Karen Maher is a leading Australian work health and safety consultant and keynote speaker specialising in enhancing workplace culture and the reduction of psychosocial risks and hazards, such as bullying, harassment and sexual harassment.
Karen presents at conferences and panels and to all levels of organisations across Australia and
internationally, including boards of directors, management teams including senior leaders, and
employees.
Her experience in this field spans over 20 years, firstly as an employment and safety lawyer in
Australia and the UK, and then as a work health and safety consultant, investigator, trainer and
keynote speaker.
Karen has worked at firms including Sparke Helmore Lawyers, Lovells LLP, Aon, the UK Treasury
Solicitors Office and The Brief Group, a WHS consultancy which has now merged with Deloitte.
Karen has also acted as a legal advisor to the RailCorp NSW Workplace Conduct Unit.
Karen has worked with a diverse range of industries and clients. From government agencies (at federal, state, and local levels) such as the Australian Productivity Commission, Parliament of New South Wales, WorkSafe QLD/WorkSafe TAS and Tourism Australia, to the NRL, emergency services, tech companies, health, hospitality, legal and accounting firms, private schools, oil & gas, construction and mining.
Her experience includes working on over 300 cases from all parts of the process, including advisory; drafting allegations; coaching managers; developing strategies/processes/reviews; conducting workplace investigations/Inquiries into serious allegations involving bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination and workplace fatalities; and defending cases in the courtroom.
She has seen it all!
During her time in London, Karen was entrusted to work on several cases listed on the Home Office High Profile Case List.
Karen left the law and started her own consultancy several years ago to work with organisations to ‘get ahead of the game’ focusing on the prevention of psychological harm, focusing on taking a proactive approach and great leadership.
Karen’s legal and consulting background coupled with a desire to make workplaces more respectful and safer is what inspires and continues to drive her to specialise in the field of workplace culture and safety and all that encompasses it.
Karen is the founder of SmartCulture® and the SmartCulture® solution. This practical solution explores the five critical foundations of a great workplace culture (safety, measurability, awareness, respect and team).
With Karen’s approachable manner, engaging delivery, industry expertise and compelling case stories to draw from; tens of thousands of staff and their leaders across multiple organisations have been inspired and benefited from her practical teaching methodologies, insights, strategy and systems development.
Most of all, Karen is passionate about making a difference. She is passionate about enhancing workplace cultures and eradicating sexual harassment, bullying and other forms of poor and unsafe behaviours – this fact is clear when you see her in action.
Karen presents virtually, virtually live and in-person for keynotes, panels, fireside chats or training programs/masterclasses.
Talking Points
Say 'Goodby' to Sexual Harassment and 'Hello' to Respect@Work
In 2020, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) released their final report on the landmark National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in the Workplace. According to the findings and subsequent statistics released in 2022, we still have a very long way to go to eliminate sexual harassment at work in Australia. This work will not be easy, but it is essential.Say 'Goodby' to Sexual Harassment and 'Hello' to Respect@Work
With so much change in this space with the new Respect@Work positive duty and the increased focus on sexual harassment as a psychosocial WHS hazard, it’s time to overhaul to our current approach from a reactive complaints-based model to the proactive preventative/response model.
This is Karen’s area of strong speciality, as a former employment and health and safety law, she currently works with a diverse range of organisations across Australia to get this done.
During this presentation, Karen will deep dive into the topic of sexual harassment, Respect@Work and the new AHRC Guidelines to Comply with the Positive Duty to provide your attendees with current and practical information and strategies to get focused and pave the way for real cultural change.
Key learnings:
• Moving beyond #MeToo, understanding the current context around sexual harassment in Australia, it is a WHS psychosocial hazard
• The key learnings and changes following the AHRC National Inquiry and what these mean in real terms for your organisation and people
• Getting proactive with practical strategies and tools to guide your people and leaders to start eliminating sexual harassment within your workplace for good. It’s all about safety and respect.
Psychological Safety - Creating a Speak Up Culture
We all know the consequences that can occur within organisations when people don’t feel safe and supported to speak up about concerns they have. Notwithstanding this, the fear of speaking up in our workplaces is still very real. Having a workplace where people can speak freely without fear of humiliation, punishment or other negative consequences, is important for people to feel empowered to share their perspectives and ideas.Psychological Safety - Creating a Speak Up Culture
In this keynote, leading Australian WHS expert Karen Maher deep dives into “psychological safety”, explaining what it is, and how we can create and instil this important concept within our workplaces. You will benefit from real case studies and practical examples. More importantly, there will be takeaways that you can put into practice immediately.
Key learnings:
• What is ‘psychological safety’ and why every organisation needs it
• The advantages of building psychologically safe workplaces
• Practical strategies to encourage a Speak Up Culture within your organisation.
Creating a SmartCulture - Because Good Culture is Good Business
It’s true, a great culture isn’t magic. It takes dedication, authenticity, and a plan. During this presentation Karen will share the five fundamental components of the SmartCulture® model and how each one relates to your workplace transformation and ultimate success.Creating a SmartCulture - Because Good Culture is Good Business
Key learnings:
• How the five essential pillars that add up to SmartCulture® (safety, measurable, awareness, respect & team)
• Why a Good Culture is absolutely good business
• Why authentic leadership is vital to building a great workplace culture in this new world of work.
