The DNA of Work

Organisations put a lot of effort into creating appealing and powerful customer experiences. But how much effort goes into the creation of employee experiences - whether in the office or away from it?  Do organisations see their employees as consumers of the organisation? Do they consider how employees' experiences can trigger emotional responses and memories, or create attachment and commitm...

What is the circular economy? Is it just recycling? What do we have to do differently?  What does it mean for the workplace? Will it cost more? Why do we have to do things differently? How can we get started? What are some simple examples I can use to start meaningful conversations in my organization?  So many questions, for which we have some straightforward answers and inspiring examples of what...

Universities and colleges are complex organisations - in many ways quite different to other businesses in sectors such as finance, insurance and technology. With their mix of students, academics, researchers and professional services staff, there are a many needs to be met. So how are they managing after 2 years of the COVID pandemic, where many more people started working away from their offices...

Covid has prompted many of us to question what we’re doing with our lives – and what we’re doing at work. Many are asking whether they and their organisation have a clear purpose – and not getting a clear, satisfactory answer. Charities have potentially had the upper hand here – the desire to do good in the world has given them an advantage in recruiting employees who feel passionately about their...

There's been so much talk over the last 2 years about how we are working - in offices, remotely, hybrid. At the same time, in the UK we've been treated to lots of adverse publicity about the workings of the Prime Minister's office, 10 Downing Street. Is this office still fit for purpose? Is the West Wing any better? How would we go about redesigning the working experience for the in...

Hybrid working is certainly a phrase that most people seem to have heard. But there isn’t a common understanding about what it is, and what it means for the way people are working or managing. Many organisations are still working out what the best options for them, what this means for the amount of space they need and how it’s used. AWA's new Hybrid Working Index will provide key insights int...

We hear a lot about collaboration and innovation potentially suffering when people work in a hybrid way - spending more time apart than physically together.  While innovation might be the icing on the cake for some companies - for others, like those in life sciences ,  innovation is at the core of their business. So how are they adapting to hybrid ways of working? Here's a quick overview of t...

While it’s the company bosses that typically hit the headlines with their pronouncements about where people will be working – “everyone in the office or else!”, we like to look behind the scenes to find out what’s going on, and this time we look at the Tech sector. How are companies evolving and managing in their new normal ways of working? Here's a quick overview of the discussions: Anne Bal...

In a return to the subject of wellbeing , we pose the question – is it sufficient to run a campaign and regard wellbeing as a nice to have? Is it worth the money, the time and the effort? If a focus on wellbeing is to pay off, what does it take and where do you start? Here's a quick overview of the discussion: What do we mean by wellbeing? (1:45) Why should organizations care about wellbeing?...

This is a focus on the insurance sector - the big organisational / sector drivers and how they're influencing the way people work, the opportunities opening up as the industry embraces digitisation, personalisation, automation and artificial intelligence. The  sector is experiencing post pandemic growth and like other sectors is caught up in the war for talent as it repositions itself to attr...

This is a focus on the energy sector - the big business / sector drivers and how they're influencing the way people work in those sectors, the opportunities opening up as the industry repositions itself in light of the climate emergency, and the impact on recruitment and retention of talent . The transition away from fossil fuels and the need to secure independent energy supplies  mean organi...

Ever been drunk at work? Research shows that disrupted sleep, dehydration, distraction and uncomfortable working environments impair our ability to take in information, recognize patterns and make decisions. That impairment can reach the same effective level as being over the UK blood alcohol limit for driving.  If we don't get these things right, either by looking after ourselves or as organ...

As we are emerging from the pandemic, we are faced with the next challenges – a shortage of good candidates to recruit, and more demands from existing people who know more about what they want, and how to get it. Although these may be challenges, they are also opportunities to be seized and it’s time to be planning and executing strategies to be irresistible to current and future ‘talent’, offerin...

We’ve all lived through two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Undoubtedly it has done untold amounts of damage to people’s lives and to many businesses. That said, some organisations seized the opportunity to make changes – and as we’ve seen in other podcast episodes, the pandemic has been used as a catalyst for that change. For some organisations, the pandemic allowed them to implement things withi...

Organisations are changing and adapting their working styles following the pandemic and the periods of time everyone spent working remotely. Many are embracing hybrid working , so how is this affecting the way they work, and is it affecting their culture?  Hear this first-hand account of how the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Manchester is adapting, using a pilot of new wa...

Are you still plagued by meetings you’d rather not attend? Do you wonder why you were invited or what you’re expected to contribute? Do meetings drain your energy and rob you of the time that you need to “do the real work”? We discuss these issues and share what we're doing with clients to help them break those patterns of behaviour by tackling the real issues underlying our reliance on meeti...

Do you have good technology solutions for hybrid working? Many organisations had to scramble to get the right solutions in place when everyone was instructed to work from home in March 2020, but however those were addressed, we now have different challenges.   To ensure that people feel they are having a good and effective working experience wherever they are working, we need to have equity in ter...

In 2021 we had to cope with a lot of uncertainty and ambiguity. Leaders weren’t able to make and communicate clear decisions about the future ways in which their people would be able to work. Many opted to be honest about the uncertainty and difficulty of seeing a clear path forward.  But as time wore on, the lack of clear decisions started to prove difficult for staff who wanted to know what they...

Many teams have never explicitly agreed the things that they can and can’t do in terms of how they work together. Therein lies the root of a lot of miscommunication, misunderstanding, tension and wasted effort. So at a time when organisations are deciding how they want to work -  we now have an opportunity – a catalyst for having conversations and agreeing what’s ok and what isn’t. This is a way t...

To kick off 2022, we share one organisation’s ongoing journey to establish a hybrid way of working. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a major UK charity and has been a much valued AWA client over the years. Executive Director of People & Organisational Development Kerry Smith and Head of Organisational Change Sarah Cousins share their story – from before the pandemic hit in 2020, to their...

In keeping with tradition, this is our look back over 2021, reflecting on how the world of work is changing. We have gathered a collection of highlights, insights, inspiration and advice from the wonderful guests that appeared on the podcast - change managers, workplace strategists, people experts, tax and employment law specialists, workplace transformation experts and business leaders. We look a...

After 20 months of Covid, and looking back on the mediocre workplaces that we’ve all experienced, what does the future hold? The balance of power certainly seems to have changed, and people feel empowered to make choices about where they work on any given day. Many are opting to work more of the week from home than in the office.  This is causing some consternation in organisations. There is anxie...

As working arrangements start to settle down (Omicron variant notwithstanding!), what do employers and employees need to be aware of from a contractual point of view? Every contract of employment in the UK needs to state the “place of employment” – so if an organisation is embracing hybrid working, do those contracts need to change?  What about if an organisation does, or does not want to encourag...

“If you’re a manager, then managing people is the most important thing you do" says our guest at the start of this episode, which looks at some of the things that managers can do to up their game when navigating current changes in the world of work. Adjusting to new ways of working has been difficult for many (old dogs and new ones!),  and plenty of managers have found themselves a little adr...

In pre-Covid times, many organisations had very informal arrangements with employees who worked some or all of their time away from the office. Often, managers were the only ones that knew who was working remotely – HR departments had no need to record details or keep track of arrangements. However, some employees now want to work remotely in a different country from the one in which their employe...