It’s the end of season one for Culture Shock, and the end of a momentous year for HappyHQ and we’re feeling grateful. In this wrap-up episode, we wanted to explore with you the act of gratitude and what it can really mean for your life and for company culture.  So, we're also grateful to be able to share highlights from our conversation with Alex Ikonn, Co-Founder of Intelligent Change. Alex has created a very successful business by helping people bring the practice of gratitude into their lives through the five-minute journal, which has sold over 1.7million copies globally. 

We talk about:

• what gratitude is and why it is so important 
• how to create a practice of gratitude
• the link between gratitude and appreciation
• ways to incorporate gratitude into your company culture

Gratitude is such a powerful tool both personally and professionally. We hope that today’s episode has inspired you to think of ways to incorporate gratitude into your workplace and beyond.

Useful resources:

Mindful - How to practice gratitude 

Gallup report on employee recognition

Traction by Gino Wickman

About your hosts:

Janine Jacobs and Louisa Mourdant co-founded Happy HQ, a people-first company culture specialist. In a world where culture is central to company success, HappyHQ helps guide companies along the way. We have dissected culture into 8 key areas and 70 topics. From workshops and culture mapping to policy writing and change implementation we can help across it all.

Janine Jacobs: 

Janine Jacobs is a people-first culture specialist and co-founder of HappyHQ. Together with her co-founder, Louisa, she guides companies and HR leads with the tools, frameworks, and practical support they need to create people-first cultures. Previously an agency lead and communications strategist, Janine has lived and worked in multiple countries, delivering multi-market campaigns for some of the world's leading brands. Her studies in positive psychology, and experience working with multicultural, global leadership teams, all inform her mission; to change the world of work as we know it. 

Louisa Mourdant: 

Over 10 years’ experience working directly with leaders on people, culture and recruitment strategy. Alongside HHQ, Louisa is also the Founder of I Love My Job, a scaling B Corp accredited recruitment company bravely doing things differently and experiencing huge success. 

Find us here:

Website: https://happyhq.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happyhq_uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happyhq/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappyHQ.UK/

In this week’s episode of the podcast, we are delighted to interview Vanessa Belleau, the Director & Founder of High Fifteen Ltd all about the importance of inclusion and belonging in the workplace.

We talk about:

● A culture of belonging without bias should be for everyone

● What creating an environment where people can feel respected, valued and seen does for both the employee and the company

● The difference between stereotypes, bias, prejudice and discrimination

● The importance of leaders showing vulnerability and curiosity 

● How to encourage companies to start the discussion around inclusion

Vanessa is full of joy and clearly shows her passion for bringing the discussion around inclusion and belonging to companies that are ready to make a positive impact. The benefits of implementing Vanessa’s work are huge for the company making the investment of time, energy and money in their culture and their people. What conversations are you having around belonging and inclusion, and how can you make them more impactful?

About Vanessa:
Vanessa Belleau is the Director & Founder of High Fifteen Ltd. She has over 16 years of experience in various industries (Fashion, Beauty, FMCG and Services). She contributes positively to the world by delivering Diversity, Equity, Inclusion + Belonging Consultancy & Training, Executive Coaching and Inclusive Marketing & Brand Consultancy. She has worked with over 80 brands to date, and she loves it! From start-ups to big names to charities, she is very committed to empowering people to do better and think in a more inclusive manner.

About your hosts:
Janine Jacobs and Louisa Mourdant co-founded Happy HQ, a people-first company culture specialist. In a world where culture is central to company success, HappyHQ helps guide companies along the way. We have dissected culture into 8 key areas and 70 topics. From workshops and culture mapping to policy writing and change implementation, we can help across it all. 

Find us here:
Website: https://happyhq.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happyhq_uk
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happyhq/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappyHQ.UK/ 

In this week’s episode of the podcast, I'm delighted to interview Katy Murray, author of the book Change-Makers – a woman’s guide to stepping up without burning out at work.   

We talk about: 

• The normalisation of busyness, work addiction, and the sacrifices we make 
• The impact of overworking, overscheduling, and over functioning  
• How micro-breaks can support our productivity  
• How we can start to make a change to purposeful productivity 
• The role workplace culture plays in creating opportunities for everyone to thrive 

Since reading Katy’s book, it's clear that whether you’re a change-maker, an individual, or a company,  overwork and burnout is a real problem that impacts most of what we do. Hearing the benefits of being more purposeful and changing the culture surrounding toxic productivity can have so many benefits for your employees and the organisation as a whole. I wonder what stood out for you most from today’s episode and what conversations it will start within your organisation?

