HR Insights

HR Insights: AI, trust and the future of human-centred work

Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 +0100

In this episode of the HR Insights Podcast, Stuart Elliott is joined by Marc Ramos, Chief Learning Officer, Harvard Learning Innovation Lab Fellow and MIT-trained AI strategist, to explore how organisations can approach AI adoption without losing sight of the people behind the technology.

The conversation looks at the growing tension between AI-driven efficiency and employee trust, why some businesses may be moving too quickly into implementation, and how leadership communication can shape whether employees feel included or threatened by change.

From trust and transparency to cognitive overload, workplace culture and the future of human connection, this episode offers practical insight for HR, talent and learning leaders navigating AI transformation inside their organisations.

Key timestamps:

01:06 - Introduction to AI and Learning Development
03:58 - The Current State of AI in Business
07:02 - Leadership and AI Implementation
09:49 - The Spectrum of AI Adoption
13:08 - Risk and Reward in AI Investments
15:55 - Communication Strategies for AI Adoption
18:56 - Change Management and AI
22:00 - The Role of Trust in AI Acceptance
25:34 - Trust and Society's Insular State
29:19 - The Leadership Gap in Trust
33:10 - Human Agency and Cognitive Traps
37:27 - AI's Impact on Human Connection
42:41 - A Human-Centric AI Strategy

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HR Insights: From perks to protection: Rethinking reward and benefits

Thu, 14 May 2026 00:00:00 +0100

In this episode of the HR Insights Podcast, Stuart Elliott is joined by Will Spencer, Founder & CEO of Rest Easier, and Chris Laughlin, Global Reward Director at Croda, to explore how reward and benefits strategies are evolving beyond traditional perks and toward something far more meaningful: protection, financial wellbeing, and long-term employee support.

The conversation looks at why financial wellbeing has historically lagged behind physical and mental wellbeing, how employee expectations around benefits are changing, and why a one-size-fits-all approach no longer works across today’s multigenerational workforce.

From personalised benefits to the hidden risks of cost-cutting, this episode offers practical insight for HR leaders rethinking how reward strategies can better support employees in today’s workplace.

Key timestamps:

07:18 — How employee benefits have evolved
12:48 — Why financial wellbeing is often overlooked
16:47 — Understanding what employees actually value
21:40 — The rise of personalised benefits
32:49 — Inside the Rest Easier platform
34:01 — Estate planning, inheritance & protecting families
39:05 — Financial stress and workplace performance
42:37 — The hidden risks of cutting benefits

HR Insights: The truth about emloyee engagement

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0100

Employee engagement continues to be one of the most talked-about topics in HR, but also one of the most misunderstood. While many organisations measure it, far fewer truly understand what drives it or how to improve it in a meaningful way.

In this episode of the HR Insights Podcast, Stuart Elliott sits down with industry experts Paul Knight, Group Chief People Officer at PA Media, and Rebecca Saunders Jones, Managing Director of Loopin, to explore what employee engagement really looks like today, why it may be stalling in many organisations, and what HR and business leaders can do differently.

From leadership accountability to real-time data and shifting workforce expectations, the conversation offers a practical and honest view of where engagement stands today, and where it needs to go next.

Key timestamps

03:52 – What does employee engagement actually mean?
05:20 – Where is engagement today?
08:05 – What’s ‘job hugging’?
10:29 – Why traditional engagement surveys fall short
16:36 – Who really owns engagement?
24:42 – Transparency vs psychological safety
28:28 – The biggest risk to engagement
35:12 – Can you over-measure engagement?
41:43 – Embedding engagement into culture

HR Insights: That's a wrap on 2025

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

First and foremost, happy new year!

We’re excited for you to see what we have in store for 2026. To start the year, we wanted to wrap up 2025 by showcasing the amazing guests and topics we had throughout the year with a special episode, and this time, our guest is a familiar voice and our usual host, Stuart Elliott.

After a season packed with conversations on AI, resilience, global hiring, and leadership, today's host and our Marketing Intern, Lola Ojuri reflects with Stuart on the moments that stood out, the ideas that challenged him, and what these discussions reveal about the HR market right now.

Across the season, one theme has been clear: HR is evolving faster than ever. Leaders are balancing transformation with wellbeing, skills with strategy, and technology with human connection. This episode brings those insights together, a look back at the conversations shaping HR today and the challenges that will define the year ahead.

Key timestamps:

01:39 - Surprising conversations
02:50 - Interesting topics
04:30 - Episodes that challenged thoughts
06:41 - Trends of 2025
08:37 - Evolution of HR
09:53 - The market now
11:39 - Evolution of recruitment
13:10 - Trends of HR looking forward
15:18 - Favourite chats
17:17 - Themes into 2026
19: 26 - Hopes of improvement in HR
22:31 - Looking after ourselves in 2026

HR Insights: The truth about workplace wellbeing

Thu, 11 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

As the pace of work accelerates, wellbeing continues to decline across industries, making conversations about sustainable performance more important than ever.

In this episode, our CEO and Host, Stuart Elliott, is joined by Bianca Errigo, global speaker, wellbeing expert, and founder of HumanOS, a platform redefining how organisations approach resilience and high performance.

Off of the back of our Global HR resilience report, Bianca and Stuart discuss the state of workplace wellbeing today, why so many high performers are still burning out, how organisations can close the gap between wellbeing programmes and real wellbeing outcomes, and what it means to build a culture that supports both performance and recovery.

Who is Bianca Errigo?

Bianca Errigo is a global speaker, wellbeing expert, and Founder of HumanOS, a platform advancing sustainable high performance in the workplace. With a BSc in Psychology, a background in corporate sales, and over 13,000 hours of coaching with clients ranging from global CEOs to elite athletes, she blends science, strategy and lived experience to drive meaningful behaviour change.

Named one of Startups Magazine’s 24 Most Influential Women of 2024 and recognised as American Express’s Top External Speaker, Bianca specialises in resilience, emotional intelligence, burnout prevention, and the future of work. She has delivered keynotes and workshops for organisations including American Express, Cisco, Barclays, Dell, Diageo, The NHS, Canva and the University of Cambridge. Known for her warm presence and practical approach, Bianca challenges outdated ideas of “wellbeing”, empowering leaders and teams to perform at a high level, sustainably.

If you’d like to explore how HumanOS can help your team build resilience and sustainable performance, you can learn more [here].

Key time stamps:

1:36 - Introduction to Bianca Errigo
3:37 - About HumanOS
12:14 - Competitiveness fuels resilience
19:00 – The current state of wellbeing
22:00 - Sleep disappearing under pressure and stress
30:00 - Tracking and monitoring health
33:40 - Gender differences and the impact on HR’s resilience
37:45 - Advice to companies for their HR team
42:00 - Psychological safety
46:45 - Advice for leaders of HR teams

HR Insights: The real state of HR resilience

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 13:00:00 +0000

In this episode of HR Insights: The Podcast, our CEO Stuart Elliott sits down with Thierry Moschetti, Managing Partner at the Resilience Institute, to unpack the findings of the Global HR Resilience Report 2025, the first global diagnostic snapshot of how HR professionals are really doing.

Together, they explore what resilience truly means in the HR context and how the profession is holding up amidst constant transformation, complexity, and pressure. With only 32% of HR professionals categorised as resilient and just 1% thriving, the results of the report are a wake-up call.

“Bounce”, the ability to recover from stress, emerged as the weakest of the three resilience categories, highlighting just how much HR is being stretched.

In this conversation, Thierry shares practical insights and draws on the Resilience Institute’s work with organisations like Google, Shell, and PwC. He and Stuart dive into why self-awareness isn’t enough, the warning signs HR teams need to recognise, and how leaders can build more sustainable ways to perform under pressure.

Key Timestamps

02:58 - Introduction to Thierry Moschetti and Resilience Institute
17:10 - What is the global resilience survey and why did we run it?
21.50 - Key findings: The resilience spiral
26.28 - Unpacking the key findings
31:30 - Are HR leaders unsupported?
33.30 - The vulnerabilities of HR
37.00 - What needs to change?
42:26 - Gender gaps in resilience
47.40 - Age gaps in resilience
52.40 - Aiding burnout
56.40 - Advice for leaders wanting to strengthen their HR teams resilience

HR Insights: EOR - The smarter way to go global

Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast.

Today, our CEO and Host, Stuart Elliott, is joined by Tony Davies, Director of Global Partners at Acumen International, to explore the rapidly growing world of global employment and the role of Employer of Record (EOR) in enabling organisations to scale across borders with confidence.

Together, they discuss the evolution of Tony’s career, from military engineering to building high-performing recruitment businesses, to leading global partnership networks and advising organisations on compliant international workforce expansion. Tony breaks down what the EOR model really is, why demand is rising across regions such as the Middle East, Latin America, and India, and the common pitfalls organisations must avoid when hiring internationally.

We hope you gain practical insights into when and how to use an EOR solution, how to mitigate risk in global hiring, and why choosing the right partner can determine both compliance and commercial success.

About Tony Davies:
Tony Davies is the Director of Global Partners at Acumen International, where he leads the development and execution of global partnership strategies to expand market presence and support business growth. With more than 25 years of experience in international recruitment and workforce solutions, Tony specialises in building strategic alliances, scaling operations across borders, and enabling organisations to globalise efficiently through Acumen’s extensive Global EOR network.

Passionate about empowering organisations to unlock new market opportunities, Tony focuses on strategic collaboration, operational scalability, and sustainable growth in competitive, fast-changing environments.

Key Timestamps:

00:16 – About Tony’s Career path: military → engineering → recruitment
01:03 – Building and selling a recruitment firm
06:20 – Belcan UK turnaround to $60m and 35-country footprint
09:04 – With James Caan: building global partner networks
10:43 – Joining Acumen International: partnership vs referral models
12:08 – What is EOR/PEO and why companies use it
18:45 – Demand hotspots: Middle East, Northern LatAm, India
21:50 – Pitfalls: “cheapest” ≠ safest; misclassification; penalties on global turnover
26:56 – Before using EOR: three checks to run
30:30 – When EOR is the right tool (SMBs, market tests, entity rationalisation)
41:53 – Advice for HR & leaders: build a trusted EOR partnership

HR Insights: Why the chief of staff role is making a comeback?

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast. Today, our CEO and Host, Stuart Elliott, is joined by Claire Butler, a strategic HR leader with extensive experience across global markets, to explore one of the most talked-about roles making a comeback in today’s market, the Chief of Staff.

Together, they unpack what the Chief of Staff role really entails, why it’s re-emerging as a critical strategic function, and how it serves as a bridge between leadership, operations, and culture. Claire shares her personal journey transitioning from HR into the Chief of Staff role, offering honest reflections on both the opportunities and challenges that come with it.

Listeners will gain valuable insights into the key skills that define a successful Chief of Staff, why demand for this position is rising again, and practical advice for both employers hiring for the role and professionals considering it as their next career step.

About Claire Butler:
Claire Butler is a strategic and results-driven HR leader with a strong commercial mindset and a proven track record in driving organisational transformation and HR excellence across global markets. With experience spanning the UK, Europe, the US, and Asia, Claire brings deep expertise in employment frameworks, cultural integration, and HR programme design and delivery.

Passionate about innovation, people, and performance, she is driven by creating enthusiasm, inspiring others, and helping organisations achieve lasting results.

Key Timestamps:

01:40 – Introduction to Claire Butler
04:40 – What is a Chief of Staff?
07:31 – What skills make up the Chief of Staff role?
09:48 – Key skills to excel as a Chief of Staff
12:25 – Why Chief of Staff roles are back in trend
17:48 – Pros & cons of being a Chief of Staff
20:42 – Main challenges of the role
26:54 – Hints and tips for success in the role
28:32 – Strategic or operational?
29:41 – Advice for those considering the role

HR Insights: Is AI the future of talent acquistion?

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 12:00:00 +0100

77% of companies are facing a skills crisis, a striking figure that highlights just how urgent the challenge has become.

In this episode, Stuart is joined by Nick Shaw, Co-Founder of Spotted Zebra, to explore how HR leaders can leverage technology to bridge the widening skills gap.

AI is on everyone’s agenda, but how can it really help HR teams reshape recruitment and performance? Stuart and Nick dive into how AI and skills science can work together to improve productivity, enhance decision-making, and transform how organisations identify and develop talent.

They discuss why traditional recruitment models need disruption, how interview intelligence can help teams make faster, fairer decisions, and the importance of keeping human judgement at the heart of AI adoption.

The conversation also uncovers the blind spots in how companies assess skills, the misconceptions surrounding AI, and practical advice for leaders preparing for the future of HR technology.

Who is our guest?

Nick Shaw is the Co-Founder and Chief Commercial Officer at Spotted Zebra, and industry-leading occupational psychology expert.

Recognising that 77% of organisations face a widening skills crisis whilst AI floods recruitment pipelines, Nick co-founded Spotted Zebra - an award-winning Interview Intelligence and Assessment platform - alongside serial entrepreneur Ian Monk. Spotted Zebra combines skills science with AI to surface meaningful talent insights instantly and empower teams to make more objective, data-informed hiring decisions with confidence every time.

As one of the UK's leading authorities in the assessment space, Nick is passionate about transforming how organisations build high-performing teams for now and the future through technology that enhances rather than replaces human judgement.

Key timestamps

01:30 – Introduction to Nick Shaw
01:56 – The name “Spotted Zebra”
07:29 - Explosion in AI and its impact
13:13 - Discovering AI
15:35 - Risks and uses of AI
26:18 - The skills crisis
32:31 - The misconceptions in AI
38:54 - T-shaped professionals
41:55 - Opportunities in HR tech
46:14 - Advice to prepare for AI and change

HR insights: AI unlocked - the future of talent and productivity

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 13:00:00 +0100

AI is on everyone’s agenda, but what does it really mean for businesses, productivity, and the future of work?

In this episode, Stuart sits down with Daniel Snell, Co-Founder of Arrival, a management consultancy that has worked with leaders across the globe to deliver systemic change and sustainable performance.

With a keen focus on AI, Daniel has seen first-hand how organisations are grappling with its rapid rise and potential. Stuart and Daniel explore the latest trends shaping AI adoption and its impact on productivity, the risks and challenges businesses face when integrating new technology, and the parallels between today’s AI revolution and the dawn of the internet. They also discuss whether AI can truly reduce workplace bias, how it might assess individual value and influence career progression, and what the future of AI in business could look like.

About our guest
For more than 20 years, Daniel Snell has advised executive leaders worldwide—including those at Tesco, Investec, Sky, GSK, and Morgan Stanley—helping them drive growth, profit, and organisational performance. Known for bridging strategy, people, and organisational behaviour, he has delivered lasting change across industries and cultures.

Alongside his consultancy work, Daniel leads Arrival’s Social Impact programmes, which have supported over 15,000 disadvantaged young people into successful careers. He also founded the Not in Our Name movement during the 2011 London riots and is a finalist in the 2025 Consultancy Awards for his pioneering approach to inclusion.

Arrival is backed by some of the UK’s most recognised business and investment leaders, including figures from Pret, Tesco, Haleon, Artemis, Lansdowne Partners, Silverlake and ECI Partners.

Key timestamps:

01:50 – Introducing into Daniel Snell
05:01 – Starting Arrival
14:01 - The impact of Covid on performance
16:00 – Trends within AI
18:52 – Risks when adopting AI
29:32 – AI breaking through to meritocracy
31:46 – AI’s ability to remove bias in the workplace
38:57 – The data AI needs to understand someone’s value to an organisation
41:09 – Technology compared to the human connection
46:22 – AI impacting career progression
49:29 – AI’s impact on inclusivity
59:11 – What will AI look like in 10 years?

HR insights: Executive coaching, blind spots, and building trust

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0100

On HR Insights, we strive to bring our listeners conversations they are asking for. Avid listeners of the show may remember that this summer, we have been running our HR Resilience Report in collaboration with The Resilience Institute. Initial results highlighted a recurring theme of mindful leadership. As HR continues to take on more responsibility in an ever-changing world of work, engaging with a leadership coach can provide invaluable support and shift your perspective to be more mindful during times of change.

In this episode, our CEO and Host of the show, Stuart Elliott, is joined by Nina Donovan, Head of UK and Europe at OSC Leadership Development. Nina is an experienced executive coach who works with senior leaders and facilitates leadership teams through complex periods of change.

Together, Stuart and Nina explore how high-stakes environments shape leadership behaviours, and the practical frameworks leaders can use when navigating career shifts. They discuss the reality of “loneliness at the top,” with senior executives often feeling pressure to have all the answers and why building the right support system is so important. Nina also shares her perspective on what to look for when beginning a coaching relationship, how to find the right coach, and how to approach coaching as a long-term journey rather than a quick fix.

The conversation then turns to leading through uncertainty and how to pace change effectively, communicate with transparency, and maintain trust without creating unnecessary anxiety. Nina explains how she draws on both psychodynamic thinking and neuroscience to help leaders work with emotions rather than against them. The discussion concludes with a look at the growing role of AI in coaching, what it can offer today, and what it might mean for the future of leadership development.

If you’d like to continue the conversation or explore coaching opportunities with Nina, you can connect with her on LinkedIn or reach her directly at nina.donovan@globalosc.com.

Key Timestamps:

01:30 – An introduction to Nina
05:05 – Navigating change through a career shift
08:22 – Loneliness at the top
14:38 – Different leadership styles
15:42 – Beginning a relationship with executive coaching
18:06 – Common blind spots seen with Senior Executives
21:19 – Executive coaching is not a quick fix
26.14 – Balancing communication during times of uncertainty
29:40 – AI in executive coaching
30:31 – Using neuroscience to complement change
38:45 – Finding an Executive Coach

HR Insights: Losing your leaders without a menopause strategy

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 11:00:00 +0100

73% of women leaders say they would change companies for menopause-related benefits.

Earlier this year, in our episode with Maggie Lester, we explored how menopause is beginning to take its place on the benefits agenda, but with a lot of work still to do. To continue this conversation, Stuart welcomes back Fiona McKay, CEO of Lightbulb and Founder of The Menopause Maze, to unpack how menopause impacts leadership retention and the loss of female talent.

Together, Stuart and Fiona discuss the critical point at which organisations lose their most experienced female leaders, often without even realising it. They explore what HR frequently overlooks in leadership pipeline gaps, and how HR leaders can start connecting menopause to the silent derailments that disrupt careers behind the scenes. The conversation also touches on the long-term value chain of addressing menopause in the workplace, covering governance, the great wealth transfer and the implications for HR and corporate services leaders.

Finally, Fiona introduces the NOPAUSE™ Workplace Diagnostic, the world’s only data-driven tool designed to reveal where menopause is costing organisations their leadership layer, and what can be done to change that. For a limited time, you can access a personalised NOPAUSE™ diagnostic report in just five minutes, complimentary until 8th September 2025.

Who is our guest?

Fiona McKay is the CEO of Lightbulb Leadership Solutions, a strategic C-suite value creation advisory company that supports high-growth businesses, portfolio companies and private equity investors navigating critical moments of leadership, performance, and value creation. She’s also the founder of The Menopause Maze, a specialist firm within the Lightbulb group that focuses on retaining and accelerating the top 1% of female leaders navigating menopause.

Key timestamps:

02:03: Introducing Fiona McKay and The Menopause Maze
10:06: When companies start to lose their most seasoned talent
13:30: Showing up, even when you’re not visible
17:04: Finding a good physician
18:38: What HR commonly misses in the leadership layer gaps
22:06: Approaching the topic of menopause
23:38: Connecting the dots between menopause and the silent career derailment
27:43: Benefits of medical plans and paying privately
29:33: Moving to a competitor if they offer menopause related benefits
31:43: The great wealth transfer
36:25: The NOPAUSE™ Workplace Diagnostic

HR Insights: Evolving skillsets of HR leaders

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0100

In this special episode of HR insights, Stuart Elliott is joined by Ilona Jurkiewicz and Roshan Jayawardena to draw on insights from their recently published white paper, ‘Evolving skillsets of HR leaders’, which combines qualitative interviews with 80+ HR leaders and quantitative data. They explore how the HR function is rapidly evolving in response to significant external forces and how the expectations of HR professionals have expanded far beyond traditional responsibilities; today’s HR leaders are increasingly expected to drive commercial outcomes, lead AI initiatives, and navigate complex, people-centred challenges across global organisations. They also address the growing difficulty of creating psychologically safe and inclusive environments, especially amid political polarisation and evolving definitions of inclusion.

Who are our guests?

Ilona Jurkiewicz is the President, Americas at Cappfinity. She has over 16 years of executive experience driving HR strategy, culture evolution, and organisational growth and specialises in leading people-centred transformations that drive measurable business outcomes

Throughout her career, she has successfully scaled organisations globally, built world-class leadership ecosystems, navigated major acquisitions and divestitures, and architected cultures that empower innovation and performance.

Roshan Jayawardena is the Managing Director for Elliott Scott in North America, partnering with HR leaders across a range of sectors to deliver specialist HR search and recruitment solutions.

With 15 years of experience in HR and executive search, Roshan brings a strategic, consultative, and relationship-driven approach to senior HR hiring. He specialises in retained searches for senior HR appointments and his background as an HRBP at General Electric gives him a unique understanding of the HR function, allowing him to advise on both immediate hiring needs and long-term talent strategies.

Key timestamps:

- 02:04 – Intro into Ilona

- 04:16 – Intro into Rosh

- 07:32 – The inspiration for the report

- 12:00 – The standout impacts of the research

- 18:53 – Hybrid working

- 21:50 – The evolving role of a CPO

- 30:25 – The struggle of implementing empathy, psychological safety and inclusion

- 35:50 – The impact of the political agenda in the US

- 39:20 – Is HR ready and prepared to lead on digital transformation?

- 48:50 – The potential dangers of AI

- 52:40 – Advice for mid career HR professionals becoming CPOs

Please download the whitepaper here for more data insights and the ever-chaging skills of HR leaders.

HR Insights: Finding calm in the chaos of HR

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0100

We’re back again this week with another new episode!

If you have been following HR Insights, you would have seen, we are currently running our HR Resilience Survey to better understand how resilient the function truly is and what HR professionals most need to focus on right now. So far, one of the clearest themes that emerged was the challenge of managing worry and finding calm, highlighting the widespread sense of burnout across the profession.

Today, we are joined by Rebecca Reed, Founder of Siendo and Creator of MentalFlex to help us unpack the shift in HR and offer some practical tools for burnout.

During the episode, Stuart and Rebecca chat about the reason she started her business and her own personal struggles with poor mental health and post-weaning depression. They speak through the importance of having a mental health first aider and how this can make a positive change to company culture. The conversation then pivoted to discuss burnout within HR, the signs to look for when someone is experiencing burnout and how to manage this. Lastly, Stuart asks Rebecca about the science of joy and her development of MentalFlex.

Who is our guest?

Rebecca Reed is the Founder of Siendo and Creator of MentalFlex®, with nearly a
decade of experience in mental health and wellbeing. Her career began in
corporate banking, but a passion for prevention led her to launch Siendo, a company helping people and workplaces take a proactive approach to mental health. She's trained thousands in Mental Health First Aid and worked with brands like Nike, Oxford University, and the NHS. Following her own journey through postnatal depression, she created MentalFlex® to support parents in managing stress, resetting their nervous systems, and showing up with calm and clarity.

Key timestamps

01:53 – Introducing Rebecca Reed
05:40 – Rebecca’s personal journey with mental fitness
12:25 – The shift in wellbeing practices
14:50 – Mental health first aiders
20:21 – Legislation for mental health in the UK
22:53 – Dealing with stress as a mental health first aider
24:49 – Changing company culture
27:45 – Signs of burnout
31:06 – Managing burnout in HR
40:26 – The science of joy
44:19 – MentalFlex
48:57 – Building mental fitness

There is still time to get your free personalised resilience report by completing the survey here.

HR insights: Managing the shift: navigating change in a constantly evolving world

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0100

In this episode of HR Insights, we sit down with Friska Wirya, founder of Future Fit and a globally recognised change management thought leader, to unpack what real change leadership looks like in today’s ever-evolving business landscape. With more than a decade of experience transforming some of the world’s most conservative organisations, Friska brings raw honesty, strategic insight, and a touch of humanity to the prominent topic of change.

From managing layoffs with empathy to future-proofing leadership in the age of AI, this conversation dives deep into how we lead, adapt, and evolve in complex times. Friska offers practical tools, tough truths, and inspiring ideas for executives navigating transformation and employees grappling with continuous change.

Who is our guest?

Friska Wirya is a multi-award-winning change management expert, TED speaker, and best-selling author recognised as a top 50 Global Change Leader. She partners with leaders and organisations worldwide to drive impactful transformation. Her books have gained international acclaim, with her latest becoming a #1 bestseller in Indonesia. Friska’s work has been featured in Vogue, The Financial Review, The CEO Magazine, and more.

