HockeyStick
SafetyCulture
Partnership Revenue Intelligence
Partnership Strategy
Playbook.
Align Phase.
Prepared by HockeyStick Advisory for SafetyCulture. The culmination of the Align Phase workshop, the opportunity mapping pass, and the business alignment build — ready for executive sign-off and the board.
Strictly Private & Confidential · © 2026 Hockey Stick Advisory Pty Ltd · ABN 60 659 210 894
Board pack · June 2026
Agenda
· Prepared for SafetyCulture executive sponsor
Agenda.
From the partnership vision and commercial impact analysis through the How-to-Win playbook to the Crawl-Walk-Run workstreams and the key areas of focus.
01
Vision
Partnership vision · What’s possible through partnerships
02
The Role of Partnerships
Ecosystem map · Maturity · Readiness · Strategy · Customer journey
03
The Commercial Impact of Partnerships
Competitor analysis · GTM channels · Bottom-up model · Reconciliation
04
How to Win
What we want from partners · What we offer · Inputs + outputs
05
Crawl, Walk, Run
Four starred workstreams · Crawl-Walk-Run cadence · Key areas of focus · 24-month timeline
HockeyStick
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The HockeyStick Framework
· Partnerships Framework · 5 Pillars
The HockeyStick Partnerships Framework · five pillars to compounding partner revenue.
Align · Validate · Activate · Optimise · Accelerate. Every engagement begins at Align. HockeyStick walks SafetyCulture through all five pillars. Revenue grows exponentially as partners move from passive to active.
↑ Revenue potential
Passive partners
Active partners
Engagement starts here
Align
Validate
Activate
Optimise
Accelerate
HockeyStick AI-powered enablement layered throughout the program to accelerate results
HockeyStick
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HockeyStick · Our Vision
· Why HockeyStick
HockeyStick · Our Vision
Vision: To enable partnerships as the primary growth driver for ambitious companies, driving exponential outcomes for customers and partners.
Clients include many leading tech companies
Tech Council of Australia
Australia Post
ELMO
Firmable
Tractor Ventures
Innovation Bay
Stripe
Lawpath
Uber
SafetyCulture
Amaka
NZ Trade & Enterprise
Qsic
Tapestry
WorkflowMax
Easy Agile
CareTeq
ClearCalcs
Affix
Marsello
April
Empiraa
Pencil
Coachbar
Qbox
MyHub
Mentorloop
AlphaSights
Kloud Connect
Yttrium
ApprovalMax
XBert
Little Phil
Submarine
Inclood
HockeyStick
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Vision
· Vision · FY26
SafetyCulture Partnership Vision
Admired by our customers and partners for the value we create together, and the way in which we engage with them.
SafetyCulture is the partner of choice. Partners prioritise their resources, time and operating model toward creating win-wins that achieve business outcomes and drive growth.
HockeyStick
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Vision
· Revenue Gap · FY26
What's possible through partnerships?
Today partners source 12% of SafetyCulture's A$220M revenue. Moving to the 25% 18-month target and on toward the 30% top-quartile benchmark sizes the partner-attributable revenue on the table.
Closeable partner-revenue gap · 18 months
A$28.6M
Closing the gap from today's 12% to the 25% 18-month target unlocks A$28.6M of partner-sourced revenue not in the plan today.
Partner-sourced revenue · A$M
Today · 12%
A$26.4M
18-month target · 25%
A$55.0M
Benchmark · 30%
A$66.0M
Based on A$220M company revenue · Crossbeam top-quartile benchmark
HockeyStick
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Section 03
The Role of
Partnerships.
HockeyStickPartnership Strategy Playbook · SafetyCulture
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The Role of Partnerships
· Ecosystem Prioritisation Map
Ecosystem prioritisation · map.
Ecosystem prioritisation map
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The Role of Partnerships
· Partner Categories
Partner Categories · Definition, Value Add and Company Outcomes.
The eight canonical partner categories — their definitions, the value each adds, and the company outcomes they drive.
Technology / ISVs
Reseller
Channel / Solution Partners
Marketplaces
Referral Partners
Affiliate Partners
Strategic Alliances
OEM / Embedded
Definition
A third-party company that integrates its platform with yours to unlock new workflows.
A company that resells to customers and makes money on the margin from resale.
A company that provides professional services through sales and delivery motions.
A third-party online marketplace such as AWS, Google or Microsoft.
