Leading the way in creating safe and respectful workplaces

Franca Sala Tenna is the Founder and Director of EEO Specialists, an organisation aiming to create safer and more respectful workplaces. Franca has spent 14 years in the unlawful workplace behaviour space; in the room preventing behaviours through in-person training to more than 37,000 people, using her legal skills to conduct investigations and applying her coaching skills with one-on-one training to people who’ve had allegations substantiated. Franca is this weeks Pro Bono Australia change maker, read on for our interview with her!

What does this role mean to you? 

I feel a bit like a music conductor – I’m at the front directing people but the magic happens with the musicians, talented people doing what they do best and I’m fortunate enough to see it all harmonise so beautifully.  

I have a team of facilitators and actors who are talented, committed and passionate about what we do. We have a lot of fun and plenty of serious, aha moments that create the possibility for people to see themselves and others from a different perspective. These new insights then lead to practical behavioural changes…that’s exciting!  

Then we get a double bonus of enabling change in the wider community through our philanthropic commitment which is an intrinsic part of our business model. 

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered in your career, and how did you overcome it? 

Just a little virus called COVID! I remember the week it hit Australia, my marriage had also ended, and I lost about $200,000 in business as all our in-person training had to be cancelled. I was exhausted, and to be honest, thankful in one way that the work had gone because I had nothing left to give.  

I had one person working with me and she was my life saver. She kept the boat afloat until I was well enough to take on the pandemic conundrum – ride out the storm or adapt to the uncertain circumstances. With her amazing support and can-do attitude, we wrote our first online course and established a sister organisation – Online Compliance Training.  

This decision not only saved our business, but expanded our audience nationally. Since then, over 64,000 people have completed our online courses successfully.  

If you could go back in time, what piece of advice would you give yourself as you first embarked on your career?  

As a law student, I remember wanting to rush to graduate so that my life could begin. I look back now and have some wonderful memories of those student days, but I was thinking life would start once I had graduated!  

So, my advice to my younger self and even my current self is: This is it, each day, is it. There is no waiting to get started. Be in it now, fully, and enjoy each moment for what it is. 

How do you stay motivated to work in this field? 

It’s not hard because I enjoy what I do. I have a fantastic team of people and a clear purpose. We receive feedback after every workshop about how it makes a difference in people’s lives (which is great to hear). 

We have an excellent business coach who we meet with every 90 days and set our rocks (goals). Then we have a weekly leadership team meeting where we follow an established agenda which keeps us accountable and motivated as we share our wins and struggles.  

The reality is that the issues we address – sexual harassment, discrimination and bullying – continue to have a significant impact in workplaces around Australia. The good news is there have been major changes in legislation recently, and relevant training is now compulsory for all staff. So, there has never been a better time to enable positive change to make workplaces safe, respectful and more equitable for all. 

How do you unwind after work? 

I love what I do, and I have a home office – so the danger is there is no start and finish to my workday. While I work long hours, I know I can do this only if I take care of myself.  

Over the years I have become very committed to taking care of myself. My four not-negotiables are: eat well, sleep well, move daily, and hang out with people who bring me joy.  

I make sure I do these things despite the busyness of each day. Lately I’ve been getting into saunas and ocean plunges – I like to mix up what I do, from swimming to yoga to walking. Add doing these things with a friend and the extrovert in me is nourished.