Key timestamps

01:49 – Intro into Friska
05:05 – Downsizing done right: honesty, empathy, and patience
06:55 – Profit vs people: what most companies get wrong
08:00 – Common leadership fails
11:34 – What positive change actually looks like
14:13 – Is change within business perpetual?
15:31 – Cultural contexts: why change feels different across the globe
19:42 – The five roles leaders must play to become change management experts
21:12 – Fear of AI at work
24:10 – Helping leaders embrace AI
29:38 – Effective examples of adapting to change
30:40 – Shifting the boardroom mindset
32:33 – How employees can open themselves to change
35:50 – Advice for CPOs managing change
36:54 – Advice for employees

This episode is sponsored by our partners at Cappfinity. Cappfinity believes in a world where skills and potential create opportunity for all. They are global leaders in measuring and developing potential in Talent Acquisition & Talent Management with a focus on skills and strengths.

Through the Cappfinity Skills Suite® they provide skills-based Talent Acquisition and Management solutions across all levels and industries.

Their Talent Acquisition solutions range from pre-skilling to seamless onboarding - all the while delivering immersive, brand aligned and insightful experiences to their clients and their candidates.

Interested in their services? Please reach out to Celine.Floyd@cappfinity.com to book your demo today.

HR Insights: How strategic benefits build brand and culture

Thu, 12 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to another episode of the HR insights: podcast!

In this episode, our CEO and host, Stuart Elliott, chats to International Benefits Strategy Leader Maggie Lester at Merck Group, to discuss the evolution of employee benefits and how they mould the brand and culture of the organisation.

Maggie shares insights spanning her 20 years of international experience, highlighting the shift from pensions to more inclusive benefits. She notes the impact that cultural differences have on benefit structures, discussing the implementation of fertility, menopause, carers’ leave and trans health benefits.

Who is our guest?

Maggie Lester is a remuneration specialist with over 20 years’ international experience working for both consultancies and multinationals, in the UK, France, Switzerland, Japan and Hong Kong. She currently heads up employee benefits for Merck Group KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, covering over 60,000 employees across 65 jurisdictions. Previous roles include Meta, HSBC (Asia Pacific) and Reuters.

Maggie has always been passionate about designing and delivering innovative solutions that deliver both employee value and fiscal benefits for organisations. She believes that DE&I is a business case, and that a company’s benefits define their position. She holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Bristol in the UK, and an MBA for Executives from INSEAD.

Key timestamps

00:40: Introducing Maggie Lester
06:02: How benefits have evolved
12:05: Benefits linked to brand and culture
17:00: Time off/ quality of life
20:40: DEI as part of the benefits package
26:27: Fertility benefits
30:02: Has the shift in DEI impacted the benefits space
35:30: Global vs local benefits
40:00: Newest trends within benefits
46:32: Advice for renewing your benefit structure
48:24: Wellness benefits

Through the Cappfinity Skills Suite® they provide skills-based Talent Acquisition and Management solutions across all levels and industries.

Interested in their services? Please reach out to Celine.Floyd@cappfinity.com to book your demo today.

HR Insights: The shifting priorities of DEI in HR

Tue, 29 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0100

In this episode, we explore the shifting landscape of DEI with Nikki Davies, a globally recognised DEI strategist, coach, and entrepreneur based in Hong Kong. Drawing from our recent UK HR Trends Report, which revealed a shift in DEI's priority amongst organisations, Stuart Elliott asks: why is this happening—and what does it mean for the future?

Nikki shares insights from her 30-year career in coaching and consulting, and how organisations are facing a "day of reckoning"—separating those truly committed to DEI from those who have simply followed trends. We dive into the global trends, the importance of psychological safety, and why sustainable, authentic inclusion efforts—not reactionary ones—will define successful businesses moving forward.

We also explore how factors like the US election, demographic shifts, and the rise of AI are impacting DEI conversations, and why resilience and leadership authenticity are more crucial than ever. Nikki offers advice for HR leaders on how to keep DEI embedded within business strategy and how small, consistent actions can lead to real, lasting progress.

Who is our guest?

Nikki Davies is a former HR executive with MNCs including Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and Prudential plc. She is now the founder of coNEXTion, her consulting and ICF ACC accredited coaching business, serving clients from start-ups to global organisations and is also the Senior Consultant for Pixel Alchemy Collective.

A recognised global DEIB strategist, Nikki has over 20 years' experience crafting strategies to drive inclusion, equity, and belonging. She supports executives as a coach and advises organisations on adapting global initiatives to local markets, always aligning DEIB outcomes with strategic business goals.

Nikki’s approach uses human-centred design to identify systemic challenges and create action-based plans with measurable results, helping leaders build thriving, inclusive organisations. Her impactful initiatives include Diverse Talent Sponsorship Programmes, Inclusive Recruiting, Global DEIB e-learning, Employee Resource Group frameworks, and Inclusive Marketing strategies.

Key Timestamps:

04:00 - Intro into Nikki Davies
06:20 - Results from our survey
11:00 - The shift in the prioritisation of DEI
17:39 - Is the shift being seen globally?
22:56 - The emergence of other aspects of DEI
30:40 - Impactful DEI initiatives
37:17 - The importance of keeping DEI on the agenda and advice for HR leaders

HR Insights: UK HR trends 2025

Thu, 10 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0100

You may have noticed a brief pause in our HR Insights: Podcast episodes. This break was part of our broader initiative to elevate the Elliott Scott brand. We're excited to return with enhanced content and a renewed focus on delivering insightful, topical discussions that support and inspire your career growth.

We recently partnered with Cappfinity on a whitepaper focused on gathering the trends in the UK HR world at the beginning of 2025. Cappfinity is the world leader in measuring and developing potential in talent acquisition & talent management. Today we are joined by their Chief Skills Officer, Celine Floyd, to discuss our findings.

Our CEO and host, Stuart Elliott, sat down with Celine to examine emerging trends, unexpected insights, the rise of skills-based hiring, change management, the integration of AI in HR, essential HR leadership capabilities and what the HR community is most excited about in the year ahead.

To download the full report please visit: UK HR trends 2025

Who is our guest?

Celine is the Chief Skills Officer at Cappfinity. She is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and a featured author in Wired, Readers Digest, HR.com, Work Magazine and the Institute of Leadership and Management. Celine is a regular advisor to CEOs, CPOs and CHROs, typically of international corporations. She is passionate about authenticity, agility, inclusion, technology, social mobility and modernity. At Cappfinity Celine is responsible for their skills agenda and its global go-to-market strategy.

Key Timestamps

00:45 – Where have we been?
02:01 – Intro to Celine Floyd and Cappfinity
05:49 – Celine's key takeaways from the whitepaper
07:20 – The trends that came to light
14:38 – The skills-based movement
19:39 – Change management
22:02 – How we use AI
29:34 – The shift in EDI
35:21 – HR leadership skills
40:42 – What HR is excited about in 2025

Series 7: Career Stories: Leading With Intent

Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

It's our mid-season finale!

In this episode, Stuart Elliott sits down with DN Prasad, Executive Coach, transformational HR Leader and founder of Noetic Step to discuss his career. Originally from Bangalore, Prasad’s journey is one of intentionality, growth, and impact. Over his impressive career—including 12 years at Google—he has shaped cultures, built high-performing teams, and led transformative initiatives across India, the US, and Singapore.

Prasad shares the defining moments that underpin his career, from building Google India’s employment brand to stepping into global roles that stretched his leadership style. He reflects on what it means to work across borders, emphasisng the importance of embracing diverse cultures, intellectual curiosity, and humility.

He also dives into the challenges of leading through transformation, the lessons he’s learned in both private and public sectors, and the intentional approach leaders must take to seek inspiration from those around them. For aspiring HR professionals, Prasad offers timeless advice: explore, challenge yourself, embrace overseas opportunities, and never stop learning.

D N Prasad is an Executive Coach (PCC, International Coach Federation) and a transformational HR Leader with expertise in leading scaled transformation, building and scaling Organisations & functions (in-country, region and global) and shaping & nurturing cultures and careers. Prasad was conferred as a Master Professional by the Institute of Human Resource Professionals (IHRP).

DNP, as he is known in professional circles, has held several regional and global Executive roles through his career spanning quarter of a century; in private and Public Service, across India, US and Singapore, and in organisations including Infosys, Google and GovTech (Singapore). He also founded Noetic Step, an Executive Coaching and Talent Advisory practice, in 2018.

DNP is the current President of Singapore Human Resources Institute (SHRI) and a member of The Professional Practices Committee for IHRP, Singapore. He is an Independent Advisor at GoSports Foundation, India and also an invited member of the Forbes Coaches Council.

Key Timestamps:

01:25 - Intro into D N Prasad
04:49 - The defining moments underpinning D N Prasad's career
06:36 - D N Prasad's role at Google
11:57 - The positive impact of working abroad
16:13 - How D N Prasad's experiences have shaped his leadership style
21:52 - Public vs Private sector
31:10 - D N Prasad's toughest work engagements
37:39 - Advice to aspiring HR professionals

Series 7: How Resilient Are You?

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Today's guest is Thierry Moschetti, Co-Founder and Managing Partner Europe for the Resilience Institute. Thierry is a long-term friend of Elliott Scott HR and has been sharing his insights in the resilience space with our community in past podcast episodes and events.

Today, we asked Thierry back on the show to talk through new trends in the resilience space, the idea of top-down imperative, which only works when leaders walk the talk in their capacity to balance performance and care for themselves, others and society. As the conversation develops Stuart and Thierry discuss the Resilience Institutes’ Resilience Assessment; the purpose of which gives you a resilience score and tells you how you are comparing against the global average, the assessment offers a breakdown of this score and advice on how to become more resilient. Thierry also shared insights on typical issues companies face when building resilience across their teams and advice for people struggling with wellbeing.

If you would like to complete the Resilience Assessment, you can do so here.

Who is our guest?

After fifteen years in the service industry, including leadership roles in Europe and Asia, and a period of burnout, Thierry joined the Resilience Institute in 2010, a research and training organisation that measures and improves human resilience in organisations using an innovative assessment tool and a science-based training methodology. He has delivered keynotes, training and consulting projects in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the US. Thierry is currently based in England and now leads the Resilience Institute’s European practice.

Key Timestamps:

02:17 – Reintroducing Thierry and the Resilience Institute
07:18 – How does the Resilience Institute work?
08:21 – Top-down Imperative
11:38 – The Resilience Assessment
22:20 – Celebrating the small wins
26:20 – Fitness and wellbeing
31:04 – The connection of wellbeing to the outside
32:26 – Typical issues organisations face when approaching resilience work
36:19 – Engagement Surveys
38:43 – Advice for companies wanting to improve their resilience
40:59 – Advice for anyone struggling

Series 7: Anti-racism and Care in the Modern Workplace

Thu, 28 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Stuart Elliott sits down with Ngozi Cadmus, an inspiration in mental health, anti-racism, and leadership research. With 17 years working in mental health, Ngozi shares her journey from social worker to founder of Happiworkers, an anti-racist, culturally sensitive mental health platform designed to support employees—especially those from racialised backgrounds.

Ngozi discusses her experiences as an approved mental health professional, her groundbreaking doctoral research on discovering why there is a huge lack of black women at C-suite level, and the systemic barriers they face. Ngozi breaks down what anti-racism looks like in the workplace, why racially informed mental health care matters, and how companies can truly support their staff with inclusivity and psychological safety. She also shares actionable insights for leaders to take risks, embrace discomfort, and create meaningful change in order to actively practice anti-racism.

Get to know our guest

Ngozi Cadmus is a TEDx speaker, social worker, psychotherapist, and CEO of the leading UK anti-racist, culturally sensitive workplace mental health solution, Happiworkers. Her expertise is in creating anti-racist organisations through a racially informed mental health lens and holding leadership accountable for their commitment to anti-racist practice. Lastly, she is nearing the end of her doctoral research, which focuses on the strategies black women use to reach the top.

Key Timestamps:

00:48 – Intro into Ngozi and her career history
03:26 – Ngozi’s experience as a mental health professional
07:33 – Ngozi’s doctoral research
16:45 – The definition of anti-racism and a racialised employee
24:12 – The importance of racially informed mental health care
34:55 – How companies can look after racialised employees
38:42 – The significance of psychological safety
45:00 – How leaders can start creating inclusive workforces

Series 7: Perfecting Negotiation: Earn More, Fear Less

Thu, 21 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Stuart Elliott sits down with John Gates, a former recruiter turned internationally bestselling author of Act Your Wage, to uncover the art and strategy of pay negotiation. John shares his journey from humble beginnings, working his way through college, to becoming a trusted advisor for C-suite executives and senior leaders through his business, Salary Coach. Over the years, he’s developed a proven method to help candidates secure better compensation packages without risking job offers or damaging relationships.

Drawing from his own experiences, John reveals why fear holds most people back in pay negotiations and how to overcome them. He breaks down common mistakes candidates make, the nuances of pay transparency, and the importance of timing and leverage when asking for what you’re worth. Whether you’re a senior leader navigating high-stakes negotiations or simply looking to better understand your value, John’s refined Salary Coach method offers a roadmap to maximise your compensation while maintaining professionalism and trust.

John Gates is an author and founder of Salary Coach, where he helps C-Suite executives and senior leaders negotiate higher compensation packages without risking their job offers or future relationships. John’s unique approach, born from his extensive experience in corporate recruiting, consistently helps his clients secure 10-20% more in their pay packages, even in challenging job markets.

John’s journey began when a sudden job loss led him to a low-paying role at a temporary agency, struggling to support his young family. The turning point came when he realised the power of leverage during his own salary negotiation, securing a substantial offer from Capital One despite initial fears. Through his journey, John developed a unique approach to help senior-level professionals navigate salary negotiations with confidence, using what he calls the Salary Coach Method.

Key Timestamps:

04:27 - John's background and career history
12:50 - The lessons John has learnt about negotiation
16:40 - Why Senior Executives struggle to negotiate
24:28 - 'Know your worth' tactics
36:48 - The Salary Coach method
42:48 - Advice for people who are cynical of recruiters

Series 7: The Changing Role of HR

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The world of HR has changed drastically in recent years and with technology continuing to develop, AI has become a significant part of HR’s tech stack. Today’s guest is Noelle London, Founder and CEO of Illoominus, a people insights platform that integrates and gives context to HR data within and across organisations. Stuart and Noelle sit down to discuss the ever-changing role of HR.

Throughout the episode, Noelle and Stuart discuss how Illoominus was created and the challenges of being an entrepreneur before focusing on how the role of HR has adapted over the years. They take a deeper dive into how leaders can prepare for the changes in HR’s role, how AI could aid HR in being more data-driven and whether leaders are ready for this change. The conversation moved forward to discuss how HR leaders can get started and be ready to take advantage of upcoming technologies, followed by which organisations are doing well within this space.

Get to know Noelle

Noelle is the Founder and CEO of Illoominus, living in Atlanta, GA with her husband and dog. Noelle caught the entrepreneurial bug early, starting a jewellery business at 15 years old. During her Peace Corps experience in Nicaragua, Noelle worked with female founders on their new ventures which gave her the idea to start something for herself.

Noelle has worked with early and growth stage startups for over a decade, bridging connections to capital, customers and talent. Previously, Noelle led the Atlanta Mayor Office’s startup economic development strategy to connect underrepresented tech talent with career paths to Atlanta’s top startups, she also launched the Crystal City, VA office of 1776, a global startup incubator and venture fund. Whilst leading joint go-to-market opportunities with Accenture’s startup partners and investment portfolio, Noelle was able to help startups scale into Fortune 2000 clients, which allowed her to map the HR tech landscape and found that it’s overflowing with point solutions.

Key Timestamps

03:33 – Introduction to Noelle and Illoominus
07:49 – The hardest part of being an entrepreneur
10:47 – How the role of HR is changing
18:40 – Are leaders prepared for the changing role of HR
22:47 – The AI utopia
32:20 – What are you doing to prepare for AI
33:16 – How can HR leaders take advantage of up-and-coming technologies?
39:34 – Companies that are doing well in this space
44:27 – Businesses focus on people

Series 7: Neurodiversity: Transforming Workplace Dynamics

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Stuart Elliott talks to Tania Martin, a neuro-inclusion Consultant and Founder of PegSquared, who has spent years advocating for neurodiversity within organisations. Tania shares her experience at EY, where she was instrumental in establishing a Neurodiverse Centre of Excellence and shifting strategies to support candidates who may not thrive in conventional interview settings.

Stuart and Tania explore her own personal journey with an ADHD diagnosis which shifted her understanding of herself and fuelled her commitment to creating more inclusive workspaces. From discussing the changing landscape of neurodiversity awareness and the powerful generational shift in openness, to addressing the stigma and challenges that still exist, Tania provides a compelling overview of why this topic is so crucial today.
Tania outlines the tangible business benefits of fostering an inclusive environment, offers practical support strategies, including individualised adjustments and sensory-friendly practices, and discusses her five key takeaways for embedding neurodiversity into an organisation’s core culture. The conversation finishes with Tania uncovering actionable advice for HR professionals looking to make meaningful changes, emphasising the importance of curiosity, pilot programs, and seeking external expertise.

Tania Martin is the founder of PegSquared and an experienced Neuro-inclusion consultant. She helps workplaces navigate neurodiversity at both an organisation and individual level. She leverages real world corporate neurodiversity experience from her time leading the award-winning UK’s Neuro-Diverse Centre of Excellence at EY. This is underpinned by 20+ years’ experience of leading complex transformation programmes across both people and technology in large global organisations. These skills together enable her to bring a unique perspective to organisations wanting to create neuro-inclusive workplaces. Her journey also includes navigating her own career with ADHD, diagnosed in 2022, providing a distinctive firsthand perspective on neurodiversity at work.

Key Timestamps:

02:20 – Intro into Tania
05:30 – The prevalence of this topic
08:08 – Tania’s personal ADHD diagnosis
16:42 – The breadth of the spectrum
22:55 – Business benefits of implementing change
35:09 – Five takeaways from Tania’s experience of neurodiversity in an organisation
43:48 – Changes in the recruitment process
47:13 – Where to start as an HR professional

Series 7: Shaping the Workforce with AI-Driven Learning

Thu, 31 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Stuart dives into the transformative potential of AI in the Learning and Development space with Luis Garcia, President of PETE, an AI-powered learning platform. Luis talks about his journey from product development to launching one of the fastest-growing online universities in the US and how this has shaped his expertise and vision for the future of learning.

Luis discusses why translating expertise into effective training is harder than it looks, and how generative AI is set to revolutionise both the creation and evaluation of learning materials. From scaling training for hybrid teams across the globe to designing personalised micro-courses that target specific learning gaps, Luis explores how PETE is helping organisations keep pace with the future of work. We also explore the changing role of facilitators in a tech-driven world, the impact of generative AI vs. the metaverse, and how L&D departments can overcome challenges in AI adoption.

Luis Garcia is a seasoned international executive with over 25 years of experience in technology, digital media, and education. He specialises in driving new ventures and products to rapid growth by building effective teams that harness innovation, technology, and creativity to solve complex problems. He is the president of PETE, an Orlando-based tech startup that offers a suite of cost-effective and customisable solutions that enable organisations to deliver personalised workforce learning at scale. The PETE team is dedicated to harnessing the power of AI to help organisations of all sizes optimise their training initiatives, spanning from onboarding to regulatory compliance, product knowledge, technical skills, and more, without hiring additional training resources.

Key Timestamps:

01:50 – Intro into Luis
10:40 – Trends shaping the workforce
15:45 – How the system delivers the courses
17:40 – Personalising the programmes for organisations
20:58 – Generative AI vs the Metaverse
22:44 – How to ensuring workforces remain agile
33:10 – Challenges of implementing generative AI
35:40 – How to overcome the challenges

Series 7: Talent & Succession Planning with Ravello HR

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Our Host and CEO, Stuart Elliott, is joined today by Lucinda Reader, Founder of Ravello HR. Ravello HR is an HR consultancy specialising in helping businesses create highly effective and efficient talent teams.

Throughout the episode, Stuart and Lucinda focus on talent and succession planning; discussing why she started Ravello HR and giving advice to mums to be as they navigate their career journey. Stuart and Lucinda chat through how to get talent and succession planning right, how small businesses can adapt their talent strategy to continue growth, and how skills mapping and skills pathways can help in talent success. The discussion then moves on to hiring, where they cover the difference between internal and external recruitment partners, hiring people known to the business and how this could incorporate unconscious bias. Finally, they spoke about AI in the interview process, examples of good hiring processes and advice for startups going through a recruitment process.

Get to know our guest:

Lucinda Reader is the founder of Ravello HR, she is also the non-executive HR Director for Shoorah, a wellbeing app currently disrupting the market. Lucinda has worked in HR and Recruitment globally, both in house and agency, for almost 20 years across sectors, for some of the most well known brands. She is extremely passionate about creating an excellent and equitable experience for all candidates is a firm believer of equal opportunities for all; this being said, she is part of the charity No Going Back, which helps to rehabilitate offenders. Lucinda is proudly a mum to two young children; Santino and Lucia as well as her proclaimed first baby, Norman the sausage dog!

Key Timestamps:

02:06 – Introduction to Lucinda Reader
06:44 – The birth of Ravello HR
09:32 – A special mention to Norman the sausage dog
10:09 – Career advice for mums to be
13:42 – Getting talent and succession planning right
16:50 – Small businesses people strategies
20:03 – Skills mapping and skills pathways
24:50 – What Lucinda believes falls under the word ‘talent’ in the workplace
29:05 – Internal vs external recruitment partners
33:00 – Hiring people known to the business
37:34 – Examples of good hiring processes
39:49 – Advice for startups going through a recruitment process

Series 7: The Latest HR News

Mon, 21 Oct 2024 13:00:00 +0100

In this instalment of the ‘Latest HR News’, our CEO and Host, Stuart Elliott, is joined by Paul Knight, Senior HR Executive Leader and Consultant and Katy Goldwater, Chief People Officer to discuss topical themes and trending articles across the HR space.

Stuart, Katy and Paul start the conversation by discussing a topic that has continued to be prominent post Covid; hybrid working, reflecting on whether this topic needs to be parked and if it has had an effect on those starting their careers. Moving on, they touch on the topic of intergenerational working as the current workforce is navigating the most crossover in generations in the workplace than ever before. As the conversation continues, Stuart, Katy and Paul discuss whether the cover letter is still necessary and if hiring should be left to the HR department, taking diverse hiring into consideration. Finally, they move on to chatting through AI within the HR function and the future of work and whether it is dependent on the future of reward.

As a more light-hearted topic, Stuart, Katy and Paul discuss social media’s role in HR and whether the use of it is making HR cool again, through the use of TikTok and influencers in the space.

Articles referenced:

Series 7: Creating a Value-Driven Workplace

Thu, 17 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Today, Stuart Elliott is joined by returning guest, work psychologist, Sarah McLellan whose episode from Season 1 was our most popular episode to date. Today, people in workplaces are more unhappy than ever with company cultures cracking, and many harbouring the worst in human behaviour. Feelings of loneliness, exclusion, fear and exhaustion are growing within organisations and people are choosing to leave, searching for something more meaningful, somewhere they feel valued and able to flourish as a human. Sarah launched Make it Human in February 2024 to help leaders create healthier, more human-centred workplace cultures. She has also written a book titled Make It Human, which delves deeply into this topic.

In this episode, Sarah explains how workplace culture and talent assessment have evolved significantly since she began in terms of training and administration. However, Sarah points out that we are now at a crossroads between technology and human input, where organisations must find a balance between using data and maintaining fairness and empathy in talent management. She also speaks about the inspiration and vision behind her book and emphasises the importance of creating environments where people can thrive, noting that successful organisations build cultures that make employees feel valued, connected, and supported.

Sarah also points out how she sees hybrid work as a chance to balance home productivity with in-office collaboration, leading to better results if managed well. She highlights that small, intentional steps, can build strong, people-focused cultures. Her advice to HR leaders: focus on human growth, use microcultures to drive change, and stay intentional in shaping supportive, thriving workplaces.

Sarah McLellan is a people, business and thought leader with over 20 years’ experience in HR, leadership, assessment and talent management consulting. As a Chartered Occupational Psychologist Sarah has partnered with hundreds of companies to help build happy, inclusive and growing workplaces across the globe. Sarah believes work doesn’t have to be a 9–5 meaningless, lonely grind and this inspired her to launch her company Make it Human, a business dedicated to cultivating happier, healthier, more human workplaces.

