While your business is small, the founder can personally interact with the employees and convey the core vision that they have for the organisation. As the organisation expands, this is increasingly difficult, and the founder has to rely on others to ‘sell the dream’. In this episode, we speak to Alex Saint, co-founder and CEO of Secret Escapes, about the process of ‘stepping back’ as his company has expanded and opened offices abroad. We also speak to Ksenia Zheltoukhova, Research Associate at the CIPD, who discusses recent CIPD research findings , which highlight the importance of finding a way to formalise your values as your business grows. To hear how DUO have formalised their values with the help of employees from across the business, we speak to Claire Alexander, HR and Talent Development Manager at DUO. We also speak to Ben Saunders, Head of HR at IMarEST, the professional body for marine professionals, about the vision and values challenges faced by a membership body, and

In this podcast we speak to Pensions Minister Steve Webb about how the pensions landscape has been changing, with the implementation of auto-enrolment, and recent changes to the state pension and to annuities.

In this podcast we explore the work of Professor Eugene Sadler-Smith, who researches and writes on insight, intuition and creativity.

Most people have a story of a poor or badly-organised introduction to a workplace. As the beginning of an employee’s relationship with their new employer, however, getting the induction process right is really important, and an unmissable opportunity to explain what the company’s all about. On a mission to find out how to do induction differently, we spoke to three companies from a range of sectors who have all recently revolutionised their induction processes. Coffee company UCC send a ‘culture pack’ to new hires, and establish a strong connection with employees before they even begin. BBC Worldwide have worked with communication company One Fish Two Fish to develop a truly multimedia approach to induction that introduces employees to their content and brand. Meanwhile, global HR consultancy Mercer have worked with Big Picture Learning to create a visual representation of their company and strategy, which helps new starters to see where their roles fit in the context of the organisation. All of these companies have moved away from a traditional ‘broadcast’ approach, which sees lots of information transmitted to bewildered new starters, to a process that is far more two-way, and that involves interaction, discovery, and conversation. Author and academic Paul Turner discusses the importance of this, and of aligning the induction with the brand and values of the company. He also describes how companies can measure the success of a new approach. Share your induction experiences, or let us know what you thought of this episode, using the hashtag #CIPDpodcasts Paul Turner, author and academic Naomi Godwin, HR Advisor, UCC Anna Charleston, Head of HR Operations, BBC Worldwide Nicole Black, UK Market Manager, Mercer

This month we’re looking at how organisations increasingly need to formulate a strategic response to an age-diverse workforce, as working lives get longer and the younger end of the workforce also becomes a focus. This is about going beyond the legal necessities in terms of age discrimination and equal opportunities, and looking at the issue strategically. The CIPD’s Dianah Worman gives us a picture of the age profile of UK workers, and also talks through some of the results from recent CIPD research. We speak to Judy Greevy from HMRC about the organisation’s award-winning approach to age diversity, including workshops that address common misconceptions about younger and older workers. We also speak to Marcus Lee from Santander about the bank’s impressive endeavours to offer opportunities to young people, and also their focus on ‘re-careerers’ who might consider a move into banking later in life.

Recent CIPD research has revealed that although £3.2 billion is annually invested in training for managers across the UK, 72% of organisations report a deficit of management and leadership skills. In this round table podcast recording, we’ll be discussing why this is the case, and what to do about it. What are the barriers to effective leadership in modern organisations, and how can we overcome them? We will discuss some of the findings from the research with CIPD’s Ksenia Zheltoukhova, while Kirstin Furber, People Director, BBC Worldwide, Louise Fisher, HR Director, Xerox and Andy Lancaster, formerly Learning and Development Manager, Hanover Housing and now Head of L&D at the CIPD, outline their personal experiences of organisational structures and leadership capability.

The CIPD’s Chief Economist kicks off the first CIPD podcast of 2014, with a cautiously optimistic note for the next 12 months. Mark Beatson tells us that employment growth may well continue, but that with average earnings still falling in real terms, it’s the productivity deficit that employers really need to tackle. We also look ahead with Peter Cheese, who discusses how he believes that the improved economic outlook gives HR professionals the space to think more strategically. Peter also rounds up some of the CIPD’s key priorities for 2014, including the ‘Valuing your Talent’ project, aiming to provide a framework for human capital measurement, and the CIPD’s commitment to providing clearer membership propositions for people management professionals at all stages of their career.

With new CIPD survey results showing prevailing uncertainty that social media has any role to play in the workplace, we discuss ways in which social and digital technologies can and increasingly will have a real impact on the world of work. We discuss how employers can exploit the potential of a more networked workforce, and talk about the altered power dynamics that can result from a more ‘social business’. HRD and prolific tweeter Gemma Reucroft (@HR_Gem) speaks about how she’s used social media to network and learn, and how her company is now building social technologies into its communications framework. DPG’s Head of Customer Experience Mike Collins (@MikeCollins007) talks about a networked approach to L&D. We also probe the findings with report author Jonny Gifford (@jonnygiff), who argues that the question is no longer ‘whether’ but ‘how’ you are going to use social media. The episode also includes the legal perspective from solicitor Ron Kane, including his suggestions for collaboratively developing a workable social media policy.

In this podcast Martin Clarkson, Co-founder and Chairman, The Storytellers, Vilma Nikolaidou, Head of OD, Tate Galleries and Wilson Wong, Senior Researcher, OD Insight and Practice, discuss organisation development from the perspective of involving stakeholders in the design and development process, and examine the best ways to communicate OD throughout the organisation.

In this podcast Neal Blackshire, Benefits and Compensation Manager, McDonald’s, Kendra Osenton, Pensions Policy Manager, BT, and Andy Seed, Director of Tax and Pensions, KPMG discuss pension auto-enrolment for SMES.