About Katy:

Katy Murray is a leadership coach, equity and inclusion facilitator, author and speaker. She’s the founder of culture and leadership consultancy Catalyst Collective, recently named one of UK’s top 50 DEI leaders and her first book Change Makers a Woman’s Guide to Stepping Up without Burning Out is published by Kogan Page. Her writing is featured in Psychologies Magazine, Chartered Management Institute, HR Europe, Grazia, Metro and I News. 

Buy Katy’s book Change Makers and there’s currently a 30% discount code at Kogan Page here

Download FreeBonuses (including thriving visualisation and affirmations) here 

Join the waitlist for Katy’s next Change makers programme here

Winter Reset online retreat is here 

Connect with Katy on Linked In and Instagram 

About your hosts:

Janine Jacobs and Louisa Mourdant co-founded Happy HQ, a people-first company culture specialist. In a world where culture is central to company success, HappyHQ helps guide companies along the way. We have dissected culture into 8 key areas and 70 topics. From workshops and culture mapping to policy writing and change implementation, we can help across it all.

Find us here:

Website: https://happyhq.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happyhq_uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happyhq/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappyHQ.UK/

In this week’s episode of the podcast, we’re delighted to interview Sallee Poinsette-Nash, one of the UK’s leading people-brand strategists and founder of Brandable & Co, all about personal branding and professionalism in the workplace. 

To show a human side, the benefits of personal and employer branding are undeniable on a personal and company level, but for one reason or another, not everyone is on board, whether that's down to confusion around professionalism, personal fear, or lack of strategy.

We talk about:    

• What is a human brand  
• The importance of showing up in a more human way  
• How people can benefit from re-accessing their relationship with professionalism when it comes to personal branding  
• How professionalism is closely linked to self-awareness 
• Why companies could benefit from communicating their expectations around professionalism  
• Tips and techniques for unlocking and creating a memorable personal brand  

Sallee takes a refreshing approach towards professionalism at work. its evolution and the impact it has on creating human brands and showing up as ourselves at work. She shares her insights, wisdom, and expertise in how to create a personal brand for the benefit of yourself and your company. We’d love to know whether you’ve found this episode useful for re-thinking professionalism for the benefit of your company or your own personal brand?

About Sallee:
Sallee Poinsette-Nash, Founder of Brandable & Co. is one of the UK’s leading people-brand strategists and on a mission to make the world of work more human. She founded Brandable & Co. in 2018 - an award-winning agency specialising in personal, career, and leadership brand development for individuals and some of the world’s leading organisations. Sallee has worked with BBC Dragons, Big 4 firms, and prominent startups, as well as having delivered interim CEO, COO and Advisory Board roles. As an introvert who loves people, Sallee lives between London and Cornwall where she enjoys downtime by the coast with her husband
and rescue dog, Poppet!

Connect via LinkedIn

About your hosts:
Janine Jacobs and Louisa Mourdant co-founded Happy HQ, a people-first company
culture specialist. In a world where culture is central to company success, HappyHQ
helps guide companies along the way. We have dissected culture into 8 key areas
and 70 topics. From workshops and culture mapping to policy writing and change
implementation, we can help across it all.

Janine Jacobs:
With Director level communications experience, working with global brands, Janine
has worked within and experienced many different countries and cultures. With a
passion for understanding people, in 2017, Janine studied at The School of Positive
Psychology – applying the science behind human flourishing for the benefit of people
and companies. And she hasn’t stopped learning since.

Louisa Mourdant:
Over 10 years of experience working directly with leaders on people, culture and
recruitment strategy. Alongside HHQ, Louisa is also the Founder of I Love My Job, a
scaling B Corp accredited recruitment company bravely doing things differently and
experiencing huge success.

Find us here:
Website: https://happyhq.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happyhq_uk
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happyhq/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappyHQ.UK/

In this week’s episode, I’m honoured to speak with Dr Natalie Parsons, co-founder of Parent Promise, a company that helps businesses support the health and well-being of parents in the workplace. 

We discuss: 

- The current issues parents and expecting parents to face at work 

- What it takes for workplaces to be truly family-friendly by being more inclusive and supportive 

- The experience of black mothers in the maternity system 

- The lack of research on the experience of LGBTQA+ families 

- How the next generation is looking for family-friendly companies 

- The importance of getting parent-friendly policies right 

- What change looks like to create a supportive family-friendly workplace  

There is a growing expectation from employees that workplaces must do more to support them on their parenting journey - beyond just the basic legal requirements. Becoming a parent can be tough and a supportive work environment can make all the difference for both the employer and the employee. This conversation opens up so many areas that companies, candidates, and employees to consider, so I hope there’s something you can take away to support you. 