Key Timestamps:

02:28 – Intro into Sarah
05:20 – Changes in talent assessment
11:40 – The inspiration behind the book
17:26 – Sarah’s view on 5 days in the office
24:00 – The vision for a healthier work-life
30:50 – The companies getting it right
44:52 – Advice for HR leaders shaping better cultures

Series 7: Being Wellbeing Centric

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0100

World Mental Health Day is held every year on 10th October, the objective of today is to raise awareness of mental health issues globally and support those struggling with mental wellbeing. In support of this, we wanted to host a special episode of HR Insights: The Podcast for you today! Stuart is joined by Principal Researcher, Human Capital for The Conference Board; Rita Meyerson, EdD, to shine a light on the work they are doing to bring workplace wellbeing to the forefront of employer’s minds.

Throughout their conversation, Stuart and Rita discuss a recent report by The Conference Board, that indicates that 62% of US workers feel their well-being is the same or worse than it was six months ago, despite increased corporate investments in well-being. They move on to cover what types of programs Rita anticipates emerging from the increased spending commitment to wellbeing, the difference in wellbeing from a business and human perspective, the organisational benefits for companies that prioritise wellbeing and how CEOs and CHRO’s can lead by example when fostering a culture of wellbeing within their organisation.

Rita, leads research and generates insights for members across all facets of human capital management. Her research focuses on organisational change and culture, organisational development, and total rewards and wellbeing. She is an experienced management consultant, researcher, and educator with deep expertise in organisational strategy, culture and change management. Prior to joining The Conference Board, Rita consulted across industries and geographies to Fortune 100 companies and PE-funded start-up enterprises. Previously, she was a Director in corporate communications and human resources at American Express.

To view the report and essay spoken about in today’s episode click the links below

Key Timestamps:

01:17 – Introduction to Rita Meyerson EdD
07:01 – Factors contributing to the stagnation of wellbeing
13:41 – Anticipated wellbeing programmes from increased spend
15:58 – 4 day work week and part time working
18:39 – Expectations of wellbeing for leaders
25:51 – 24/7 working
30:20 – Chief Wellbeing Officer’s
33:30 – Business buy in
34:43 – Fostering a wellbeing culture
42:35 – Aims for promoting wellbeing in the workplace

Series 7: Redefining Menopause in the Workplace

Thu, 03 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to another episode of HR Insights: The podcast. Today Stuart Elliott is joined by Fiona McKay, CEO and Founder of Lightbulb Leadership Solutions and sister company, The Menopause Maze. Fiona shares her personal and professional journey, highlighting her move from legal work to leadership consultancy and how Lightbulb Leadership Solutions focuses on helping female-led businesses scale, while The Menopause Maze, supports women navigating menopause.

Fiona delves into her own experience with early menopause, highlighting how it affected her both physically and mentally thus fuelling her passion to change the narrative around menopause in the workplace. Fiona discusses her advocation for open conversations and structural changes within organisations amidst alarming statistics about menopausal women and their struggles in employment. She mentions her involvement in campaigning for free HRT prescriptions in England and points out how menopause is now becoming a significant issue for businesses in terms of talent retention and ESG considerations.

Fiona emphasises the importance of creating a supportive environment for menopausal women, offering practical advice on how companies can address this issue, including conducting culture audits, providing anonymity in surveys, and offering customised employee benefits.

October is Menopause Awareness Month with World Menopause Awareness Day falling on October 18th. Please click here to see how you can get involved and support such an important cause.

Key Timestamps:

01:53 – Intro into Fiona
06:40 – Overview of the menopause and Fiona's personal experience with early menopause
17:30 – Stats around the menopause in the workplace
21:30 – How HR can deal with the prevalence of menopause in the workplace
24:50 – Elevating the conversation
27:50 – Starting points for companies
37:50 – Importance of allyship to grow the conversation
41:30 – Socio-economic issues with menopause

Series 7: Paying off Your Emotional Overdraft

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast. Today Stuart Elliott is joined by Andy Brown, Leadership coach and Author of best-selling book ‘The Emotional Overdraft: 10 simple changes for balancing business success and wellbeing’ focused on the often overlooked mental and physical costs of leadership.

In this episode Stuart and Andy discuss how his love for problem-solving led him to help businesses, especially marketing agencies, optimise their structures for success. He shares his key insights on the concept of the "emotional overdraft” explained as the practice of sacrificing one’s mental and physical well-being to support business or personal success, often born from an inability to disconnect from work. He highlights the need to address the issue to avoid burnout, offering strategies like tracking behaviours, setting boundaries, and promoting awareness. Throughout the podcast, Andy emphasizes self-reflection, recognising emotional overdraft signs, and the value of coaching to foster curiosity about behaviour patterns. He concludes by advising empathy and kindness when helping someone experiencing emotional overdraft, encouraging them to seek change.

Andy Brown has over 30 years' experience as an award-winning adviser and coach for people-based businesses. He's also a podcast host and the author of Amazon #1 best seller, ‘The Emotional Overdraft: 10 simple changes for balancing business success and wellbeing' a book for entrepreneurs, leaders and founders that articulates the often overlooked mental and physical costs of leadership.

Take the Cosmo Quiz and get the book here.

Key Timestamps:

02:38 – Intro into Andy
06:25 – The idea for the book
10:25 – Summary of the book
12:50 – Causes of an emotional overdraft
18:45 – Recognising you are in an emotional overdraft
36:50 – Paying off an emotional overdraft
44:40 – How to help someone in an emotional overdraft

Series 7: Do you Need a Career Coach?

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0100

In today’s challenging market, career coaching is a pertinent topic. Today’s resident expert, Programme Director and Career Coach Kate Mansfield, is a familiar face of the show. Kate has previously written content for us and has been a guest on our news episode of HR Insights. Joining Kate is our CEO and Host Stuart Elliott to facilitate the conversation and provide our audience with the starting points they need to have those sometimes feared, career conversations.

Throughout the episode, Stuart and Kate discuss what career coaching is and the power those conversations can carry. They touched on the challenges faced with internal career conversations and the benefits of an external coach, pushbacks from management, organisations that have good strategies in place to have these conversations and the seniority of individuals wanting these conversations. As the conversation moves on Stuart and Kate chat through The Kaleidoscope Career Model and becoming career champions.

Kate is a familiar face to the ESHR family, she takes responsibility for designing and delivering career development programmes for CCS clients across both private and public sector organisations in the UK and internationally. Kate is also a Lead Tutor on our open Accredited Career Coach Training course and continues to coach clients individually, thoroughly enjoying working with those wishing to focus on a wide variety of career related issues from career development to career transition.

Kate brings a particular depth of knowledge of coaching HR professionals as well as those transitioning from corporate life. Kate is also highly experienced and passionate about coaching women to evolve their careers. She is a qualified career coach trained by CCS and supported by her MSc in Organisational Behaviour.

Key Timestamps:

01:46 – Introduction to Kate Mansfield
05:52 – Becoming a Career Coach
07:59 – Challenges with internal career conversations
13:13 – Pushbacks from management to have career conversations
17:38 – Organisations that so well in this space
23:18 – Do career conversations depend on seniority?
28:43 – The Kaleidoscope Career Model
32:00 – Challenges HR face with career conversations
36:16 – Career Champions
40:33 – How Kates’s research helps workplace professionals

Series 7: The Success of Strategic HR Leadership

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Today our Host and CEO, Stuart Elliott, is joined by Ruth Gellert-Neale, who speaks about strategic HR leadership. It is very difficult to execute and be a true strategic HR leader, this episode aims to guide HR leaders to be just that by using Ruth’s myriad of knowledge and expertise.

Throughout the episode, Stuart and Ruth discuss how strategic leadership can contribute to organisational success, strategies to get businesses through times of change or crisis, ensuring the development and succession of leaders, metrics and analytics that strategic HR leadership can use to measure and improve organisational success and the challenges or barriers to effective strategic HR leadership and the routes to overcome them. They also touch on Ruth’s career story, attrition rates and how the perception of DEI has changed over the last year.

Ruth is an experienced HR Executive with a diverse portfolio of global expertise; advising C-suite leaders, as well as developing and growing teams to operationalise and deliver strategic HR initiatives. Originally from the UK, Ruth got her master’s degree in human resources from the University of Hertfordshire and is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD. Ruth moved to Singapore in 2019 and is now the Chief People Officer for APAC and EMEA for JLL Technologies, where she champions the use of AI within the HR function and has driven a culture of high performance.

Key Timestamps

02:45 – Introduction to Ruth Gellert-Neale
13:14 – How strategic HR leadership can contribute to organisational success
16:30 – Understanding what strategic HR leadership is
20:38 – Effective strategies to manage difficult times
26:56 – How strategic HR can ensure continuous development and succession of leaders
32:42 – Metrics for measuring organisational success
36:20 – The rise and fall of attrition rates
39:42 – The perception of DEI
42:02 – Challenges and barriers for strategic HR leadership and how we can overcome them

Series 7: The Transformative Power of Leadership Conversations

Thu, 05 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to HR Insights: The Podcast Series 7! This week, Stuart Elliott is joined by global business leader and co-founder of Leadrly, Paul Stewart. Paul has spent decades transforming organisational culture and leadership through a multitude of roles and shares his insights on the fast-paced changes shaping our world today. He also offers his perspective on how important conversation is in making real change.

In this episode Paul and Stewart discuss Paul’s evolving career from economist to the founding of Leadrly, a cutting-edge leadership and AI-driven platform. He discusses the challenges of creating vs changing culture and the role of AI in today's leadership landscape, particularly how Leadrly integrates with tools to provide on-demand coaching and guidance for leaders. Paul also delves into the nuances of leadership as a conversation, the challenges faced by mid-level managers, the generational divide in communication and the misconceptions around AI in the workplace.

Paul Stewart has a background in social sciences and spent 10 years as a bank economist. He moved into corporate strategy, focusing on strategy implementation, organisational culture, and leadership development. In 2004 he co-authored the bestseller Branded Customer Service and went on to co-found On-Brand Partners two years later. In 2022/23, he launched Leadrly, an AI-powered system that supports leaders.

Read some of Leadrly’s blogs below:
History of leadership communication
Leading beyond downsizing – conversations matter
Embracing change: How to lead your team through transformation

Key Timestamps:

02:50 – Intro to Paul
06:55 – The journey into entrepreneurship
13:20 – Setting up Leadrly
17:42 – The philosophy behind Leadrly
22:45 – How Leadrly helps mid-level managers
28:10 – The generational divide in technology
33:08 – Leadrly’s reception amongst clients
39:20 – Measuring success
44:28 – AI’s implications for organisational culture
46:44 – Advice for HR leaders implementing AI

Series 7: Maximising Employee Success with Talent Analytics

Thu, 29 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0100

We have another exciting episode of HR Insights: The Podcast. This week, Stuart Elliott is joined by HR Consulting Director and Thought Leader at EDLIGO, Reimund Nienaber to discuss his role of leveraging talent analytics to enhance employee satisfaction and business outcomes. He explains how EDLIGO supports companies in their digital transformation journey and the importance of understanding data to personalise career development paths.

In this episode, Stuart and Reimund begin the conversation by talking through his career and role at EDLIGO as well as the benefits of talent analytics. He emphasises the importance of starting small with data, and allowing EDLIGO’s AI driven competency frameworks to fill in the gaps, thus enhancing personalised career development paths and creating a positive impact on overall job satisfaction. The conversation then moves on to the role of talent analytics in fostering a more inclusive workplace, free of bias and ensuring equal opportunities for career advancement. Reimund expresses the concerns and scepticisms employees may have regarding the use of talent analytics and how organisations can address these to build transparency and trust.

Reimund Nienaber is passionate about Talent Development, Talent Analytics, and Learning Analytics. He is a seasoned HR leader with extensive global experience and a strong track record of driving innovation. With over 20 years of expertise in human resources and 15 years in technical and managerial roles within the telecommunications industry, he excels as a trusted senior management advisor and coach. He holds a Master Professional (CCI) in Business Management (IHK) and is a Certified Business Economist (DeLSt). His focus is on continuously improving people and processes through game-changing strategic initiatives, enabling businesses to thrive in rapidly changing environments.

Key Timestamps:

03:02 - Intro into Reimund
04:58 – Reimund's role within EDLIGO
08:28 – How talent analytics can be used to personalise career development paths for employees and improve employee satisfaction
12:17 - Leveraging AI to create reliable competency frameworks
21:11 – How a manager can use talent analytics to identify skills gaps in their team
26:00 - The difference between ‘future skills’ and ‘competency’
29:35 – The role of talent analytics in helping us create more inclusive environments
38:00 – Changing the sceptics' minds on data-driven research
41:04 – How to use data to enhance your own performance and career growth

Series 7: Misconceptions of the US Employment Market

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0100

We’re back with another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

Today, Stuart Elliott is joined by Nikki Brigati, SVP of Client Engagement at PGC Group. She joins the podcast to talk about the misconceptions of the employment landscape in the US.

When clients hire their first US workers, they often have misconceptions about the employment landscape, such as underestimating the complexity of federal and state regulations or assuming that employment practices are consistent across the country. In this episode, Stuart and Nikki discuss one of the biggest challenges clients face when hiring in the US market; navigating regulatory complexities while also understanding the cultural nuances of the workforce. Talking through what key factors US workers are driven by, for example: competitive compensation, benefits, work-life balance, and opportunities for growth when accepting a role. The use of notice periods is also discussed alongside the terminology used between the UK and US. They also chatted through the main aspects to consider when hiring in a new state as well as key advice for businesses to undertake to mitigate the risk of potential employment claims.

Nikki specialises in the realm of Client Relations, Expansion, and Retention. As the SVP of Client Engagement at PGC Group; she focuses on building scalable client solutions, developing relationships with stakeholders at key client accounts, helping clients mitigate risk, building bespoke client solutions, and resourcing clients on the North American employment landscape to position them for growth. She also manages a team of Business and Relationship Managers across the US and UK.

Due to her depth and breadth of experience in account management and increasing revenue through building strategic relationships with clients, Nikki has cemented herself as the go to expert and the voice of the client in PGC.

If you would like to find out more about the US market and for advice on making your first US hire, please contact Nikki on nicole.brigati@pgcgroup.com

Key Timestamps

02:17 – Introduction to PGC
04:48 – Introduction to Nikki
09:30 – The biggest misconceptions of hiring your first US employee
12:22 – The difference in employment between Democratic led and Republican led states
16:06 – Legislations around notice periods in the US
17:48 – Biggest challenges when starting out in the US
21:27 – 3 most important factors to consider when hiring US based employees
23:08 – Paid time off and hybrid working
28:44 – Factors to consider when hiring across states
31:10 – Temp vs Perm hiring
32:55 – Top tips for hiring in the US

Series 7: Career Stories: Venturing Beyond Your Comfort Zone

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast. To kick off the first career stories episode of the series, Stuart Elliott welcomed another friend of Elliott Scott HR, Ria Davey to discuss her career journey spanning multiple global locations, her development along the way amidst organisational changes and transformation, as well as the importance of stepping out of your comfort zone.

In this episode, Stuart and Ria begin by discussing Ria’s expansive experience in the HR world. From an early career working in the Middle East, moving to Hong Kong and then on to New York, Ria explains the challenges she faced when adapting to different cultures and ways of working. The conversation then moves onto Ria’s career milestones as well as some of the obstacles she’s faced both personally and in her work life. She shares her top tips for becoming an effective business partner as well as leader, emphasising the importance of authenticity in leadership, continuous learning, and creating environments where team members feel safe to grow and challenge the status quo.

Ria Davey is the Group Director of People for D&A-Engineering at LSEG. With over 20 years of global, strategic HR leadership experience, she is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD (FCIPD), holds an MA and BSc in HRM and Psychology and a certified executive coach. A transformation specialist with a wealth of experience in engineering, fintech and data led multinationals, Ria has lived and worked in the Middle East, Hong Kong, New York, and London.

Key Timestamps:

02:09 - Intro into Ria Davey
07:25 - How the move to the Middle East escalated her career
12:55 - Ria’s top three career milestones
14:43 - The similarities and differences between working in the Middle East and Hong Kong
17:45 - The challenges of establishing boundaries
21:30 - Career and Personal challenges
27:15 - The proudest moment in Ria’s career
28:20 - The core responsibilities of a People Business Partner
30:50 - Key skills and qualities of a successful Business Partner
34:32 - How to lead successfully
39:33 - Insights on the market, future trends and direction of HR
46:08 - Advice for aspiring Business Partners

Series 7: Mindset, Body Language, Speech and Voice

Thu, 08 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Has your voice ever been front of mind for you? Many people often dismiss how their voice sounds and comes across to people, but it is a huge part of your executive presence. Our guest today, Susan Room is a former C-suite leader and is the creator of business voice coaching. Business voice coaching helps organisations communicate in an open, authentic and inclusive way.

Today, our CEO and Host Stuart Elliott speaks to a familiar face of Elliott Scott HR, Susan Room. Susan has previously worked with us on a successful event in the UK and will hopefully be back with a webinar in the coming months for our global audience. In this episode, Stuart and Susan chat about what business voice coaching is and how it differs from other types of coaching, what a typical business voice coaching programme involves, the business case for voice coaching, measuring the success of the programme and tips for working professionals to help with their voice.

Susan’s Make Your Mark framework focuses on developing mindset, body language, speech and voice; enhancing personal success and well-being, organisational culture and performance. Susan holds a master’s degree in Voice Studies with a Distinction from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She is an ICF Professional Certified Coach, a Voice and Speech Trainers Association member, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

If you are interested in working with Susan; you can read her testimonials here.

Key Timestamps:

02:21 – Introduction to Susan Room
10:43 – What is business voice coaching?
15:20 – Vocal bias
18:59 – Vocal Brand
27:27 – The business case for voice coaching
30:31 – Vocal Capital
36:21 – Tone of voice
38:16 – What does a business voice coaching programme involve?
44:39 – Measuring success
49.50 – Tips for working on your voice

Series 7: The Decline and Resilience of DEI

Thu, 01 Aug 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to a brand new series of HR Insights: The Podcast hosted by our CEO and Owner, Stuart Elliott. We are excited to bring you another insightful series with both new and returning guests. We’re kicking off our first episode with audience favourite and long term friend of Elliott Scott HR, Sasha Scott. Sasha has two of the three most downloaded episodes of all time and is back to to talk about DEI in the corporate world, its decline amid cultural and economic challenges, SHRM’s decision to drop the E from DEI, the impact of the new government in the UK as well as reasonable adjustments for neurodivergent individuals.

In today’s episode, Stuart and Sasha kick off the discussion with the decline of DEI within big organisations, whether that be due to budget cuts, impetus or internal initiatives. The pair examine recent headlines that question the future of DEI and whether companies are quietly withdrawing their commitments. Sasha also speaks of the demonisation of the acronym as the world becomes more polarised and the way in which DEI has often become a scapegoat for corporate failure.

The discussion then moves on to how evolving government regulations and economic pressures will shape the future of DEI roles and initiatives. The decline of the job market for DEI professionals is highlighted and the increasing need for comprehensive DEI strategies to be implemented within organisations. Amid the SHRM’s decision to drop Equity from its DEI framework, Sasha expresses her frustrations as well as the pressing need to understand equity versus equality.

Finally, Stuart and Sasha look ahead to how the new UK government might influence business accountability and inclusion, the potential for increased regulation and the positive changes expected in the DEI landscape. With a focus on psychological safety, Sasha highlights the importance of including neurodivergent individuals and the broader implications for workplace culture.

Sasha Scott is the CEO and Founder of Inclusive Group and is considered an expert in her field; she has appeared on the BBC and has been published in multiple newspapers. She understands the commercial drivers behind reducing bias within the workplace and the critical need to promote and sustain an inclusive workplace culture.

Key Timestamps:

00:30 – A warm welcome back to Season 7
02:40 – Intro to Sasha Scott
06:50 – The decline of DEI amid cultural and economic challenges
11:25 – Laws banning/limiting DEI initiatives
12:40 – Quiet Quitting
15:30 – Job cuts in TA
17:15 – SHRM’s decision to drop the E from DEI
26:42 – The New government in the UK and its impact
30:16 – Toxicity in the workplace
35:25 - Economic pressures putting strain on DEI
37:56 – Neurodiversity and making reasonable adjustments

Series 6: Recapping Series 6

Mon, 15 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome to the final episode of Series 6 of HR Insights: The Podcast!

We have had another amazing series with a range of exciting guests and insightful episodes exploring topical and relevant subjects as well as the career stories of some inspirational entrepreneurs. In this episode, Group Marketing Executive for Elliott Scott Group, Hannah Costen sat down with CEO, Stuart Elliott to look back on Series 6 and some of the stand out moments from the last quarter.

Stuart shares an update on the current market, reflecting on the challenges currently facing CHROs and CPOs working with fewer resources, however he remains positive by highlighting a sense of optimism for the upcoming months. They also discuss the current trends in the market, how these have evolved since the last quarter and whether these have affected Elliott Scott HR as a business. The episode finishes with Stuart sharing his most memorable guests from Series 6 as well as aspirations for future series.

Key Timestamps:

- 01:13 – Icebreaker questions: Stuart's TV and Film recommendations
- 02:30 - An update on Stuart's achievements in fitness competition, HYROX
- 03:52 - Recapping Q1 and key trends
- 06:05 - The most topical Season 6 episodes
- 08:06 - The development of trends in the last year
- 10:18 - The impact of trends on Elliott Scott HR as a business
- 11:43 - Memorable moments from Series 6
- 14:04 - Aspirations for Series 7

You can listen to and download HR Insights from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotifyand most popular podcast apps, subscribe so the latest episodes are directly available! You can also join our HR Community and follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.

Series 6: Tackling Burnout with HumanOS

Thu, 21 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

As we approach the end of season 6 we wanted to bring back a topic that has continued to be a critical issue for organisations over the last few years. This topic is still front of mind for many as 2023 reported the highest level of sick leave in a decade with more people taking time off with mental health struggles and the average age of burnout sitting at 32.

Today our CEO and Host, Stuart Elliott, is joined by Co-Founder of HumanOS, Bianca Errigo to speak about burnout and the healthy habits one can adopt to combat it. Throughout the conversation, Bianca and Stuart chatted about her career prior to co-founding HumanOS and the motivation behind the company, touching on how she began her career working for the world's largest IT services company but after several successful but extremely stressful years within their top-performing global sales team, coupled with the loss of her father, Bianca saw a dramatic deterioration in her own health. This led to hospitalisation, and she decided to make some changes, transforming her life to become a wellness coach and building a tech start-up. Continuing the conversation Stuart and Bianca discussed habits to encourage high performance, the impact of emotional intelligence in the workplace, whether preventing burnout should be owned by the individual or an organisation and how to meet the needs of a diverse workspace and minimise the generational gaps.

Bianca is a wellness expert and speaker, recently awarded American Express "Speaker of the Year 2023" for her work around "Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace". She is recognised by Cisco for the impact she had with their "Women In Cisco" community. Bianca is the Co-Founder of health optimisation platform HumanOS.

If you are interested in having a session with Bianca we are able to offer our listeners a complimentary strategy call, you can sign up here. You can also download HumanOS’ 2024 white paper on the discrepancy between the rise of corporate welling solutions and the fall in employee wellbeing. The paper includes actionable takeaways for organisations looking to improve their employee wellbeing.

Key Timestamps:

02:06 – An introduction to Bianca
07:34 – Symptoms of burnout
10:13 - Bianca’s story
15:59 – Building habits with HumanOS
21:30 – What is the knowing/doing gap?
29:28 – Who should take ownership of mental health at work?
31:46 – What is the ROI for having a good wellbeing strategy?
33:18 – Emotional intelligence in the workplace
38:01 – Tips for employers introducing a wellbeing strategy
41:57 – Advice for employees dealing with mental health issues

Series 6: Evolving the Landscape of Remote Working

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Remote Working has been a topic of great significance for the last couple of decades, and has come to the fore over the past few years, amidst the COVID pandemic. Joining our CEO and host, Stuart Elliott today is Jaime Nacach, entrepreneur, marketer and Founder & CEO of Virtual Latinos, a company focused on hiring remote professionals from Latin America.

In this episode, Stuart and Jaime discuss how Jaime accumulated knowledge from his marketing background to set up Virtual Latinos and how it has grown to help over 900 businesses so far since its inception in 2018. He also highlights the advantages of utilising his company for hiring and their process of finding ‘quality’ talent for their clients. The evolution of remote work is also examined, with an emphasis on the positive shift in its perception and effectiveness in encouraging productivity. Jaime also shares some useful tips for those looking to outsource professionals and the importance of ensuring everyone feels like a valued member of the team, no matter where they are based. Finally, the advantages of being ahead of the curve and utilising quality talent all over the world are stressed.