A third party that refers potential customers in exchange for mutual benefits or incentives.
An individual or media partner that earns commission for driving traffic, sign-ups or sales.
A peer-level company alliance that delivers joint GTM and joint product motion.
A third party that embeds your capability inside its product and ships it to customers.
Value Add
1. Unlock capabilities
2. Brand awareness
3. Adoption
4. Customer reach and access
1. Contractual leverage
2. Financial incentives
3. Ease of procurement
4. Customer reach
1. Capability
2. Capacity
3. Customer reach + access
4. Tailored solutions
5. Adoption
1. Financial incentives
2. Ease of procurement
3. Brand awareness
4. Champions with access to buyers
1. Influence with buyers
2. Lead qualification
3. Sales capacity
4. Customer acquisition
1. Top-of-funnel reach
2. Always-on content
3. Brand authority
4. Low-touch acquisition
1. Enterprise procurement access
2. Co-sell motion
3. Reference architectures
4. Brand halo
1. Embedded distribution
2. Always-on consumption
3. Compounding without sales load
4. Vertical penetration
Company Outcomes
1. Influenced ARR
2. Increase ACV
3. Increase win rates
4. Increase product usage
1. New logo acquisition
2. Market expansion
3. Faster GTM
4. Local compliance + support
1. Lower services delivery cost
2. Increase win rates
3. Increase ACV
4. Increase NRR / GRR
5. Logo acquisition
1. Increased visibility
2. Higher conversion win rates
3. Larger ACV
4. Streamlined procurement
5. Faster time to value
1. Cost-effective customer acquisition
2. Accelerate GTM
3. New logos
4. ARR growth
5. Geographic expansion
1. Cheaper top-of-funnel
2. Volume sign-ups
3. Brand awareness
4. SEO and domain authority
1. Enterprise pipeline
2. Multi-year contracts
3. Joint roadmap
4. Defensible moat
1. Volume consumption ARR
2. Lower CAC
3. Vertical depth
4. Defensible footprint
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The Role of Partnerships
· GTM Models Are Shifting
GTM Models Are Shifting
Partners are expanding their services before, during and after the transaction.
A partner ecosystem model (including the people, processes, program & underlying technology) has moved from a nice-to-have to a need-to-have.
Jay McBain
Jay McBain
Chief Analyst, Canalys
Canalys lifecycle services
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The Role of Partnerships
· Ecosystem Maturity Report
Ecosystem Maturity · Diagnostic Findings
SafetyCulture is Developing on the partnership ecosystem maturity scale.
Composite 2.1 / 5.0 · benchmark 4.0 for Late-Stage / Pre-IPO programmes (−1.9). Align-phase work will compound.
Composite
2.1
/ 5.0
Classification
Developing
1.5 – 2.5 band
Radar · 7 dimensions × benchmark
Strategy GTM Coverage Exec Revenue Attr Product Ops Infra
SafetyCulture
Benchmark
Score by dimension · sorted worst-first
Dimension
Score
Benchmark
Delta
Revenue Attribution
Sourced + influenced tracking
1.4
4.0
-2.6
Operational Infrastructure
PRM · CRM · RevOps · enablement
1.8
4.3
-2.5
Ecosystem Coverage
Partner base breadth + activation
2.2
4.4
-2.2
GTM Integration
Partners in the sales motion
2.4
4.0
-1.6
Executive Commitment
Sponsor · reporting line · budget
2.6
4.2
-1.6
Product & Integration
API · integrations · marketplace
2.7
4.3
-1.6
Partnership Strategy Maturity
Documented strategy + motion
3.1
4.3
-1.2
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The Role of Partnerships
· Partnership Readiness Diagnostic
67%
Readiness
Partnership Readiness · Diagnostic
SafetyCulture is Amber across 3 of 7 readiness categories.
1 Red 3 Amber 3 Green 9 blockers to resolve
People
2.5/5
Right team, structure and seniority. Partner team headcount, RevOps support and exec sponsor seniority. Weak score means activation outpaces delivery.
Amber
2 blockers
Process
4.1/5
Repeatable mechanics across the engagement. Playbooks, deal-reg flows, attribution rules and joint-motion templates. Strong score means partner work is operational, not artisanal.
Green
0 blockers
Programs
3.8/5
Formal partner-program structure. Tiering, certifications, MDF and commercials per category. Strong score means each category has a defined incentive shape.
