Spatial Attraction

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Masha Osherova, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Warner Music Group, joins Kursty to discuss how they survived the digital disruption of the music industry and how that experience enabled a quick and resilient response to the pandemic. Throughout the episode Masha discusses the interesting new approaches to work at Warner Music that were born out of the pandemic. 

Tune in to learn: 

• How to nurture a sense of belonging in your employees. 
• How to thrive rather than just survive in the pandemic.
• The difference between creating an equal vs. equitable workplace

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Timestamps

[00:29] Episode overview and who is Masha Osherova? 

[01:59] How is the Warner Music Group (WMG) work environment unique? 

[05:43] How are employees treated at Warner Music Group?

[07:38] How was work from home viewed at Warner Music Group before the pandemic?

[10:10] Thriving in the pandemic rather than just surviving (WMG experience)

[18:00] How did WMG improve team communication and sense of belonging during the pandemic? (Go Contribute Initiative) 

[22:11] Should you keep pandemic workplace initiatives after COVID-19 is over? 

[23:34] What other initiatives were born out of the pandemic at WMG? 

[26:28] 4 key ways COVID-19 is changing the workplace at Warner Music Group. 

[32:35] How do we create more inclusive, equitable, and diverse workplaces post-pandemic? 

4 Key Highlights 

1. Before the pandemic, it was viewed that you have to be physically present at the office to be considered to be working. This has shifted dramatically because of COVID-19. To have mass remote working was unprecedented before COVID-19. WMG held a one day test before going fully remote. 
2. Approaching the challenges of the pandemic with a survival mindset can really limit the heights you can reach. Instead, it is best to strategize for the following challenge: how do I use the restrictions of the pandemic to thrive and improve my company? When crisis strikes, don’t put life on hold - innovate and adapt.
3. The pandemic has created a lasting effect on the workplace. Lots of initiatives that were born out of the pandemic will be kept up and running after the pandemic ends for good. 
4. Creating inclusive, equitable, and diverse workplaces post-pandemic includes having options to work from home and work from the office. Some people thrive by working in solitude; for other people, it is almost like a death sentence. The best way to figure out what to do is to extract data from your workforce and make sense of it to create the best workplace possible. 

Links 

Connect with Masha Osherova: LinkedIn 

Connect with Kursty Groves: LinkedIn | Twitter

Support the show

Support the show

Spatial Attraction is written, produced, and hosted by Kursty Groves.

Original music and sound production by Lee Golledge.

For episodes and updates, visit https://kurstygroves.com/podcast/ - and follow Spatial Attraction on LinkedIn and Instagram.

To suggest a theme or guest, email [email protected].

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Ange Pattico and Susan Stanley join Kursty to discuss why the future of work is not fully remote. Throughout the conversation, they discuss the adverse effects of long-term remote work on people’s mental health, the importance of physical office space, and ways employees can stay connected when working remotely. 

Ange Pattico is Chief People Officer and Susan Stanley is the Head of Space at MVF.  

MVF is an exciting fast-growth business which started off as 5 friends in a basement flat with an ambitious mission to transform how businesses find new customers. Fast forward 10 years and MVF are world leaders in marketing at a global scale and use proprietary tech, data and smart marketing to grow some of the world's most notable blue chips. With over 500 people, operating in over 50 countries across the globe they won the Sunday Times' Best Company to Work for in 2020.

“When you’re in the middle of a pandemic, meeting daily is really essential because things change so quickly” - Ange Pattico 

Tune in to learn: 

• Why the future of work is hybrid; 
• How having a crisis response plan makes your workplace resilient; 
• Why you need a workplace environment manifesto (even if you only work remotely).

Timestamps

[00:33] Episode overview and who are Ange Pattico & Susan Stanley? (How Susan got the title ‘Head of Space’)

[05:44] Why the Head of Space/Facilities should NOT report to the finance department. 

[08:31] How were things before the lockdown at MVF? (Getting a COVID case at work before the lockdown)

[15:40] How did the workspace strategy change once COVID-19 hit?

[18:24] The crisis response triangle built at MVF.

