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Richard Hawk    

Leading Expert on Workplace Safety

Richard Hawk has been in the safety and health field for more than 30 years. He spent 15 of them as a safety professional in the nuclear industry and as a safety advisor on constructions projects. Hawk’s background also includes theater, where he toured with acting companies and wrote a musical which was produced by Emerson College in Boston. His depth of knowledge and extensive experience make for content-rich, behavior-changing learning programs that are truly “fun.”

Hawk holds numerous safety and technical certifications from various organizations including the National Safety Council (NSC), the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations (INPO), and The National Registry of Radiation Protection Technologists (NRRPT). He stays on the leading edge of the safety industry through his interactions with thousands of leaders in hundreds of organizations in a wide array of industries. These include energy, manufacturing, chemical, construction, healthcare, technology, retail, food services, transportation, government, and education.

Since 1999, Hawk’s bi-weekly "Safety Stuff" e-zine acts as a clearinghouse for the best ideas from thousands of safety professionals around the globe. He is the author of four popular books: Spice It Up! 52 Easy Ways Turn Your Safety Meetings From Bland to Grand, The Safety Leader’s Guide Book, Just Imagine!, and 250 Super Bright Safety Meeting and Promotional Ideas. His articles are regularly published in safety magazines, and he is a monthly columnist for the U.S. national safety magazine —Safety & Health.

Hawk has a talent for connecting with people from diverse backgrounds and industries. His experiences as a union and nonunion employee, manager, safety leader; and now successful business owner, give him the insight to relate to people at all levels, from new employees to CEOs, truck drivers to scholars.

He has been a featured speaker at international conventions for Fortune 500 companies’ safety leaders; he’s presented to engineers and plant managers in India and Dubai, Canadian CEO’s as well as Japanese technicians. He has been a popular keynote speaker three times at the NSC’s Annual Congress & Expo, the largest annual safety convention in North America.

Hawk is an avid pool player and an accomplished musician and songwriter. He lives in Southern New Jersey with his wife, Jackie.

Speech Topics

Attack Stress at Work: Proven Methods for Handling Stress and Reducing its Impact on Performance

It’s a fact that in today’s fast-paced world, we are expected to get more done with fewer resources. This kind of stress can affect people’s safety performance. In fact, according to the American Psychological Association, stress is a major factor in many accidents. During this in-depth training, participants will learn how to attack stress – the modern epidemic. Whether it’s stress due to a frantic work schedule or unexpected life changes, they will discover proven ways to handle day-to-day stressors. And, the workshop itself is a great stress reliever because it’s so much fun!

Bring It on Home: Powerful Inspiration for Living a Safe and Healthy Life

According to the National Safety Council, “U.S. workers are safer on the job than in their homes or communities. Nearly all of workers’ unintentional fatalities and more than 70 percent of disabling injuries occur off the job. For every two workplace injuries, there are five off-the-job injuries”. During this engaging and convincing presentation, Richard Hawk moves audiences to change their day-to-day habits while they are away from the job. He offers practical, easy-to-remember tips and techniques to replace dangerous and unhealthy habits with behaviors for a safer and healthier life. Safer habits at home lead to safer habits at work.

Create a Vibrant Safety Culture: Lead the Way to an Accident?Free Workplace

Leaders face a special set of challenges when it comes to safety performance. Not only do they have to understand a wide array of safety requirements, but they also need to possess the social skills to influence people to perform better. This engaging training session helps leaders develop those skills and create a vibrant safety culture that everyone will buy in to. Participants will learn how to increase their influence as a safety leader and better inspire employees to take to heart their company’s safety and health values.

Find Your Focus: How to Reduce Accidents and Mistakes by Paying Better Attention

In today’s fast-paced world, lack of focus and mental distractions are a major root cause of accidents. Every year, unfocused acts cost billions of dollars in damage and injury. “Find Your Focus” combats this problem by giving participants the tools to concentrate better, heighten their attention to detail and effectively manage distractions. The end result? A safer workplace.

Great Leaders Make Safety Fun! Using Your Influence to Create a Vibrant Safety Culture

Leaders at Southwest Airlines, Google, Raytheon and other world-class companies know that when employees are in a good mood and enjoy their work – in other words, having FUN – they perform better. That means they make fewer mistakes and have fewer accidents. In this engaging program, leaders will learn how to leverage their influence to instill a spirit of fun in your company’s safety culture. Richard Hawk, world-renowned expert on making safety fun, uses stories, props, songs and innovative interactions to share what he’s learned from working with hundreds of leaders in all kinds of industries. Audiences can’t help but have fun while they discover new ideas they can put into action right away.

Just Imagine! Innovative Ideas to Keep Your Safety Program Fresh and Alive

This mental workout will give you the power and the skills to create safety and health campaigns guaranteed to pump-up your employees. Let Richard take you on a surprising and wonderful ride that will strengthen your amazing imagination and hone your creativity. A stronger imagination will not only make you a better problem solver, but also give you the passion, know-how and ideas to revitalize all aspects of your safety program.

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Spice It Up! Practical Ways to Turn Your Safety Presentations from Bland to GRAND!

Let’s face it...safety meetings have a reputation for being boring. But they don’t have to be! Using the time-tested techniques in Spice It Up, your safety leaders can deliver captivating, compelling and memorable safety meetings that will promote safe behavior and reduce accidents. Participants will master various presentation skills and learn dozens of ways to take even the most mundane topic (even hazmat and confined space training) and turn it into an exciting learning experience. No more napping in your safety meetings!

The Future of Safety: A Hawk?Eye View of New Trends on the Safety Horizon

During this insightful presentation, Richard Hawk shares what is on the horizon for the safety and health field and how you and your company can take advantage of emerging trends. Richard’s work with dozens of companies in a wide array of industries every year allows him to see firsthand what is new, what is developing and what isn’t working with respect to safety. Don’t get left behind! Find out everything you and your team need to know to keep your safety program on the leading edge.

YOU POWER! Using your personal energy to stimulate world-class safety Performance

Discover habits and skills that will make you a more powerful safety leader. You’ll learn how to spread your personal energy throughout your company and community to make good things happen. You’ll leave with the YOU POWER! know-how to improve your companies’ safety performance.

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