Green
1 blocker
Technology
1.6/5
Systems and accessibility for partners. PRM, CRM partner-attribution fields and integration plumbing. Weak score blocks every other pillar — partners cannot transact at scale.
Red
3 blockers
Data
2.8/5
Partner activity tracking + attribution. Sourced + influenced revenue, partner scorecards, dashboards. Weak score means partners cannot be measured or rewarded.
Amber
2 blockers
Budget
2.4/5
Funding protocol + MDF envelope. Joint marketing dollars, co-sell incentives, partner-manager headcount. Strong score frees the team to invest into activation.
Amber
1 blocker
Exec buy‑in
4.5/5
Senior leadership ownership across the C-suite. Exec sponsor cadence, partnership at QBRs, board-level visibility. Strong makes partnerships an embedded priority.
Green
0 blockers
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The Role of Partnerships
· Customer Revenue left on the table
Customer revenue left on the table.
Cohort evidence on contested opportunities. Three metrics move when a partner is in the deal: close rate, contract value at signature, and adoption after onboarding.
Win rate
Share of qualified opportunities that close.
22%
Direct
38%
With partner
41%
Benchmark
Gap to benchmark: +19%
Average deal size
Average annual contract value per closed deal.
$28K
Direct
$46K
With partner
Lift: +64%
Weekly active users
Adoption multiple. Average users per account relative to a no-partner baseline of 1×.
1.6×
Direct
2.8×
With partner
Lift: +75%
Annual missed revenue · The commercial hook
$1.7M left on the table
Closing the gap from a 22% direct win rate to the 41% partner benchmark, applied to annual qualified opportunity volume and average annual contract value.
Inputs
Benchmark gap19%
Annual contract value$28.0K
Annual opportunities320
Formula: (benchmark − direct) × annual contract value × annual opportunities.
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The Role of Partnerships
· Where to Play, How to Win
Where to play, how to win.
SafetyCulture's partnership strategy on one page. Five strategy questions that frame the partnership programme.
01 · Vision
What is our winning aspiration?
Become the global standard frontline-operations platform for safety-critical industries, building a category-defining partner ecosystem that delivers 22% of new ARR by T+180 and 34% by Year 2, anchored on hyperscaler co-sell, Tier-1 GSI delivery, and an embedded ISV programme.
02 · Play
Where will we play?
Primary: ANZ + NAM enterprise frontline operations, scaled through Hyperscaler co-sell (Microsoft / AWS) and Tier-1 GSI delivery (Accenture / Deloitte / PwC). Secondary: embedded ISV motion across industrial IoT + EHS-adjacent platforms. Verticals: manufacturing, mining, construction, healthcare.
03 · Win
How will we win in chosen markets?
Integrator-first GTM with named partner managers reporting into Revenue. Software-led differentiation through native integrations and a procurement-ready pricing track. Fast POCs anchored on Activation. Outcome bias: partner-influenced ARR plus joint reference logos every quarter.
04 · Capabilities
What capabilities must we have?
Named Head of Partnerships reporting into the CRO. Dedicated RevOps embed for partner attribution and scorecard cadence. Certification programme for Sales + Partner Managers. C-Suite or President-level executive sponsor on the fortnightly partnership review.
05 · Systems
What management systems do we need?
CRM partner-attribution fields and workflows. PRM (Crossbeam / PartnerStack) for deal registration and pipeline visibility. Centralised collateral hub for sales, technical, and marketing materials. Quarterly MDF envelope sized to the top 3 categories.
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The Role of Partnerships
· Customer Journey × Partner Types × Executive Lens
Partners across the customer journey.
5-stage buyer journey · partner types · KPIs that move · executive owners. Activation is the focus stage for FY26.
Stage 01
Awareness
Lead source
Stage 02
Consideration
Conversion driver
Stage 03
Focus
Activation
Conversion + adoption
Stage 04
Expansion
Retention + growth
Stage 05
Retention
Retain + advocate
Partner types
Affiliate
Strategic
Referral
Stage 01
KPIs that move
  • Vol. prospects reached
  • Prospect → MQL conv.
  • Time Prospect → MQL
CMO
Partner types
Technology
Strategic
Referral
Stage 02
KPIs that move
  • Vol. MQLs
  • MQL → SQL conv.
  • Time MQL → SQL
CMO
CRO
Partner types
Technology
Marketplace
Channel
Stage 03
KPIs that move
  • Vol. SQL / SAL
  • SQL → SAL conv.