About Natalie:
Natalie is an ex-research scientist with a PhD in nanoscience. She co-founded Parent Promise in 2022 with Dearbump founder Emma Jarvis to ensure people starting families felt supported and able to thrive in their professional and personal lives. The motivation for doing so was that as a woman in her late 20s I felt, she had to start making preparations so that she'd be able to start a family when she was ready to; that included reassessing her career altogether, which many women do. 

About Parent Promise
Parent Promise helps businesses support the health and well-being of women and parents in the workplace. We offer specialised support from pregnancy through to parental leave and early parenthood. Our ambition is to help women have a healthier, more positive pregnancy and birth experience, and enable them to feel supported and confident in returning to work if they choose. One area we support our pregnant clients is by offering digital support to gain access to practicing midwives who can help with any concerns and offer advice on demand without the need for an appointment. 

Website: https://parentpromise.co.uk/

Resources:
The Motherhood Group and Black Maternal Health Week: https://www.themotherhoodgroup.com/
March for the Mummies by Pregnant than Screwed: https://pregnantthenscrewed.com/event-march-of-the-mummies/
Mother Pukker and Flex Appeal: https://www.motherpukka.co.uk/flex/

About your hosts:
Janine Jacobs and Louisa Mourdant co-founded Happy HQ, a people-first company culture specialist. In a world where culture is central to company success, HappyHQ helps guide companies along the way. We have dissected culture into 8 key areas and 70 topics. From workshops and culture mapping to policy writing and change implementation, we can help across it all. 

Find us here:
Website: https://happyhq.co.uk/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happyhq_uk
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happyhq/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappyHQ.UK/ 

In this episode, we discuss how a simple set of words, known as core values, gives companies and employees direction, increases happiness levels, improves profitability, and unites teams. 

When companies get core values right, they become the foundation that all great company cultures are built on. 

We talk about:

• What are core values?
• Why they’re important
• Where companies often go wrong with core values
• How companies should effectively develop their core values 
• How can you ensure your core values permeate through your company?
• Ways companies use core values to reach their business goals, hire the right people, and create a culture for people to thrive in  

We really want to help you explore if your core values are just words or if they are more meaningful. This is not a one-time exercise to be left on the shelf but a complete approach to bringing your values to life. In this episode, we’ve loved openly sharing how our core values have helped us personally and professionally. We’d love to hear your thoughts on how this episode made you think differently about company values and the role they play.

Resources:

HappyHQ insights, Company values and why they matter

https://happyhq.co.uk/2022/10/04/company-values-matter/

Brene Brown, Operationalisizing your organsazional values 

https://brenebrown.com/operationalizing-your-orgs-values/ 

Airbnb, Don't fuck up the culture by Brian Chesky  

https://medium.com/@bchesky/dont-fuck-up-the-culture-597cde9ee9d4

About your hosts:

Janine Jacobs and Louisa Mourdant co-founded Happy HQ, a people-first company culture specialist. In a world where culture is central to company success, HappyHQ helps guide companies along the way. We have dissected culture into 8 key areas and 70 topics. From workshops and culture mapping to policy writing and change implementation we can help across it all.

Janine Jacobs: 

With Director level communications experience, working with global brands, Janine has worked within and experienced many different countries and cultures. With a passion for understanding people, in 2017, Janine studied at The School of Positive Psychology – applying the science behind human flourishing for the benefit of people and companies. And she hasn’t stopped learning since.

Louisa Mourdant: 

Over 10 years’ experience working directly with leaders on people, culture and recruitment strategy. Alongside HHQ, Louisa is also the Founder of I Love My Job, a scaling B Corp accredited recruitment company bravely doing things differently and experiencing huge success. 

Find us here:

Website: https://happyhq.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happyhq_uk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happyhq/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappyHQ.UK/

A reality check: many people are not laughing as much as they could in the workplace but why? What’s holding them back?  In today’s episode we explore this question, we discuss how to use humour effectively at work, and ways to make laughter an integrated part of your workplace culture.

We discuss:  

• What exactly is laughter?  
• Why people aren’t laughing as much when they work  
• Research carried out about humour and laughter  
• The different types of humour that can be expressed  
• How you can encourage laughter and fun to be part of company culture

We can't wait to share with you this discussion on the reasons why some people hold back from laughter at work. How you can use laughter and fun to strengthen your company culture. Oh, and wait for the end where you can hear Louisa’s amazing jokes.

About your hosts: 
Janine Jacobs and Louisa Mourdant co-founded HappyHQ, the people-first company culture specialists. In a world where culture is central to company success, we're here to guide you along the way. We’ve dissected culture into 8 key areas and 70 topics. From workshops and culture mapping, to policy writing and implementing meaningful culture goals, we can help across it all. 

