The People Impact Podcast

How much our lives have changed right now around work, home and families. Finding new ways, new rhythms. Moving online, squeezing a desk into the bedroom, finding a quiet space for a call, finding work hours that work for you. In our final episode of season three features our former co-host and current fav guest of honour Shea Harty : “I definitely had to adjust my way of thinking, thinking of wha...

How can you tell if an organisational culture is healthy? Research shows that psychological safety is the centerpiece of organisational culture, a bellwether for how an organisation is doing. Because it reflects basic human needs: if those aren’t met, you can’t compensate with other things. Dr Timothy R. Clark , leadership consultant, has researched the four stages of psychological safety and pres...

“Get the people together, tell them what the situation is, ask them how are we going to solve this.” In this new episode of the HR Matters Podcast, we speak with Tom van der Lubbe , ceo of Viisi , about ‘people first’ in times of crisis. Viisi has a double purpose: to change the world of finance, and to put people first, changing the way we work.  In these extraordinary circumstances they fou...

“Every person plays a role in the organisational culture. Every single person plays a role.” In our currently shifting world of work, we spoke with Adé Adeniji for this podcast episode. Adé works on building workplaces where people feel like they can show up and be their best selves. You may be reading about how to make workplaces great, but don’t know how to make that actually happen. It remains...

“When you really put your people first, we think it’s logical that the rest will follow automatically,” states Marc-Peter of Viisi , a Dutch mortgage advice company that aims to change the world of finance. “We like to keep it very simple. We have one rule and that’s the Golden Rule: treat others like you want to be treated. Everything we do flows from that.” Marjolijn: “Why I’m so excited about V...

Marguerite Soeteman-Reijnen is not only the Chairwoman of AON Holding, a Marketing Executive, and Supervisory Board Member of several organizations - she is also a passionate believer in people and their ability to make the impossible possible. Marguerite is a truly shining example that you can be Female , Ambitious and HUMAN at the same time....in fact it's important. Join this wonderful conversa...

In this episode we walk you through the changes taking place in the HR field, as sketched by Lars Schmidt in an insightful article on Fast Company: ‘ 7 Ways HR Looks Different in 2020 ’ : “The leading edge of HR is having a transformational impact on business. Modern people teams are indispensable success enablers for the business.” This is what you want to know, put your focus towards and get exc...

Dutch entrepreneur (and surfer) Wouter Smeets is an innovation expert who took the best practices of innovation and put them into talent development. With Prototype You he nurtures continuous learning in organizations. In this episode we dive into Wouter’s views and his program, which empowers employees to become the director of their own personal development and career. Traditionally you went to...

Is it really possible to be both professional and kind ?? ABSOLUTELY! In fact it is vital. When kindness becomes a basic assumption in business it transforms everything. Kindness is the key opening up the space beyond basic transaction, to meeting people on the human level.  Kindness is the gateway to getting unstuck and moving your business forward. When we are able to bring kindness togethe...

It’s one of the biggest management myths: that you shouldn’t say ‘thank you’ to people too often. Indeed, when you take a thank you to the next level and turn it into a true acknowledgement of someone, that will strengthen them to bring more of that good work, it will improve trust and connection, and will solidify compliments that they received earlier. A ‘thank you’ is the most valuable thing yo...

“What feels like a messy, complicated situation becomes crystal clear very quickly.” Looking ahead to a whole new decade, this new episode clarifies how it pays off to get clear on the values of your organisation. As our organisations continue to evolve and develop, having clear values will no longer be that nice-to-have. It’s going to become vital and important because it’ll be the backbone of yo...

This is what you need for that elusive and complex goal: successful cultural change. The essential factors to making big changes. Having worked with large corporates trying to transform in a quickly changing world, and for start-ups growing into scale-ups, Shea Harty brings in her views as our special guest on this new podcast episode. From identifying what is really going on below the surface wit...