Jaime is an entrepreneur, marketer, self-taught tech expert, and the Founder and CEO of Virtual Latinos. He was born in Mexico City but has now been living the majority of his life in San Diego, California. He has combined his creativity and business strategy experience to create a digital marketing agency, Bloominari, and a recruitment agency called Virtual Latinos focused on hiring remote professionals from Latin America. So far, Virtual Latinos has helped over 900 companies to elevate their levels of freedom, success, and growth, and has assisted over 1,000 Latino professionals in finding their dream remote jobs.

Key Timestamps:

01:34 - Intro into Jaime Nacach
07:45 - Advantages of utilising Virtual Latinos
10:12 - The evolving landscape of remote work
18:38 - The shift in the perception of remote work
23:25 - Benefits of hiring in Latin America
35:06 - How technology has evolved to enhance Jaime's business
37:36 - The future of international hiring
42:48 - Key advice for those considering outsourcing

Series 6: Would You Use AI To Help Secure a Job?

Thu, 07 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

One of the biggest topics in conversation currently within a professional setting is AI and how it can change the working world, with the fear that it could eradicate some roles. Today our CEO and Host Stuart Elliott is joined by Nicky Garcea, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Cappfinity to talk about the use of AI in the Talent Acquisition space.

In this episode, Stuart and Nicky discuss how Nicky came to set up Cappfinity; a skills-based talent intelligence business, they then cover where organisations currently sit in their relationship with AI, and whether candidates are more likely to use AI to secure a role. They also speak about current guidelines and regulations in relation to AI and automation. In contrast to AI being a predominant focus, there has been attention placed on skills-based hiring and development and Stuart and Nicky discuss whether the two conflict or complement each other. As the conversation draws to a close, Stuart asks where Nicky believes this topic would sit in 12 months and again in 5 years.

Nicky has a career spanning over 20+ years and is a chartered industrial and organisational psychologist passionate about how behavioural science can support the use of technology and AI in talent solutions. She has led on talent initiatives for over 250 global organisations, often in support of widening their talent pipelines. Nicky was featured on TAtech’s list of 100 Most Influential Talent Acquisition Thought Leaders and has co-edited The Oxford Handbook of Positive Psychology and Work, she has also been featured in Forbes, Protocol, HR.com, Recruiter, The Wall Street Journal and Fox News.

Key Timestamps:

01:50 – Introducing Nicky Garcea and Cappfinity
12:26 – When did Nicky first hear about AI?
16:28 – What are organisations currently doing with AI?
22:09 – Candidates using AI to help secure roles
28:54 – Guidelines and regulations regarding AI
32:25 – Skills-based learning and development
37:46 – Soft skills vs hard skills
39:52 – The difference in AI in 12 months and in 5 years
43:30 – Advice for CHRO’s regarding AI

Series 6: Career Stories: Bridging Cultures, Building Careers

Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

When building a career within HR it is important to consider the building blocks to success and the necessity to nurture and adapt to different cultures and ways of thinking. Today, joining our host, Stuart Elliott is Chief Talent and Learning Officer at Jardine Matheson, Peter Attfield to discuss his long spanning HR journey and his keys to success to ensure a flourishing and fulfilling career.

In this episode, Stuart and Peter delve into how Peter moved from external consulting into an internal HR function, the important building blocks that have aided him throughout his career including embracing different cultures and building a strong network of peers who challenge and push the boundaries of your thinking, as well as his key takeaways from living and working in over nine countries. Peter highlights his greatest achievements throughout his extensive career and how he believes the HR function has adapted over this time, notably referencing technological advancements, employee expectations and the significance of upskilling to stay relevant.

Peter Attfield is a Senior HR leader (Group HRD, SVP, CHRO level) with a proven global track record in strategic Business Partnering and HR Expertise leadership roles across multiple sectors and geographies in developed and emerging markets. He also holds deep expertise and over 30 years of experience in both large scale organisation and cultural transformation as well as HR functional transformation in both MNC’s and large regional family owned businesses.

Key Timestamps:

· 04:15 – Intro into Peter
· 06:03 – How and why Peter made the leap into HR
· 11:00 – The key building blocks in Peter’s career
· 16:20 – The significance of influential mentors
· 18:45 – HR Business Partnering vs Centre of Expertise
· 21:23 – What Peter has learnt from working all over the world
· 27:50 – Peter’s greatest career achievements
· 33:35 – How the HR function has adapted over time
· 40:13 – Advice for people beginning their career in HR

Series 6: The Latest in HR News: February

Mon, 26 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to February’s installment of ‘The Latest HR News’. This month, Stuart Elliott is joined by Justine Thompson and Taylor Bradley to discuss some of the themes from trending articles in business and HR.

In this episode Stuart and our guests discuss a host of themes on how success can be fostered within an organisation. They start the conversation by discussing hybrid working and its continued prominence within the workforce; reflecting on the potentially damaging monitoring of remote work and the significance of trust in order to see productivity and retention of top talent. Our guests also touch on flexibility within the workplace and how this has become, a ‘non-negotiable’ to yield a successful culture in a post-covid world. They then move onto DEI and its necessity to build a winning business strategy and remain progressive.

They also examine workplace culture, exploring how so-called ‘negative traits’ such as competitiveness and rivalry are being reframed to promote a healthy mindset where competition is seen as a motivation to excellence. The final topic explored is job ghosting, based on an article claiming that a large percentage of Gen-Z have avoided an interview or their first day on a job. Despite Justine's scepticism of these statistics, it provides an interesting perspective on how, in a virtual world, some individuals would rather severe communication to avoid difficult conversations.

Justine is an ED&I expert with over 20 years’ experience in HR and people focused roles. She has a particular interest in culture, psychological safety and belonging, and has worked with organisations across many sectors to bring these topics to life through training and facilitated discussion. She has extensive experience of working with diversity to identify barriers and design data driven strategies and is the Head of Market Intelligence at Inclusive Group. Taylor is a seasoned HR executive deeply committed to shaping organisational talent strategy and fostering a culture of growth and technical innovation. He is the Head of HRBPs and Compensation at Turing, an Al-empowered Talent Cloud and has worked with founder-led startups like DocuSign and Datto to craft IPO-ready talent strategies.

For links to the articles, please see our blog

Key Timestamps:
- 00:52 – Intro into Justine Thompson

- 01:24 – Intro into Taylor Bradley

- 02:50 – Hybrid Working

- 11:33 – Operational effectiveness

- 19:30 – Flexibility in the workplace

- 34:32 – DEI: The success of diversification

- 44:48 – AI: Fear vs Reality

- 51:58 – Rivalry in the workplace

- 59:05 – Job ghosting

Series 6: Evolving Leadership: From Boss to Coach

Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Having a coaching culture in an organisation is in an impactful way to change your leaderships management style and allow every employee to reach their full potential. This a growing trend that we have been covering over the last year and today’s guest Karen Gilhooly, Engagement Expert & Transformative Leader, joins us to talk about the transition from a traditional management style to a coaching one.

Karen joins our CEO & Host Stuart Elliott, to discuss moving from her long tenure in banking to starting her own business with True North Collaboration LLC and how the ‘boss to coach’ philosophy influences learning and failure within a team. They talk through ways to adopt a coaching style of management and how it can improve decision-making and problem-solving skills within the team, what specific behaviours and skills can be developed from this transition and how this can impact employee motivation and job satisfaction. Lastly, they speak about the potential risks of moving to a coaching management style and how to mitigate them in a hybrid working environment.

Karen is an employee engagement expert and transformative leader with over 25 years of experience driving innovation and organisational change by leveraging the strengths of their employees. She firmly believes that when employees feel connected to their roles they find meaning in their work and bring new energy to the workplace. Karen is the Founder and Managing Partner of True North Collaboration LLC and works across industries to initiate and implement strategic transformation initiatives. True North Collaboration LLC is dedicated to guiding businesses through thoughtful and holistic transformations.

Key Timestamps:

01:21 - Intro into Karen Gilhooly
06:03 - Founding True North Collaboration LLC
07:37 - The difference between being a coach and being a manager
16:04 - Delivering feedback delicately
18:17 - Adopting certain behaviours when transitioning from ‘boss to coach’
24:13 - Dealing with the ‘I don’t have time’ excuse
27:43 - The effects of the coaching management approach on employees
29:27 - Mitigating the potential risks of the coaching management style
39:04 - The coaching management style in the hybrid world

Series 6: Galvanising Gen-Z: The Leaders of Tomorrow

Thu, 15 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Learning and leadership development of mid-level management is a pertinent topic in HR at this time of year and in a recent Gartner report was deemed as the top priority on Senior HR leaders’ agendas for 2024.

In todays’ episode, Stuart Elliott is joined by recognised Organisational Culture and Systems Workplace Expert, Tammy Dowley-Blackman whose collaboration with an array of sectors, has seen her work to improve leadership across many workplace generations.

In this episode, Tammy joins Stuart to discuss leadership; its definition, the qualities one must possess to be a successful manager and the tools aspiring leaders, particularly those that fall under the umbrella of ‘Gen-Z’, can acquire in order to become great. Tammy also offers her own experience of evolving her leadership skills whilst running the Suite of brands under the Tammy Dowley-Blackman Group, a boutique consulting firm born in response to sector needs.

Tammy Dowley-Blackman is a recognised organisational and leadership development authority. She has designed and delivered presentations, residencies, training and workshops across the United States. She has spent almost two decades building companies focused on delivering innovative approaches to leadership and organisational development and now runs her own boutique consulting group. In addition to her consulting experience, Tammy has developed partnership programs for higher education and the philanthropic sector. She has acted as a strategic advisor to hundreds of organisations on a range of topics and in her free time enjoys serving on boards that connect to her interests in the arts and strengthening communities.

Key Timestamps:

2:00 – Intro into Tammy
4:55 – Defining leadership
11:55 – How ways of working have evolved over the past few years
13:30 – Maximising the presence of Gen Z in the workplace
20:10 – Tools for becoming a great leader as Gen Z
30:35 – How Tammy has evolved her leadership over the past few years
35:35 – The characteristics of a great leader

Series 6: Neurodiversity - Shifting Perspectives in 2024

Thu, 08 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Neurodiversity is a fairly new topic in the world of DEI but affects an estimated 1 in 7 people, with diagnosis rates on the rise. This is a topic we expect to see more of over the next year with its prevalence in many more organisations’ agendas for 2024. Our CEO and Host, Stuart Elliott is joined today by an expert in this field Ritu Kiran, Founder and CEO of Aubilities.

Throughout the conversation, Stuart and Ritu discuss her career, how and why she founded Aubilities and neurodiversity in the workplace. They take a deeper dive into what neurodiversity is and why it’s important, discussing the rise in cases and whether it is due to trends or general awareness around the subject. They also look into the recent high number of diagnoses within adults and what organisations can do to be more neuro-inclusive and how they can adapt the recruitment process to ensure they are getting the best out of people. Lastly, they discuss what Aubilities can offer and do to allow those with neurodiverse needs to thrive.

Prior to founding Aubilities, Ritu had a corporate career for many years, starting her journey working for a major global Management Consultancy firm, specialising in HR consulting and HR projects across a multitude of clients. After this, she moved into the global learning and development space. In 2016 Ritu had her first child, who was diagnosed with autism in 2018, shortly after his diagnosis Ritu began researching autism to learn more about her son’s needs and quickly identified a gap in the corporate market of utilising these talented and specialist thinkers to add value to businesses. Ritu is also a Trustee Board member for the UK national charity – Resources for Autism. She has recently been picked up by Jessica Kingsley Publishers and has an impending book launch in 2025 on parenting autistic children.

Key Timestamps:

01:19 – Intro to Ritu & Aubilities
08:35 – Definition of Neurodiversity
11:13 – Neurodiversity at work
15:40 – The rise in neurodivergent diagnoses
18:53 – Tips to start supporting neurodiverse employees
22:47 – Adapting the recruitment process
21:47 – The person-centric approach – does it work for everyone?
36:30 – The 3 key pillars to start the conversation

Series 6: Career Stories: Cultural Competency: Shaping the World of DEI

Thu, 01 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

When implementing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies into an organisation in an effective way, it is important to cultivate transformation, creativity and ultimately commercial success. Global Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Moët Hennessy, Greg Morley joins our CEO and host, Stuart Elliott today to speak about his career in DEI and the advice he has acquired over the years for building a safe and effective working community that champions inclusion.

In this episode, Stuart and Greg talk about his long-standing career in Asia and the cultural differences he has encountered that have in turn aided his development within the DEI landscape. They also discuss Greg's insight into the most important factors for making progress around Diversity and Inclusion, highlighted in his upcoming book, ‘BOND: Keys to Inclusion and Belonging’ as well as Greg’s response to recent derogatory articles around DEI and the significance of rewiring the system to enforce real change.

Greg Morley leads Global strategies to increase Diversity, Equity and Inclusion across Moët Hennessy, the luxury wines and spirits division of LVMH, based in Paris. Greg brings personal and professional passion to the development of talent and to helping others achieve more than they believe they can. Prior to joining Moët Hennessy, he was Vice President, Human Resources Asia Pacific for Hasbro, Inc. and was Vice President, Human Resources for the Shanghai Disney Resort based in Shanghai. Greg played a leading role in the team that produces Gay Games Hong Kong 2023, a participant sports, culture and inclusion event, in Asia for the first time in its 40 years history.

Key Timestamps:

- 01:02 - Intro into Greg Morley
- 3:40 - Greg's transition into HR
- 9:00 - The cultural appeal of working in Asia
- 15:41 - The most important factors in making progress around Diversity and Inclusion
- 23:20 - Greg's upcoming book: 'BOND: Keys to Inclusion and Belonging'
- 31:56 - Response to recent derogatory views on DE&I
- 40:28 - The 2024 agenda for DE&I
- 48:25 - Advice for people throughout their career in HR

Series 6: An Untapped Talent Pool: Disability in the Workplace

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Over the last year, we have seen pushback from organisations around their DEI agenda with many questioning their approach to the topic. To bring some clarity to the situation, Diversity & Inclusion Architect, Toby Mildon, joins our CEO and Host Stuart Elliott, for today’s episode of HR Insights: The Podcast.

In this episode, Stuart and Toby discuss his disability and how his personal and professional experiences with inequality when applying for roles affected him and led to his passion for diversity and inclusion. They also chat about what organisations do well in the DEI space and how they can improve, especially in the equity aspect of the acronym. The conversation then explores what Toby believes will aid the future of DEI, leading to a discussion on AI and the anxiety around new technology and the paralysis of fear when employing disabled staff.

As a Diversity & Inclusion Architect, Toby is passionate about creating diverse workplaces and cultures that are inclusive, which stemmed from his own experiences as a disabled man. He has helped some of the UK’s largest companies improve their staff retention, brand innovation, productivity and performance. Toby has also written a book called Inclusive Growth, which aims to future-proof organisations by creating a diverse workplace and providing a practical framework that allows the company to grow and succeed.

Key Timestamps:

01:40: An introduction to Toby
07:25: Workplace barriers for disabled people
15:51: Toby’s book - Inclusive Growth
18:53: Organisations that do well in the DEI space
21:04: The shift in HR's focus on DEI
25:39: The future of DEI
28:12: Hiring managers' fears around hiring people with disabilities
36:25: Tips for prioritising DEI with the aim to retain and obtain top talent

Series 6: The Latest in HR News - January

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to another installment of ‘The Latest HR News’. This week our host Stuart Elliott is joined by Amelia Lavery and Lee Murphy to discuss the latest topical news articles in business and HR.

In this episode, Stuart and our guests talk about the ever-prevalent topic of hybrid working and the importance that should be placed on workplace culture to foster a healthy work balance. As Amelia points out, ‘the culture sets the tone in the context of how everyone reacts together.’ They also examine the top five priorities for HR Leaders in 2024 which includes topics like management development, organisational culture, HR tech and more, and their ranking of these in terms of building a productive work environment. Further trending topics were touched upon such as AI; the need to embrace this as it becomes more advanced and the potential difficulties of working with Gen Z amidst anecdotal accusations of tardiness and disinterest. As well as the more provocative subjects discussed, they also converse over more entertaining topics such as so-called ‘Mondayitis’, using too much corporate jargon in the workplace and setting business New Year's resolutions.

Amelia Lavery has over 18 years of experience in HR, starting her career in the Banking industry. She brings deep experience in HR Business Partnering having performed country, regional and product line roles. Sector wise, Amelia has worked across Financial and most recently Corporate Services at Vistra where she has recently been appointed as the Global Head of Talent Acquisition. Lee Murphy is a seasoned Human Resources executive with diverse global experience leading teams to deliver strategic HR initiatives. In a career spanning more than 25 years, Lee has worked in increasingly senior roles for global technology companies such as Google, Microsoft and Nokia. Most recently, Lee was Group Chief Human Resources Officer with FWD and is currently an adviser to Hupo, a technology enabled coaching platform in Asia Pacific.

Key Timestamps:

01:02 - Intro into Amelia Lavery
02:08 – Intro into Lee Murphy
04:30 – Hybrid Working
10:25 – Leadership strategies for a strong work culture
19:15 – Top 5 priorities for HR leaders in 2024
25:27 – AI & technology
35:25 – Gen Z
54:50 – ‘Mondayitis’
59:38 – Buzzwords in the workplace
64:20 – Business Resolutions for the New Year

For links to the articles, please see our blog

Series 6: From Panic to Power: Achieving Workplace Safety with ROAR

Thu, 18 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

*TRIGGER WARNING: Contains references to assault that some listeners may find distressing*

Welcome back to the first episode of HR Insights: The Podcast after our mid-season break! We are very excited to start this new year with a very important topic.

Amid increasing cases of workplace violence, safety at work has never been more paramount. This week, our CEO and host, Stuart Elliott sits down with Social Entrepreneur and CEO of ROAR, Yasmine Mustafa. ROAR have developed unique wearable technology in the form of a panic button to ensure safety, improve well-being and increase job satisfaction across all industries.

Yasmine and Stuart discuss ROAR's inception and how the Panic Button Solution functions to foster a culture of safety within workplaces, particularly those experiencing a rise in violence and incivility such as healthcare, hospitality and retail industries. Yasmine also talks through the consequences of neglecting to protect workers and HR’s role in ensuring solutions are put in place to prevent this. From astonishing data, she shows how the adoption of ROAR into a business can result in an immediate shift in staff’s morale and perception of safety, with a newfound ‘shield’ that not only protects their wellbeing, but improves productivity.

With over 15 years of leadership experience in the tech industry, including the successful sale of her first company, 123LinkIt in 2009, Yasmine is a driving force for positive change and balancing profits with purpose. A former refugee and undocumented immigrant, she draws upon her unique life experiences to lead ROAR in its mission to empower and protect workers across all industries. Her journey is a testament to her resilience and unwavering commitment. Yasmine has earned recognition from the BBC where she was named one of the Top 100 women, CNBC’s Upstart 100 and has spoken on prestigious platforms such as TEDx where she has shared her deep passion for positive change through harnessing technology.

Key Timestamps:

01:15 – Intro to Yasmine Mustafa
03:20 – How ROAR manifested itself
07:28 – How the panic button works
11:20 – What is causing the rise in violence and incivility in the workplace?
15:13 – The tangible and intangible consequences of not protecting a worker
18:28 – The role of HR in enhancing workplace safety
22:15 – Yasmine’s top recommendation to HR professionals for fostering a safe working environment
25:05 – The financial benefits of adopting ROAR into an organisation

Series 6: Can Gympass Address Employee Burnout?

Thu, 14 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Supporting employee wellbeing has become integral to the success of organisations. This week our CEO and Host, Stuart Elliott speaks to VP of UK and Ireland for Gympass, Luke Bullen to discuss how Gympass adapted as a company post covid, how to help employees dealing with burnout as well as how organisations can measure employee wellbeing.

Today’s episode sees Stuart and Luke discuss how Gympass pivoted from only offering physical wellbeing packages to now having all wellbeing offerings in one place. Another topic discussed is the rise in employee burnout and how companies can prevent this by measuring employee wellbeing and using strategies to promote positive mental health and eradicate burnout. They also touch on how to foster an inclusive working environment and how leaders can act as role models by prioritising their own wellbeing.

Luke is a seasoned business leader with a passion for driving positive change in the wellness space. Since joining Gympass, the company has forged partnerships with renowned businesses, broadening the reach and impact of employee wellness initiatives. Luke firmly recognises that a healthy and engaged workforce is the foundation of a thriving organisation and is committed to data-driven decision-making to ensure Gympass’ initiatives are guaranteed to be quantifiable and sustainable.

Key Timestamps:

01:21: Intro to Luke Bullen
03:30: Who are Gympass?
11:27: The implications of employee burnout for an organisation
13:40: How to measure employee wellbeing
16:52: Strategies to promote employee wellbeing and prevent burnout
19:42: Pivoting Gympass’ offerings
22:33: How to foster an inclusive workplace
28:32: How leaders can act as a role model by prioritising their own mental health

Series 6: The Latest in HR News - December

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In the second installment of ‘The Latest HR News’, our host, Stuart Elliott is joined by Friska Wirya and Jig Ramji to discuss a host of topical news articles in business and HR, exploring current trends and the impact they are having on organisations.

In this episode, Stuart and our guests discuss the impact of hybrid working and the prevalent reluctance to commit to returning to the office. They also touch on hot desking and its benefits as well as the difference between Managing and Leading, particularly the toxicity that can materialise from having a ‘bad boss’. Along with talking about more thought-provoking topics for example, as Jig highlights, the impetus for organisations to consider the terminology they use around diversity, as well as the emerging HR trends of 2024, Stuart, Friska and Jig touch on the more light-hearted topic of Christmas parties and the differing perspectives on whether they are worthwhile for building company camaraderie.

Friska Wirya is a top 50 Global Change Management Thought Leader, a TEDx speaker and is a triple best-selling author of 'The Future Fit Organisation: A Leader's Guide to Transformation'. She has been featured in a number of publications including Vogue and Smart Company and is a frequent contributor to Women’s Agenda. Jig Ramji has over twenty years of experience as a Human Capital Leader specialising in HR Strategy, Organisation Transformation and Change, Talent Management and Leadership Development. He has wide scale international experience having lived and worked in the UK, the Netherlands, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong whilst leading Global and Regional teams. Following an extensive career working with some of the largest global multinationals, Jig was most recently the Chief Talent Officer at the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and is also a non-executive Director and trustee at Roffey Park Institute.

Key Timestamps of the articles discussed:

01:12 – Intro into Friska
02:13 – Intro into Jignesh Ramji
03:15 – Hybrid working
13:25 - How to make hot desking work
20:25 – Managing vs Leading
25:35 – Toxic Management
32:35 - Ray Dalio's brutal management regime
39:50 – ESG and Diversity
47:30 – Pay Transparency
54:40 – 2024 HR Trends
63:28 – Christmas Parties

For links to the articles, please see our blog

Series 6: Career Stories: Strategic HR Beyond Borders

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Navigating a career across borders can offer a host of different challenges. Strategic HR Business Partner at Astellas Pharma, Özge Yurtsever joins our CEO and host, Stuart Elliott to speak about the adjustments she has made over her career in order to effectively engage with different profiles of people and develop her understanding of cultural nuances.

In this episode, Stuart and Özge discuss how HR varies in different regions both strategically and culturally as well as the skills she has gained to help her adapt and thrive in her role. Özge offers advice to up-and-coming HR professionals on how to maintain a resilient mindset and embrace every change in life as a new opportunity. With rapid change inevitably comes challenges, and Özge highlights the importance of adapting in order to improve the overall culture of the environment we work in.

Originally from Turkey, Özge Yurtsever is an accomplished HR professional with a wealth of experience in cross-cultural and multi-industry settings. She has lived and worked all over the world in places including Dubai and Singapore and currently holds the position of Strategic HR Business Partner at Astellas Pharma, where she plays an integral role in forging strong partnerships with the commercial team to drive a transformative agenda aimed at cultivating a high-performance organisational culture.

Key Timestamps:

01:13 – Intro into Özge and her background

08:33 – How is HR viewed in Turkey in comparison to other locations?

12:53 – The differing cultural markets and their impact on Özge’s career

18:13 – The Pharmaceutical Vs FMCG sectors

22:40 – Developing your skills to have greater influence

25:53 – What Özge would advise for her younger self

30:55 – The biggest challenges of working in a HR role

34:58 – Three tips for an up-and-coming HR professional

Series 6: Engaging & Retaining Talent in a Post, Post Pandemic World

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

How to engage employees and retain talent has been at the top of many companies' agendas post-pandemic and with the Great Resignation now over and the Great Reshuffle beginning it's imperative that organisations have the tools to keep their employees from looking elsewhere. Our latest guest aims to do just that. Today our CEO and Host Stuart Elliott is joined by CEO and Founder of Inspire HR, Jaime Klein.