  • SAL → Closed-won
  • Won → Onboarded
  • Time Won → Onboarded
CRO
CEO
CPO
Partner types
Strategic
Technology
OEM
Stage 04
KPIs that move
  • Vol. onboarded accts
  • Onboard → ROI conv.
  • Time Onboarded → ROI
CPO
CCO
Partner types
Referral
OEM
Channel
Stage 05
KPIs that move
  • Vol. ROI-achieved accts
  • ROI → Renewal conv.
  • Time ROI → Renewal
CCO
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The Role of Partnerships
· Mapping Partners to Customer Journey · 1 of 3
Mapping Partners to the Customer Journey
Technology · ISVs.
Category: Technology · ISVs
| What this category brings to SafetyCulture: native software integrations that deepen the SafetyCulture stack into customers' enterprise systems — Microsoft, Salesforce, Workday, ServiceNow, Slack.
Customer need #1
☆
Workflow consolidation
Reduce app sprawl by surfacing inspection data inside Teams, Slack, Salesforce and ServiceNow.
Customer need #2
☆
Data flow + reporting
Push inspection + incident records into the enterprise data warehouse and BI tooling (Power BI, Tableau).
Customer need #3
☆
Identity + access control
Enterprise SSO, SCIM provisioning, conditional access via the same identity provider.
Customer need #4
☆
Compliance automation
Auto-route findings to GRC + ITSM platforms; align audit evidence with existing controls.
Customer need #5
★
AI + analytics depth
Apply enterprise AI (Copilot, Einstein, Now Assist) directly to SafetyCulture data, without an extra integration team.
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The Role of Partnerships
· Mapping Partners to Customer Journey · 2 of 3
Mapping Partners to the Customer Journey
Strategic · Hyperscalers.
Category: Strategic · Hyperscalers
| What this category brings to SafetyCulture: industrial-IoT-grade cloud + AI platform with marketplace co-sell and procurement velocity for enterprise — AWS, Microsoft Azure, SAP, Oracle.
Customer need #1
☆
Procurement velocity
Hyperscaler marketplace co-sell compresses enterprise procurement cycles from 12 weeks to 2.
Customer need #2
☆
Reference architecture
Joint reference architectures for industrial IoT, EHS, and regulated workloads on the customer's chosen cloud.
Customer need #3
☆
AI-native roadmap
Copilot for Frontline Workers + Bedrock + S/4HANA integration. Co-built AI embedded in inspections.
Customer need #4
☆
Co-sell pipeline
Joint named-account targeting through Azure ISV / AWS Co-Sell / SAP ISA programmes.
Customer need #5
★
Defensible moat
Anchor on a hyperscaler's industry-vertical AI strategy. Competitors cannot rebuild SafetyCulture-native AI inside the customer's chosen cloud.
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The Role of Partnerships
· Mapping Partners to Customer Journey · 3 of 3
Mapping Partners to the Customer Journey
Channel · GSIs.
Category: Channel · GSIs
| What this category brings to SafetyCulture: Tier-1 implementation muscle, vertical-industry depth, and boardroom credibility for enterprise rollouts — Accenture, Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, EY.
Customer need #1
☆
Implementation capacity
Tier-1 GSI delivery muscle for enterprise rollouts SafetyCulture cannot service direct.
Customer need #2
☆
Vertical depth
Industry practice depth across resources, healthcare, consumer for safety transformation.
Customer need #3
☆
Change management
Org-wide adoption frameworks for safety culture transformation alongside the platform deployment.
Customer need #4
☆
Boardroom credibility
Tier-1 advisor signature unlocks the CFO + audit committee buyer in regulated industries.
Customer need #5
★
Geographic expansion
Unblock international enterprise expansion (EMEA, AMER) through the GSIs' on-ground delivery capacity outside ANZ.
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Section 04
The Commercial
Impact of Partnerships.
HockeyStickPartnership Strategy Playbook · SafetyCulture
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Business Case
· Partner Program Comparison Matrix
Competitor Analysis.
Where SafetyCulture's partner programme stands against the closest direct competitors. 1 (basic) → 5 (advanced partner program and benefits). Higher total = more mature programme.
