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The Signal System™

Practical Tools for Enhancing Police Culture and Leadership in the Tourism & Hospitality Industry

Great guest experiences start with a strong workplace culture. In diverse, fast-moving hospitality environments, that’s easier said than done. The Signal System™ is a proven, evidence-informed approach designed to strengthen workplace culture and supervision in ways that directly improve employee performance, well-being, and retention.

  • Developed through the University of Calgary
  • Based on research
  • Shaped by real-world testing in a Canadian hospitality setting
  • Demonstrated results, including shifts in workplace behaviours and  culture

A Proven Approach to Shifting Workplace Norms & Behaviours

In hospitality, culture is shaped in real time—on the floor, behind the desk, and in every guest interaction. Leadership sets direction, but day-to-day behaviour is driven by peers and supervisors. What people see around them becomes the norm. The Signal System works within that reality, partnering with trusted staff to shift behaviour and reset what’s considered normal.

And it works: Early findings from an ongoing evaluation of The Signal System in a Canadian hospitality and tourism organization are promising, and align with results from an earlier evaluation in a law enforcement agency which found that a majority of participants (over 85%) came away with:

  • Increased capacity to positively influence team dynamics
  • Increased capacity to manage diversity in the workplace
  • Increased understanding of how discrimination shows up in the workplace
  • Increased capacity to disrupt problematic behaviours
  • Improved capacity to provide feedback and manage conflict in ways that signal safety and belonging
  • Greater ability to self-regulate, model pro-social behaviours, and disrupt problematic behaviour six months post-intervention

Why it Works

Our evaluation findings suggest that this approach works because it’s:

  • Tailored to hospitality and tourism, with content, scenarios, and insights that are relevant to those in the industry
  • Evidence based, drawing on research from the fields of behavioural science, social innovation, and social norms
  • Interactive and grounded in the experience and insights of those in the room
  • Driven by peer influence and social contagion
  • Action-oriented, with practical ways to signal psychological safety, belonging, and inclusion

Customized Design Without the Customized Price Tag

We don’t start from scratch—and that’s intentional. Our approach draws on evidence-based content designed with and tested in hospitality and tourism environments. We adapt it to fit your organization, your people, and your priorities, so you get a solution that’s tailored where it matters, without paying for a full custom build. Whether you’re interested in full implementation of The Signal System or targeted support to address specific needs, we’ll assemble a package that fits your goals, budget, and timeframe.

Our Team

Shift is a primary prevention research hub out of the University of Calgary. The team brings together research, design, and facilitation expertise — with a proven track record of engaging male-dominated workplaces to foster positive, respectful, and high-performing cultures while disrupting and preventing workplace harassment.

Elizabeth has worked with Shift for over 15 years, advancing practical, evidence-informed approaches to gender equity and violence prevention. Her work integrates behavioural science with real-world engagement to help individuals and organizations prevent violence and enhance gender equity. As project lead for The Signal System™, Elizabeth helps bring conversations about inclusion and psychological safety to the front lines, while supporting broader policy and systems change. She also designed Changing Contexts, a framework to help practitioners engage men and transform culture in male-dominated settings.

Melissa has worked with Shift for 5 years, advancing innovative approaches to strengthen workplace culture and prevent violence. Her work combines applied research with the facilitation of leadership development sessions for frontline police officers, focused on enhancing team performance, well-being, and accountability. Melissa is passionate about bridging research and practice to create learning experiences that are engaging, relevant, and pragmatic.

Lana Wells is an internationally recognized expert in gender-based violence prevention, social work, and public policy. As the Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Associate Professor at the University of Calgary, she founded Shift: The Project to End Domestic Violence, Canada’s first primary prevention research hub and the organization behind The Signal System™. Wells has produced over 100 reports shaping policy across Canada and leads national work on engaging men and boys, rural prevention, and early intervention. Her research, leadership, and advocacy have earned numerous national awards and recognition.

Tourism and Hospitality Specific Workshops

Stronger cultures drive stronger results. This workshop provides supervisors and leaders with practical strategies to build high-performing teams where staff feel valued, accountable, and engaged.