The conversation centres around employee engagement and talent retention and see’s Stuart and Jaime delve into The Great Resignation, The Great Reshuffle, returning to a five-work week in the office, tools for boosting employee engagement and retention, the flow of life post-post pandemic and who ultimately is responsible for retention and engagement. They also touch on inspirational companies leading the way with their engagement strategies, which could inspire our HR Community to make changes in their own organisations.

Jaime founded Inspire HR in 2007 and is a trailblazer in the world of fractional and remote work. She has been a workplace culture expert and HRBP since 1994 and has implemented strategies and programs in talent management, coaching, workplace culture and the talent acquisition space. Jaime has made appearances on multiple media channels, podcasts and panels including facilitating Inspire’s webinar series where she shares her knowledge globally.

Key Timestamps

01:41 – An intro to Jaime + Inspire HR

05:48 – Is The Great Resignation over?

08:09 – Reskilling employees

09:22 – Returning to a five-day work week in the office

14:28 – Is attrition always bad?

19:39 – Stay interviews

23:18 – Tools for boosting employee engagement and retention

26:19 – The flow of life post-post pandemic

29:52 – Who is responsible for employee engagement?

38:17 – Advice for our audience

Series 6: Dismantling Pay Inequity One Gap at A Time

Thu, 23 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

As we head towards the end of the year, one prevalent conversation in 2023 amongst organisations is around pay gaps. Our host, Stuart Elliott is joined by pay gap expert, Michelle Gyimah to talk through how companies can decipher what their compensation data is telling them in order to improve workplace culture.

In this conversation, Stuart and Michelle touch on various types of pay gaps, from gender to ethnicity and disability and the importance of recognising the lesser-known gaps. They also talk through the steps companies should be taking to address these pay discrepancies including educating employees fully and regularly to enforce real change and developing effective communication plans. Michelle also explains how remote working has influenced pay inequity and advises that companies should be using pay gap data as a start point for acknowledging the deeper nuances within their organisations.

Michelle Gyimah is a financial coach and CEO of Equality Pays, a pay gap consultancy that provides businesses with the coaching, support and confidence they want and need to educate them on the root causes of their pay gaps. With over 15 years of experience, 10 of which were spent at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Michelle’s role is to help organisations identify what is necessary to address their pay gap discrepancies and implement them into their business strategy, thus creating more inclusive, equitable workplaces.

Key Timestamps:

01:37 – An introduction to Michelle Gyimah
06:10 – The different types of pay gap
08:16 – The importance of strong leadership in implementing effective strategy
13:43 – Educating people on pay gaps
18:08 – Developing engaging communication strategies
24:55 – Working with people to eradicate fears around pay gaps
29:03 – The influence of remote working on the pay gap
39:55 – Using the pay gap conversation to address deeper nuances within a business

Series 6: The Significance of HR’s Role in the M&A Process

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

M&A refers to the phrase mergers and acquisitions, a term used when one company merges with or buys another and covers the whole process from beginning to end. Today our host, Stuart Elliott, is joined by HR M&A Lead, Graham Poole to speak about why the role of HR is so critical to this process.

During their conversation, Stuart and Graham discuss the role of HR in the M&A process, the aligning of workforce and culture of the two merging entities, the best practice for a smooth transition and some key considerations for companies during the due diligence phase of the merge. They also touch on the challenges HR teams can face during the integration process and tips for HR professionals embarking on an M&A journey.

Graham is an experienced international HR Director with a global track record in successful HR M&A and change projects. He provides HR support to organisations undergoing the M&A process and offers executive coaching for leaders going through change. His expertise includes full-scope HR M&A programmes, organisation design and global transformation initiatives. Previously, Graham has lived and worked in multiple regions including APAC, LATAM, Northern Europe & Russia and Africa.

Key Timestamps:

1:24 – An introduction to Graham Poole
6:06 – Graham’s early career
7:55 – Why the role of HR is so critical in the M&A process
12:27 – HR’s role in aligning the workforce and culture of the two merging entities
18:10 – Cost elevation and organisation design process
20:25 – The due diligence phase
27:04 – Challenges and successes when going through the M&A process
35:30 – Why Graham likes working within the M&A space
38:29 – Tips for HR professionals embarking on an M&A journey

Series 6: The Latest in HR News - November

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the first edition of ‘The Latest HR News’, an additional monthly special episode, brand new for season 6 of HR Insights: The Podcast. Our host, Stuart Elliott will be joined by professionals and experts in the HR field to discuss recent topical news articles in business and HR, examining the trends and the impact they are having on organisations.

In our premiere, Stuart is joined by Kate Mansfield, Programme Director and Career Coach at Career Counselling Services and Dan Silverman, US Head of Corporate Functions Recruitment at Bloomberg. Together, they dive into some hard-hitting pieces around the rise and fall of DEI and how to support employees amidst the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to more light-hearted topics about the so-called ‘manopause’. Stuart, Kate and Dan hold an insightful and engaging conversation creating invaluable awareness of the current topics that are shaping businesses and their HR functions today.

Kate takes responsibility for designing and delivering career development programmes for CCS clients across both private and public sector organisations in the UK and internationally. She is also is also a Lead Tutor on their open Accredited Career Coach Training course and continues to coach clients individually. Dan, who moved in-house following a career in agency recruitment, currently leads and manages a team of experienced recruitment and sourcing partners, responsible for hiring experienced talent into a range of Bloomberg's departments. Leading with data, market intelligence and recruitment best practices he ensures they hire, retain and develop world class talent.

Key Timestamps of the articles discussed:

04:43 – Full-time office workers overtake hybrid staff
09:30 - Badge checking –employees office time is being monitored
15:20 – The rise and fall of DEI
21:58 – Should DEI sit under HR?
25:28 - Layoffs at LinkedIn – what’s the best conduct?
34:36 - Boomerang staff – re-joining a former company
41:39 – How to get the lying out of hiring
49:50 - Providing support to employees amid the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict
55:17 – The ‘manopause’
58:53 – Should all relationships at work, including friendships, be declared?

For links to the articles, please see our blog

Series 6: Career Stories: Navigating a Global HR Role

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Navigating a career from recruitment to corporate HR was a huge cultural shift for this week’s guest, Vanessa Harris. Vanessa is Director of Partnership and Performance at global law firm Baker McKenzie and joins our host, Stuart Elliott to discuss her journey into HR and the skills she has had to obtain in order to adapt to a global role.

Vanessa has extensive experience in the professional services sector, in particular within legal services and has worked for Baker McKenzie for over sixteen years in a variety of different roles. Starting her career in Sydney as a recruiter, Vanessa has since moved to Singapore and has learnt the importance of having international experience to broaden her career.

In this episode, Vanessa speaks about the challenges she has faced moving across the world into a global role and her proudest moments working in HR. She also offers her advice on fostering a trusted network of people, seizing opportunities and learning 'organisational savvy' in order to build a flourishing career in HR.

Key Timestamps:

2:00 – Introducing Vanessa Harris
9:32 – The shift from a career in recruitment to Learning and Development
20:30 – The cultural change from Australia to Singapore
22:22 – The challenges of working within a legal firm
27:10 – What it’s like working in a global role being based in Singapore
33:15 – Vanessa’s proudest moments from working in HR
40:29 – Vanessa’s experience in a male dominated sector
44:30 – Advice for those beginning a career in HR

Series 6: Disability at Work – The Forgotten Diversity

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Adapting to life with a disability is a challenge many of us won't face. This week our Host and CEO, Stuart Elliott had the pleasure of speaking to Dr Amit Patel, talking about his journey with an unexpected disability; we hope to enlighten our listeners with his incredible story and how he learned to navigate the world in a completely new way.

Dr Amit is an Accessibility Consultant, Motivational Speaker, Writer, and Disability Activist. Amit lost his vision overnight in November 2013, amid the prime of his career as a Trauma Doctor. Since accepting his sight loss, he has been a powerful advocate for disability rights. In 2020 he wrote his first book Kika & Me, which explores his experiences of being visually impaired and how much having a guide dog changed his perception.

In this episode, Stuart and Amit look into what happened to Dr Amit’s vision, how his feelings adapted over time to his sight loss, changing career unexpectedly, coming to terms with his disability and how organisations can break down the barriers to become more inclusive.

For any of our UK listeners with children, you can watch Kika and Amit in Dog Squad on BBC iPlayer here.

Key Timestamps:

01:04 – Introducing Dr Amit Patel
04:23 – Early career journey
07:09 – What happened to Dr Amit’s sight?
16:07 – Feelings around his sight loss
20:49 – Coming to terms with his sight loss
24:03 – How Dr Amit became a Disability Activist
31:42 – Applying for new roles
39:58 – Navigating barriers
41:39 – What are people doing well in the disability space
52:07 – Breaking down barriers and being more inclusive

Series 6: Answering Today's Employee Experience Issues

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0100

In this episode, our host Stuart Elliott is joined by Ali Khan, Founder and CEO at SHAPE. This episode covers the current big issues facing HR teams today, how surveys can guarantee a positive employee experience and how to ensure your team is being productive and flourishing. They also discuss Ali’s career and journey to found SHAPE, an employee experience measurement company, that helps organisations navigate unprecedented change and challenges in their team. SHAPE uses employee experience data to help employees and the organisation succeed on a global scale.

Ali works and travels globally to deliver techniques that help employees to flourish across multiple industries. He is an inventor, entrepreneur, and investor, specialising in health, data, and change. Ali’s mission is to help people and businesses do measurably better in work, life, health, culture, and happiness.

Key Timestamps

01:03 – Introduction to Ali and SHAPE
09:29 – The big issues facing HR teams today
17:07 – What is meant by employee experience
21:32 – Measuring employee experience
31:12 – How often should companies run employee engagement surveys?
33:27 – How quick should the response action to the survey results be?
35:52 – What is meant by the term flourishing?
42:17 – Employee experience on a global scale

Series 6: Omni – A Digital AI Coach in Your Pocket

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to a brand new series of HR Insights: The Podcast! We are back with Series 6 and we will be bringing you more topical HR discussions and amazing guests. You can look forward to episodes around AI, HR Tech, Employee Engagement, DEI, the Gender Pay Gap, inspiring HR career stories and so much more.

Today we are joined by a familiar face, Ben Williams, CEO and Co-Founder, Loopin. In this episode Stuart and Ben sit down to chat through his newest AI powered product Omni, the fear surrounding AI, losing the human touch and worries around AI reducing the number of jobs for humans. Powered by Loopin, Omni is an AI assistant, that aims to make learning and development easier by acting as an employees own personalised AI coach enriched with your data. Omni can engage with countless employees simultaneously and hold conversations that mirror insight from senior team members.

Ben appeared in a previous episode of the podcast where he introduced us to his company, Loopin and discussed his difficult past and subsequent life changing career as a Royal Marines Commando. Ben went onto found Loopin, a tool that checks in with your employees and aims to make people feel ‘more human’ at work. He has appeared on various other podcasts, including ‘The Diary of a CEO’. He has also written a book ‘The Commando Mindset’ where he reveals his process for achieving goals of any size to help take your life to the next level.

Key Timestamps

03:03 – Introducing Ben Williams
04:13 – Learn about Loopin and Omni
14:29 – Why people fear AI
22:51 – Understanding Omni
32:07 – AI automating roles
39:23 – Risk of losing that personal touch
46:27 - Making AI part of your life

Series 5: Recapping Series 5

Thu, 27 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome to the final episode of Series 5 of HR Insights: The Podcast!

It has been an amazing series with plenty of noteworthy guests offering useful insights on some fascinating topics! In this last episode, Group Marketing Manager at Elliott Scott Group, Emily Abbott sat down with our CEO, Stuart Elliott to recap on this series and talk through some stand out moments from our guests.

Emily and Stuart highlight the top book and TV programme recommendations from our guests this series and the topics that have linked to trends within the current HR function and global market as a whole. Stuart also reflects on the most memorable discussions with guests this series as well as his aspirations and hopes for Series 6.

Key Timestamps:
- 1:40 – Stand out book recommendations from this series’ guests
- 4:00 – Stand out TV shows from this series’ guests
- 6:30 – Reflecting on Stuart’s achievements in fitness competition, HYROX
- 9:35 – Which topics discussed in Series 5 link to current trends within the HR function?
- 14:30 – Changes and trends in the current global market
- 17:05 – The evolution of Stuart’s role and how this has impacted the business
- 18:33 – Memorable moments from Series 5
- 22:20 – Aspirations for Series 6
- 24:00 – A thank you to the guests and listeners of Series 5

Series 5: Empowering Working Parents

Thu, 13 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast! Stuart Elliott sits down with two guests this week from Parents@work, the CEO and Founder, Sarah Meier and Partner, Celine Hendrick. They join Stuart to talk about the company’s aim to transform workplace culture for parents through Peer Coaching, Personal Development and Communication.

Sarah Meier is originally from South Africa and began her journey into empowering parents at work after having children of her own and experiencing loneliness when going back to work. She founded Parents@work around six years ago to help tackle these feelings and alleviate the stress of returning to a job as a new parent. Belgian born Celine Hendrick joined the company a year and a half ago and having faced similar difficulties when having her own children, was keen to join an organization that was solely focused on easing this transition.

In this episode, Stuart, Sarah and Celine talk about Parent@work’s mission to design bespoke programmes for different organizations to support new parents in returning to work, as well as encouraging them to find comfort in expressing their goals and future career plans within their organizations. They also discuss the importance of building a family-friendly environment to maximize hard work and loyalty amongst their workers.

Key Time Stamps:
- 1:30 – Intro into Sarah Meier
- 4:55 – Intro into Celine Hendrick
- 17:55 – What are the main challenges for working parents today?
- 21:00 – Gender discrepancy for parents at work
- 26:40 – How companies can invest in people and do more for parents at work
- 28:40 – How to have empathy for working parents
- 33:05 – How parents fit into talent strategies within organizations
- 37:00 – Advice for people putting off having a family in case of career progression
- 42:50 – Parents@work’s three key processes
- 46:20 – Advice for companies to improve on their treatment of working parents

Series 5: Potential Over Pedigree: Skilling For Success

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Stuart Elliott sits down with Louise Swaffield this week, Future Skills Talent Director at Fidelity International. Louise talks through Fidelity’s approach to mobility and development opportunities, the importance of upskilling and the advent of hiring based on skillset rather than qualifications.

Louise Swaffield has worked in the HR world for over 20 years, beginning at Accenture working across a variety of global talent and HR roles, before taking on a brand new role at Fidelity International where she is leading efforts to embed a strategic skills framework across the organization.

In this episode, Stuart and Louise discuss the creation of a talent marketplace within Fidelity in order to maximize mobility, growth learning and development particularly within Financial Services. Louise also highlights the shift in hiring preferences to a more skill-based approach and the importance of enhancing proficiency to maintain an agile and successful career.

Key Time Stamps:
- 1:10 – Introduction into Louise Swaffield and her background
- 10:00 – Fidelity’s approach to people mobility and development opportunities
- 11:39 – What does the talent marketplace at Fidelity look like?
- 15:50 – Fidelity’s talent strategies and accelerators reversing the trend of skill scarcity within Financial Services
- 19:15 – Challenges that we’ll see going forwards in terms of advances in skills and work
- 23:40 – The potential gender disparity of skill self promotion in Financial Services
- 26:15 - Fidelity’s utilization and distribution of skills data within the organization
- 28:18 – Are people starting to look more at the skills that they need for a job rather than qualifications?
- 31:30 – Are Fidelity investing in the Learning Development of their people to make them have a broader skillset?
- 32:30 – Fidelity’s focus in terms of future skills

Series 5: Supporting Your Employees' Financial Futures

Thu, 29 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0100

This week, our host, Stuart Elliott sits down with Pete Hykin, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Penfold, a workplace pensions business using technology to innovate and modernize the otherwise mundane world of pensions.

Pete has experience working with entrepreneur-led businesses, a marketing and growth agency as well as an app company of which he was the first employee. Within each role, Pete noticed the common theme of a flawed pension scheme which ultimately inspired the creation of Penfold, an accessible and easy solution to pensions.

In this episode, Stuart and Pete discuss how technology is leveraged to increase people’s understanding of the pensions world, how Penfold is improving employee wellbeing as well as the importance of HR Professionals in helping their colleagues to achieve a comfortable retirement.

Key Time Stamps:
- 1:00 – Intro into Pete Hykin and the idea behind Penfold
- 12:00 – Overview of the role of technology in the pension industry
- 17:00 – How Penfold helps with your pension schemes
- 18:10 – Does using technology for greater accessibility increase people’s understanding of the pension industry?
- 22:50 – How Penfold improves employee wellbeing
- 27:06 – The changes Pete would like to see across the industry
- 35:05 – The importance of HR Professionals in helping their employees achieve a comfortable retirement
- 40:05 – Advice to employees for managing their pensions

Series 5: Effective Job Transition for You and The Business

Thu, 22 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0100

We are back with another great episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

This week, our host, Stuart Elliott is joined by returning guest, Glenn Wallis, Founder and Managing Director of Exigence, to talk about job transition both internally and externally, and the key tips for transitioning roles effectively.

With over 20 years of experience, Glenn works with business leaders and HR specialists to navigate strategic transformation within their organizations and tackle the ever-changing landscape of job transitioning with confidence and certainty.

In this episode, Stuart and Glenn discuss the traits of a ‘good’ role transition and the five key points that make up a positive transitional experience, as well as top tips both candidates and clients can adopt when going through this job transformation.

Key Time Stamps:
- 3:12 – Intro into Glenn Wallis and his background
- 9:10 – Defining job transition
- 12:16 – What does a good job transition look like?
- 22:50 – The 5 key tips for transitioning into a new role positively
- 27:32 – How to make the most of your probation period
- 32:55 – Advice for changing your personal brand for an internal role
- 36:04 – Advice for people undergoing a job/role transition
- 37:46 - What can clients do to help someone transitioning into a new role?

Series 5: Green Ethics in Your HR Strategy

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to HR Insights: The Podcast!

We have another exciting guest joining our host, Stuart Elliott this week. Scott Sullivan is the Director of Human Resources at law firm, Bates Wells and he sits down with Stuart to talk about green ethics and their role in the HR Strategy.

Scott Sullivan is an experienced strategic HR professional with varied involvement throughout the employee cycle, working within the legal sector for a long time in companies like Barclays Bank, he is also a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, trustee of the charity Diversity Role Models and sits as a Justice of the Peace in East London. Scott was drawn to Bates Wells because of their values and mission to implement sustainability.

In this episode, Stuart and Scott examine the importance of green ethics in the HR Strategy, how these are utilised in company rewards and benefits as well as what companies can be doing to improve their overall sustainability.

Key Time Stamps:
- 3:20 - Intro into Scott Sullivan
- 11:10 - Why are green ethics important in the HR Strategy?
- 15:00 – What does green ethics look like in practice from an HR standpoint?
- 17:30 – Covid’s impact on green ethics
- 20:45 – Does cost effect sustainability within the business?
- 22:20 - How are green ethics seen in your rewards and benefits?
- 29:50 – Do sustainability values ever get in the way of business?
- 31:20 – What is coming next in this space?
- 34:50 – Advice to HR functions on implementing green ethics

Series 5: Unlocking Human Potential

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0100

We have another exciting episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

This week our host Stuart Elliott is joined by Nishika de Rosairo, CEO & Founder of HumanQ, the world’s first managed marketplace focused entirely on group coaching. Nishika speaks about the importance of unlocking potential and helping individuals to live their best and most fulfilled lives.

Nishika de Rosairo is a serial entrepreneur who has worked within many businesses, from the start-ups of Silicon Valley to large companies like Apple and Levi. Coming from a disciplined and ambitious background, Nishika’s mission has always been to reflect these values within the workplace. She founded HumanQ to provide companies and individuals with the optimal development opportunities to unlock their true potential.

In this episode, Stuart and Nishika discuss the inspiration behind HumanQ, the methodology around her group coaching sessions, as well as the importance of taking pride in what you do to positively contribute to the overall health and wealth of your life.

Key Time Stamps:
- 1:15 – Intro into Nishika de Rosairo and HumanQ
- 10:00 – Nishika's background and key values
- 14:45 – Inspiration behind HumanQ
- 19:25 – HumanQ’s Methodology
- 24:15 – Importance of access to learning & development resources
- 30:40 – Taking pride in what you do
- 34:33 – Companies’ struggles with learning & development
- 38:48 – Advice for companies and individuals to reach their full potential

Series 5: Generative AI: Pros and Cons within HR

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

This week, our host Stuart Elliott is joined by returning guest, Ria Davey to speak about the impact of Generative AI on the world of work, particularly within the HR Function, as well as the risks and benefits that come with it.

Ria Davey is the Global Head of HR in Engineering at Bloomberg where she has just celebrated her 11-year anniversary. Throughout her time at Bloomberg, Ria has been privy to the rapid evolution of AI within the industry and the ways in which its capability has potential for broad application.

Despite its time-saving benefits, there are many risks that come with AI, whether that be through inaccuracies or loss of human empathy and intelligence. In this episode, Stuart and Ria discuss the endless possibilities AI, particularly ChatGPT, could have on the HR Function, the pros and cons of the technology, and how it can be utilized to support HR Leaders.

Key Timestamps:
- 1:30 - Intro into Ria Davey and her role within Bloomberg
- 6:45 - Key themes and trends
- 13:15 - Possibilities of AI
- 20:30 - Risks of AI
- 25:45 - Overall impacts of ChatGPT at work
- 32:25 - What HR leaders should be doing to support their businesses

Series 5: Stuck in a Rut: Flourishing at Work

Thu, 25 May 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome to this week’s episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

This week, our CEO & Host Stuart Elliott sat down with a familiar face at Elliott Scott HR, Charlie Girling, to speak about coaching, burnout and flourishing environments.

Charlie has previously worked with the team in the UK as a key speaker at the ‘Making Coaching Accessible’ event. She is an experienced Executive Coach with an MSc in Coaching Psychology and Applied Positive Coaching. Charlie is also the Founder of W-health, a coaching and consulting business which provides performance coaching, workshops and Positive Psychology based toolkits for HR professionals to help their organisations flourish. She has a mission to create more healthy and prosperous workplaces, make coaching accessible and upskill HR’s toolkit in these rapidly changing times.

In this episode Charlie and Stuart sit down to discuss her company; W-health, burnout, work stress, mental health crisis, positive psychology, flourishing workplaces, and escaping the downward spiral.

Key Timestamps:
- 02:12 – Intro into Charlie Girling and W-health
- 11:13 – Defining burnout
- 16:02 – Stress at work
- 19:26 – Mental health crisis
- 24:06 – Positive psychology
- 29:15 – Flourishing workplaces
- 44:28 – Escaping a downward spiral

Series 5: Exploring Generational Diversity in the Workplace

Thu, 18 May 2023 00:00:00 +0100

Welcome to this week’s episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

Today, our CEO and Host Stuart Elliott, is joined by Professional Speaker for Millennial Minds Pte Ltd, Vivek Iyyani. Vivek is based in Singapore and joins Stuart to speak on Millennials in the workplace and overall generational diversity.

On top of being a Professional Speaker Vivek is also an Author of 3 books, Empowering Millennials, Engaging Millennials and The Millennial Leader and is currently writing his next book titled, Marketing to Millennials. He has been featured on different regional media channels and works alongside large organisations to build a millennial friendly employer brand. In his free time Vivek works with young people to build purposeful careers that they are passionate about.

In this episode, Stuart and Vivek define the different generations, explain generational gaps, generational diversity, traits that you would typically find in Gen Z and Millennials that may be different to older generations, cancel culture and tips for millennial leaders.

Key Timestamps:

01:12 - Introducing Vivek Iyyani
08:00 - Defining Millennials
12:35 - Specialising in generational diversity
18:17 - Millennial and Gen Z traits
24:06 - Negative traits
26:47 - Learning from different generations
30:38 - Cancel culture
33:28 - Challenges for Millennial leaders
37:41 - Tips for managing a multi-generational workforce

Series 5: Building a Healthy Work Life Balance

Thu, 11 May 2023 00:00:00 +0100

We have another exciting episode for you this week, on HR Insights: The Podcast!

Ahead of Mental Health Awareness week, our CEO and Host Stuart Elliott is joined by Amelia Wilcox, CEO of Nivati, to speak about mental health in the workplace and building a health work life balance.

Nivati is a leading employee mental health and wellbeing platform which provides employees with stress management tools and direct access to professional help. Founded in 2020 Nivati now serves over 25 countries globally and aims to break down stigmas associated with mental health in the office with tools designed to decrease the friction and barriers to accessing care.

