CIPD

Do you know what’s really concerning your people as we enter a new year? As months of crippling industrial action continue, the growing struggle to make ends meet, a new period of recession in the UK and an increasingly tired and burnt-out workforce, what can people professionals – and organisations more broadly – do to support people through the challenges ahead? Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests: Nebel Crowhurst, Chief People Officer at Reward Gateway; Emma Jacobs, Features Journalist at the Financial Times; and CIPD Membership Director, David D’Souza, – as we explore the real issues keeping your employees up at night.

It’s said that affording a little breathing space to reflect on workplace learning can vastly improve its effectiveness and likelihood of achieving behavioural change. But what’s the evidence for this? Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests: Julie Drybrough, Founder and Chief Executive at Fuchsia Blue; Learning and Development Consultant, Fiona McBride; and Sue Murkin, Learning Delivery and Associate Lead at CIPD – as we explore why offering time to reflect can lead to more effective, transferable learning experiences and improve work performance.

Please be advised that parts of this podcast cover issues that may be emotionally sensitive. Statistics on men’s health are concerning: men account for three-quarters of premature deaths from heart disease, are twice as likely to die from drug or alcohol abuse and three times more likely to die from suicide. In part, due to unhelpful ideas about what masculinity is, and societal expectations for them to ‘man up’ and ‘keep it together’, men often face health challenges alone. So when it comes to supporting the wellbeing of your people, how can organisations target working-age men more effectively? Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests: Elliott Rae, founder of Music. Football. Fatherhood; Helen Lake, director of men’s health services at Peppy; and Steve George, learning content lead at the CIPD – as we ask how organisations can better engage and support male colleagues when it comes to health and wellbeing.

Offering a four-day week could give organisations a competitive edge, as employees seek a better work-life balance. But does it really have the potential to become the norm across a wide range of sectors and businesses? Our experts debate the pros and cons of working fewer days for the same pay.

Theories encouraging employee learning have evolved considerably over the past decade, most notably in the shift from venue-based learning (while still vitally important) to learning in the flow of work. But what value can ‘adjacent learning’ – off-the-job learning that takes place outside the workplace setting – bring to learning experiences? Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests – Carole Bower, Head of Learning at Best At Digital and Steve George, Learning Content Lead at CIPD – as we explore how organisations can tap into benefits of adjacent learning experiences.

Trust is critical for functional relationships and not least when it comes to the case of organisational leaders and their people. With scandals and examples of failed leadership making daily headlines, it is little wonder that trust in organisations may already be at an all-time low. Throw in cases of actual leadership mistakes – does the situation then become unsalvageable? Or can you repair broken trust? Join Nigel Cassidy, and this month’s guests – Veronica Hope Hailey, Emeritus Professor at the University of Bath and Richard Nolan, Chief People Officer at Epos Now – as they debate the impact of external influences on state trust in today’s organisations and how senior leaders can begin repairing and regaining trust from their people. You can hear more from Veronica Hope Hailey on the subject of trust and leadership in a post pandemic world at CIPD Scotland Annual Conference, 14 September, Edinburgh (Session A3). https://events.cipd.co.uk/events/scotland/

People professionals have stepped up through recent crises to support their organisations and their people. Yet, the perceived value of the profession remains under constant challenge. While some applaud these efforts to take the profession beyond form-filling and compliance, others say HR have exceeded their remit with their public agenda crusades. Join Nigel Cassidy, and this month’s guests – Cat Navarro, Talent Advisor and Consultant; Dr Washika Haak-Saheem, Associate Professor at Henley Business School; David D’Souza, Director of Membership at CIPD – as they debate the real purpose of HR in today’s organisations and fundamentally how people teams can be used to create the impact you need in your organisation.

Accessible and inclusive experiences are critical to the success of organisational learning. Few would argue against the benefits an accelerated shift to – and adoption of – digital learning has brought to learners, particularly with greater flexibility in terms of access, delivery and coverage. But is the design of your learning drawing out the best from your workforce or a stumbling block to truly accessible learning? Join Nigel Cassidy, live from the CIPD Festival of Work 2022, and this month’s guests – Susi Miller, eLearning Accessibility Expert and Author of Designing Accessible Learning Content; Giorgia Gamba-Quilliam, Digital Learning Content Manager at CIPD – as we unpack how your organisation can make learning content accessible for all learners and ensure everyone has the opportunity to engage with learning without barriers.

The benefits of an inclusive and diverse workforce are inarguable – not just because it’s the right thing to do for social justice, but for the benefits it can bring to every business. But despite having the right policies in place, many organisations are still struggling to build inclusive workforces, and progress has been slow or stagnant. It may sound counterintuitive to use technology to address this very human issue, but using digital processes to identify biases and measure performance against organisational objectives could give I&D the boost it desperately needs. Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests – Kevin McFall, Head of Belonging, Diversity and Inclusion Solutions at Workday; Hayfa Mohdzaini, Senior Research Adviser for Data, Technology and AI at CIPD; and Dr Zara Nanu, CEO and Co-founder at GapSquare – as we explore the benefits of using technology to help organisations boost inclusion and foster a culture of employee belonging to drive business performance.

Dealing with stress can place immense demands on employees’ physical and mental health. Our Health and Wellbeing at Work 2022 report emphasises the negative impact stress can have on productivity, with 79% of organisations reporting some stress-related absence over the last year. So, the idea that organisations could purposely generate or allow pressure and stress to raise employee performance sounds counterintuitive, right? Well, not necessarily. Join Nigel Cassidy and this month’s guests – Alexandra Lichtenfeld, Business Mentor at Client Matters, Dr Serra Pitts, Clinical Director at 87% Limited, and Alan Lambert, International Strategic HR Change Leader at TotalEnergies – as we explore the benefits of positive stress and why generating healthy levels of pressure can drive higher individual, team and organisation performance.