The Culture Builders

Libby Townsend – Group People Director at OVO Group – joins Jane Sparrow to discuss her experiences in a range of corporates, and what she sees as the deeper factors that create a ‘magnetic culture’ for organisations – drawing in and keeping bright people as we enter the new year and a range of new challenges and possibilities She shares her journey and learning points around the creation and main...

From March 2020 to today we have all been living and working on a rollercoaster – the initial stages filled us with fear and trepidation, but also with a keen sense of humour and shared laughter. Over time, fear has become resignation and humour has faded. But, with the change in seasons, steps ‘back’ around lockdown and people feeling at a low ebb, we need it more than ever. In this quick burst e...

With statistics right now indicating that two thirds of us are facing issues with burn-out, it’s vital that we start taking on board the idea that ‘unplugging’ is a critical factor for sustainable working, and to give use a fighting change of making it through this most difficult, prolonged period of uncertainty. No one is taking the right amount of time off at the moment, and people are working l...

September will be a significant turning point for many of us – as the critical situation created by COVID19 will become a chronic situation that we are learning to live with. The change of the season and the return to school/work for many is a signal that a change is hopefully coming. We have an opportunity to define the next stage of our strange 2020 world, and it’s important that we don’t sleepw...

How do you capture and maintain what makes your company culture fantastic when your growth trajectory brings in a slew of new people who have the potential to dilute that culture? This was the problem faced by Paul Knight when he joined the People Function in the rapidly-growing Perform Media Group seven years ago. Under his guidance, the organisation went from 750 people to more than 3,000 in les...

“The current situation is only accelerating what’s been happening for a while with AI,” believes Greg Orme, award-winning author of The Human Edge. He joins Chris on this podcast to discuss how this now-pervasive technology is changing the landscape of work for everyone, and how we should positively use the opportunity to ‘remove tasks, not jobs’ as part of its implementation. Greg brings a fascin...

Just a few short months into his tenure as CEO of BBC Studioworks, Andrew Moultrie faced the prospect of leading his organisation through the COVID19 crisis and resultant restrictions for broadcasters. The company, a subsidiary of the BBC, provides facilities for the filming and production of some of the most popular TV shows in this country and beyond – Eastenders and Strictly being just two of a...

Wellbeing has long been on the fringes of business - yes, it's important, but it's long been sat in the corner, adding value 'as and when'. But now, with the new landscape of a pandemic-hit world, we are seeing it rise to the top of the list of priorities. Jane and Chris share their thoughts on this, and talk about how the 'permission' to take advantage of wellbeing offerings and to be more open a...

Back for part two, Andrew Keith, President of Lane Crawford, builds on his views around how the virus has been a catalyst for necessary but also desired change in the fashion industry. Since the 23rd of January his organisation has been surviving in a lockdown world, and he shares his views on how they have coped, the things he has done as a leader to ensure he remains a visible, connected leader,...

A number of leading figures in the fashion industry have taken the bold step of challenging the traditional seasonal model that dominates the market currently. It’s wasteful, frustrating and unnecessary. But it takes a brave voice to rock the boat so drastically. But that’s exactly what our guest this week, Andrew Keith – President, Lane Crawford – did recently. He, and a number of leading industr...

Mike Ling is one of the flying team with the Blades Aerobatic Team – a place earnt through a spectacular military flying career, that concluded with him taking one of the lead pilot roles in the world renowned Red Arrows. He spoke to us recently to share more of his story and put into context some of our work and thinking around areas such as emotional management during stressful situations and th...

"The necessity of presence is over-rated – I’m far more focused on output and productivity, rather than the number of hours you’re sat in the office,” states Joel Krutz, former CFO of Viacom CBS International and this episode’s guest. He has, for many years worked with a team that spans the globe, so when he talks about remote working and remote teams, you sit back and listen! You’ll need your not...

