Last week’s Rethink HSEQ event offered attendees an immersive, fun, and thought-provoking day, centered on the five essential ingredients for achieving successful behavior change.
Hosted by Denise Hampson of Desire Code, the event brought together over 100 senior HSEQ professionals, despite the challenges posed by storm Bert, for an engaging experience at McLaren Construction’s stunning offices in Canary Wharf, London.
Ian Cresswell, Chartered Health & Safety professional said:
“A really great day that was insightful, engaging and packed full of the perfect balance of insightful content and interactive activities & helpful tools to move forward in our HSEQ thinking.”
Here, Mike Ellingham, one of the organising team, shares his perspective on what made the day so impactful:
This was the inaugural event under the name Rethink HSEQ, updated from Beyond HSEQ to emphasize the importance of soft skills for today’s HSEQ leaders. After an introduction from Rethink HSEQ co-founder Shona Paterson, the content host of the day, Denise Hampson, introduced Desire Code – a simple yet powerful formula for driving behavior change.
An immersive experience.
The day began with syndicate teams identifying their key challenges in changing behaviors within the HSEQ landscape. Attendees then embarked on a unique, interactive journey through the Desire Code. Using their own mobile devices, participants explored a 100-yard maze filled with display panels, absorbing Denise’s insights on how to influence behavior positively.
Following this, teams reconvened to discuss how the Desire Code could address their specific challenges. Each team shared their ideas in concise, two-minute presentations, expertly timed by Shona and Jerry Flechais. The collective solutions were displayed on a board for everyone to review and reflect upon.
The key 5 take-aways.
The full suggestions will be published later this month, however, here’s 5 quick take-aways:
- Use friendly “cup of tea” language. We are prone to using jargon which can alienate colleagues!
- Stress positives and not negatives – near misses are successes, not failures!
- Look for a quick win – don’t leave your internal customers waiting for ages to see a change
- Make it fun – games & challenges incorporating teamwork are much better than lectures
- Connect with emotions – you don’t list the ingredients in a bubble bath advert…
Squeaky Cheeses win the game.
Following the feedback session, each team competed against each other to solve challenges and clues to unlock the code to ‘ring the bell’ first.
The imaginatively named “Squeaky Cheeses” pipped my team “The Strikers” to the win. Congratulations Clare-Louise, Adam, Peter, Ian, Stephanie, Sara, Dania, and Fraser – not bitter at all.
After the event, many of the attendees joined the organisers and members of Shirley Parsons for refreshments, extending the collaborative spirit of the day.
Feedback from the day has been extremely positive with Emily Dunn summarising the experience perfectly:
“Yesterday I was fully immersed in a beautifully curated journey exploring behavioural change. Both accessible and challenging, Denise Hampson at Desire Code creates an incredibly human experience which distils behavioural economics principles into 5 tangible themes – and I cannot wait to put them into practice.”
Looking ahead.
The Rethink HSEQ team is preparing a full report on the event’s outcomes, which will be published later this month. Plans for 2025 events are also in progress.
To ensure you’re part of the next transformative experience, register on the Rethink HSEQ website. To view more pictures from the day, click here.