Outside of Nivati, Amelia has recently been listed in the Forty Under 40, Fast 50, Inc 5000 and has been twice awarded National Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year. Amelia is passionate about wellbeing, mental health and entrepreneurship and speaks at universities and events around the US. She is also active in promoting women in business communities and taking care of her family of five.

In this episode Amelia and Stuart sit down to discuss how work life balance has changed post Covid, how employees can create boundaries, employee burnout and how organisations can break down the stigma around mental health.

Key Timestamps:

01:20 – An introduction to Amelia Wilcox
11:44 – The change in boundaries and work life balance post Covid
16:50 – Managing your work life balance
20:11 – Setting boundaries
23:33 – Employee burnout
26:20 – ‘It’s okay to take a break’
29:35 – Talking about mental health
35:39 – Where to start when building a healthy work life culture

Series 5: Growth Point: How to Build a Growth Mindset

Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 +0100

We’re back with another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

Today, our CEO and Host Stuart Elliott is joined by another fantastic guest, Amy Clark, Founder and Executive Coach at Growth Minded Leadership Group. In this episode Stuart and Amy discuss her book Growth Point and how to build a growth mindset.

Amy is considered a thought leader in her field and is known for creating solutions that drive business outcomes. As a leadership development coach, she works one-on-one with individuals looking to develop their growth mindset; identifying key behaviours they want to gain awareness of and helping them understand what they can do today to be more successful tomorrow.

In her book, Growth Point, Amy uses her own experience to outline actionable points to implement change in order to grow, helping to develop a growth point playlist and become aware of your vision and where you can progress.

Throughout this episode Stuart and Amy discuss her background and her passion to write a book, what Growth Point is and how it could benefit you, leading with a growth mindset, being approachable, finding your vision, the challenges around growth and offering advice for those that want to grow.

If you are interested in reading Growth Point or the book mentioned at the beginning of the podcast Talent Wins, please use the links provided.

Key Timestamps:

01:24 – Getting to know Amy
08:57 – Why Amy decided to publish a book
11:58 – The hardest part of writing a book
14:52 – What is Growth Point
18:15 – Being approachable
25:10 – Learning to have a growth mindset
28:00 – Challenges around growth
36:53 – Biggest turn around in mindset
42:39 – Advice for personal growth

Series 5: Up-Skilling Managers with Villyge

Wed, 26 Apr 2023 19:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

This week our host Stuart Elliott is joined by Debi Yadegari to introduce our audience to Villyge, a platform to aid businesses in upskilling mangers to lead with empathy through personal life events.

Debi is the Founder and CEO of Villyge, she started her career as a Wall Street Lawyer before creating Villyge to address the problems she both experienced and witnessed in the workplace. Debi is a sought-after thought leader and working mother of 5, dedicated to shaping the future of work for the next generation to come.

In this episode Stuart and Debi discuss leading with empathy and how Villyge can help company’s upskill managers in dealing with their employee’s personal life events. They speak about how Debi has found being a female CEO, how Villyge works and the success of the company.

Key Timestamps:

01:21 – An intro to Debi
08:15 – What is Villyge?
14:28 – Employees shift in needs
16:29 – The switch to a tech firm
19:11 – Being a female CEO
23:44 – How does Villyge work?
29:33 – Where does the knowledge come from?
32:00 – The success of Villyge
35:07 – Sectors using Villyge
39:20 – Where next for Villyge

Series 5: The Evolution of Change

Wed, 19 Apr 2023 17:00:00 +0100

It’s Thursday, which means a brand new episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

This week our host Stuart Elliott had the pleasure of speaking to Beth Banks Cohn around the topical issue of change and how to manage it.

Beth is an accomplished Organisational Consultant, Senior Executive Coach and President/ Founder of ADRA Change Architects. Beth has more than 25 years of success in her career and has worked across a multitude of industries, she helps companies use organisational transformation to reach the next level of growth.

As mentioned in the episode, through her career Beth has authored numerous publications to aid companies through transformational growth. Taking the Leap: Managing Your Career in Turbulent Times…and Beyond, discusses what does it take to successfully navigate your career in challenging times. Another of her books, Change Smart: Implementing Change Without Lowering Your Bottom Line talks about how change is the key to survival and is now more challenging than ever. We recommend giving these a read!

Today, Stuart and Beth speak about the evolution of change, how it has developed post Covid, why change is still a relevant topic, the 3 parts of the mind and how to make the process of change smoother and more successful.

Key Timestamps

01:37 – Intro into Beth
07:49 – Why is change still a relevant topic
10:41 – Change through the pandemic
13:42 – The evolution of change
17:57 – The 3 parts of the mind
20:14 – Change Smart
28:09 – Implementation vs Adoption
31:18 – Out of touch leaders
33:05 – Making change smooth
37:13 – Changing the way you work
39:34 – Change in HR

Series 5: How to be More 'People Sustainable'

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 12:00:00 +0100

Welcome back to another exciting episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

It is a joy to be bringing you episode 4 of this series and another great guest, Stacey Payne, Chief People Officer at Daily Harvest.

Stacey has over 20 years of experience elevating organisations through transformational strategy and culture leadership. Stacey earned her M.A. in Organisational Leadership and B.A. in Public Relations and Art History from Chapman University in Southern California. She has a passion for HR Tech and has served on several company boards and is one of the founding members of CHIEF, dedicated to executive leadership for women. Stacey is now a CPO at Daily Harvest, a company on a mission to make nourishing foods more attainable.

In this episode, our CEO and host, Stuart Elliott and Stacey discuss people sustainability; what it is and what businesses can do to ensure their business is ‘people sustainable’. They also chat about the trends around this topic, Staceys impressive career, and the challenges of hybrid work on the people space.

To view the Mercer article spoken about in the podcast please click here: Mercer - How People Sustainability is Key to Business Success

Key Timestamps:

01:01 – Introduction to Stacey Payne
03:52 – The growth of Daily Harvest
08:37 – Stacey’s journey
15:42 – What is people sustainability?
18:56 – Business trends around people sustainability
21:38 – Your brand
26:13 – Culture in people sustainability
27:31 – Hybrid work challenges
32:32 – Hiring with people in mind
37:49 – Tips to be more people sustainable

Series 5: Is Gender Equality a Reality in Our Lifetime?

Wed, 05 Apr 2023 15:00:00 +0100

We are back with another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

Today our CEO and host Stuart Elliott is joined by Katica Roy, an award-winning gender economist to speak about gender equality.

Katica has an incredible back catalogue and has interviewed the likes of President Biden, Vice President Harris and many more. Katica’s visionary articles have been published by the World Economic Forum, Fast Company, Fortune, Forbes and Harvard Business Review; receiving over 2.9 billion impressions. She is now the CEO and Founder of SaaS company; Pipeline, ‘an organisation that uses advanced technology to make intersectional gender parity a reality in our lifetime.’

In this episode, Stuart and Katica discuss gender equality and its implications on working life; why gender equity is an issue for both men and women, accepting that there is bias, the economic implications gender equality has on a business and the data around gender equality.

You can find out more about gender equity via Katica’s blog where she shares information and tips on combating equity in the workplace.

Key Timestamps:

01:01 – Introducing Katica Roy
11:15 – Current state of the gender equity space
13:45 – Bias training: does it work?
18:50 – US economy through the lens of gender
21:58 – 1.1 million women missing from the workforce
24:26 – Global gender equity
29:26 – Gender parity could take 156 years
34:36 – Solutions to achieving gender equity.

Series 5: Navigating a Start-Up as a HR Professional

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 16:00:00 +0100

HR Insights: The Podcast, Episode 2 is out now!

Today, our CEO and host for this series Stuart Elliott, is joined by Victoria Bethlehem to speak about joining a tech start-up.

Victoria is the global Chief People & Culture Officer at Adventus.io, a start-up operating in the ed-tech space. Adventus.io is a digital marketplace for the international student recruitment market which enables institutions, recruiters, and service providers to seamlessly find and transact with each other, anywhere in the world. They are transforming the way the world accesses international education. Prior to joining this team Victoria spent 25 years in executive management roles within the HR field. She describes herself as an international citizen, having lived and worked in the US, South Africa, Switzerland, Greece, Australia and now Singapore.

In this episode Stuart and Victoria discuss joining a start-up, giving advice to new CEO’s, guidance on who to hire first, the issues that you can encounter with the growth of a start-up, ensuring that company culture is embedded into the mission and vision and how the changing markets can affect a new business.

Key Timestamps:

01:46 - Introduction to Victoria
07:13 - Joining a tech start-up
11:05 - Hiring for HR
13:34 - Embedding culture into your organisation
16:04 - Where to focus on
18:41 - Evolving issues with company growth
23:15 - Dealing with changing markets
27:51 - Advice for a new CEO
32:52 - Advice for a CPO

Series 5: The Changing World of DEI

Wed, 22 Mar 2023 16:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to HR Insights: The Podcast!

Today we are back for the first episode of Series 5, after the success of series 4 we can’t wait to share more exciting guests with you this season. Our first guest is a familiar face to Elliott Scott HR and a partner of ours, Sasha Scott. Sasha has been on the podcast previously and holds the record for our most popular episode ever!

For those that are new here, Sasha is the CEO and Founder of the Inclusive Group and is considered an expert in the field of EDI, she has appeared on the BBC and has been published in multiple newspapers. She understands the commercial drivers behind reducing bias within the workplace and the critical need to promote and sustain an inclusive workplace culture.

In this episode our CEO and Host for this season Stuart Elliott speaks to Sasha Scott to discuss the changes in diversity and inclusion within the workplace. Over the years the acronym that surrounds this field has changed dependant on what organisations should contemporality prioritise. They also discuss the changes across EDI and how hybrid work has affected the inclusivity of the workplace.

Key Timestamps:

01:36 – Intro to Sasha Scott
06:48 – The change to EDI
09:56 – EDI trends
16:04 – Fear of saying the wrong thing
18:33 – Effects of hybrid working
20:40 – Increase of bias
24:26 – Moving work to lower cost locations
27:50 – Biggest issues in the EDI space
29:37 – ‘Woke-ism’
34:17 – Learning from mistakes
39:22 – 3 key topics for 2023

Series 4: That's a Wrap!

Wed, 01 Mar 2023 15:00:00 +0000

Today marks the final episode of HR Insights Season 4!

We would like to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you to all of our guests this season and all of those that work behind the scenes to ensure each episode is a success. We will be back after a short break with season 5.

In this episode our host and CEO, Stuart Elliott sits down with the Managing Directors of each of our six global hubs to give an update from each region. Discussing the market over the last year and determining whether trends are local to the region or something we are seeing globally. This is a great way to work out the trends for 2023 and what we can all expect to be seeing as we approach the end of Q1.

If you are interested in finding out about a particular region, please see the time stamps below:

Key timestamps

02:01 - South East Asia – Maidlin Mistry, Director
11:12 - India – Gaurav Yadav, Director
22:55 - North Asia – Phillip Welburn, Managing Director APAC
34:31 - UK and Europe - Peter Fahy, Associate Director
47:27 - Latin America - Paulo Exel, General Manager
1:00:11 - North America – Roshan Jayawardena, Managing Director

Series 4: Hybrid Working is Here to Stay

Wed, 08 Feb 2023 16:00:00 +0000

Episode 13 of HR Insights: The Podcast is out now!

In this week’s episode, our host, Stuart Elliott is joined by Amira Kohler, Director of Performance and Change at Appraisd, regular listeners to HR Insights may recognise Appraisd from a previous episode of the podcast. In series 3 Stuart was joined by Roly Walter, the Founder of Appraisd. You can listen to that episode here.

Amira is an expert in performance and change management and has worked for 30 years helping companies optimise their employee performance. She has designed and delivered performance solutions for teams globally.

In this episode Stuart and Amira chat about how to manage performance in a hybrid world; setting expectations here, how much is too much flexibility, pushing boundaries and where responsibilities lie. If you have further interest in this topic, you can download the Hybrid Charter Checklist via the Appraisd website.

Key Timestamps:

02:35 – An introduction to Amira
09:50 – Setting expectations
11:43 – Office days
13:30 – Flexibility: how much is too much
14:50 – Pushing the boundaries
18:23 – Issues: employees vs employers
20:55 – Managing performance post covid
23:54 – Personal catch ups
26:51 – Responsibilities of hybrid check ins
34:36 – Working efficiently at home
37:40 – Scheduling calendar breaks
39:30 – What works?
41:30 – Appraisd checklist

Series 4: Critiquing Performance Management

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 17:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to another episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

This week, our host Stuart Elliott, is joined by Kevin Campbell, an Employee Experience Scientist at Qualtrics, Kevin helps organisations acquire, develop, and retain their most valuable asset: their people.

Kevin comes to us with an extensive career and has spent the last decade building leaders at every level and creating scores of engaged, high-performing, strengths-based teams. He has driven talent strategy, employee engagement, performance management, and leadership development initiatives for clients in the professional services, medical device, banking, hospitality, consumer products, technology, healthcare and life sciences industries. He also served as a principal investigator and researcher for social science programs funded by the U.S. Federal Government.

It is safe to say Kevin is an expert in this field and in this episodes sits down with Stuart to discuss performance management, how to handle performance reviews, difficult conversations, managing remote teams and the happiness index.

Key Timestamps:

2:05: Get to know Kevin
9:37: Changing the tone of performance reviews
13:30: Reacting to negative feedback
18:00: Objective truth and subjective experience
19:56: A change in performance reviews
20:53: Shiny object syndrome
23:29: Gallup's framework
26:27: Cultural hierarchy and opening conversations
30:35: Descending from debate to confrontation
33:26: Over managing remote teams
37:50: The mental state of flow
39:10: The happiness index

Series 4: Preventing Core Values Becoming Empty Words

Wed, 25 Jan 2023 17:00:00 +0000

Welcome back!

This week our host Stuart Elliott is joined by Dr Brad Harris, a Professor of Management and Human Resources at HEC Paris, the Co-Founder of People Leader Accelerator, and the Managing Partner at Trailhead Consulting. Brad is an award-winning, internationally recognised teacher in the areas of HR and is the co-author of two books, 3D Team Leadership: A New Approach for Complex Teams and Scaling for Success: People Priorities for High Growth Organisations.

Outside of work, Brad lives in Paris with his wife and three children. He loves to run and a passionate advocate for individuals with special needs.

In this episode Stuart and Brad discuss the importance of having core values that stem from behaviours. Values should be able to be assessed and measured and are expected to adjust and change over time. This podcast will help individuals choose core values that really make a difference and aren’t just empty words.

Key Timestamps:

01:05: An Introduction to Dr Brad Harris
08:28: What are core values?
11:53: Behaviours within an organisation
15:39: Finding your own core values
19:25: Can generational differences affect core values
22:47: Ensuring personal values are in line with company values
27:25: Values you believe you have vs what you actually convey
28:58: Changing your core values
31:25: Reevaluating your values
35:15: Evolution vs change

Series 4: Leadership Development in a Hybrid World

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 17:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to another episode of HR Insights, The Podcast!

Today, our host Stuart Elliott is joined by Richard Graham, Head of Leadership and Career Development at the London Stock Exchange Group. Richard comes to us with a multitude of experience that has led him to global talent functions at Vodafone Group, Burberry, and Bloomberg, where he’s driven meaningful culture change through leadership development and shifting people to a career ownership mindset.

Richard is a certified coach and psychometric tool expert. He’s lived in New York, Kuala Lumpur, and is now settled in London, where he lives with his husband, Rob and bulldog, Ron. He’s an avid traveller and gardener.

In this week’s episode, Stuart and Richard sit down to discuss leadership development in a post-pandemic era. During this conversation, they talk widely about humanising the hybrid world, leadership of the future and work/ life integration.

Key Timestamps

- 1:28 – Introduction to Richard
- 9:13 – Adapting to the new working world
- 13:36 – Difficulties in humanizing hybrid working
- 16:18 – Being transactional vs building relationships
- 17:29 – Assessing talent
- 21:18 – Input vs output
- 24:07 – Biggest challenge about having a global role post pandemic
- 26:21 – Balancing Hybrid life
- 31:10 – Work/life integration
- 32:48 – Change in career progression
- 37:27 – Regional career differences

Series 4: How to Boost Your Career in 2023

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 15:00:00 +0000

New year, fresh start! This week, Elliott Scott HR Founder and CEO Stuart Elliott was joined by career coach, recruitment expert and author, Hannah Salton.

After nearly a decade of experience in the recruitment sector, Hannah left her job security to pursue her dream as a career coach, where she now helps others achieve the same goal. Having worked as a career coach for over 5 years now, Hannah joins Stuart to discuss how to navigate the anxieties, pitfalls, and unexpected outcomes of developing your career.

In this episode, Stuart and Hannah chat about the differences of applying for jobs in the new year, the evolution of the workplace, and the importance of not only setting your standards... but raising them too.

Key Timestamps

1:18 introduction
5:50 the evolution of careers fairs
11:30 moving away from application forms
13:50 Video interviews
15:30 advice on modernisation
19:50 What do we do after we gain experience
23:20 Treating your career like an MOT
27:45 Setting your standards and raising them
29:20 The importance of honest conversation

Series 4: Soft Skills - How Life Experience Boosts Your Career

Thu, 15 Dec 2022 09:00:00 +0000

This week, host Stuart Elliott is joined by Riccarda Zezza, Author and Founder of EdTech Company Lifeed.

Lifeed aims to transform periods of stress or transition such as parenthood, caring for loved ones or enduring overwhelming situations into opportunities to expand and develop 'soft skills'. As a columnist for Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore and co-author of book MAAM - Maternity as a Master, discover how Riccarda Zezza is using her platform to help transform the lives of over 40,000 around the world.

In this episode Stuart and Riccarda discuss how developing soft skills impacts your worklife, from navigating the pitfalls of working from home to even saving a marriage. You can access the MultiMe Finder demo space by clicking here.

Key Timestamps:

01:45 An Introduction to Riccarda
06:25 What is Lifeed?
08:27 Becoming a mother and juggling work
10:45 Soft skills
12:22 Life roles methodology
14:00 The life transition during COVID
17:00 The pitfalls of working from home
22:40 MultiMe Finder
23:24 User feedback and saved marriages
26:30 The biggest challenges facing HR Professions
30:20 The collision of life and work

Series 4: Will the Metaverse Transform the Way We Work?

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 17:00:00 +0000

Today, our host of HR Insights, Stuart Elliott is joined by Ria Davey, Global Head - HR & Talent, for the Engineering sector at Bloomberg.

Ria is a Global HR Business and Talent leader with 18+ years end to end, strategic HR experience. She has been with Bloomberg for over 10 years and worked in multiple roles across the world. Ria has recently relocated back to their London office after 3 years in New York. Prior to this, she worked in regional positions in Hong Kong, looking after the Asia Pacific region, she also lived in the Middle East, a real global citizen.

In this episode Stuart and Ria discuss the Future of Work. They discuss where HR is heading, the role the Metaverse will play in this and the adaptation of technology. There has been a lot of talk around AI in recent years and it's development, it will be interesting to see what part this will play in the ever changing world of work.

Key Timestamps:

01:40 – An introduction to Ria
04:53 – Why are we talking about AI?
07:18 – Companies using AI
08:40 – Digital Daniel
09:51 – Key trends in the Future of Work
13:14 – 1 in 10 jobs will cease to exist
16:58 – The Metaverse
22:49 – Living and working in the Metaverse
25:32 – The pros and cons of the Metaverse
27:29 – Supporting HR strategically in the Future of Work
29:57 – Upskilling HR
33:57 – Adopting the new way of work

Series 4: Can AI Predict Burnout?

Wed, 30 Nov 2022 15:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to HR Insights: The Podcast!

This week our host; CEO and Owner of Elliott Scott HR, Stuart Elliott is joined by Ben Williams, CEO of Loopin, for a conversation about life, ambition and starting a company based on talking about mental wellbeing.

Loopin is an award-winning Slack-integrated tool, using AI technology and emotion data to predict employee trends and support managers with real-time interventions. Loopin aims to create an environment where it is okay to show vulnerability and emotion.

Ben, who you may recognise from his episode of the podcast ' The Diary of a CEO', is the Founder of Loopin alongside Antony, they were both Royal Marine Commandos and through this experience have developed a wealth of knowledge in leadership, communication, and peer-to-peer support. In March 2020, the pandemic changed the way we all work; since then there has been an increase of people feeling stressed, less motivated, and full of anxiety. With this in mind and scientific research behind them Ben and Antony created Loopin, a tool that aims to make people feel ‘more human’ at work. Loopin will check in with teams daily and only takes 10 seconds, it's a great way to track your mental wellbeing privately or openly and encourages the conversation around mental health.

In this episode Ben and Stuart discuss Ben’s struggles in the past; what led him to make the jump and join the Royal Marines and how he developed Loopin and what this tool can do when integrated with your organisation.

Key Timestamps:

00:57- An introduction to Ben Williams
03:30- Ben’s Background
06:53- Joining the Royal Marines
13:11- The silver bullet
14:36- Leaving the Royal Marines
17:49- Founding Loopin
21:19- Bring your true self to work
21:44- What does Loopin actually do?
26:22- Engaging with Loopin
29:39- Which sectors are embracing Loopin?
31:34- Looking after your mental health
33:43- Hybrid working
35:18- Why choose Loopin?

Series 4: Navigating the Evolving Job Market

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 03:00:00 +0000

Making a return to HR Insights - The Podcast, The Recruitment Coach herself, Ellie Rich-Poole sat down with our host and Elliott Scott HR founder and CEO, Stuart Elliott to talk about how to navigate the currently evolving job market. Longtime fans of the podcast may recognise Ellie from her appearance in Series 2, where she discussed Strengths-Based Networking in a Virtual World. Discussing how to maintain career stability during a time of instability, Ellie discloses her 3 tips for developing your career, whilst tackling areas such as the rise of mentoring, the impact of gender stereotypes on the job market, and the importance of building good relationships with recruiters.

Ellie Rich-Poole, The Recruitment Coach, has 25 years’ experience in HR, Talent and Head-hunting HR Leaders. She founded her business in 2016 to inspire and support others with their career development. She is a speaker and enjoys facilitating group sessions on a range of career topics from ‘Learn to Love LinkedIn’ to ‘Stop hiding, start Networking.’

She coaches people at a critical moment of transition, helping them to move forward with positivity. She goes on the journey with them as a supporter and challenger to help them get to action and get results. She helps leaders land their perfect role and be brilliant in it, by playing to their strengths. She supports individuals stepping up internally and changing the way they work, as well as those moving externally.

New episodes of the podcast will be released weekly. If you're on the move we recommend you download and listen to HR insights through:

Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn

and most other popular podcast apps, subscribe so the latest episodes are directly available! You can also listen via the player at the bottom of this blog, just ensure you have a consistent internet connection.

Key Timestamps:

01:05- An introduction to Ellie Rich-Poole and The Recruitment Coach
06:18- Is there a decline in online job applications?
08:25- The impact of The Great Resignation
12:05- How agencies are becoming more proactive to source candidates
16:00- The top tips to take charge in your career
17:00- Tip 1 - Take ownership of your career
19:45- Think outside of your organisation
21:25- Tip 2 - Invest time in developing your relationships
26:20- The rise of mentoring. Mentioned: Protégé
28:00- Tip 3 - Exposure
31:40- Tackling gender stereotypes

You can listen to Ellie's previous podcast appearance by clicking here.

Series 4: The Power of Resilience

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 03:00:00 +0000

Today, our host, Stuart Elliott chats to a familiar face of Elliott Scott HR's, Thierry Moschetti from The Resilience Institute. We have partnered with The Resilience Institute and brought our HR Community events and podcasts around Resilience for a few years now and we are excited to have Thierry return for Series 4.

Thierry has 20 years of experience spanning across team management, business development and training. Thierry has lived across the globe, originally from France, he resided in Asia for 12 years where he was Country Head of China and started The Resilience Institute in Singapore, before moving to the UK and establishing the brand there, where he is now based.

Over the last 10 years, The Resilience Institute have developed a resilience diagnostic assessment tool that assesses the 60 factors that they have identified make or break resilience. Using this tool they were able to collect assessments from across the globe since 2019 to define the top 5 factors that impact a persons ability to be resilient, this information can be found in their 2022 Resilience Report. Speaking through this report Thierry and Stuart touch on the top 5 factors and the power that has to impact your everyday working life.

