Testimonials

I'd like to say that I thought the plenary was incredible today. I didn't have much expectations for Stephen Hammond as I had never heard of the guy until you had brought him up in that email, and I've never heard him speak. I thought his talk was incredibly engaging and interesting. The way he combined interaction with real life stories about politicians and business moguls made the talk more relatable and interesting for an engineering student audience. I also like how he gave examples that made us think instead of dwelling on and making us feel incompetent because 'we've done these wrong things too.' I've sat in many class lectures before and I don't think I've ever seen such a large group of students listen intently without fidgeting with iPods, cellphone or laptops. I've made this comparison before, but I really thought the way he presented the information was as inspiring as a TED talk. Great job on finding an effective motivational speaker!

Tiffany Yu

Electrical Engineering Student, University of Victoria

After 20 years of public speakers I can say this is the best presentation I have ever had. This is not just for management, but for every human being. One of the issues you discussed was racism. Even though I make an effort not to be racist, I was surprised by terms used casually that have racist meaning. I shall bring the knowledge into my life to make me a better person, not just a better manager

Linda Fujita 

Manager

Liquor Distribution Branch, B.C.

Stephen’s book is a brilliant reminder of workplace situations that are disturbing, yet slip by unaddressed by so many in both the private and public sector. When these behaviours are unaddressed, they become the norm because we allow them to be. Just like his first book, Stephen is insightful, his writing is moving and he inspires his readers to take immediate action to disapprove of, and address harassment and other inappropriate behaviour every time we see it, feel it and hear about it. In a concise format, he gives us a series of snapshots of old  vs. new, acceptable vs. unacceptable, right vs. wrong, in a way that is understandable. If workplace leaders take just some of Stephen’s practical advice, they will go a long way to rid their workplace of unacceptable behaviours such as harassment, discrimination and bullying. It’s clear that to create Stephen’s “New Norm,” we need to ACT NOW! We can’t wait any longer.

Tatjana Zatezalo

Manager, Organizational Development

Halifax Regional Municipality

We brought Stephen in to help our management team understand the importance of having a respectful workplace, and how to achieve it. It was a full day event for about 30 people and the level of engagement was quite amazing.

Stephen’s delivery style combined with a strong shot of humor and many highly relevant stories from his personal experience and from the public record, kept the group’s interest piqued the entire time. Many times there were four or five hands raised at the same time with questions and passionate comments.

Not only did the group come away with a heightened understanding of how to continuously improve harmony and cooperation in the workplace, but I think that a lot of us were left with some areas that we can work on improving personally. We are so pleased with what we got from Stephen that we have decided to invite him back to work with the rest of our coworkers.

Jim Hogan

CEO & Co-founder

VMAC Global Technology Inc.

Wow, your book came at a great time for me. Initially I thought I was going to learn about what I could do about other people in my life. Instead, what I found was a tonne of material to challenge myself to look at my own behaviours and interactions. The chapters are short, use contemporary examples, provide lots of food for thought and the suggestions for the new Norm are totally achievable. I plan to incorporate this book into my practice and share with my co-workers. Like your previous work, I expect the messages to resonate even years later.

My favourite was chapter 30. "The New Norm doesn’t jump to conclusions" certainly resonated for me. Sometime when we are busy it may be tempting to take a shortcut thinking we already know the outcome so why bother with details? The cost may be pretty high, not only in dollars but in our own credibility.

I read the book while sitting in the living room with my husband. The poor man is dying to read it as soon as it's available. I must have gasped a lot.

Deb Stewart, R.N./B.N.

Labour Relations Officer

Manitoba Nurses Union

When I got up early this morning and headed for my computer here at home, I told myself, ‘Just skim read a few sections of Stephen’s book and get a note back to him.’ I couldn’t do that, Stephen. I read it all – every word. You have taken too long to write this book – Employees and Employers in Canada need to read this.

Stephen will capture your attention in highlighting up to date and interesting headlines which we all have an opportunity to learn from. If you believe you can simply skim read this book, think again! The mesmerizing case studies will leave you yearning to learn the conclusion as any great author should do for their readers. Sincere attention to the messages here can only result in best practices within Canadian workplaces.

Melinda Heidsma

Executive Director, AiMHi,

Prince George Association for Community Living

Stephen provides a lucid and thought provoking read on the concerns related to inappropriate workplace behaviors.

Richard Craibbe

Richard Craibbe

Chief Training Officer,

Oakville Fire Department

Stephen Hammond’s book, ‘The New Norm’ is easy to follow and full of common sense. I loved the real case examples, older ones that stand the test of time and new ones that are relevant in the ever-changing landscape of the work environment. He categorizes behaviour as it was and as it should be - what every employer should strive for.

Jackie Gruber

Human Rights and Conflict Management Officer

University of Manitoba

We welcomed Stephen to provide respectful workplace training in person to our Fire Department Leadership group in 2016. With the recent development of an online format we are able to provide a refresher to those staff. The course is easy to follow with recent relevant information provided in an entertaining way. The feedback we received from our staff was so positive, we decided to provide what we feel is critical workplace training to all of our staff.

Trevor Sutherley

Deputy Fire Chief,

Parkland County, Alberta

His message is easy to understand, relatable, and most important, he gets our employees and managers talking about the very issues we want them to be talking about: ways to make our workplace more enjoyable and respectful for our employees, artists, faculty and guests.

Kelly Breithaupt

Manager, Training and Retention

The Banff Centre

Stephen is an engaging speaker that helped our team turn concepts into practice on some very tough topics. Even our most skeptical session attendees had several “aha!” moments throughout the interactive, facilitated discussion. Stephen has set the bar high for future speakers!

Jim Fielding

City Manager,

The City of Calgary

Those who attended your sessions gave rave reviews. Those who commented all agree on one thing………. that one would be hard pressed to get better training anywhere else in Canada. So thank you very much for bringing your knowledge, experience and confidence to advance the mindsets of our workforce towards a respectful workplace.

Patricia Trick

Director of Human Resources

Coquitlam, B.C. School District

Stephen is an excellent group facilitator. Within a very restrictive time frame, he engaged the online audience right away by speaking to well-known cases and setting a strong foundation. He then moved through the session in an energetic, simple, and concise manner. Pre-session, he made himself available to provide expert guidance on both our policy and content for this customized session.  I have used Stephen with a previous employer too and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him. Karolina May, Senior HR Manager, SKYTRAC Systems Ltd.

Karolina May

Senior HR Manager,

SKYTRAC Systems Ltd.

My company had about 60 people trained through The Respectful Workplace Course. We found the instruction clear and comprehensive. Many of our management team said that they gleaned a better understanding of the content and felt better prepared to navigate and prevent harassment issues onsite. On the technical end, we had very few issues with the course website and registration. Any issues we had were promptly resolved by the tech team. I would not hesitate to recommend this resource to other employers.

Jordan Todd

Project Coordinator,

Folklore Contracting 

The Respectful Workplace online course was very well done. As myself and some of our staff have recently completed the course it brought on important conversations as a team to continue to build a safe work environment. It has also given us the ability to share our updated knowledge and awareness with people we know who are not in a safe working environment. The course covered a lot of ground and made good examples. I have completed a similar course years ago but it is an important reminder as well as very valuable to see things with fresh eyes from a supervisor role and what my responsibility is.

Teresa

Manager,

Bethesda Christian Association