Beyond The Water Cooler

Forbes has put together 101 of the best customer experience quotes. Only 3 of them feature employees, despite the fact customer experience relies on your workforce. 

Simon Sinek says: 

👁️‍🗨️ “Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.” 

And that's exactly what Graham Hill, from insight6, and I talk about in this episode of the podcast. We refocus the lens, shifting away from simply the customer, to the people within organisations that determine CX.

One thing that has become very clear over recent years is the need to enable employees to have the best experience, for companies to succeed. It's interesting how many of the 101 quotes communicate the same powerful message when the word 'customers' is switched for 'employees'. 

That says a lot... the experience of ALL your stakeholders is a must for leaders to get to grips with. 

🥇 Graham and I consider the evolution from customers first, to putting employees first. 

🥇 We unpick the direct connection and key factors that companies need to be addressing. 

🥇 We discuss the uptake of this shift in thinking, and the impact that Insight 6 data shows. 

“If we consistently exceed the expectations of employees, they will consistently exceed the expectations of our customers.” – Shep Hyken

What does your CX strategy look like?

Graham has over 20 years of experience in senior roles for a number of FTSE 100 businesses including Vodafone, Digicel and Dixons Carphone, leading teams to deliver a world-class customer experience, both in the UK and internationally.

He is the local Customer Experience Director for insight6, owning and running the Bucks, Beds and Oxfordshire Regional Office.

insight6 are one of the UK’s top Customer Experience firms, supporting over 1,000 clients, from all sectors, across the UK to deliver more revenue through better customer experiences.

LinkedIn:

Graham Hill

insight6 UK

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.insight6.com

Twitter: @GrahamHillCX

This conversation with Graham reminded me of the episode with Eric Collins who talked about him being a customer of his business in his MD role As MD, I’m Just A Customer Of The Business – with Eric Collins - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

The High Cost of a Bad Employee Experience and How to Avoid It – insight6

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/lisapsychology

Website: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk

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Nick Jemetta, founder of Stories Matter, joins me to discuss anxiety. He is passionate about creating connection, conversation, curiosity and change. And he takes a holistic approach to mental health. 

Stress, anxiety and depression are thought to be responsible for almost half of working days lost in Britain due to health issues. 

According to the Workplace Health Report 2022, 58% of employees are experiencing anxiety, and 34% of those experiencing anxiety are aged 25-34. 

In the current climate of financial stress, ongoing strikes, international conflict and other negative news filling the media channels, it is no surprise that rates of anxiety are reaching new levels. 

Nick and I discuss:

• The need for a different approach to a growing problem
• People at risk of developing anxiety
• Strategies for companies to consider for an organisational response
• The need to rethink expectations of managers

The resource 'Tackling Anxiety Collectively' is a team discussion framework for normalising the conversation. 

✅ Download it and start making a difference for your teams. 

✅ Support your managers in having the discussions that count. 

✅ Let your employees know that you validate them, care, and that you seek to empower people to take control.

Get in touch for help with having such conversations and advice about providing the best support. 

As Founder of Stories Matter, Nick ‘Fancy Dress Dad’ Jemetta is on mission is to change the narrative - creating empowered cultures for organisations, and (young) people to thrive.

He is a digital product coach and consultant, multi-award-winning mental health campaigner, speaker, trainer, and organisational wellbeing coach.

Nick’s inspirational journey from anxious teenage introvert to business owner (via media stardom and corporate burnout!), is an uplifting, powerful story of hope, positivity, and resilience.

LinkedIn:

Nick Jemetta

Stories Matter

Facebook: Nicholas Jemetta

Instagram: @nicholasjemetta

Twitter: @nicholasjemetta

Website: www.storiesmatter.io

Managing Anxiety: Individual strategies to bring it under control (10 Minute Audio Blog) - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

Tackling Anxiety Collectively - A Team Discussion Framework - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

13 Skills to Build Resilience - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

Is Fear blocking your leadership? - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

Worried about the future virtual world? Check out this podcast where Magnus Wood joins me to discuss leadership, embracing change, and kindness as a key factor in a changing world: 

The Metaverse: The Future of Work? – with Magnus Wood - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

Struggling with the pace of change in our VUCA world? Listen to Amanda Page and I talking about resistance to change and how to help people overcome their anxiety to embrace it:

Getting Beyond Resistance to Change – Amanda Page, Change Tempo - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

From my conversation with Nick: 

3 Dads Walking

Gethin Nadin | LinkedIn

Hub of Hope

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/lisapsychology

Website: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk

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Placi Espejo is a MH Champion, Coach and Mentor supporting innovative businesses to help them grow. 