Partner
Program
Partner
Training
Rev
Share
Partner
Marketing
Tiered
Program
No of
Partners
Partner
Categories
Total
Asana
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
21
Smartsheet
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
21
Monday.com
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
21
Score key 1 No program 2 Basic 3 Developing 4 Advanced 5 Best in class
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Business Case
· 2026 GTM Channels
Partnership GTM Channels · Top Down Model.
Product-led growth
Self-serve trials convert to small-team purchases. Compounds with NPS and word-of-mouth.
Leads12.0k
% Trials18%
% Revenue10%
Self-serve · Bottom-up · WOM
Marketing led
Content, paid, and events fill the sales pipeline with qualified opportunities.
Leads8.0k
% Trials35%
% Revenue20%
Content · Paid · Events · ABM
Sales led · outbound
Direct outbound into named enterprise accounts. Vertical-led campaigns.
Leads1.5k
% Trials22%
% Revenue40%
Outbound · ABM · Vertical
Partner led ★
Partners source and deliver. The compounding lever once activated. Targets the Crossbeam top-Q benchmark.
Leads3.5k
% Trials25%
% Revenue30%
ISVs · Hyperscalers · GSIs
Revenue mix · 100% · FY26 target
10%
20%
40%
30% ★
PLG
Marketing
Sales · outbound + ABM
Partner · ISV · Hyperscaler · GSI ★
Partner-led 30% revenue mix · category view (8 categories)
Technology
30%
Revenue
25%
Leads
Strategic
25%
Revenue
20%
Leads
Channel
15%
Revenue
15%
Leads
Referral
10%
Revenue
12%
Leads
Reseller
8%
Revenue
8%
Leads
Affiliate
4%
Revenue
10%
Leads
Marketplace
5%
Revenue
7%
Leads
OEM
3%
Revenue
3%
Leads
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Business Case
· Bottom-Up Partnership Model
Bottom-Up Partnership Model · building up to the revenue target.
Built from the partner pool up to the north-star revenue target. Each input compounds into the next: more partners targeted, more partners activated, more client activations, more revenue.
North Star · Gross Deal Value
$19.7M
SafetyCulture revenue $3.2M
× ACV
Client activations
579
accounts activated through partners (FY)
× clients per partner per year
Active partners
205.7
partners contributing to pipeline this year
× activation conversion %
Partner pool
428
partners targeted across 8 categories × 4 regions
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Business Case
· Bottom-Up Partnership Model · Category view · Reconciliation
Bottom-Up Partnership Model · category view + reconciliation.
Per-category contribution to the Bottom-Up plan, and the explicit reconciliation against the top-down target.
Category view · Bottom-Up revenue contribution
Technology
A$5.9M
30% revenue
Strategic
A$4.9M
25% revenue
Channel
A$3.0M
15% revenue
Referral
A$2.0M
10% revenue
Reseller
A$1.6M
8% revenue
Marketplace
A$1.0M
5% revenue
Affiliate
A$0.8M
4% revenue
OEM
A$0.6M
3% revenue
Reconciliation · Bottom-Up vs Target
Metric
Target
Bottom-Up
Variance
Status
Client Activations
500
579
+79
On / above
Revenue
A$55.0M
A$19.7M
−A$35.3M
Below
% of Closed Business (implied)
25%
9.0%
−16.0pp
Below
Sense check. The bottom-up Revenue gap to Yr 1 target is A$35.3M. Closing it requires more partners targeted, higher activation conversion, or higher per-partner ACV across the eight categories.
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Section 05
How to Win.
HockeyStickPartnership Strategy Playbook · SafetyCulture
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How to Win
· What we want from partners
What we want from partners · across the journey.
Partner expectations at each customer-journey stage. Each item has a maturity marker: C = Crawl baseline must-have · W = Walk repeatable motion · R = Run scaled and strategic.