Key Timestamps:

01:02- An introduction to Thierry and The Resilience Institute
10:32- What is resilience?
12:31- Top 5 critical success factors
13:58- Number 1: Sleep
17:00- Disruption to the daily rhythm
20:30- Number 2: Fulfilment
24:28- Number 3: Bounce
26:25- Creating a safe space
28:38- Accepting failure
30:40- Number 4: Relaxation- Permission to be resilient
35:28- Number 5: Focus
36:00- Attention span
37:52- The Pomodoro Technique
39:01- The impact of gender or age on resilience
43:55- How to improve your own resilience

Series 4: The 4 Day Working Week: Pros and Cons

Thu, 10 Nov 2022 03:00:00 +0000

We are back with another great episode of HR Insights: The Podcast!

This week our host, Stuart Elliott, speaks to Glenn Wallis, Managing Director of Exigence.

Glenn is one of the few people globally to have achieved a Doctorate in Coaching and, as Managing Director of Exigence, works with business leaders and HR specialists to help navigate the ever changing landscape. Glenn comes to us with over 20 years of experience developing and supporting those at the forefront of their industries.

In this episode Stuart and Glenn speak all about the four day working week, the pros and cons of having less time at work, the effects of having positive work/life balance and the examples being trialled to make the four day week possible.

Key Time Stamps:

01:26- An introduction to Glenn
05:48- The four day work week
09:35- Opposing the four day work week
13:21- The four most popular models being trialled
21:10- The shifting expectations of the workplace
23:55- Employers and the new world of work
25:00- Ensuring what you say matches what you model
27:05- Widening the gap between white and blue collar workers
28:40- Examples of those working the four day week
31:40- Input, Output and Outcome
32:50- Who wants the four day week?

Series 4: Gnowbe: Your Digital Companion

Thu, 03 Nov 2022 03:00:00 +0000

Welcome back to episode two of HR Insights: The Podcast series four!

This week brings another exciting conversation, our host Stuart Elliott speaks to Founder and CEO of Gnowbe, So-Young Kang about her platform and the amazing scholarship they are facilitating.

So-Young is a people loving, organisation focused, ideas person. She comes with a wealth of experience in Transformational Design and is passionate in seeing people flourish. In 2016 So-Young started Gnowbe, a pioneering mobile micro-learning and micro-authoring platform to help people perform better. Gnowbe's approach is bite-sized, collaborative and drives 'on-the-job application' for greater performance. Gnowbe is all about learning-by-doing. We do this through a simple approach based on adult learning science called Know - Think - Apply - Share. A fantastic tool for our audience to get on board with.

In this episode So-Young tells us a little about Gnowbe, how it can be applied and how user friendly it is. Within the podcast Stuart and So-Young also discuss the benefits of micro-learning and the $10m scholarship fund they are running in which you will be awarded a Level 1 Certification in ‘Microlearning Instructional Design’.

Key time stamps:

1:00- An Introduction to So-Young
5:32- Getting to know Gnowbe
9:09- Origin of the name Gnowbe
11:33- Gnowbe gnomes
12:40- How does Gnowbe work?
16:05- Resisting change
17:52- Free scholarship
22:30- Adopting change
25:03- Taking the ‘tech’ out of technology
29:29- Who’s using Gnowbe?
31:01- Advice for micro-learning

Series 4: Embedding DEI Into Your Recruitment Process

Thu, 27 Oct 2022 03:00:00 +0100

Series 4 of HR Insights: The Podcast is here!

We are thrilled to be bringing you the fourth series of HR Insights: The Podcast. The first episode of this series sees Justine Thompson, Senior Associate of Inclusive Group and our returning host Stuart Elliott. CEO and Owner of Elliott Scott HR, speak on embedding DEI into the recruitment process. Stuart is very excited about our new series and is looking forward to continuing discussions around different aspects of the HR industry.

Our guest today, Justine, is a highly experienced diversity leader with over 20 years of HR experience including 8+ years in dedicated diversity roles. She has worked extensively with leaders and talent at all levels to develop a solid understanding of what gets in the way in the DEI space and has developed best practice tools to help support organisations with this journey.

In this episode Stuart and Justine discuss the difficulties and triumphs of embedding DEI into the recruitment process, Justine shares stories from her career and great examples of how DEI can be added into any process.

Key Timestamps:

01:19- An introduction to Justine
08:11- DEI agenda and data
10:20- Understanding data driven DEI
14:13- Discovering issues in your recruitment process
16:43- Concerns in a recruitment process
20:43- Name blind CV's
24:10- DEI isn't a PR stunt
25:35- Salaries and pay transparency
30:00- Pay gap reporting
36:01- Performance reviews and promotion processes

Series 3: Highlights of the Series

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 03:00:00 +0100

We are delighted to share with you the final episode of HR Insights – The Podcast, Series 3, a recap of the last 12 episodes.

In this episode, our Marketing Manager Emily Abbott took the hosting baton. Emily has been with the company for almost 6 years and continues to grow and develop the brands that form the Elliott Scott Group. Emily spoke with our resident host, CEO and Owner of Elliott Scott HR, Stuart Elliott, and discussed his highlights and key takeaways from the series. They also give you an insight of what to expect in Series 4, which is coming later this year.

On behalf of the Elliott Scott HR team we would like to say a big thank you to all of those involved in making this series of HR Insights a success; to our audience, guests and of course our wonderful host. See you all later in the year for Series 4!

In the meantime if you want to check out any of our previous episodes you can do so via our website: https://www.elliottscotthr.com/blog/tag/podcast

Key Timestamps:

4.00 - Finishing Series 3
4.59 - The Struggles of Filming a Podcast Series
5.54 - Topics of Conversation
7.08 - Feedback From Our Audience
7.52 - Highlights From This Series
9.45 - Memorable Statements
11.38 - Hot Topics for Series 4
13.43 - Pertinent Trends for the Rest of Series 3
16.40 - When Will We Return for Series 4?

Series 3: Creating an Inclusive Environment

Wed, 01 Jun 2022 03:00:00 +0100

We are excited to share with you episode 12 of HR Insights - The Podcast, our host Stuart Elliott speaks to our very own Anouk De Blieck, Executive Advisor for Elliott Scott HR. Anouk has an extensive, international career spanning over 30 years, she has been a senior leader and advisor to organisations in tech, payments and the banking sector before pursuing her career in HR. With a focus on DEI, she is considered an expert in her field and we are very excited to have her on the show.

In this episode Stuart and Anouk discuss creating an inclusive environment; speaking about what makes an inclusive environment, how to achieve this in every setting and the position leaders hold in aiding the success of an inclusive environment.

Key Timestamps:

4.15 - You don’t need to be perfect all the time
7.35 - What is an inclusive environment?
9.51 - Creating an inclusive culture in a hybrid world
12.39 - What part do leaders play in company culture?
14.13 - What is a leadership shadow?
16.49 - Identifying your leadership shadow
20.42 - Being self-aware
23.28 - Coaching and self-coaching

Series 3: Why Company Values Matter

Thu, 12 May 2022 03:00:00 +0100

This week on HR Insights – The Podcast, our host, Stuart Elliott speaks to Dr. David S Cohen, Ed.D. Founder and Principal Consultant of DS Cohen & Associates. David transitioned from education to corporate consulting over 30 years ago and works with leaders helping them understand what is required to build a thriving organisation with a desirable employee experience.

In this episode David the difference between overt and covert values, what tools organisations can use to ensure they are working towards the values they have set in place and how strategy and values coincide. David also shares his top 3 tips for implementing a set of values in an organisation.

David is recognised by the GlobalGuru Top 30 as a thought leader in Organisational Culture and is also a member of the MG100 Coaches.

Key Timestamps:

5:45 - Why Values are Important to an Organisation
8:19 - Overt and Covert Values
12:18 - Understanding your Organisations Values
17:30 – Tools To Ensure Organisations Are Working to the Values They Have Set in Place
20:35 – Strategy and Values
24:35 – How to Merge Values from Different Organisations
33:31 - 3 Tips for Implementing a Set of Values

Series 3: Successful HR Transformation on a Global Scale

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 03:00:00 +0100

In this week’s episode, our host, Stuart Elliott chats to Dr Rebecca Koch, Chief People Officer - Europe, at one of the biggest logistics firms in the world; DB Schenker. As a Senior HR Executive with global leadership experience, Rebecca has a proven track record in leading change, driving (HR) transformation, building high-performing organisations, developing talent, managing crises, and succeeding in fast changing environments.

Rebecca is considered an expert in her field and specialises in leading change. In this episode Rebecca talks us through the complications of change, the best way to achieve success and how to navigate cultural differences when driving global change.

Key Timestamps:

9:15- Key aspects to have in place before rolling out change
11:34- Managing people through change
12:12- Dealing with resistance to change
16:18- The impact of country and local cultures on a successful global transformation
18:43- Crucial elements of change management
19:55- Change and the younger working generation
21:37- Learning curves from living abroad
24:57- Getting buy in from the business
27:47- Lessons learnt from unsuccessful change management
30:04- 3 key hints and tips for rolling out a global transformation project

Series 3: Becoming a Strategic HR Professional

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 03:00:00 +0100

This week on HR Insights – The Podcast, Stuart Elliott chats to Andrew Bartlow, CEO of People Leader Accelerator, a preeminent development program for start-up HR leaders. Andrew has 25 years of Human Resources and Talent Management experience across a wide spectrum of organisations varying in size and industry. He is also the co-author of ‘Scaling for Success: People Priorities for High Growth Organisations,’ and leads Series B Consulting, which helps businesses to articulate their people strategy and accelerate their growth, while navigating rapid change.

In this episode Stuart and Andrew discuss how HR Directors: can take their career to the next level, how to partner with the CEO and strive to work at the strategic level of an organisation, operating in effect as a management consultant.

Key Timestamps:

6:56 – What Andrew likes about working with HR Professionals
8:50 – How HR professionals differ from those in Finance/IT/Sales
10:34 – The coaching and guidance Andrew typically gives to HR Directors
13:45 – Do CEO’s care about HR? Is HR ever at the top of the agenda?
16:17 – Do CEO’s know what ‘good’ looks like in HR?
19:35 – How long it takes to get the CEO to start thinking strategically in partnership with their HRD
23:33 – What do small companies or start-ups tend to get wrong in terms of growth?
30:40 – Work environment changes as a business grows and appreciating the seasonality of tenure
32:22 – Common flaws demonstrated by CEO’s who are trained into the position, not the founder of the business
34:49 – Key advice to senior HR professionals looking to step up and work at the strategic level with a CEO or board

Series 3: De-stress Yourself

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 03:00:00 +0100

This week on HR Insights – The Podcast, Stuart Elliott chats to Kathleen Bosman, Author, HR Expert, and ICF Professional Certified Coach. Kathleen has extensive experience in Human Resources and Sales, having led teams of up to 200 people in companies such as Citibank and Unilever. An accredited coach, she has also worked with organisations to develop a coaching culture and today she works closely with CEOs, HR leaders and management teams in all sectors to develop their coaching skills and bring a growth mindset into the organisation.

This month is stress awareness month. We are in the midst of a global mental health crisis and cases of chronic stress and anxiety are on the rise. We all experience both negative and positive stress in our lives, negative stress can have a physical impact, make us feel tired, anxious, sad, and lead to poor health and burnout. In 2020 Kathleen wrote a book ‘DE-STRESS YOURSELF’, a self-paced step-by-step guide for becoming your own stress master. In this episode Stuart and Kathleen discuss the causes and impacts of stress, how we can work to decrease our stress and how organisations can play a part in this.

Key Timestamps:

6.43: The causes of stress and burnout
10.20: Is the pressure we experience typically influenced by internal or external factors?
11.23: Is all stress bad?
15.38: How positive and negative stress can differ between people
16.15: How can we manage and decrease our stress?
26.48: How organisations can create a healthy, sustainable environment.

Series 3: Are You Emotionally Literate?

Thu, 07 Apr 2022 03:00:00 +0100

In this weeks episode Stuart Elliott chats to Laura Simpson, Founder and Executive Coach at Altura Coaching. Laura is an as an EMCC-accredited executive coach, who helps those in high-performance environments dismantle the obstacles stopping them from thriving at work.

Before launching her coaching business, Laura was hired by Latham & Watkins to lead on trainee development. Prior to that, she spent almost three years as Recruitment and Learning & Development Manager for Katten Muchin Rosenman.

Laura is passionate about emotional literacy. We all experience and transition through various emotions daily, whether we are comfortable with them or not. Often they are signposts of our values and needs and seek to be addressed. In this episode Laura talks us through why emotions matter in the workplace, the skills needed to develop emotional literacy and agility and how individuals and organisations can start their journey.

Key Timestamps:

· 6.25: Why is emotional literacy important and what is it?

· 12.30: Why do emotions matter in the workplace?

· 15.06: Being emotionally agile

· 16.06: Are some emotions more important than others?

· 17.33: Can people who show emotions at work be successful?

· 19.30: Anger in the workplace

· 22.08: The impact of toxic positivity

· 26.00: Adapting your emotions to meet others

· 26.42: The skills needed to develop emotional literacy

· 30.25: Is there a place for people who don’t want to display emotion and how can they be more emotionally literate?

· 32.50: What actions individuals and organisations should take to start their emotional literacy journey

Series 3: Employee Experience - Treating Your Employees Like Customers

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 03:00:00 +0000

We’re excited to share the latest episode of HR Insights – The Podcast with you. This week our host Stuart Elliott speaks with Bianca Stringuini, Head of People Experience and Culture at KPMG. For the past 15 years Bianca has been responsible for creating and implementing I&D, Wellbeing, Engagement and Change Management strategies for Fortune 500 companies across multiple markets. She currently leads the People Experience and Culture team at KPMG in Singapore, where their aim is to create the best employee value proposition and experience to everyone in an inclusive and human centric manner.

In this episode Stuart and Bianca discuss how to build and implement an effective employee experience and company culture, the importance of incorporating inclusion, wellbeing and change into this and how to seek feedback and learn what your company's employees want and need.

Key Timestamps:

· 4.04: What is employee experience?

· 7.19: Addressing employee experience in your company

· 8.46: How to create a culture that employees value

· 10.44: The rise in importance of employee wellbeing

· 15.00: Building an inclusive employee experience

· 16.37: How often should company's review their culture?

· 18.47: Gauging your company's culture

· 20.43: Role modelling your company values through behaviour

· 22.13: Company culture in a hybrid working environment

· 25.44: Can you build culture in a fully remote organisation?

· 28.00: Three tips for any company currently reviewing their employee experience

Series 3: The Power of HR Data in Driving Organisational Change

Thu, 17 Mar 2022 03:00:00 +0000

This week on HR Insights – The Podcast, our host Stuart Elliott is speaking to Jordan Pettman, Head of Organisation Analytics and Insights at London Stock Exchange Group. Jordan has worked in People Analytics for around a decade, as both a consultant working with leading organisations all over the world, and in-house at his current role with LSEG. Prior to this he worked at Nestlé, where one of his projects was recently published in the Excellence in People Analytics book.

Stuart and Jordan discuss how data is a widely accepted part of our everyday lives, the value of being a data driven organisation, how it can create the right change when you speak the language of the company and how collecting employees data is vital in creating an inclusive and diverse organisation.

Key Timestamps:

9.00: How data has become a part of our lives
13.14: A case study on speaking the language of the organisation to make data driven decisions from Jordan’s time at Nestlé
20.10: Being data driven vs data supported
21.42: The impact of GDPR - what if most employees start to refuse to give their data to the organisation?
27.02: Is data helping businesses become more inclusive?
32.42: Educating the organisation on the behaviours needed to reach objectives

Series 3: Learnings from a Global HR Career with HRD Rhona Moodly

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 03:00:00 +0000

This week on HR Insights – The Podcast, our host Stuart Elliott is chatting to Rhona Moodly, Human Resources Director, EMEA. Rhona is an international Senior Business Executive with truly global experience and perspective who has lived in the Middle East and Europe. She has worked and led teams across the multiple geographies of the emerging markets of Africa, Asia and Middle East, and the developed markets of Europe and North America.

Rhona is the first of a selection of exclusive guests on this series of the podcast who are internal HR professionals. They will be sharing an inside of view of the current trends and what they are seeing and experiencing in the HR world. Stuart and Rhona speak about her path to becoming an HR professional, her global career and through this how she’s seen HR differ between the regions and lessons learnt from her overseas experience.

Key timestamps:

· 7.35: Rhona’s career trajectory into HR and Talent Acquisition

· 9.28: Becoming an HR Generalist

· 10.30: Growing up in South Africa

· 11.45: Being empowered to bring about change in an organisation

· 12.45: Rhona’s global career and how she’s seen HR differ between the regions

· 18.35: Three lessons from Rhona’s overseas experiences

· 21.58: Working style changes following Covid

· 26.43: Rhona’s view on hybrid working – is the office dead?

· 30.06: What’s ahead for HR?

· 34.21: Advice for up and coming HR professionals

Series 3: Change Management for a Changing World

Thu, 03 Mar 2022 03:00:00 +0000

This week on HR Insights – The Podcast, our host Stuart Elliott is speaking to Friska Wirya, Principal Owner of Fresh by Friska.

Friska is a change management expert who turns sceptical stakeholders into involved participants who want to co-create change in their organisations. She’s led change efforts for the digital transformation of a large ASX-listed miner, spearheaded changes impacting 23,000 stakeholders and a $42m tech implementation for the world’s largest policing jurisdiction.

In today’s episode Stuart and Friska discuss change management in the changing world we find ourselves in, tools to effectively generate and communicate change across the organisation and also manage leaders wellbeing during a large scale process.

Key timestamps:

4.40: How to manage change fatigue
7.10: The team dynamic in a hybrid environment
8.49: Top tips for change management in the current uncertain climate
12.40: Company communication on change through video updates
14.58: Building engagement capital
16.17: Tools to get employees involved & engaged in change workshops
20.19: Dealing with someone who dominates conversations
22.19: Advice to employees going through culture change in the hybrid environment and companies who have done this well
24.30: Tools to identify your company culture
28.50: Leaders wellbeing during large scale change

Series 3: Are Annual Performance Reviews a Thing of the Past?

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 03:00:00 +0000

Our next episode of HR Insights – The Podcast is out now! Stuart Elliott chats to Roly Walter, Founder of Appraisd, an employee performance management system that is unique in aiming to help managers get the best from their team members.

Appraisd began in Roly’s garden shed where he combined his experience working as an HR and business analyst with his interest in coding. He began with the kernel of an idea: an employee-first approach to performance and development; something that employees would find genuinely useful, something HR would be proud of implementing and something managers would find a blessed relief from the tired and out-dated appraisal forms they were used to. Since then the company has grown substantially.

In this episode Stuart and Roly question whether the annual performance review process is outdated, the pain points around them and Roly shares various ideas around how career conversations could be structured instead.

Key timestamps:

6.20: A few years ago annual performance reviews were reported to be things of the past, why are they still around?
10.10: How career conversations could be structured
12.02: 95% of managers are unhappy with the traditional performance review process, why?
15.08: Advice for conducting performance reviews remotely
20.50: Employee engagement pulse surveys and tech – what Roly and Stuart are seeing people do differently in the market
26.23: Statistics show the positive impact flexible working has had on employees, what is the response to companies who want people back in the office five days a week?
29.59: Roly’s key piece of advice to HR on the performance review process

Series 3: 2022 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Trends

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 05:00:00 +0000

We are thrilled to be launching the third series of HR Insights - The Podcast with returning guest Sasha Scott, CEO & Founder, Inclusive Group. Sasha is an expert in her field, she understands the commercial drivers behind reducing bias within the workplace and the critical need to promote and sustain inclusive workplace cultures in order to attract and retain talent. Sasha has been recognised by the Global Diversity List as a Top 10 Diversity Consultant.

Emily Ramji has passed the baton over to a new host for this series, CEO & Owner of Elliott Scott HR, Stuart Elliott. Stuart is very excited to chat with all the fantastic HR guests we have lined up this series and we thank Emily for her hard work in hosting our previous seasons.

Our two prior episodes with Sasha remain the most popular with our listeners. In this episode she and Stuart reflect on which of 2021’s predicted trends were realised and what she sees being key in DEI for 2022.

Key Timestamps:

6.00: The challenges around Inclusion & Diversity in 2022 and the trends realised in 2021

13.15: What trends are most prominent globally?

15.15: Why measuring diversity is critical

16.54: Reluctance towards providing information about identity

19.40: The challenges with gathering diversity data

21.05: Organisations refocusing on EDI and ESG intersections after the Pandemic

25.57: ERG Fatigue

27.52: How inclusive is hybrid working?

32.10: How DEI candidates can gauge how invested the leadership team are in DEI

36.05: How to be inclusive with your language

41.36: Sasha’s key predicted DEI trend for 2022

Series 2: How Organisations Can Best Attract Job Applicants in the New World

Thu, 15 Jul 2021 03:00:00 +0100

Our final episode of Series 2 of HR Insights The Podcast is available for download now!

This week our host Emily Ramji is speaking to Missy Lafferty, Founder and Principal at Beam Talent. Missy is a recruiting master; she established Beam Talent to help high growth companies identify, attract and engage top talent.

Emily and Missy discuss how organisations can best attract candidates in the new world of hybrid work, how to recruit effectively in the current competitive market, and best practice for employer branding.

New episodes will be released every fortnight. If you're on the move we recommend you download and listen to HR insights through:

Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn

and most other popular podcast apps, subscribe to the latest episodes are directly available! You can also listen via the player at the bottom of this blog, just ensure you have a consistent internet connection.

Key Timestamps:
1:19- Biggest HR trend of 2021
2:21- Top Wellness Tip
4:16- Struggles with Candidate Shortages
5:49- How to be Creative in a Candidate Short Market
9:43- Opportunities and Challenges for Hiring Remote Workers
12:56- Keeping a Sense of Community Across a Digital Workforce
16:17- Best Practice for Branding
18:13- Attracting Talent as a Smaller Brand
21:10- Quick Recruitment Process
22:27- What Missy Enjoy's Most About Recruitment Challenges

Series 2: Leading Agile Organisations

Thu, 01 Jul 2021 03:00:00 +0100

Our latest episode of HR Insights The Podcast is available for download now!

This week our host Emily Ramji is speaking to Marc Dellaert, General Manager Europe at the Center for Creative Leadership. Marc is a Consultant, Leader, Author, Coach and Key Note Speaker for a range of topics, including Agile.

Emily and Marc discuss the concept of organisational agility, looking at its growing importance in the world we’re living in today and the key role both leaders and HR professionals play to enable agile cultures and teams.

New episodes will be released every fortnight. If you're on the move we recommend you download and listen to HR insights through:

Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn

and most other popular podcast apps, subscribe so the latest episodes are directly available!

Key Timestamps

1:40 - Biggest HR Trends of 2021
5:50 - Defining an Agile workplace
7:49 - The importance of companies becoming agile
13:00 - What triggers a company to incorporate an agile culture
15:55 - How leaders power their teams to work collaboratively
18:50 - Learning how to be agile
19:50 - The role HR plays in agile transformation
25:07 - Can a company be both agile and non-agile

Series 2: Fairness, Care and where C&B goes next…

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 03:00:00 +0100

Our next episode of HR Insights – The Podcast is available now! Emily Ramji chats to Sarah Leverson, Facebook’s Director of Compensation & Benefits for the EMEA region. Prior to Facebook Sarah developed reward strategies at eBay, PayPal and data science experts Dunnhumby.

Sarah and Emily discuss the how the events of 2020 have forced organisations to think differently about their C&B strategies, with Sarah sharing examples of the practical steps Facebook has taken to address the needs of its workforce. Emily also taps into Sarah’s thoughts on how the C&B function will evolve in the future and learns more about the importance of fairness and care within C&B.

New episodes will be released every fortnight. If you're on the move we recommend you download and listen to HR insights through:

Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn

and most other popular podcast apps, subscribe so the latest episodes are directly available! You can also listen via the player at the bottom of this blog, just ensure you have a consistent internet connection.

Timestamps:

4:27 - Making proactive decisions to support your employees

7:10 - Mental Health Benefits and Support within a business

9:17 - How Facebook addressed the needs of their employees during the pandemic

13:40 - The meaning of care in the context of reward

17:30 - Being a leader who executes care

20:55 - Fairness and I&D Agenda

24:41 - The Future of C&B

Series 2: Strategies for Hiring Diverse Talent

Thu, 03 Jun 2021 03:00:00 +0100

In this week’s episode Emily Ramji chats to Dan Silverman, Head of Diversity Talent Sourcing at Bloomberg. Dan spent six years in agency recruitment, and the following seven years working in house for Deutsche Bank, JP Morgan and now Bloomberg.

As discussed in previous episodes, the business case for creating and fostering a diverse and inclusive workforce has never been clearer. Many organisations are now grappling with how to actively increase the diversity of their employee base. In 2020 Bloomberg created a new function to specifically focus on sourcing diverse talent. Dan shares his experience of setting up this function, its strategy, the challenges and successes along the way.