She is also a TEDx speaker, having taken to the stage to share her ideas about embracing mental health and the benefits of workplace policies. Placi talks from her own experience of struggles with mental health, and from her role within companies that means she has a wealth of insight into how to make the experience of work better.

Poor mental health is costing UK employers up to £56 billion a year (Deloitte, 2022) and so addressing this has to be everyone's business. 

In this episode, we explore:

• Why we're continuing to have the discussion about leaders taking mental health seriously, despite increased awareness in recent years
• Placi's own story and the lessons learned from that
• Who has responsibility for mental health at work
• How we motivate companies to change their approach
• The mental health / health and safety connection (and future requirements)
• The role of policy, mental health induction and day-to-day practice
• Tools to improve mental health at an individual and organisational level

Placi Espejo is a TEDx Speaker, Mental Health Champion, Coach and Mentor working with innovative businesses to unlock their growth and collaboration potential. She is currently part of the transitioning team for the creation of the new Oxford-Cambridge Partnership leading on the Economy Programme.

From being involved in running the family business since an early age to getting start-ups ready for investment, Placi loves the buzz of making a difference by supporting entrepreneurship. An experienced mentor with Entrepreneur Societies, local Accelerators and Schools, she is also a Deputy Chairman for Oxfordshire Business First and Relationship Manager for Bicester Vision.

LinkedIn: Placi

Instagram: @placi.mindfulnessjourney

Twitter: @PlaciEspejo

TikTok: @over40placi

Mental Health Onboarding - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

Mental Health: Missing the Point - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

(2) Embracing Mental Health - The Benefits of Workplace Policies | Placi Espejo | TEDxBanbury - YouTube

What do we mean by suicide prevention? - YouTube

LinkedIn Post - Placi (Eating Disorders)

LinkedIn Post - Keith Browning (Blown away by this new campaign from Dove)

Mental Health at Work by James Routledge

Self Space: theselfspace.com

Mental Health Foundation - Since 1949, the Mental Health Foundation has been the UK’s leading charity for everyone’s mental health.

FormScore - helping managers understand the wellbeing and performance readiness of their team.

Calm App

Happy Place App founded by Fern Cotton 

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/lisapsychology

Website: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk

Sign up to be kept in the loop: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk/jointheclub

Email: [email protected]

How confident are you that every member of your team feels empowered and safe enough to contribute? That they are fully engaged? That their ideas are encouraged to emerge and germinate? That their experience day to day matches how they want to feel? 

In this episode of the podcast, Sonali Kumarakulasinghe, People and Culture Consultant at SK Consulting outlines TWO PRACTICAL APPROACHES that enable people to become more aware of themselves and their colleagues, to engage with meaningful change, and to strengthen team relationships. 

We unpick how LIBERATING STRUCTURES can be used to shape everyday interactions to make organisations more successful by being able to follow ten leadership principles:

1. Include and Unleash Everyone
2. Practice Deep Respect for People and Local Solutions
3. Build Trust As You Go
4. Learn by Failing Forward
5. Practice Self-Discovery Within a Group
6. Amplify Freedom AND Responsibility
7. Emphasize Possibilities: Believe Before You See
8. Invite Creative Destruction To Enable Innovation ⬅️ I LOVE THIS ONE! 
9. Engage In Seriously-Playful Curiosity
10. Never Start Without Clear Purpose

Then we identify the difference that the EMOTIONAL CULTURE DECK makes to companies being clear about how their employees want to feel, how they don't want to feel, and what that means in practice. 

Emotion drives behaviour. If we choose to ignore the dominant driver, we simply become robotic, engaging at a cognitive level. The result = less than optimum performance. 

It's time to unleash and celebrate the level of complexity under the surface that really shapes workplace culture. 

Find out how to transform your practice to gain the most from your amazing people with the resources and practical advice that Sonali shares.

Sonali is a Consultant, Facilitator and Coach. She works with leaders, teams and individuals to co-create positive organisational cultures and to enable better conversations at work. She is passionate about improving the employee experience at work, where there is mutual trust, care and respect. She partners with client organisations to achieve this.

LinkedIn: Sonali K MCIPD

Email: [email protected]

Liberating Structures - menu of 33 Liberating Structures, with open source resources.

Emotional Culture Deck - free downloadable deck, and 10% discount for the physical card deck -For transparency, please note that this is Sonali's affiliate link.

The Liberators - Liberating Structures workshops and resources.

Wise Crowds Design Call - Take your case to the Liberating Structures Wise Crowds design call and be a client and consultant.

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/lisapsychology

Website: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk

Sign up to be kept in the loop: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk/jointheclub

Email: [email protected]

John Hibbs, Co-Founder of CoEfficient, joins me to explore organisational performance from the human perspective.

