29 March 2025
Safety has always been a priority at Specialist Equipment Solutions — but four years ago, we made a surprising discovery: the key to a safer workplace wasn’t just stricter rules or better equipment. It was kindness.
Not the vague, passive kindness of polite gestures but a deliberate, collective commitment to empathy, respect, and mutual care. By redefining our culture around this principle, we didn’t just reduce safety incidents — we transformed how our teams communicate, collaborate, and, ultimately, succeed.
In our latest blog post, managing director Beth Towsey shares her experience and how the steps she took improved the company culture and transformed the business's approach to health and safety.
From policies to people
Historically, Specialist Equipment Solutions recorded an average of four safety incidents annually. Previously, safety measures and compliance protocols were robust, but in 2021, the leadership team and I identified that true safety extends beyond policies—it is ingrained in culture. A safe workplace is not only about adherence to rules but very much about how individuals interact, communicate, and look out for each other.
Recognising this, we instigated a deliberate and collaborative approach to reimagining our workplace culture. Not a top-down directive, but a movement, engaging every employee to provide input to design a shared vision, mission statement and lived culture. Employees across all functions were brought together to design a workplace ethos rooted in what was important to each of us; the results were that we were all seeking a workplace underpinned by kindness to build trust and mutual respect and feel valued for our input.
When culture outperforms rules alone
Our safety record over the past 4 years speaks for itself. Since 2021, SES has only recorded two workplace safety incidents, one of which involved a lawnmower. It is both a tangible and dramatic reduction that has not happened by chance; it is the direct outcome of a workforce that prioritises kindness.
Kindness is the act of being considerate, compassionate, and understanding toward others. It is expressed through actions, words, and attitudes that demonstrate care, empathy, and emotional intelligence. At its core, kindness is about recognising the humanity in others and treating them with dignity and respect. It fosters positive relationships, strengthens communities, and contributes to emotional and mental well-being.
Our culture since 2021 has created an environment where individuals feel valued, heard, and appreciated. Specifically, it has improved by;
Ultimately, kindness has been the driver to cultivate a culture of workplace safety at SES. It has shifted interactions from transactional to relational, fostering a culture where people not only coexist but truly appreciate and value one another.
The courage to lead with compassion
Despite its benefits, kindness can be perceived as a weakness. In competitive workplaces, hierarchical or forceful leadership is often associated with strength whereas empathy and understanding sometimes perceived as a lack of authority. In some settings, being kind can sometimes be mistaken for passivity or naivety. This misconception arises from the belief that kindness means always saying yes, avoiding conflict, or lacking assertiveness.
In truth, kindness is not submission, it is strength. It takes courage to be kind in difficult situations, to extend grace when faced with hostility, and to choose understanding over retaliation. True kindness involves setting boundaries, standing firm in one's values, and showing respect for both oneself and others. It is a conscious decision to act with integrity, even when it is easier to respond with indifference or aggression.
As leaders in business, we are accustomed to leveraging data, strategy, and innovation to drive results. Yet, this profound impact on our company’s performance has come from something fundamentally human.
The impact extends beyond safety statistics. Our financial output has consistently improved, our operations are more efficient, and employee engagement has reached new highs, with strengthened collaborative working and staff retention. Kindness has become a cornerstone for everyone at SES to help the business improve in every way. This cultural transformation has not only made our workplace safer but stronger, more cohesive, and more resilient.
Let this serve as a call to action: Safety is not just about policies and procedures — it is about people. When kindness leads, genuine care and respect for one another is fostered, the results can be transformational.
If you’d like to explore how to implement measurable, culture-driven safety improvements in your organization, we’d be happy to share insights from our journey. For more information, please contact Beth Towsey at beth.towsey@worley.com.
