At MiQ, bystander intervention training is one of the most important parts of our culture and commitment to our people. We spoke to Clare Martin (VP of People growth) and Dillon Drelling (Senior learning and development associate), to hear why it matters so much - and how they nurture inclusion.
What is bystander intervention training, and how has it evolved?
Clare: Bystander intervention training is a worldwide best practice in how we can all show up for our peers, our colleagues, and the community around us. It focuses on what you can do if you witness someone around you experiencing harm.
We first introduced it to MiQ a while ago, and it’s since evolved in two ways:
- We have an intro to bystander intervention for new hires, via a live webinar.
- We have tailored modules for events season, i.e. holiday parties, the festive period, events where boundaries may get lowered. This one is intended to be open and approachable, to contextualize opportunities where you can act as an ally and intervene.
Dillon: Bystander intervention training at MiQ is about equipping each MiQer with practical strategies to support colleagues in moments where harassment or discrimination might arise. The goal is to ensure that everyone feels welcome and included.
When someone joins MiQ, they receive this training as part of their onboarding. So they know how to step in and support others from day one. Over time, we’ve evolved this approach with RSVP sessions. These sessions help to keep the conversation fresh and relevant, ensuring we’re always prepared to address new challenges, and actively build a more inclusive environment. Plus, it’s a commitment to ongoing learning and real-world application, not just a one-off training session.
How does it nurture a culture of inclusion?
Clare: Active allyship and bystander intervention are fundamental to nurturing our culture of inclusion, because they’re about demonstrated support. Inclusion is built through the daily actions of our people. By investing in this training, we send a clear message: we take your safety seriously, and we’re equipping everyone with the right skills. The training is accessible, easy to adopt, and fully endorsed by our senior leadership.
These sessions are open to all and highly effective for cross-team connection and collaboration. They bring together MiQers from all over the business - from Sales and Account Management to Product, Finance and Marketing. We’ve also had the opportunity to host our client partners and increase awareness across the entire industry.
This diverse environment allows employees to connect, feel included, and share their experiences. We validate a variety of intervention approaches, emphasizing that everyone can find a way to be an ally comfortably. After all, we’re all in this together.
Dillon: Bystander intervention training makes it clear that everyone has a role to play in creating a safe, welcoming environment at work. When MiQers are empowered to take action, no matter how small, it sends a powerful message that inclusion is a daily practice.
Normalizing intervention and support breaks down barriers to speaking up, and helps everyone to feel responsible for each other’s wellbeing. This collective accountability strengthens trust and belonging, and makes it clear that exclusionary behavior has no place at MiQ. This helps us to do more than maintain our culture, but actually nurture it and help it grow stronger.
Can you explain how we put it into practice last year?
Clare: We launched MiQ Sigma last year (2025), and it was by far our most significant activation. This was a pivotal moment for MiQ, as it kept us at the forefront of AdTech innovation and highlighted our generative AI capabilities.
We recognized that hosting such large global launch events, which required a lot of staff to travel (Canadians visited the UK, US teams headed to Miami, and APAC teams traveled to Bali), could also create moments of anxiety for some employees.
To ensure that these events were safe and inclusive, we created a multi-pronged strategy:
- Leadership communication. Our leaders clearly communicated the importance of an inclusive culture, and everyone’s role is making these events safe and welcoming for all attendees.
- Live training access. We offered voluntary live bystander intervention training sessions across multiple global locations.
- Humor and accessibility. While we take inclusivity seriously, we knew that bringing a good attitude and a good sense of humor would make our core message more memorable. Our musical video of MiQ leaders outlining the Five Ds of bystander intervention was very well received in particular.
Dillon: We put bystander intervention into practice in a very real way ahead of our Sigma events last year. Recognizing that large gatherings are an opportunity for new connection, but can also sometimes create opportunities for inappropriate behavior, we proactively ran RSVP sessions ahead of event season.
These sessions gave MiQers the chance to discuss real scenarios, share concerns, and practice strategies for supporting one another in the moment. The impact was clear: people felt more confident stepping in, and we saw a stronger sense of community and safety at our events.
By making bystander intervention a visible, shared responsibility, we reinforced our commitment to inclusion in every setting - whether in the office or in the wider industry.
How do you personally nurture your own passion for progress?
Clare: I constantly remind myself that this is a tortoise, not a hare, situation. While we occasionally experience exciting leaps forward, sustainable progress is built on small, incremental and consistent steps.
I use the same attitude to my running. It’s the consistency of showing up - like making sure I go for my runs twice a week - that allows me to achieve my longer-term goals. The same applies to inclusion:
- Daily commitment. It means showing up everyday as someone who’s interested, curious about alternative perspectives, and fundamentally committed to ensuring others are included.
- Incremental improvement. I focus on the question “what can we do just a little bit better this year?” This mindset helps to stay motivated, and stops me feeling discouraged if we don’t immediately hit a ‘moonshot’ goal.
In the coming year, I’ll be making the workplace safer and more inclusive for neurodiverse colleagues to comfortably ask for support and resources. This is thanks to relaunching and reviving our Neurodiversity ERG alongside Danny Hopwood and Minaam Baseer.
Dillon: I keep my passion for progress going in two ways. Firstly, I’m always looking for fresh ways to learn and practice inclusion: keeping up with LinkedIn articles, jumping into workshops, or swapping ideas with colleagues from other organizations. Staying curious helps us keep our content and practices evolving.
Secondly, I love connecting one-on-one with people across our teams. Those real conversations help me see what matters most to them and how our work shows up in their day-to-day lives. Hearing from them keeps me inspired, and helps me shape inclusion in a way that really fits with who we are and who we want to become.
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Want to discover more about inclusion that nurtures and hear from other MiQers? Head to our dedicated landing page.