We discuss:

🗣️ the Monergy Flow that links purpose with people, strategy, implementation and outcomes

🗣️ common factors in successful companies

🗣️ the disconnect between leadership perceptions and those of the wider workforce

🗣️ organisational measures and mental health; the vital link

🗣️ employee surveys: their limitations

🗣️ data - the devil is in the detail (and what we choose to do with it)

John is CoFounder of CoEfficient. He is a serial entrepreneur and leader, who believes that businesses should be a force for good in the world, and takes joy in creating a win-win world.

LinkedIn:

John Hibbs Coefficient

Coefficient Solutions

Website: coefficient-solutions.com

Thriving at Work: a review of mental health and employers - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

13 Ways to Kill Your Community 2nd Edition: Amazon.co.uk: Griffiths, Doug, Clemmer, Kelly, MacNeill, Paul: 9781460297582: Books

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/lisapsychology

Website: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk

Sign up to be kept in the loop: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk/jointheclub

Email: [email protected]

I was recently invited to guest on Get Radio‘s The Business Brunch with Ben Thompson & Mike Foster. Each week, business leaders from across Oxfordshire join them for interviews and a round table discussion sharing their expertise, knowledge and experience.

During the show, I had the opportunity to talk about my business, It’s Time for Change, and the topic of resilience for business owners, whilst giving really practical advice to business owners listening.

We were joined by the fantastic Dave Greenaway of Life in Business, who was recently a guest on my podcast discussing resilience. You can listen to that episode HERE. 

Do business owners have to be resilient?

Do you agree with what I had to say?

LinkedIn:

Ben Thompson

Mike Foster

Get Radio

Website: www.getradio.co.uk/on-air/business-brunch

Facbook: Get Radio

Twitter: @getradiouk

Instagram: @getradiouk

13 Skills to Build Resilience - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

Personal Resilience Indicator, created by Mind Matters Personal Resilience | Change Tempo

Watch the video here: The Business Brunch with Ben and Mike - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/lisapsychology

Website: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk

Sign up to be kept in the loop: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk/jointheclub

Email: [email protected]

March is B Corp month and so who better to join me than Chris Williams, Sustainability Champion and Commercial Manager at Jennings, where they have just been awarded the badge?!

In this conversation, Chris helps us to understand:

• What B Corp is actually about
• What prompted Jennings to pursue the B Corp route
• What a values-based culture looks like
• What the B Corp certification process involves
• The benefits of the B Corp accreditation
• How to inspire companies to do business better, regardless of B Corp
• How to get started and resources that help 

Chris is officially a Commercial Manager at Jennings but he has morphed the role into a Sustainability Champion & Eco Ambassador for the company. Chris is keen to influence, inspire & encourage other organisations in our community to do business better.

LinkedIn:

Chris Williams

Jennings of Garsington Ltd

Website: jennings.co.uk

Facbook: JenningsOfGarsington

Instagram: @jenningsofgarsington

Twitter: @jennings_

B Corp UK (BIA) (bcorporation.uk)

About B Lab UK (bcorporation.uk)

B Local Oxfordshire

Tammy Marrett - Green Savvy

Oxfordshire Greentech (oxfordshiregreentech.co.uk)

Siobhann Mansel - Make it Good

Mark Cuddigan & Ella's Kitchen: The Good Stuff We Do (www.ellaskitchen.co.uk)

Good Stuff (jennings.co.uk)

ESG: Be the change – there’s no PLANet B – with Nicola Weir, Deloitte - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

Workplace Culture: 14 Steps - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

VALUABLE: How a Values-Enabled Culture can Inspire You to Sustain Profit, by Mike Jennings (Amazon.co.uk)

Ethical Reading

Monument Community Trust (mct-oxfordshire.org)

Please contact Chris directly to request access to their B Corp specific Dropbox folder full of other useful resources to support you on your B Corp journey: [email protected]

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/lisapsychology

Website: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk

Sign up to be kept in the loop: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk/jointheclub

Email: [email protected]

Carla Maroussas joins me today to explore overwhelm, and the all-important question - how do we reduce it?

In a world where overwhelm feels normal, where many of us feel trapped with the only option being to push through, this is an important conversation. 

We explore:

• the feeling of overwhelm that produces a real desire of wanting to retreat into a bubble
• the pressure on leaders and managers to be seen to cope
• the need to align our lived experience with our values
• how emotional support from managers, in the form of quality conversations, improves mental wellbeing
• what active listening really means
• our thoughts about goals!

This episode is full of practical strategies to create more space and reduce overwhelm.

How are you moving closer towards the experience that feels good for you on a daily basis?