Awareness
Consideration
Activation
Expansion
Retention
Partner activities
C · Participates in at least 2 joint events / yr
C · Uses approved SafetyCulture brand kit + messaging
W · Runs a repeatable awareness motion (LinkedIn, podcast, content)
W · Reports activity volume quarterly
R · Operates a governed second-degree partner program
C · Submits a clear hand-off to a SafetyCulture seller
W · Tracks buyer stage in shared CRM / PRM
R · Operates a governed partner sourcing motion
R · Provides category authority signals (analyst coverage)
C · Supports handover from sales to onboarding
W · Runs a repeatable activation motion
W · Reports activation activity quarterly
R · Operates a governed delivery network
R · Contributes adoption playbooks for SafetyCulture
C · Identifies and flags expansion signals
C · Participates in at least 1 joint expansion play / yr
W · Runs a repeatable expansion motion
W · Reports expansion activity quarterly
R · Operates a governed expansion network
C · Monitors and reports churn-risk signals
C · Participates in at least 1 customer success review / yr
W · Runs a repeatable success motion
W · Reports customer health quarterly
R · Operates a governed customer-success network
Partner value add
C · Contributes trusted brand authority
W · Packages audience and reach reporting
R · Creates a scalable awareness asset library
C · Contributes buyer context to the pitch
W · Packages buyer conviction collateral (battlecards, case studies)
R · Creates scalable buyer-content assets
C · Contributes implementation capacity
W · Packages implementation playbooks
R · Creates scalable implementation assets
C · Contributes use-case expansion
W · Packages use-case adoption
R · Creates scalable expansion assets
C · Contributes customer health signals
W · Packages customer success programmes
R · Creates scalable retention assets
Business outcomes
C · Produces a visible top-of-funnel lift
W · Improves repeatable lead volume
R · Sustains measurable brand awareness gain
C · Produces a visible influenced pipeline
W · Improves repeatable conversion to opportunity
R · Sustains measurable sourced-pipeline contribution
C · Produces a visible activation rate lift
W · Improves repeatable activation velocity
R · Sustains measurable onboarded volume
C · Produces a visible expansion ARR uplift
W · Improves repeatable NRR contribution
R · Sustains measurable expansion ARR
C · Produces a visible retention rate uplift
W · Improves repeatable customer-health scores
R · Sustains measurable GRR uplift
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How to Win
· What we can offer partners
What SafetyCulture offers partners · across the journey.
Across the journey. With a Crawl / Walk / Run build. What SafetyCulture brings to each partner at each stage, expressed as activities, value-add and business outcomes. The mirror image of the previous page.
Awareness
Consideration
Activation
Expansion
Retention
Our Activities
C · Co-branded thought leadership
C · Joint webinar + podcast slots
W · Always-on social co-amplification
R · Partner-led HSA event programme
C · Joint battlecards + case studies
W · Joint demo environments
R · Co-sell + deal-reg motion
C · Onboarding training + certifications
W · Joint implementation playbooks
R · Co-delivered enterprise rollouts
C · Shared expansion playbooks
W · Joint customer business reviews
R · Co-funded expansion campaigns
C · Customer success enablement
W · Health-score dashboards
R · Joint retention QBRs
Our Value Add
SafetyCulture audience reach · brand authority · MDF.
Buyer access · lead routing · co-sell IP.
Activation toolkit · certified consultants · tooling.
Expansion plays · joint roadmap · integrations.
Customer health data · renewal toolkits.
Our Business Outcomes
Partner-sourced top of funnel · lower CAC.
Partner-sourced pipeline · faster sales velocity.
Higher activation rate · faster time-to-value.
Higher NRR · expanded ACV.
Higher GRR · reduced churn.
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How to Win
· Partnership Inputs and Outputs
SafetyCulture creates additional value to earn partner attention.
Partners already make money the way they make money today. Anything we offer has to be additive to that motion, not parallel to it. Every input we drive must connect to partner revenue.
Top of funnel · today's motion
Typical implementation partner core operating model
Activities
Builds a niche speciality services business
Depends on software providers for leads + integration
Earns revenue on implementation + integration
Faces capacity ceilings and limited expertise
Outcomes
Grow services business
Grow revenue as expertise
Grow brand awareness
Grow $$
Add the SafetyCulture motion ↓
Bottom of funnel · additive motion
SafetyCulture creates additional value to earn partner attention
Activities
Embed SafetyCulture value prop into partner-led plays
Create high-revenue services partners can sell
Extend value alongside the partner motion (not parallel)
Help partners broaden their total addressable market
Outcomes
Grow services business
Grow revenue as expertise
Grow brand awareness in target
Add more revenue $
The implication: every value statement SafetyCulture makes to partners must connect to their revenue, not ours. Partners pick partners who help them sell more services.
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Section 06
Crawl, Walk,
Run Strategy.
HockeyStickPartnership Strategy Playbook · SafetyCulture
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Crawl, Walk, Run Strategy
· Starred Workstreams
Four key workstreams to make this partnership program a success.
The highest-leverage workstreams across the first 90 days. Each compounds into the 18-month 25% partner-sourced target.
