Written By Sarah Louise, Customer Success Specialist at HR Partner
Last week we ran our webinar, Managing Psychological Safety in the Workplace, and the response was wonderful. For anyone who missed it or wants a quick recap, here are the key things I hope you walked away with.
If you want a deeper grounding in what psychosocial safety actually means and what the law changes require, our post on the new psychosocial safety laws in Australia is a great place to start. This post is about what to do next.
You’re probably already doing more than you think
One of the biggest things I wanted people to leave with is this: you don’t need to start from scratch. If you’ve already got processes for managing physical injuries, incident reporting, or performance conversations, the foundation is there. The goal is to broaden those existing frameworks to include psychosocial hazards, not build something entirely new.
The risk management process is your best friend
The four-step process of identify, assess, control, and review applies just as much to psychological hazards as it does to physical ones. Work through it with your team for different roles and scenarios in your business. Think about who is most exposed, how often, and what you can reasonably put in place to reduce that risk.
Start with your data
You likely already have more insight than you realise. Absenteeism, turnover, exit interviews, incident reports, grievances, and survey results can all point to where psychosocial hazards might be lurking. Pull that data together and look for patterns before jumping to solutions.
Consult, consult, consult
Your employees are your best source of information and consulting with them isn’t just best practice, it’s mandatory. Anonymous pulse surveys, one-on-ones, and even embedding a few questions into your performance review process are all effective ways to gather that feedback. The key is to document it as you go.
Perfect isn’t the goal. Progress is.
If there’s one thing I’d want you to take away, it’s this: don’t let the size of the task stop you from starting. Get familiar with your state or territory’s code of practice, pick one area to focus on, and get the ball rolling. The process is continuous and the more you do it, the better your decisions will become.
Helpful resources to get you started
Several tools and resources were mentioned during the webinar. Here they are in one place:
- Safe Work Australia: Model Code of Practice – The national framework for managing psychosocial hazards, a must-read starting point.
- People at Work Survey – A practical, validated tool you can use to survey your employees and identify psychosocial risks in your workplace.
- The WorkWell Toolkit – A WorkSafe Victoria resource with practical tips and guidance for building psychological safety, well worth a look even if you’re outside Victoria.
- AHRI Psychosocial Code of Practice Course – A great option if you want to go deeper and build your knowledge further.
- Psychosocial Safety Laws in Australia: What SMBs Need to Know – Our own guide covering what the law changes mean for small and medium businesses.
Watch the full webinar
For a more detailed walkthrough, including a real-world example of how to apply the risk management process step by step, watch the full recording here:
How HR Partner can help
A big part of meeting your obligations is having systems in place to record and report. HR Partner can support you with anonymous employee surveys, incident and grievance tracking, performance review documentation, and HR reporting, so everything is in one place when you need it.
Already an HR Partner customer? Book a training call with our team and we’ll help you get the most out of the platform for your psychosocial safety processes.
New to HR Partner? Start a free 14-day trial or book a demo.