There is an under-the-radar skill that you’ll be happy to be more aware of, and that you'll want to put high up on your list of things to develop. If you’re already good at this, you’ll want to cherish it and inspire it in others.  Marjolijn describes it as making room in your head for other people’s stories, for other people’s choices. Lisa calls it holding space. It’s about realizing that t...

This year there's been a lot of news about getting more women on Boards of companies and organizations around the world. But, as with most great things, this is easier said than done.  In this episode we talk about the challenges, opportunities, bias, privilege, quotas and going back to basics.  How do we change the status quo? Is it changing fast enough? And don't you just want to be on...

Upping stock prices and shareholder value is no longer the measure of success. The best run companies do more. “Shareholder profits can no longer be the primary goal of corporations,” was the statement that came from a group of top CEOs in the US this summer. Businesses should be balancing the needs of shareholders with customers, employees, suppliers and local communities. “We commit to deliverin...

Welcome to the third season of HR Matters! This season, Lisa Dempsey and Marjolijn Vlug will be your hosts and Shea Harty will reappear as a guest on our podcast. We are starting off the season with a glance behind the scenes into why, and how, we make this podcast for you. Making these episodes is an active decision with a clear purpose: to talk about how the human way of interacting at work, and...

This episode with Ronald Meijers is a real goldmine. Ronald is a Partner at Deloitte and Leads the Transformation, Leadership & Governance as well as the Financial Services verticals. We could have spent hours discussing work, leadership and organizations with him.  Lisa connected with Ronald during the Deloitte BOLD Leaders program and was delighted to find genuinely refreshing views ins...

Our newest podcast guest literally wrote the book on Employee Experience in the Netherlands. She collected best practices, insights, research and shares her best advice with us. Heleen Mes and her co-author Gea Peper are the biggest EX experts we know. In this episode, Heleen shares her insights and gets you up to speed on this innovation in HR. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to upgrading...

During this summer we're resharing some of our favourite episodes. This favourite is about the future of HR. In the following episode, recorded in January 2019, we talk about the skills that HR professionals and recruiters will need to be able to deal with the rapidly changing world around us. From data to values and all that's needed to help people work together successfully.  We'll be back...

We're taking a quick summer break and wanted to share some our favorite episodes from the past two seasons with you. We hope you enjoy these blasts from the past and look forward to sharing our new material with you in September!  In this episode recorded on 11 September 2018, we explore an interview with Elon Musk, which was followed up by an open letter from Arianna Huffington. We discuss i...

Most managers are promoted based on their how well they performed. Some are promoted without any training or support. We took a look at becoming a manager, what does it take? How to managers become leaders? What scares people away from being managers? And does a person need to be a manager? We discussed the importance of having a mentor when you are just starting out as a manager.  We also to...

It’s a loss to the business when talented people go – and a boost when they’re in the spot where they can bring their best.  We had a good conversation with a talented senior marketing director at a large corporate. By playing what she calls an extended game of chess, she made her team members work faster, easier and better in their new roles, more pro-actively and energetic – improving kpi’s...

On the back of Father's Day and with the expansion of parental leave in the European Union and the Netherlands, we tackle the sometimes sensitive topic of having children. What happens at home affects life at work. When employees make the decision to have a child they expect a reasonable amount of time to take care of the new addition to the family. Managers have to find a way to accept this chang...

Michael Voss and Jennifer Rock write books about the corporate workplace. Not management books, but a darkly funny and all too recognisable novel about universal truths, from the agonies of working under a bad boss to the joy of finding free food in the break room.  Their latest, 'Operation Clusterpuck', is newly available. We read it and wanted to hear more, in this podcast episode. So... di...

So Millennials, we’ve been talking about you.  When you’re asking, ‘Why do you tolerate low performance?’ We agree that when poor performers go unmanaged, and managers lack the ability to address their impact, that spreads like a virus.. When you say, ‘ROI is not enough for me, I want a job with purpose,’ we see that the hierarchy of what you find important has shifted from previous generatio...