To say that SafetyConverge delivered greater than any expectations I had would be a massive understatement. Maybe my biggest reset since the inception of the company. The feeling of the Human Energy in the room and the Positivity, and Productivity of having as many of the SafetyCo Team together in one room was absolutely mind-blowing. The sharing of ideas, the passion and wisdom of the Founder’s Forum, and probably most importantly the social connections that happened post event. Leaving there I knew the company and the people had truly taken a game changing shift…together.

I think this is the thing I’ve been thinking about most since SafetyConverge: how do we become even better together, while also being open about what we need to let teams, business units, and individuals figure out on their own with an entrepreneurial spirit. As strong as we are together, there are also parts of the company that are demonstrably better when aligned under the Power of One. At the same time, we need to simplify some parts of the company and get to a new level of alignment and empowerment, so everyone can make a call, do the right this or create a new idea to solve an old problem. How do we make sure in 2026, to deliver on the Power of One and at the same time simplify the company and process where we can let our amazing human energy and people more to be more engaged, more passionate and more accountable. We do not have all these answers, but this idea is already starting to drive how we think about the company in 2026.

As we have talked about in these newsletters and at SafetyConverge, the economy and the general sense in the marketplace is still very tentative and we could even argue conversative at best. We have some good momentum in the training business in January, and at the same time customer are asking for discounts, and or flexibility to make things happen this year. Our Workforce business is off to a good start and the continuation of our Canadian Tire contract into Q1 2026 has been a very strong positive. Our Confined Space Division continues to get attention from our current customers, and we are winning some new contracts and opportunities. Our Safety First business is off to a good start to the year and is looking at how to grow the business into new industries and with more of the Integrated Solution selling. The Safety First business has worked on multiple integrated opportunities in the last few months, and we are bullish on some new opportunities landing soon from Toyota, Mondelez and some packaging clients. All super positive and new industries to serve for them.

We have also heard the feedback and took a step back to rethink our strategy on investing in new roles and in new team members to help us hit our goals and as we said be aggressive in 2026.  We are looking to add additional new roles to support Sales, Marketing, Content Development, Operations and continue to invest in the Training and Client Success teams in both Eastern and the Western Ontario.  We are also looking to add leadership to our WorkForce and Rescue business units.  Please look at all open roles and refer any rockstars you know ( https://safetyco.ca/careers/).  Remember we have a great referral bonus program in the company.  If you are not sure about it, reach out to Laura. 

With that we have also spent a lot of time with our current teams, asking questions about how we can be better together, what ideas are out there to make SafetyCo the best place to work as a part of the team, and the best place for our customers to bring their business to. There has been some great feedback and some actions we need to take as a company. At the same time, there are some obvious gaps in how we all collectively think about what “my responsibilities are” compared to how we are “all accountable together” to make this a great place to work, and to provide Client LOVE and growth. We have some work to do here. SafetyConverge was a BIG step to connecting people, breaking down boundaries and aligning everyone that together we need to be the place everyone wants to be. This will be a big focus in 2026, to get all of us together growing the business as a team instead or a role or division.

Lastly…Let’s GO! We are super excited about what 2026 can bring from the organization, for all the individuals, for our brands and for our customers. We need to be more open, more transparent, share ideas and feedback in a trusting and proactive way. We need to get to the Power of One, and empower everyone to try something new, make a call, and be more committed to doing the right thing for our culture and our customers.

Never underestimate the power of Momentum…

—Mark Ferrier, President