real.
Next Steps
At A-HA, we create human-friendly workplaces where people and businesses thrive.