Hospitality's greatest asset is its people — and its teams have never been more diverse. This workshop gives supervisors and leaders the skills to lead inclusively in high-pressure environments, turning cultural and generational difference into stronger teams and better guest experiences.

Strong teams depend on honest, professional feedback and the ability to hear it as well as deliver it. This workshop develops practical strategies for both, with programming adapted specifically for frontline staff and for those in supervisory and leadership roles.

Great workplace culture is everyone's responsibility. This workshop delivers that message to frontline staff, supervisors, and leaders. It is available for every level of your organization with each version tailored to role, building the skills and behaviours to prevent bullying, harassment, and workplace violence before they occur, and to address concerns quickly and effectively when they do. The result: a safer workplace where staff stay, engage, and thrive.

Frontline supervisors make or break workplace culture. This customizable workshop series lets you build the training your supervisors actually need — choose from targeted modules on conflict management, accountability, handling mistakes, preventing discriminatory behaviour, and team resilience — all designed for meet the specific needs of your operation.

For frontline supervisors, this workshop provides practical strategies to communicate operational and interpersonal expectations, respond to issues consistently, and reinforce accountability in ways that are fair, credible, and team building.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Signal System can be adapted to your needs and budget. Options include full implementation, targeted training and support, and working with you to augment your existing training curricula.

Option 1: Full implementation

A full, embedded approach to shifting workplace culture within a specific hospitality workplace that involves:

  • Consultations with frontline staff and leaders to understand priorities, pressures, and pain points
  • Identification and engagement of key influencers within or across specific departments
  • A series of interactive, customized, evidence-based workshops to build the will and skill to shift behaviour
  • Ongoing follow-up through targeted emails with practical tools, prompts, and reinforcement

Option 2: Targeted Training & Support

Focused support to address specific challenges. This involves:

  • Consultation with leadership to identify key priorities and needs
  • Adaptation of one or more tourism/hospitality-specific workshops

Option 3: Augmenting Existing Training

If you already have training, we can help make it more effective. Our team reviews and refines existing materials to ensure they are:

  • Engaging
  • Evidence-based
  • Targeted to a hospitality/tourism audience
  • Designed to reduce resistance and drive results

Feedback on The Signal System has been incredibly positive. Here’s what staff and leaders have said:

“Incredible value. […] There has been a change [here] that is just about palpable. Not only did our folks value the training, but they also actually use the tools.”

“[We’ve seen] a shift from blaming and criticizing to learning … people feel more included and [can be] vulnerable.”

“The fact that it was actually tailored to [our organization] specifically, that's what had the impact. […] It was honestly probably the best management training I've ever had.”

“Well done. Not preachy. Down to earth information that can be practically put into use.”

  1. Bottom-up culture change: Leaders matter, but culture is shaped on the floor, in the kitchen and at the front desk. That’s where we focus.
  2. Activating ~25% of the network: Research shows that when approximately a quarter of a group consistently models new behaviours, those behaviours begin to spread through the wider network.
  3. Key influencers: We work with frontline staff and supervisors who are liked and respected – because that’s who employees look to when they’re figuring out how to behave.
  4. Employees’ priorities: We begin by addressing the issues employee’s care about, building trust before tackling more sensitive topics like bullying or harassment.
  5. Custom, not cookie-cutter: Content is tailored to each workplace’s realities and culture.

This approach was developed through Shift, a research hub at the University of Calgary that focuses on stopping violence, harassment, and discrimination before they start – which means that we focus on supporting communities to build the skills and norms that promote safety, belonging, and healthy interactions. The Signal System is based on:

  • Over a decade of research
  • A three-year collaborative involving researchers and experts
  • Real-world testing in tourism/hospitality and other workplaces

  • Self-regulation skills
  • Communication skills
  • Active listening skills
  • Cross-cultural effectiveness
  • Recognizing & managing bias
  • Perspective-taking
  • Managing assumptions
  • Taking responsibility
  • Intervening to address problematic behaviours
  • Signalling healthy norms and behaviours

Interested in Learning More?

For more information, please contact: shift.training@ucalgary.ca

We can also put you in touch with hospitality partners who have first-hand knowledge of our approach.

Shift: The project to end domestic violence