Are the most important jobs those that shouldn’t exist? With Naomi Sesay and Smruti Naik-Jones

Chief Happiness Officer. Head of Wellbeing. Chief Sustainability Officer. Diversity and inclusion leader.

A scroll on LinkedIn will point to many of these kinds of roles that exist within companies these days. But should they?

Being an inclusive business. Making sure operations are sustainable. And people are happy. 

These things have always been important in business. And our understanding of matters like diversity and sustainability has never been better. So, why is it still hard to see positive change in these areas?

Is it only by having dedicated roles that we can make progress happen? Does professionalising these areas unlock better investment rather than it being a side of desk project? And why is it then that we’re still a long way from where we need to be?

In this episode, we’re joined by Naomi Sesay, Head of Creative Equity at Channel 4, and Smruti Naik-Jones, Chief Sustainability Officer for Deloitte UK and North South Europe, as we ask: Are the most important jobs those that shouldn’t exist?

How important are these roles in business and do they always have the desired effect? What would the world of work look like without them? How do these roles help us attract top talent and retain our people? And do they really help drive better business performance? 

What about their impact in helping us identify future policies? Do these roles encourage us to think and act differently when there’s a strong leader paving the way? How do we make sure it’s everyone’s job vs working in silos? And will we ever get to a place where we don’t need these roles?

Tune in to find out:

• The reason your LinkedIn feed is full of creative job titles
• The unexpected roles that are key to business performance 
• Whether sustainability and diversity roles will ever stop existing 
• How anyone can be part of driving meaningful change in their company

Enjoyed this episode? Check our website for our recommendations to learn more about this topic: deloitte.co.uk/greenroompodcasts

You can also watch our episodes over on YouTube: youtube.com/@DeloitteUK

Guests: Naomi Sesay, Head of Creative Equity at Channel 4, and Smruti Naik-Jones, Chief Sustainability Officer for Deloitte UK and North South Europe Hosts: Annie Wong and Stephanie Dobbs

Original music: Ali Barrett