Key Timestamps:

3:13 - Why the Diverse Talent Sourcing function was formed
7:48 - Finding diverse talent
9:25 - Creating a strategy for sourcing diverse talent at Bloomberg
15:56 - Challenges of Diverse Talent Sourcing
20:00 - Successes of Diverse Talent Sourcing
24:55 - Hiring strategies should lead from the top down

Series 2: Unhappy Parents Are Bad for Business: Rethinking Parental Support

Thu, 20 May 2021 03:00:00 +0100

We’re happy to share the latest episode of HR Insights – The Podcast. This week our host Emily Ramji is speaking to Sofie Jacobs, founder of Urban Hatch. Sofie is a clinical midwife and entrepreneur who is re-defining parental support strategies for the workplace.

Emily and Sofie discuss the opportunity organisations have to re-think parental support; partnering not just with expectant parents but also with their line managers and by providing digital and accessible solutions at the moments that matter most.

Key Timestamps

0.31: Introduction to Sofie
3.59: What is lacking in parental support for expectant and new parents?
6.20: Parental support should be available for everyone
7.04: Focusing on support for line managers
12.58: Supporting the whole family
14.25: Advice for best practice in parental support
15.51: Benefits of getting parental support right
18.09: Silver-lining coming out of COVID-19
20.01: Lasting advice for our listeners

Series 2: Why Mental Health Needs To Be at the Top of Your Workplace Agenda in 2021

Thu, 06 May 2021 03:00:00 +0100

This week on HR Insights – The Podcast, our host Emily Ramji is speaking to Zoe Sinclair, Co-Founder of This Can Happen, a business set up to empower workplace mental health. This Can Happen was born out of a passion to support employees in the context of work and life, something that Zoe has been doing for nearly twenty years.

Mental Health Awareness week runs in the UK between the 10th- 16th May, ahead of this Zoe and Emily discuss some of the key challenges organisations face when discussing mental health as well as considering the different attributes of companies that foster a positive mental health culture. Zoe also shares her views on the best first steps to take for those organisations that are looking to embrace mental health.

Key Timestamps:

5.04: Jonny’s '#FindMike' Story: Co-Founder of This Can Happen
9.30: How Zoe became involved in workplace mental health.
11.32: What is This Can Happen?
13.00: How Prince William got involved with This Can Happen
15.11: The definition of mental health and what that means
16.47: The effect of the pandemic on the This Can Happen conference
18.55: Challenges in talking about mental health with confidence in the workplace
23.55: Attributes of a mentally healthy workplace
31.38: Firsts steps to having a create awareness of mental health
33.34: This year’s conference dates

Series 2: Wellbeing Benefits for the Modern Workforce

Thu, 22 Apr 2021 03:00:00 +0100

This week on HR Insights - The Podcast, our host Emily Ramji is chatting to Jonathan Shooshani, Co-Founder of JOON. Jon has spent the last decade working at the intersection of wellness and technology and is passionate about building businesses that help people lead happier and healthier lives.

Emily and Jon discuss the latest thinking on wellbeing benefits for the modern workforce. In order to create a culture of wellness and wellbeing, organisations need to gather data in order to design tailored interventions that have the most impact, alongside leaders at the top of the organisation role modelling the use of the benefits on offer.

Key Timestamps:

3:11 : The difference between Wellness and Wellbeing

5:02 : HR and Employee Experience Technologies

7:04 : JOON's approach to Employee Wellbeing

8:07 : Flexible Wellbeing Benefits

10:00 : Forming new habits with our Wellbeing

11:51 : Organisations that are creating a culture of Wellness

13:15 : How Wellness has influenced the employee life cycle

15:05 : Corporate Wellness done right

17:58 : The Story behind the name JOON

20:40 : The Future of Wellness and Wellbeing

21:50 : Employee Wellness and Benefits within the Recruitment stage

Series 2: How To Create an Inclusive Culture

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 03:00:00 +0100

This week on HR Insights - The Podcast, our host Emily Ramji is speaking to Paul Anderson-Walsh, Co-Founder & CEO at The Centre for Inclusive Leadership (TCFIL). Paul is a global thought leader on Inclusion working as a L&D Practitioner, Author, Inspirational Speaker and Broadcaster.

Creating an Inclusive culture is of paramount importance not only for talent attraction, wellbeing and retention but also for commercial performance and viability. In today's episode, Emily and Paul discuss "HEARS"; a proprietary model that Paul and his team at TCFIL have created to help organisations practically apply inclusion in the workplace.

Key Timestamps:

3:10 : The definition of Inclusion

5:48 : About the HEARS model

11:30 : The importance of Authenticity

13:40 : How organisations can focus on Authenticity

15:20 : Inclusion and Diversity - How can we treat people equally well?

22:00 : Clients that have successfully implemented the HEARS model

23:50 : Why organisations should consider fostering inclusivity

Series 2: Strengths-Based Networking in a Virtual World

Thu, 25 Mar 2021 03:00:00 +0000

Our next episode of HR Insights – The Podcast is available now! Emily Ramji chats to Ellie Rich-Poole, The Recruitment Coach. Drawing on twenty years of recruitment experience, Ellie helps organisations develop strategies to attract and retain the best people and she enables individuals to achieve more from their careers.

Ellie and Emily discuss the ever important topic of networking, but through a couple of different lenses that are very relevant to the world we’re living in right now. The first being how to understand and leverage our true strengths when we network and the second being how to approach networking in a virtual, lockdown environment.

Key Timestamps:

3.00 : Why it’s important to invest in your network

5.40 : How to harness your strengths when networking

7.00 : Ellie’s approach to strength-based networking

10.15 : Networking in a virtual world – how and through what channels?

14.54 : Innovative ways to network and create connection virtually

18.35 : How to discover and build on your strengths

Series 2: 2021 Inclusion and Diversity Trends

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 03:00:00 +0000

We are excited to launch the second series of HR Insights - The Podcast by chatting again to Sasha Scott, Founder & CEO of Inclusive Group. Sasha is an expert and thought leader in Diversity, Bias, Inclusivity and managing Psychological Health. In 2020, Inclusive Group was recognised as one of the top 10 Global Diversity Consultancies.

Sasha’s “2020 Inclusion & Diversity Trends” was the most popular episode of our first series. Our host, Emily Ramji, has invited Sasha back to not only reflect on her key learnings from 2020 but also to look ahead at what Sasha predicts to be the biggest I&D trends for 2021.

Key Timestamps:

5.31 : Sasha’s biggest I&D learnings of 2020

8.31 : How the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has shaped the broader I&D agenda

10.45 : The most important I&D trends of 2021

12.37 : Are organisations putting BLM at the top of agendas or is the focus still on all aspects of Diversity?

19.08 : What Sasha feels will make the biggest difference to successfully driving I&D this year

22.29 : One thing all listeners can take away and do to directly contribute to the I&D within their own organisations

Covid-19 Mini Series: The Impact of Coronavirus on the Team Dynamic

Sun, 23 Aug 2020 03:00:00 +0100

In 2020, for the first time in history, many teams had to move to remote working with minimal preparation. Now that the early, adrenaline fuelled, days of crisis management are over, how teams collaborate and are led in the virtual environment will determine the future success of organisations.

In the final episode of our Covid-19 mini series Stuart Elliott, CEO and Owner of Elliott Scott HR and Susannah Yule, Director at YSC Consulting New York tackle the issues surrounding the impact of the crisis on the team. They share how to foster positive collaboration, create conditions that encourage diversity of thought, the importance of giving teams purpose and how to create cohesion and a sense of connectivity throughout the business.

Key timestamps:

1.03: How the current situation is impacting the team dynamic

2.34: What high levels of collaboration look like in the workplace

5.13: How to maintain diversity of thought in the current situation

7.17: What makes a high performing team

8.56: The importance of purpose and clarity

14.37: Creating cohesion and a sense of connectivity

18:41: Some of the pitfalls leadership teams can fall into and the importance of dedicating time to the team dynamic

Covid-19 Mini Series: Leadership – What Dynamics Succeed In Difficult Times?

Sun, 16 Aug 2020 03:00:00 +0100

In these unchartered waters leaders are trying to navigate their organisations through the Pandemic. Various outlets are bombarding them with what they need to do but not how and crisis management means they are struggling to look ahead and plan for the future. With no idea how long the current situation will go on for what qualities are needed to survive and thrive?

In the second episode of our Covid-19 mini series Stuart Elliott, CEO and Owner of Elliott Scott HR and Susannah Yule, Director at YSC Consulting New York discuss the challenges leaders are facing, what leadership qualities are needed right now and how leaders can look ahead and prepare themselves and their organisations for the next chapter.

Key timestamps:

1.28: How the challenges leaders are currently facing are different to before

3.36: The impact being seen on staff productivity

8.03: The leadership qualities that are most important right now

13.23: How to prepare for the future

15.36: The business behaviours that are most likely to result in an organisation that thrives

Covid-19 Mini Series: Mentoring Your Team Through A Crisis

Sun, 09 Aug 2020 03:00:00 +0100

In this special three episode spin off of HR Insights – The Podcast Stuart Elliott, CEO and Owner of Elliott Scott HR and Susannah Yule, Director at YSC Consulting New York discuss three key areas: Resilience, Leadership and the Team Dynamic. All pertinent Covid-19 business issues raised by our HR Community.

The first bite sized episode looks at Resilience. In the early stages of lockdown we needed the Resilience for a sprint but now as each country moves in and out of lockdown, we need to be prepared for a marathon. Susannah shares how we can both ask for help from our organisations, cultivating Resilience personally and how businesses and leaders should role model and develop Resilience in their teams.

Key timestamps:

2.44: The biggest misconception of resilience

5.30: Five pillars of resilience

6.45: How we can encourage our employees to ask for help

9.02: The importance of confidence building during the pandemic

10.58: Knowing how to refill our energy reserves during a crisis

14.18: How leaders can develop resilience

17.05: How Stuart had seen the current market impact candidate resilience

18.33: Who’s looking for new roles at the moment?

Series 1: Developing Your Organisation's Skills Strategy

Thu, 25 Jun 2020 03:00:00 +0100

In our final episode of Series One, Emily Ramji chats to Janice Burns and Todd Tauber from Degreed about how organisations can develop a more coherent “skills” strategy. As organisations are forced to rapidly adapt to changing landscapes, the need to identify, develop and redeploy skills has never been greater.

At the organisational level, accurate skills data enables strategic workforce planning and allows the company to successfully deliver its business plan. For individuals, how their skills are recognised, developed and used underpins employee experience, organisational culture, wellbeing, performance and ultimately shapes their career.

Key timestamps:

3.34: Why skill data and a holistic understanding of skills within organisations is so important

5.59: Is skills development an area of HR that is well developed and organisations are currently succeeding at or is it a new space?

8.26: How technology can enable organisations to better understand skillsets and be more agile in their ability to respond to disruption

14.05: Skills for performance enablement

18.30: Examples of organisations utilising skills for strategic workforce planning

22.24: Advice for those who are looking to re-shape their talent or internal mobility strategy

31.00: How organisations can use learning behaviours to drive higher employee engagement

39.00: The importance of continuous career development

Series 1: Free Range Thinking

Thu, 11 Jun 2020 03:00:00 +0100

Disruption, change and the need for innovation have defined the business landscape in 2020. In the latest episode of HR Insights – The Podcast Emily Ramji chats to Kristin Dudley from Co-Create about how teams and networks can stimulate and capture innovative thinking through her proprietary Free Range Thinking approach. Also joining the discussion is Roshan Jayawardena, Managing Director for Elliott Scott HR’s North America business. Rosh shares how “Free Range Thinking” enabled our New York HR Community to invent creative ways to disrupt the job interview process.

Key Timestamps:

3.35: How Rosh first met Kristin and what inspired them to form a partnership

5.08: What ‘Free Range Thinking’ is

6.16: The steps to facilitate a Free Range Thinking event

11.07: Some of the ideas that came from the Free Range Thinking event series on ‘Disrupting the Job Interview’

14.24: Rosh’s highlights from running a Free Range Thinking event series

17.18: How participants have progressed with the ideas generated to bring about change in their organisations

21.04: What’s next in the Co-Create x Elliott Scott HR partnership

Series 1: Employee Experience in the New World

Thu, 21 May 2020 03:00:00 +0100

Our next episode of HR Insights – The Podcast is available now! Emily Ramji chats to Toby Hervey, CEO and Co-Founder of Bravely. Employee Experience has gained increased attention globally as being key to organisation success. In the new world we’re living in, Toby discusses his perspective on the “new normal for employee experience”, sharing ideas on how leaders can adapt and evolve their employee experience strategies.

Key Timestamps:

3.55: The changes to how we work that are most likely to endure when this crisis is over

7.11: Which of those changes are positive for the workplace

9.16: The potential for the situation to improve many employees work/life blend

12.33: How managers can ensure they are providing their teams with the best possible employee experience at this time

18.15: Pre-existing workplace challenges that are enhanced by the current changes

22.10: Organisations doing well at equipping their employees with the right wellness tools

27.06: How the toolkit / tech stack of the HR leader is changing

30.21: Recommended tools for pulse and engagement surveys. Mentioned: Culture Amp, Qualtrics, LinkedIn Learning

31.52: Toby’s view on what has the most influence and impact on the employee experience

Series 1: Talent Management in Uncertain Times

Thu, 07 May 2020 03:00:00 +0100

How does the current Covid-19 scenario change companies’ approaches to talent management? Organisations around the world are delicately balancing crisis management with weighing up which longer term strategies and programs to invest in. In this week’s episode of HR Insights - The Podcast Emily Ramji chats to Sarah McLellan, Managing Director for SHL in the UK&I, to understand her perspective on what HR teams can do now to best position themselves for recovery and transformation later.

Key Timestamps:

3.45: How the current scenario changes companies’ approach to talent management

7.28: What Sarah anticipates the next few months will look and feel like for organisations

15.30: What businesses can do now to best position themselves for recovery later

21.44: How to engage employees at this time

29.34: What organisations can do to ensure they’re positioned for growth and transformation

Series 1: Keeping Calm in a Crisis – Transferable Strategies From an International Medic Turned HR Leader

Thu, 23 Apr 2020 03:00:00 +0100

Our next episode of HR Insights – The Podcast is available now! Emily Ramji's guest this week is Taylor Bradley, Director of HR for Global Product Development at Datto. In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, Taylor shares a unique perspective and several strategies that he’s developed for his HR role, that are taken from his earlier career as an international medic.

Key Timestamps:

4.24: Lessons learnt from the impact of the Coronavirus in the East leading to being more on the front foot in preparing for the pandemic in the West

9.47: The practicalities of managing a team remotely

11.43: What has worked from a leadership standpoint when dealing with this new situation

14.37: Some models and strategies from Taylor's former career that he's actively used within the HR profession

30.51: Mental health and Covid-19- assisting and distracting our employees

37.12: Closing advice to the HR community currently managing their organisation’s response to the pandemic and economic crisis

Series 1: Leveraging AI and Technology to Engage a Remote Workforce

Thu, 09 Apr 2020 03:00:00 +0100

It is widely expected that remote working will continue for an extended period of time. Leaders and HR teams can no longer rely on traditional, face-to-face approaches for employee management and engagement. How can AI and digital solutions be leveraged to enable organisations to adapt to the new work set-up? In this episode of HR Insights - The Podcast Emily Ramji chats to Devyani Vaishampayan, Managing Partner of the HR Tech Partnership to understand her perspective and experience of AI and HR technology.

Key Timestamps:

4.41: How is AI overall impacting the workforce?

8.30: AI in your everyday life

9.30: Given the current circumstances, how can AI solutions be used?

20.02: Other areas of the HR function where digital can make an immediate impact

22.01: How can HR professionals learn and up-skill themselves around AI?

26.26: Finding the right HR tech solutions for your business needs

Series 1: Building Resilience

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 03:00:00 +0000

The level of uncertainty and change we are living in at the moment across the globe is unprecedented. Understanding how to build resilience has never been more important. In this episode of HR Insights - The Podcast Emily Ramji chats to Thierry Moschetti, Partner at The Resilience Institute Europe. Thierry takes us through some simple and effective ways we can develop and implement resilience alongside advice on how to build a business case for organisations to invest in developing resilience in their leaders.

Key timestamps:

3.40: What does resilience mean?

7.12: Why is resilience important both to organisations and us as individuals?

10.48: How can we build resilience?

12.39: Going through the Resilience Spiral – steps to build your resilience

31.42: How does The Resilience Institute partner with organisations?

34.40: Tips on how can HR Leaders build a business case with their leadership team to focus on resilience

Series 1: Applying Organisational Culture to Leadership

Sun, 08 Mar 2020 03:00:00 +0000

Welcome to our third guest episode of HR Insights - The Podcast, where our host Emily Ramji is chatting to Jig Ramji, former Global Head of Leadership and Talent at Bloomberg. In 2019 Bloomberg launched a new set of leadership attributes, designed specifically to define leadership within the context of the organisation’s unique culture. In today’s episode Jig discusses why and how Bloomberg developed their leadership attributes and how these are being embedded into their global assessment and development processes.

Key Timestamps:

2.04: Leadership and talent have been buzzwords now and key focus areas for HR and broader leadership for decades. Why is leadership so critical to Bloomberg’s business at this time?

4.22: How have Bloomberg defined their leadership attributes and who made this happen?

6.51: Was there instant buy-in from the business when creating ‘Leadership at Bloomberg’?

9.10: Tell us about the broader strategy and the rollout across the business.

11.11: Adapting the Hogan assessment and other tools to the business.

12.16: What feedback have you had from both the participants and the broader team that might be privy to some of the development or output that comes from psychometric testing?

14.06: Have the new leadership attributes had an impact on recruitment?

15:12: Does the organisation have a new approach to employee development?

19.14: What has the feedback and the uptake been from the business in regards to these tools that are now available to them?

26.57: Have the leadership development programmes in the organisation been aligned to the new attributes?

28.20: In terms of partners, what proportion of your development is outsourced? Has that been a challenge or relatively easy in terms of working in partnership with those that support you?

31.54: What are the five leadership attributes that Bloomberg have defined?

34.13: The top piece of advice for people that are looking to do something that is bespoke, customised, and really relates to their organisational context for leadership assessment and development.

Series 1: How Antifragility can Benefit People and Organisations

Sun, 23 Feb 2020 03:00:00 +0000

Welcome to our second guest episode of HR Insights - The Podcast, where our host Emily Ramji is chatting to Dan Spira, Managing Director for Arcadia Consulting in the US. In today’s episode Dan introduces the concept of antifragility and discusses how to identify and harness it to drive individual and organisational performance, alongside how antifragility differs to resilience and growth mind-set.

Key Timestamps:

2.40: Why are we talking about antifragility today? And how is it pronounced?

8.08: How is antifragility different to resilience?

9.46: Good stress versus bad stress

12.08: How is antifragility the same or different to growth mindset?

13.22: Dan, how fragile, resilient or antifragile are you personally?

14.58: Examples of where famous, or iconic people, have or haven’t demonstrated antifragility

16.41: How is antifragility relevant for HR professionals in their careers?

18.54: How do organizations identify somebody that is antifragile and would be comfortable with stress or change that will benefit them, versus individuals where it would hinder them and they'd be fearful or less productive?

21.12: How to create resilience and antifragility in teams and organisations

22.34: Creating the right balance of antifragility within an organisations culture or within specific teams

27.55: How to avoid becoming fragilised and become antifragilised.

Series 1: 2020 Inclusion & Diversity Trends

Sun, 09 Feb 2020 03:00:00 +0000

Welcome to our first guest episode of HR insights - The Podcast, where our host Emily Ramji is chatting to Sasha Scott. Sasha founded her business, Inclusive Group, almost 20 years ago and she's personally known as a thought leader around inclusion, diversity and workplace culture. Sasha has worked with over 350,000 professionals across multiple sectors, from airlines to luxury brands to law firms. In today’s episode Sasha shares her perspective on the latest definitions for both inclusion and diversity and discusses global I&D trends for 2020.

Key timestamps:

3.30: Sasha, how and why did you first get into diversity?

5.06: Did you go and work for somebody else within the diversity or more the training and development space or did you immediately go out on your own?

7.10: Do you have any advice for anyone who may be listening, that's looking right now to move into the diversity and inclusion area?

8.26: What do you look back on for 2019 and think really would summarise the current trends that we’re experiencing at the moment?

12.10: What is inclusion in your words? And how would you explain that to different levels of an organisation?

13.53: How about diversity, again in your words, what do we mean by that?

19.31: Is there a right way round of putting the 'D' and the 'I'?

21.26: Are there any particular organisations or sectors that you feel are really spearheading work around, particularly, inclusion?

25.23: How else would you describe your approach to work at Inclusive Group? How would you define you typically work with your client organisations?

27.14: What are some examples of inclusive behaviour, particularly at the leadership level?

31.21: What advice would you give at the level of the organisation?

Series 1 - Introduction

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 12:00:00 +0000

In this introductory episode – a prelude to the main series - our host, Emily Ramji, COO at Elliott Scott HR, is chatting to Stuart Elliott, CEO and Founder, about what the first series has in store. Across the 10 episodes we’ve got some great guests lined up, discussing matters ranging from inclusion, diversity, leadership and cultural integration to “free range thinking” and antifragility.

Our first episode will go live on the 10th of February, with Sasha Scott as Emily’s first guest. Sasha is a business owner, thought leader and facilitator in the Inclusion & Diversity space and she will be sharing trends and insights for 2020.

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Series 7: Career Stories: Leading With Intent

Series 7: How Resilient Are You?

Series 7: Anti-racism and Care in the Modern Workplace

Series 7: Perfecting Negotiation: Earn More, Fear Less

Series 7: The Changing Role of HR

Series 7: Neurodiversity: Transforming Workplace Dynamics

Series 7: Shaping the Workforce with AI-Driven Learning

Series 7: Talent & Succession Planning with Ravello HR

Series 7: The Latest HR News

Series 7: Creating a Value-Driven Workplace

Series 7: Being Wellbeing Centric

Series 7: Redefining Menopause in the Workplace

Series 7: Paying off Your Emotional Overdraft

Series 7: Do you Need a Career Coach?

Series 7: The Success of Strategic HR Leadership

Series 7: The Transformative Power of Leadership Conversations

Series 7: Maximising Employee Success with Talent Analytics

Series 7: Misconceptions of the US Employment Market

Series 7: Career Stories: Venturing Beyond Your Comfort Zone

Series 7: Mindset, Body Language, Speech and Voice

Series 7: The Decline and Resilience of DEI

Series 6: Recapping Series 6

Series 6: Tackling Burnout with HumanOS

Series 6: Evolving the Landscape of Remote Working

Series 6: Would You Use AI To Help Secure a Job?

Series 6: Career Stories: Bridging Cultures, Building Careers

Series 6: The Latest in HR News: February

Series 6: Evolving Leadership: From Boss to Coach

Series 6: Galvanising Gen-Z: The Leaders of Tomorrow

Series 6: Neurodiversity - Shifting Perspectives in 2024

Series 6: Career Stories: Cultural Competency: Shaping the World of DEI

Series 6: An Untapped Talent Pool: Disability in the Workplace

Series 6: The Latest in HR News - January

Series 6: From Panic to Power: Achieving Workplace Safety with ROAR

Series 6: Can Gympass Address Employee Burnout?

Series 6: The Latest in HR News - December

Series 6: Career Stories: Strategic HR Beyond Borders

Series 6: Engaging & Retaining Talent in a Post, Post Pandemic World

Series 6: Dismantling Pay Inequity One Gap at A Time

Series 6: The Significance of HR’s Role in the M&A Process

Series 6: The Latest in HR News - November

Series 6: Career Stories: Navigating a Global HR Role

Series 6: Disability at Work – The Forgotten Diversity

Series 6: Answering Today's Employee Experience Issues

Series 6: Omni – A Digital AI Coach in Your Pocket

Series 5: Recapping Series 5

Series 5: Empowering Working Parents

Series 5: Potential Over Pedigree: Skilling For Success

Series 5: Supporting Your Employees' Financial Futures

Series 5: Effective Job Transition for You and The Business

Series 5: Green Ethics in Your HR Strategy

Series 5: Unlocking Human Potential

Series 5: Generative AI: Pros and Cons within HR

Series 5: Stuck in a Rut: Flourishing at Work

Series 5: Exploring Generational Diversity in the Workplace

Series 5: Building a Healthy Work Life Balance

Series 5: Growth Point: How to Build a Growth Mindset

Series 5: Up-Skilling Managers with Villyge

Series 5: The Evolution of Change

Series 5: How to be More 'People Sustainable'

Series 5: Is Gender Equality a Reality in Our Lifetime?

HR insights: AI unlocked - the future of talent and productivity