Janine Jacobs:  
With Director level communications experience, working with global brands, Janine has worked within and experienced many different industries, countries, and cultures. Hugely passionate about understanding people, in 2017, she studied at The School of Positive Psychology while working in Singapore. It was here she realised more workplaces could benefit from creating people-first ways to help people flourish, which together with Louisa, led to the creation of HappyHQ. 

Louisa Mourdant:  
Over 10 years of experience working directly with leaders on people, culture, and recruitment strategy. Alongside HHQ, Louisa is also the Founder of I Love My Job, a scaling B Corp accredited recruitment company bravely doing things differently and experiencing huge success.   

Find us here: 

Website: https://happyhq.co.uk/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happyhq_uk 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happyhq/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappyHQ.UK/ 

In this episode we talk to Hannah Williams, from Salary Transparent Street, who is changing the way we talk about pay and salaries in the world of work. Hannah is creating an online movement to break the taboo about salary transparency and we can’t wait to share this conversation with you. This episode is a powerful discussion about what being open about salaries can achieve for everyone in the workplace and how Hannah’s movement links in with the work we are committed to around company culture. 

We discuss: 

• How Hannah began a content creator in the world of salary transparency 
• Why talking about salary is seen as a taboo subject 
• The resistance to the message about salary transparency 
• The impact trust and equity has on the relationship between employee and employer 
• How we can foster more open discussions in companies about this 

This is such an important discussion and one which HappyHQ is committed to modelling and supporting other organisations with. We would love to hear what you think about the message and tips given in today’s episode. 

About Hannah 

Hannah Williams is a 25-year-old content creator in the Washington, D.C. area tackling a major issue: salary transparency. In 2022, Hannah quit her job as a senior data analyst earning $115,000 to fully devote herself to solving the stigma around these conversations and the lack of transparency at the heart of this issue. With her viral series, Hannah encourages strangers to share what they do and how much they make. She's inspired to combat discriminatory tendencies in employment and close pay gaps that affect women, POC, workers with disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community. 

Find Hannah at: 

Website: https://stan.store/salarytransparentstreet 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/salarytransparentstreet/ 

TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@salarytransparentstreet 

About your hosts: 

Janine Jacobs and Louisa Mourdant co-founded HappyHQ, the people-first company culture specialists. In a world where culture is central to company success, they guide companies with the tools they need to accurately plan culture goals for sustainable growth. From workshops and culture mapping to policy writing and implementing meaningful culture goals, they help across it all. 

Janine Jacobs:  

Janine Jacobs is a people-first culture specialist and co-founder of HappyHQ. Together with her co-founder, Louisa, she guides companies and HR leads with the tools, frameworks, and practical support they need to create people-first cultures. Previously an agency lead and communications strategist, Janine has lived and worked in multiple countries, delivering multi-market campaigns for some of the world's leading brands. Her studies in positive psychology, and experience working with multicultural, global leadership teams, all inform her mission; to change the world of work as we know it. 

Louisa Mourdant:  

Over 10 years of experience working directly with leaders on people, culture, and recruitment strategy. Alongside HHQ, Louisa is also the Founder of I Love My Job, a scaling B Corp accredited recruitment company bravely doing things differently and experiencing huge success.   

 Find us here: 

Website: https://happyhq.co.uk/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happyhq_uk 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happyhq/ 

Facebook:

Welcome to our first Culture Shock episode. We’re so happy to have you here. In this episode you can join us, your co-hosts, to learn more about who we are, what we do and why we do it. Our commitment to supporting company culture will run throughout this podcast, and we can’t wait to challenge our own thinking, and yours,  to help make the workplace better for everyone. 

About your hosts: 

Janine Jacobs and Louisa Mourdant co-founded HappyHQ, the people-first company culture specialists. In a world where culture is central to company success, we're here to guide you along the way. We’ve dissected culture into 8 key areas and 70 topics. From workshops and culture mapping, to policy writing and implementing meaningful culture goals, we can help across it all. 

Janine Jacobs:  

With Director level communications experience, working with global brands, Janine has worked within and experienced many different industries, countries, and cultures. Hugely passionate about understanding people, in 2017, she studied at The School of Positive Psychology while working in Singapore. It was here she realised more workplaces could benefit from creating people-first ways to help people flourish, which together with Louisa, led to the creation of HappyHQ. 

Louisa Mourdant:  

Over 10 years of experience working directly with leaders on people, culture, and recruitment strategy. Alongside HHQ, Louisa is also the Founder of I Love My Job, a scaling B Corp accredited recruitment company bravely doing things differently and experiencing huge success.   

Find us here: 

Website: https://happyhq.co.uk/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happyhq_uk 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/happyhq/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HappyHQ.UK/ 

Welcome to the first episode of Culture Shock where we introduce to you what this podcast is all about.