Workplace Bystanders - Putting a Stop to Poor Behaviours for Good
Workplace bullying and sexual harassment continue to be a serious problem across the globe and are workplace health and safety hazards. In this keynote, leading WHS Consultant Karen Maher will share her insight and key strategies on how we can put a stop to bullying and harassment, focusing on the game-changing Workplace Bystander Intervention Approach. Including practical guidance on how to start successfully implementing this approach within your organisation today to pave the way for a safer and more respectful workplace.Workplace Bystanders - Putting a Stop to Poor Behaviours for Good
Karen is a former WHS + employment lawyer and is the founder of SmartCulture® and has worked with organisations for many years in this space with incredible results. She will cover the fundamentals of the Workplace Bystander Intervention Approach, why it works and simple strategies on how it works best.
Key learnings:
• Understanding the fundamentals of the Workplace Bystander Intervention Approach - and why it works!
• The 5Ds of Bystander Intervention
• Simple strategies to implement right now to get this approach working within your organisation pronto.
Workplace Bullying is on the Rise - Time to Put a Lid on it
Workplace bullying statistics in Australia were already concerning and now with all of the additional stressors arising from these challenging times, they are skyrocketing. The negative impacts from poor workplace behaviours are simply enormous. They impact health and safety, morale, culture, productivity and so much more.Workplace Bullying is on the Rise - Time to Put a Lid on it
In this presentation Karen will share her insight and refocus your teams and leaders on the importance of respectful behaviours at work to minimise the risk of bullying and enhance your culture.
Key learnings:
• Understanding the key risk areas right now with workplace bullying and psychological safety
• 5 key strategies to assist organisations to put a lid on workplace bullying, keep people safe and protect your workplace culture
• Why prevention and authentic leadership are key to win the game against workplace bullying.
Video
Karen Maher | Keynote Speaker Showreel
Thank you for your valuable perspective, Karen, the feedback has been so positive, we know all attendees got so much out of you sharing your learnings! ... keep reading Safer Together
Karen, it was our absolute pleasure to have you chat with the TA family. You were very engaging in what can be a very dry but important subject! Thank you!
Thank you Karen Maher and the entire SmartCulture Team for delivering an exceptional Workplace Bystander Training session for the team at Haslin Constructions. Drawing from her vast experience in workplace bullying and harassment prevention, Karen delivered a thought-provoking and enlightening session specifically tailored to our workplace with genuine passion and energy. We’ve received amazing feedback from participants and will definitely keep you posted on our journey, Karen!
Karen is an engaging speaker who knows how to connect with her audiences either in person or virtually. Our members gained important insights around psychological health and workplace bullying and harassment which gave them the knowledge to help improve their workplaces. I would highly recommend Karen for any speaking engagement.
Thank you, Karen, for your terrific and engaging presentation. You definitely left us with important things to think about. It was great working with you.
Communication with Karen was so thorough and efficient from the start. She took the time to understand our business in a pre-training conference and the session was tailored specifically for our workplace. Our senior managers were engaged in the session and we were very impressed with Karen’s experience and passion to prevent bullying and harassment in the workplace before it’s too late. If you are looking to get your management team on-board with preventing bullying in your workplace do not look past Karen’s programs.
I’ve received such wonderful feedback on the training. Not just after the sessions but it is still something we talk about and refer to constantly. What is such a heavy and important topic you delivered it perfectly and I can’t wait to use SmartCulture again.
Karen Maher and the team from SmartCulture have expertly and professionally provided Anti-Bullying and Sexual Harassment Training to our entire workforce over the last 4 months (900 participants including senior executive team). Karen is an expert in this area: throughout her legal career she has been involved in bullying and harassment cases and has seen the hardship and pain caused by such behaviour. Karen has now turned her focus to prevention and, as a knowledgeable and passionate presenter, brings her previous experiences to life, delivering key messages and awareness around the importance of respect at work. Karen and the team made the implementation of this training a breeze. Karen worked with our organisation to tailor the content of the training to suit our needs, our culture and to identify links to other relevant training we had in place. I felt confident she had a good understanding of our organisation. Karen and her team were always amenable to last minute program changes and provided valuable data and report post training. It was a pleasure to work with them.
At Stedmans, we were looking to improve our workplace culture and introduce a bullying and harassment program for all of our staff. Due to the nature of our business model we needed someone who could drive this and had a solid understanding of the hospitality sector. Karen came to the table with this experience and was able to deliver an exceptional program. Not only does Karen have experience in hospitality and law, she also has a great deal of compassion and is someone I can trust implicitly to deliver an exceptional training product.
It was wonderful working with you and I have never had such positive feedback from a Bullying prevention session!
It’s been such a pleasure working with you and SmartCulture, if I ever need Workplace Bullying/ Harassment training or any other training that you offer you will be first on my list of people to call. It was one of the best training sessions I have ever attended, and so many people took valuable lessons away from it. I had the Pool Leisure Coordinator tell me that the attitude changed the next day in his team, it’s been so successful so thank you.
Karen Maher and the SmartCulture team went above and beyond to deliver our Workplace Bystander Training program. They were knowledgeable, helpfully and professional through the entire process. I could not recommend them more highly.
