TOGETHERNESS: ENABLING HEALTH & SAFETY PROFESSIONALS TO CONNECT & COLLABORATE THROUGH CHALLENGING TIMES

What is the Togetherness Project? 

  • In late 2019 and early 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic caused chaos across the world.  Society and business were drastically disrupted, and health and safety professionals found themselves are the core of a very tricky challenge.    
  • As cities and countries started to lock down, we started the Togetherness Project.  At a time when we needed physical separation, we have never had a greater need to be Together.    
  • Not just for support, but because collaborating and learning from each other is the #1 best tactic for making decisions and giving advice in a fast moving, complex situation with poor information quality.  To be adaptive, and resilient.  
  • Merely days after the lockdowns in Australia & New Zealand were announced, the Safety on Tap team launched a series of initiatives to support the global health and safety community.  

#1: Rapid Customer Experience Insights 

  • A notable feature of a pandemic, is that almost everyone has very little idea about what to do.  Government, business, Institutions, and professionals like us.    
  • The Safety on Tap mission is to help leaders who want to grow and drastically improve health and safety.  The only way to do this, at this time, was to listen.  Intently.  
  • Instead of guessing what your needs would be (like everyone else did who ran a webinar), we gathered intelligence about your biggest challenges, and we responded to these.  
  • Over four weeks we closely tracked the issues you faced - from a lack of information, to difficulties in response, to a shift in opportunities to adapt.  This was so useful, and so ground-breaking that we've been asked to publish a journal article about this.  Stay tuned.  

#2: Office Hours Together 

  • One hour, once a week.  A virtual space and time when we met to learn, share, and get support from colleagues who know what it's like to be in your shoes right now.  
  • We all have questions, doubts, struggle with information overload and disinformation.  At the same time our businesses rely on us for guidance, advice, and drive.  That's tricky.   
  • If a video meeting and a webinar had a baby, you get Office Hours.  Topics based on your challenges, content incl. interview, presentation, Q&A and more.  It's tailored group learning.    
  • These ran for NINE weeks, attracting HUNDREDS of live attendees.  Recordings of sessions and ongoing discussions are available in the Together Platform.  

#3: The Together Platform

  • We've already established the value in coming together during challeneging times....and created a live realtime space for that to happen with Office Hours Together.   
  • But we are a global community, with lots of competing priorities for time.  Being able to join the Office HOurs Together session wasn't possible for everyone, plus, it was one hour a week (a mightly valuable hour, but still one hour).   
  • So in only 5 days we launched the Together Platform - an online, free, curated discussion and collaboration space for the Togetherness to continue 24/7, attracting hundreds of members.  
  • The discussion, dialogue, questions and insights shared in this platform are a perfect example of the power of coming together intentionally, as professionals.   
  • You can join the conversation, register for free, over at https://together.safetyontap.com

#4: The Knowledge Project

  • You already learned that we very quickly were listening very intently to your needs, and responding to these (see #1 above).    
  • The loudest, and clearest challenge you faced as a professional community was not knowing.  Not having quality, reliable, trustworthy information on which to base your advice and decision making.   
  • (Ironically, many of us had the same kinds of challenges - It seemed ludicrous to spend time, effort and angst trying to get clarity as many individuals - why couldn't we collectively do that?)
  • So we rallied a group of 'curators', professional colleagues who volunteered their time to take your factual-based information queries, and do the work to curate a trustworthy response.   
  • The Knowledge Project attracted the support of the AIHS College of Fellows, we had an academic advisor, and an awesome group of curators working via the Together Platform.  But as happens in fast moving times, the world got better at this information problem, so our purpose was achieved, and then complete in. amatter of weeks.  

Why is any of this relevant?

  • Our ability to learn, adapt and grow is the #1 thing which distinguishes us from animals.  And yet, we often do it poorly (especially as professionals).  
  • Our mission at Safety on Tap is to help leaders like you to grow and drastically improve health and safety along the way.  We adapted what we do to the context, to your needs.  
  • We know that social and experiential learning (where we combine our life experiences with each other in very intentional ways) is the most effective way to grow and perform effectively.  We also know innovation is key to our ongoing relevance.  
  • We put this to the test, during a once-in-a-century crisis, and showed that it works.  It proved in so many ways, that social and experiential learning, and innovation, deliver results.  We learned a lot, and we served you, at the time when you needed it most.  

Let's keep it going! There are two ways you can do this: 


1. Join the conversation on The Together Platform (button below)


2. Let's talk about how we can help you and your Health and Safety Team leverage the performance improvements we know you are capable of.  

Email andrew@safetyontap.com


Andrew Barrett

Chief Connector

Safety on Tap

​​​​​​​​© 2019,  Safety on Tap