Preparing for the Unknown. Responding to the Unexpected.

Preparing for Predictable Surprises
Francois Barton, Chief Executive of the Business Leaders’ Health & Safety Forum

Health, safety and wellbeing are more than legal obligations or the absence of harm. In a world of predictable surprises, they are fundamentally about an organisation’s capacity to anticipate disruption and respond when things don’t go to plan.

Recent years have made this unmistakably clear. Earthquakes, pandemics and severe weather events are no longer abstract risks - and persistent levels of work-related harm show how easily everyday operations can unravel.

This is why health and safety and crisis preparedness are no longer compliance issues alone. They are core leadership and governance responsibilities.

Drawing on business experience from New Zealand and internationally, Francois explores the capabilities, mindsets and practices that strengthen safety while simultaneously lifting productivity and organisational resilience - creating conditions where people and performance thrive, even under pressure.

 About Francois
 

Swimming in stormy seas; navigating change
Steph Dyhrberg, Barrister

Employment law is shifting, costs are rising, and workplace pressures are intensifying - leaving many employers navigating increasingly turbulent waters.

In this practical, plain-English session, Steph Dyhrberg will unpack the current employment relations landscape and what it means for organisations trying to stay compliant, responsive, and ahead of risk in uncertain times.

Steph will cover:

• Key recent and upcoming changes in employment law and what they signal for employers
• The impact of cost-of-living and energy pressures on workplaces and employment relationships
• How to balance legal obligations with forward-looking workforce and business decisions

 About Steph
 

The Calamity Journey: Finding a Way Through When Disruption Doesn’t Let Up
Elizabeth McNaughton, Founder and CEO of Disastrous

Sometimes disruption arrives with a jolt. The ground shifts beneath us. Sometimes it creeps in slowly, as what once felt certain begins to change. However it comes, individuals, teams, and organisations find themselves asking the same question: how do we get through this, again? Drawing on more than twenty years of working alongside people navigating disasters, disruption, and recovery, Elizabeth shares a practical way of understanding the “calamity journey”. She explores the patterns, phases, and moments that tend to show up when people and systems are under pressure. 

With a focus on people and culture, this session looks at what it takes to support individuals and teams through uncertainty. Participants will learn how to recognise where their people are in the journey, strengthen the relationships and networks that underpin resilience, and use simple tools to help teams stay steady, connected, and able to respond well when things shift.

 About Elizabeth
 

Safety Through an HR Lens: Applying Risk Thinking to Your Role
Emma Jeffery, CMHRNZ, Co-owner & Founder, Emendas: Organisational Engineering and Chelsea Mapp, Professional Accreditation Manager at HRNZ

This session will help HR professionals apply new H&S thinking directly to their work and recognise where their decisions and processes influence risk.

At a high level, the Risk Assessment exercise will guide participants to consider:

• What parts of their role influence risk (e.g., work design, change, performance processes, return to work, investigations).
• What could go wrong if those areas are not well managed.
• What practical actions could reduce that risk.

 About Emma   About Chelsea
 

Managing Yourself: How to mitigate psychosocial risks for HR practitioners managing unexpected events
Dr Dougal Sutherland, Principal Psychologist, Umbrella Wellbeing 

This session will focus on understanding the personal psychosocial impact for HR practitioners during unexpected events, particularly the risks of burnout and boundary breaches. We will introduce a model for balancing emotions during unexpected events and key psychological tools for helping stay in balance including: challenging your own self-limiting beliefs; identifying and working from core values; a framework for maintaining personal boundaries.

 About Dougal