WS-01
★
Effort · HighROI · High
Stand up the partnerships function
Name a Head of Partnerships reporting into Revenue. Stand up the RevOps embed for partner attribution. Set fortnightly executive partnership review cadence.
Owner
Alex Chen · CRO
Window
Day 0 → Day 28
WS-02
★
Effort · HighROI · High
Activate top 12 priority partners
Per-partner activation kit across Q1/Q2: champion, contract paper, joint motion, T+30/T+90 success criteria. Scope: Microsoft, AWS, Salesforce, Workday, ServiceNow, Accenture, Deloitte, PwC + 4 more.
Owner
Priya Singh · Head of Partnerships
Window
Day 28 → Day 75
WS-03
★
Effort · MedROI · High
Lock executive alignment + targets
Run the workshop with the executive sponsor and lock the 12 / 24-month partner-sourced targets (25% / 34%). Fortnightly partnership review cadence with the CRO.
Owner
Alex Chen · CRO
Window
Day 0 → Day 14
WS-08
★
Effort · MedROI · High
Bottom-up model + Crawl/Walk/Run cadence
Build the Bottom-Up Partnership Model (8 categories × 4 regions). Run the Crawl / Walk / Run review with the executive sponsor every 90 days. Reconciles top-down vs bottom-up.
Owner
Priya Singh + Alex Chen
Window
Day 20 → ongoing
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Crawl, Walk, Run Strategy
· Crawl · Walk · Run
Crawl · Walk · Run Strategy.
Phasing the path forward. The partnership plan bucketed by due date into Crawl (Days 1-90), Walk (Days 90-180) and Run (Days 180+). Crawl lays the foundation, Walk builds the partner motion, Run scales the programme.
Crawl
Days 1-90
  • •Run the workshop and lock 12 / 24-month targets
  • •Reconcile partner-sourced ARR target (<5% variance)
  • •Stand up the partnerships function with a named owner
  • •Land the top 3 priority categories as Year-1 commitments
  • •Run partner-program qualification on the top 12 (4-C + customer gate)
  • •Migrate to canonical 4-C ICP scoring across all recommended partners
  • •Ship the executive scorecard + cadence (weekly · monthly · QBR)
  • •Build the partner-facing value proposition
  • •Define partner expectations · behavioural · commercial · cultural
  • •Close the integration-readiness blockers
  • •Build the Bottom-Up Partnership Model (8 cats × 4 regions)
  • •Wire inputs → outputs and prove the measurement loop
  • •Activate top 12 priority partners across Q1/Q2 with named owners
  • •Run the Crawl / Walk / Run review every 90 days
Walk
Days 90-180
  • •Map second-degree partners and name intersections to drive co-activation
  • •Build the Non-Financial Partner Marketing programme (10 motions, ranked)
  • •Lock partner expectations across the 5 customer-journey stages
  • •Stand up CRM/PRM with partner-attribution fields + workflows
  • •Launch the partner programme publicly (collateral + comms + portal)
  • •Hit 12% partner-sourced of new ARR by T+180
Run
Days 180+
  • •Scale the programme. Move from 12% partner-sourced (T+180) toward the 25% 18-month target and the 34% Year-2 aspiration anchored on hyperscaler co-sell, Tier-1 GSI delivery and embedded ISVs.
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Crawl, Walk, Run Strategy
· Key Areas of Focus · 24-Month Timeline
Key areas of focus · 24-month timeline.
Starred workstreams plotted across the next 24 months by due date. High-priority milestones in red, medium in amber, sustained outcomes in emerald.
Key Areas of Focus · Timeline · 24 months
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4 · FY26
Q1 FY27
Q2 FY27
H2 FY27
FY28
WS-01 ★ Function
JD signed
WS-02 ★ Top 12 partners
Top 12 named · Q2 wave
WS-03 ★ Exec alignment
Sponsor wkshp
QBR · target lock
WS-04 CRM/PRM + attrib
ARR reconcile
CRM/PRM live · attribution
WS-06 Mktg + journey
10 motions ranked · 5 piloted
WS-07 Public launch
Programme launch
Global playbook
Playbook v1 · ANZ → EMEA → AMER
WS-08 ★ Bottom-up + CWR
Model live
30%+ sourced
High priority
Medium priority
Low priority
★ = starred · Key Areas of Focus
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Powering your
Partner Led Revenue.