Our guest this episode describes the current (April 2020) remote working situation as ‘taking off one pair of slippers and putting on different ones. Since 2016, when a leukemia diagnosis forced Frank Cunnane to re-think his work patterns, he’s been re-shaping his working patterns to take into account the new reality for him. We asked him to share his learnings from this experience, to talk about...

James Skinner, Director of Digital Technology for Specsavers has a number of keen perspectives on how an organisation can develop its remote working culture. James joins Jane Sparrow to talk about what it means to build a remote-working focused culture and the attitudes that leaders need to foster authentically if they are to make the transition to a more fluid working approach a success.  His exp...

Continuing our remote working focus, Jane is joined by Jonathan Hood - Business Development Manager – Coloplast is no stranger to remote working, having worked as a field rep for the company. He shares with Jane his experiences of the highs and lows of remote working and the learnings he’s taken from the journey (metaphorical and physical) of transitioning into the role. One of the key stand-outs...

We are joined on this episode by Steve Butler, author of Managing the Gap – a highly practical look at inter-generational working and how to get the best out of an age-diverse workforce. This area has become a key factor for remote working, with the focus turning on the under 25s as they struggle the most with this extraordinary environment. Steve talks about his experience managing a diverse age...

When we say ‘people are’ we totally lose the individuality that makes our workforce so varied, vibrant, robust and challenging. Right now, with the challenges of remote working near the top of every organisation’s list, it’s critical that we continue to think about people as unique individuals, who each need a specific plan to ensure they can be successful, remain positive and stay healthy (you in...

It's World Sleep Day today so, in this short Burst Episode, Owen taps Beccy - the head of our Physiological Faculty - for her top five tips on Sleep. While there's bound to be a couple you've heard before in there (that doesn't make them wrong - go do something about them), there are also a couple that we'd hope are new to you including thinking about how the way you get up in the morning might ma...

When asked to describe remote working, we talk about a high-stress environment. Unless you are adept at working at home, it can be one of the hardest environments to be effective in – new distractions, lack of resources and, as we explore in this podcast, something that can make people feel isolated. Jane and Chris explore more ideas around how to make a success of remote working – staying connect...

Right now, many companies are facing up to the challenge of temporarily changing how their people work – putting in place travel bans and remote working requirements as part of their efforts to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Like a snow-day, the novelty of the situation soon wears off, and people across the globe (particularly in China and Hong Kong, where people have been facing this situat...

2020 has made a dramatic entrance, with a number of world events putting the issues of global warming, climate change and carbon reduction at the very front of all of our minds. The changes needed run through every culture – local, national, global and, critically, organisational. To make lasting shifts that will slow global warming, we need organisations to take significant action.  We got the op...

How do you prepare to step into a new leadership role? What can you do before the move to make sure you're at your best for it? What do you need to do, for yourself and others, during the first 60-90 days in role to get off to the best start? In this episode Jane gets to talk to Seb Monk - Chief Experience Officer at property tech and shared living start-up, Lyvly - about how he prepared for the m...

As we all wind down to the end of 2019, to the end of a decade and enter what will no doubt be a very interesting period, we wanted to share five things you can do for yourself and those around you. They are small things to help prepare for the festive period and to set yourself on the right track for 2020. Chris and Jane share their five top tips for you – they are easy, positive and ones you can...

Heather Golding is the founder of TonyG – a company that has created branding and campaign materials for some of the world’s biggest retail brands. Every listener will have experienced their outputs in some way, their work with global brands appears on our high streets and in stores across the world. We took some time to talk to Heather in her Warwickshire office and, helped by the local birdlife,...

It’s Stress Awareness Day, and there are many conversations and ideas around the topic – causes, symptoms and (critically) cures. Inevitably the majority of this will focus on the workplace. It’s a sad state that stress in our careers has become such a presence – there’s no doubt that it has only increased in the last decade. However, it’s also heartening that it’s a topic we are more comfortable...