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Showing 'July 2023: Facing a rise in customer aggression'.
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Facing
Customer
Aggression
CSG July 2023 speaker: Amy Lynes: Facing a rise in customer aggression

Facing a rise in customer aggression

Presentation by: Amy Lynes, Senior Workplace Relations Consultant, National Retail Association

CSG event video now available (members only)
Presentation package now available (members only)

Retail workers are currently confronted by a trend of rising bad behaviour from customers, manifest as frustration, anti-social behaviour and aggression, which is affecting employees’ workplace safety and wellbeing.

This issue was discussed in a presentation on 11 July by Amy Lynes, Senior Workplace Relations Consultant with the National Retail Association (NRA). She spoke about the impact of customer aggression on frontline retail employees, both in large retailers and small local businesses.

The industry is focused on how to manage this trend, alongside other workplace health and safety obligations, including controlling psychosocial risks and proactively preventing sexual harassment, to keep their employees safe and properly supported.

Amy said the NRA has seen a huge increase in demand from their members for training courses on dealing with aggressive customers, as well as members accessing their guides on topics such as preventing workplace sexual harassment.

Her presentation was followed by questions and discussion.

The presenter:

Amy Lynes joined the National Retail Association (NRA) in 2022, where she is a Senior Workplace Relations Consultant. NRA is a not-for-profit peak industry body that represents the interests of over 40,000 shop fronts across Australia. Prior to that Amy, who has a law degree, led a Human Resources team for over a decade with a national retail and manufacturing business. This included overseeing areas such as learning and development, industrial relations and work health and safety.

 
 

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What makes a
Great OHS
Executive

CSG February 2026 event - Presenter Helen O'Keefe, Director, HOK Talent Solutions - What makes a great OHS executive


What makes a great OHS executive

Presented by: Helen O'Keefe, Director, HOK Talent Solutions
Topic: What makes a great OHS executive

How: CSG Lunchtime Presentation - via zoom or in person

Date: Tuesday 10 February 2026, noon
Non-Members welcome to attend

What makes a great OHS executive
What truly differentiates top candidates in today’s current employment climate? Expert in health & safety recruitment, Helen O’Keefe, will give a presentation on 10 February to Central Safety Group that delves deeply into the critical factors driving recruitment decisions for senior HSW roles.
Helen will begin by discussing in-demand skill-sets. She will provide a detailed breakdown of the technical expertise and strategic capabilities that employers are actively seeking. This goes beyond foundational HSW knowledge.
Helen will also explore essential behavioural competencies, including the soft skills and leadership traits that are predominantly requested when she is recruiting HSW executives reporting to CEOs or C-Suite leaders.
Helen will conclude with an overview of the state of the HSW market in 2025. She will identify the industries that experienced the most demand for HSW talent and those that slowed down, as well as the underlying economic or regulatory factors that drove this.
A popular annual speaker for Central Safety Group, Helen’s extensive experience in the field, specialised focus and deep network, make her insights highly valued by our audience.
The presentation will be followed by the 2025 AGM for Financial Members.

About the Speaker:

Helen O’Keefe is the founder of HOK Talent Solutions, which celebrated 10 years of dedicated service to the OHS community in 2025. Operating Australia-wide, Helen manages recruitment assignments across various sectors and her passion for the health and safety industry stems from her extensive experience in the field - from both a recruitment perspective and having worked alongside OHS peers in her earlier career.
Prior to establishing HOK Talent Solutions, Helen held the position of National Recruitment Manager at the Australian Red Cross and served as an HR Manager for the pharmaceutical company Glaxo-Smith-Kline (GSK).

Date: Tuesday 10 February 2026
Time: 12:00pm to 12:30pm
Where: Regus Yarra Room, 50th floor, 120 Collins Street, Melbourne. Our thanks to Helen O'Keefe for providing the venue.
How: Online via Zoom or in person - the link will be sent out on the afternoon of the Monday preceding the event
N.B. A video recording of the session will be available on the website exclusively for financial members.
Cost: Financial members* free. Others $15
RSVP: COB Monday 9 February 2026. Online using our RSVP form
Join: Join CSG now [Individual membership fee: $85.]
*If unsure of your membership status, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
   RSVP: by Monday 9 February.
Online using our RSVP form or Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., phone the secretary T: (03) 9387 9768 Mobile 0417 040 252
The Zoom event link will be emailed on the afternoon of Monday 9 February.

Don’t forget to put every second Tuesday from February to December in your Calendar!

 

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