How are you supporting your team to reduce emotional arousal so that they can invest their mental energy on being productive?

Before studying and qualifying to become a Life Coach and NLP Practitioner Carla spent most of her professional career in Film, Television and Music. Working hard to make her way up from an Account Manager to a place on the board as a Managing Director. 

Carla has been described as a senior management professional with over 25 years experience gained in the music, tv and film industries. A natural leader with an in depth knowledge of sales and leadership”

However she now utilises her career experience in senior management, sales and leadership and runs her own Coaching Consultancy working with clients on a 121 level via self discovery to work out their next best step.

She helps those she works with to re-connect to their values and core beliefs and with an attitude of gratitude and positivity work out their next best steps and to move forward with calm and clarity.

Whether in your personal or work life if you are thinking about, working out or taking the next step, she will work alongside you to reduce overwhelm and confusion, to increase self care and provide a clear pathway forward.

Recent 121 clients have included small businesses owners, board members and working parents with bespoke coaching based around career and personal development and the associated themes of managing work life balance, overwhelm and self care.

In addition 121 coaching for leaders and their teams offering recent programmes on identifying company values, the link between staff productivity and happiness, talent identification and new leader personal development.

Carla provides coaching and mentoring services both on-line and in person locally and works offers 121, team and group coaching.

LinkedIn: Carla Maroussas

Instagram: @carlamaroussas

Twitter: @carlamaroussas

Website: www.carlamaroussascoaching.com

The Business Brunch: Resilience (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

13 Skills to Build Resilience - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

Stress: Checking-In - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

Too passive to de-stress? - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

Stress Mapping - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

7 Superpowers of Women in the Workplace Part 1 - Dr Shawn Andrews - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

7 Superpowers of Women in the Workplace Part 2 - Dr Shawn Andrews - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

Happy workers are 13% more productive - University of Oxford (www.ox.ac.uk)

Study reveals how changes in workplace support and leadership training can improve mental health and reduce burnout in healthcare professionals - The William Harvey Research Institute - Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry (qmul.ac.uk)

Stress Statistics UK | 2023 Data | Champion Health

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/lisapsychology

Website: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk

Sign up to be kept in the loop: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk/jointheclub

Email: [email protected]

As we celebrate International Women's Day, I'm delighted to be joined by Dr Shawn Andrews, author of The Power of Perception: Leadership, Emotional Intelligence and the Gender Divide.

I came across her book a few years ago and it was gripping - loads of jaw-dropping data, relatable case-studies and practical advice about women in leadership roles. She has so much to say that we split the conversation into two parts! 

In the first episode, Shawn explains the 5 main barriers for women in business which are nothing to do with their skills or competencies and everything to do with perceptions of women. We've seen this all to clearly recently with Jacinda Ardern. 

We then turn our focus to the 7 superpowers that women bring to companies and these take us into the second episode where we also explore questions such as 'why are some women more successful than others?'.

Shawn outlines examples and practical ways to develop these attributes if they are not your strengths (that goes for men too). And she outlines the benefits to men, both personally and professionally, of supporting women to climb the career ladder. 

Enjoy!

Dr. Shawn Andrews is a keynote speaker, organizational consultant, and author of the best-selling book, The Power of Perception: Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, and the Gender Divide.

She’s been a Forbes contributor, quoted in the Chicago Tribune, and interviewed on dozens of podcast and radio shows, including NPR.

She serves as a professor at both UC Irvine and Pepperdine University business schools, teaching courses on Women and Leadership and Organizational Behavior. She is founder and CEO of Andrews Research International.

LinkedIn: Dr Shawn Andrews

Facebook: Dr Shawn Andrews Page

Instagram: @drshawnandrews

Website: www.drshawnandrews.com

Email: [email protected]

7 Superpowers of Women (part 1) | LinkedIn

Book: The Power of Perception: Leadership, Emotional Intelligence, and the Gender Divide - Shawn Andrews Ed.D. M.B.A

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

7 Superpowers of Men (part 2) | LinkedIn

Women in the Workplace | McKinsey

Angela Lee Duckworth: Grit: The power of passion and perseverance | TED Talk

6 Leadership Styles from Daniel Goleman, the Author of the “Leadership That Gets Results” (business-powerhouse.com)

Midlife. Crisis or Opportunity? - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

Can We Achieve Balance? - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

A Female Perspective in celebration of International Women’s Day – Charlotte Wilson - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

3 inspirational female leaders - It's Time for Change (itstimeforchange.co.uk)

LinkedIn : www.linkedin.com/in/lisapsychology

Website: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk

Sign up to be kept in the loop: www.itstimeforchange.co.uk/jointheclub

Email: [email protected]