“Do I really need to do this?”: Why your team resists CoR training – and what to do about it

Chain of Responsibility (CoR) training plays a critical role in keeping people safe, but it’s often treated as just another box to tick. And when managers unintentionally reinforce that mindset, genuine engagement becomes even harder to achieve. 

James Law, a Culture Consultant working with transport businesses, believes it’s time to shift the culture around CoR training from passive compliance to active ownership. Here’s how.

James says that in many transport and logistics teams, resistance to CoR training isn’t about laziness or defiance – it’s about perception.

“These are people who’ve been working around these risks for years,” he says. “So naturally, they think they already know how to manage them. So any new training just looks like a compliance exercise to them – it doesn’t seem like it’s going to bring anything new to the table.”

Time pressures, fatigue and literacy issues can all affect a worker’s ability to complete training, let alone engage with it in a meaningful way.

But the biggest barrier? “They don’t see the value,” James says. “It’s not that they don’t care. It’s that the way the training is delivered reinforces the incorrect assumption that it doesn’t matter.”

Frame CoR training as a conversation

“Every time you interact with someone, you’re teaching them,” James says. “You’re teaching them how to behave and how seriously to take something. And when managers treat CoR training as something to rush through, staff pick up on that.”

Instead of just sending a link and telling them to ‘get through it and get back to me,’ James recommends building conversations into the process. For new hires, that might mean running through a checklist with their manager before their induction begins, asking how they’ve managed certain risks in past roles, and what they’ve seen on other sites.

James suggests following up afterwards with a reflection: “What did you notice in our induction that was different from previous places you’ve worked?”

This approach turns the training into a two-way conversation, and signals that the business genuinely cares about how risks are managed – not just whether a module is complete.

Make the risks seem real

One of the main reasons people disengage from CoR training is because the risks feel abstract. “You tend to see less resistance in environments like fuel or chemical transport, where the dangers are more visible,” James explains. “It’s harder when you’re dealing with, say, a transport operator for a grocery chain. People just don’t perceive the same level of risk in those situations.”

The solution? Make it real. Use your own safety data, incident reports, or public enforcement action to show the consequences of not managing CoR obligations. Work Health and Safety (WHS) authorities in each state across Australia regularly publish court summaries and prosecution outcomes – real-world examples that can shift the conversation from theory to impact.

“For frontline staff, it’s about their health and safety,” James says. “For managers, it’s also the financial and regulatory risk. You need both parts of the story, and you need to share those stories with your team, because when people understand why the training matters, they’re much more likely to engage.” 

Tailor site-specific training to relevant risks 

Too often, site inductions are packed with generic compliance content – without addressing the specific risks people will face at that location.

“That's the real gap,” James says. “We do need to validate that someone understands the basics, but we also need to focus training on the specific risks they’ll encounter at a particular site, and highlight what might be different about that site compared to others they’ve been to.”

James says it’s also important to go beyond teaching people procedures by rote, just so they can get through an induction. When staff understand the logic behind those procedures – why exclusion zones exist, for instance, or how traffic plans reduce risk – they’re better equipped to make safe decisions, even when conditions vary.

This prepares them for sites where risk controls might be less obvious or well-managed. As James points out, the greatest risk isn’t always on the road. “Many serious incidents happen on site,” he says, “when people are getting in or out of their vehicle or moving through unfamiliar environments.”

In those situations, a simple dynamic risk assessment – like the Take 5 approach – can help. This prompts staff to pause and check for hazards before starting a task by considering the environment, the equipment, the task itself, potential dangers, and appropriate controls. 

It’s a practical way to apply safety thinking on the spot, even without formal site instructions in place.

Close the gap between process and practice 

Many businesses invest in digital tools to improve CoR training and reporting, assuming that going paperless will make things simpler and boost engagement. But those tools only work if staff believe their input will be valued.

“The real problem is cultural,” James says. “If people don’t think anything will change, they won’t report an issue – no matter how easy the system is.”

CoR training often encourages staff to speak up when they see unsafe behaviour or conditions, but that message only sticks if they see it backed by action. If people report a problem and nothing happens, the training quickly loses credibility.

To shift the culture, James says businesses need to show they’re serious about acting on what’s reported. When someone raises a risk or flags a recurring issue, follow through. Make the change, close the loop, and let people know it’s been addressed. That’s what builds trust – and encourages people to keep speaking up.

“Most drivers can tell you which sites are dangerous and why,” James says. “But if they don’t think it’s worth speaking up, all that insight gets wasted.”

Buy-in is built, not bought 

Ultimately, CoR training works best when it’s practical, relevant and reinforced by action. That doesn’t mean a complete overhaul of your systems – but it does mean shifting the mindset.

Training should be a conversation, not a broadcast. A tool for building capability, not just covering compliance requirements.

Want help turning compliance into culture? Talk to CoRsafe about our CoR Toolbox and practical support resources – or ask your CoRsafe CSM how to get started.

© 2025 Logistics Safety Solutions Pty Ltd (LSS) ABN 25 134 417 379. General information only. LSS bears no responsibility, and shall not be held liable, for any loss, damage or injury arising directly or indirectly from your use of or reliance on the information in this article.