The people closest to a risk often recognise it first. Whether they feel able to raise it, and whether someone acts on that information, can make a difference to what happens next.
This was a recurring theme at Achilles Live Sydney on Wednesday 21 October 2026. Held at W Sydney, Darling Harbour, in partnership with The Business End, the first Achilles Live event in Australia brought together leaders from health and safety, procurement, risk and supply chain.
The evening explored what organisations can learn from elite sport about leadership and performance under pressure, with lessons for contractor safety and supply chain risk management.
Preparing teams for pressure
In sport, players learn about leadership through experience. How a decision is explained, how feedback is delivered and how a team responds to a setback all influence what someone feels comfortable saying next time.
Katie Ferrier, Regional Director at Achilles, reflected on the importance of preparing teams for pressure:
“Mentally, be prepared for the pressure and know that it’s always there. You’ve just got to deal with it.”
For organisations, that preparation includes giving people clear responsibilities and the confidence to ask for support. When employees, contractors and suppliers work together, everyone needs to understand how to raise a concern and who can act on it. The discussion highlighted how everyday interactions help build that confidence long before a team faces a difficult decision.
Contractor safety needs an ongoing conversation
Contractor prequalification provides important information about capabilities, compliance and safety arrangements. Keeping that understanding current requires attention to how work develops. A change in personnel, an unfamiliar task or a procedure that proves difficult to follow may warrant another look. The people doing the work are often best placed to explain what has changed and why it matters.
Research also points to a relationship between workforce engagement and safety outcomes. Gallup’s 2024 meta-analysis found that business units in the highest quartile for employee engagement recorded 63% fewer safety incidents than those in the lowest quartile. For organisations managing contractor networks, this offers a useful reason to consider how formal assessments and communication with workers contribute to their understanding of risk.
Connecting contractor management with supply chain risk
A concern at contractor level can have consequences across a wider operation. Gaps in competency may affect project delivery, while disruption at a supplier can put pressure on schedules, resources and the teams relying on its services. Understanding these connections is an important part of supply chain risk management. Prequalification, and continous monitoring each contribute valuable information. Conversations with people on the ground add context, helping procurement, safety and operational teams decide where closer attention is needed.
Sebastien Roussotte, CEO of Achilles, explained how trusted information supports stronger supply chains and better decisions:
“At Achilles, we have always believed that trusted data is the foundation for stronger supply chains and better business decisions. Confidence doesn’t come from having more information. It comes from knowing that the information you have is reliable and knowing what to do with it.”
As organisations make greater use of digital tools and AI, this connection between information and action becomes increasingly relevant. Better visibility gives teams a stronger basis for asking questions, investigating concerns and making informed decisions.
The post-event report, The Risk Nobody Said, explores these themes in greater depth, drawing on experiences from elite sport and business to examine trust, leadership and performance under pressure.
