Workplace Family & Domestic Violence

Capacity for Change is a training and consultancy service that specialises in domestic & family violence knowledge expertise. We work with businesses to enhance their skills and abilities to support their staff through specialised training. We offer training, consultation and resource development tailored to your workplace needs.

What does gender equality have to do with the workplace?

Domestic & family violence is a huge issue in Australia society, so much so that there is a National Plan to end violence against women and children. This focuses on four main areas; Prevention, Early Intervention, Response and Recovery & healing. Capacity for Change support employers with all areas of this plan.

We want to support your workplace to be ahead of the game by focusing on prevention, with the goal that there would be need for the last three areas. Prevention means taking steps and actions to create a workplace culture that focuses on gender-equity, respect and safety.

 When employers commit to developing a greater understanding of family, domestic and sexual violence and how to create safe violence-free workplaces, not only are their far-reaching societal benefits, but there are also optimisations such as increases in;

• staff performance, productivity and morale

• staff retention and presenteeism

• organisational reputation and image

Who are Capacity for Change?

We are social workers, family violence specialists, learning and development professionals. We have a passion for ending gender-based violence in Australia. Through our work in the family violence field we have seen the impact of domestic & family violence. We have held many roles across the sector from front-line, crisis response, to leadership and management, and training and capacity building, we have highly developed skills and expertise. We wanted to share our specialist knowledge with businesses to equip them with the skills and experience to recognise the signs, support their staff and contribute to a work free from family & domestic violence

Capacity for Change brings specialist knowledge and experience from the family & domestic violence sector to your workplace. This industry experience brings invaluable knowledge to support employers to ensure they are not only compliant with current legislation, but industry leaders when it comes to gender equality in the workplace. We provide expert consultation to support;

• Professional development for all staff

• Professional development targeted to leadership and executive teams

• Policy and procedure development

• Ongoing coaching to support implementation, review and evaluation of workplace gender equity targets.

• Professional development for all staff

Employees feel appreciated when their employers provide them with opportunities for learning and development, especially when there are opportunities to increase knowledge in areas that sit outside of their everyday work. Additionally, this solidifies the message that domestic & family violence prevention is everyone’s business, so everyone is equally committed and responsible for creating and contributing to a workplace culture that is free-from violence. Capacity for Change work with you to ensure that all staff, regardless of their role have the ability to increase their knowledge in family & domestic violence.

• Professional development targeted to leadership and executive teams

Not only do staff want to feel appreciated and respected by their employers, but they also want to see that they take their safety and wellbeing seriously. Employees want to know that if they go to their manager with a concern, they will be heard, validated and supported. Providing managers and leaders with specific training to ensure they know how to identify concerns and respond with compassion and professionalism is vital for creating a safe and respectful workplace culture. Capacity for Change understand that conversations about domestic & family violence can feel overwhelming for manager and leaders, we work with you to target workshops where they are needed.

• Policy and procedure development

Training and development are great, but it won’t lead to sustainable change if it isn’t embedded in policy and procedure. It’s equally important for employers and employees to have easy access to the policies and procedures they need to ensure a safe and inclusive workplace. Ensuring that training & development and policy & procedure align is imperative to a high-functioning workplace, so it doesn’t make sense to update one without the other. Capacity for Change will ensure that information provided in training is also reflected in policy & procedure and vice versa.

• Ongoing coaching to support implementation, review and evaluation of workplace gender equity targets.

Work Health & Safety standards are constantly changing to reflect the reality of the risks and safety standards important to keep everyone safe at work, that’s why it’s important to have additional support available to businesses. Implementation and evaluation of workplace initiatives can be challenging, especially when the subject matter is new. Capacity for Change support your workplace to stay ahead of the game by providing ongoing coaching to ensure that your business has the capacity to respond dynamically to changes.