[20:04] Tactics you can use to keep your employees connected when working virtually.

[22:34] Why MVF is not going to be working remotely long term.

[28:30] What COVID workplace changes will stay and which will be discontinued? (the biggest lessons they learnt from COVID) 

4 Key Highlights 

1. How you use space is how you convey wellbeing (or lack thereof) in a building. It also sends a message to employees about how you feel about them. 
2. Creating a response chart for crises can be a great way to give your employees clarity during stressful times. 
3. Pre-recorded videos, live streams, and live Q&As can be useful tools to stay connected during mass remote work periods. 
4. Working remotely (only) long term can be bad for your mental health. According to MVF, the hybrid model would be the healthiest. The effect of physical interaction cannot be replicated online. Oxytocin levels rise when you see people in the same space. 

Links 

Connect with Ange Pattico: LinkedIn 

Connect with Susan Stanley: LinkedIn

Connect with Kursty Groves: LinkedIn | Twitter

Support the show

Spatial Attraction is written, produced, and hosted by Kursty Groves.

Original music and sound production by Lee Golledge.

For episodes and updates, visit https://kurstygroves.com/podcast/ - and follow Spatial Attraction on LinkedIn and Instagram.

To suggest a theme or guest, email [email protected].

Send us Fan Mail

Kate Derrick, Director of Workplace at AstraZeneca, joins Kursty to discuss how AstraZeneca is handling the pandemic in their own workplaces (no, not just in terms of producing the vaccine). 

“People drive culture and to keep it remote it’s really difficult to drive that culture” 
- Kate Derrick

Tune in to learn: 

• The mindset shift that managers have had to make towards flexible working;
• How activity-based working acts as a strong base for what's next in hybrid working;
• How different personalities benefit or struggle with home working.

This episode was recorded just as the UK went into its second lockdown since the COVID crisis hit.

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Timestamps

[00:20] Episode overview and who is Kate Derrick, Director of Workplace at AstraZeneca?

[00:47] Why did they manage to work from home overnight with no problems? 

[01:54] Best practices of working from home at AstraZeneca. 

[06:02] How COVID-19 empowered employees to lead executive management. 

[08:53] AstraZeneca’s crowdsourcing event: gathering opinions about working from home. 

[12:18] Why the press around working from home can be misleading. 

[13:41] How does working from home affect inclusion and equity? 

[16:44] What workplace changes will continue after COVID (and what won't)?

[23:58] How do cultural differences affect responses to the pandemic in the workplace?

[25:00] Why did people WANT to come into the office after remote work? 

[26:43] How did office space at AstraZeneca shift because of the pandemic?

4 Key Highlights 

1. Encouraging flexibility is the future of the workplace. When work from home began, people were excited about it, however the excitement started to wear off once remote working prolonged. The opposite is also true. Therefore, we need to find a solution that encompasses the best of both worlds. 
2. Remote working does not always lead to equitable working environments. Some people live in much smaller spaces than others because of the real estate market in their areas. 
3. Seeing people and collaborating with people face to face are amongst the top reasons people want to return to the office. On the bottom of the list of reasons people want to return to the office is focus. 
4. Remote work added another place to the mix of spaces where work is possible: the home. This does not mean that corporate office space must be reduced. Rather, it compels companies to think: how can I make my space work better for us?

Links 

Connect with Kate Derrick: LinkedIn

Connect with Kursty Groves: LinkedIn | Twitter

Support the show

Support the show

Spatial Attraction is written, produced, and hosted by Kursty Groves.

Original music and sound production by Lee Golledge.

For episodes and updates, visit https://kurstygroves.com/podcast/ - and follow Spatial Attraction on LinkedIn and Instagram.

To suggest a theme or guest, email [email protected].

Send us Fan Mail

 Tracy Hawkins, Vice President of Real Estate & Workplace and Remote Experience at Twitter, joins Kursty to discuss whether offices are dead.

Tune in to learn: 

• If you should reduce your office space post-pandemic; 
• How you can create a workplace culture even if you only work remotely; 
• How to keep people connected even when everyone is working remotely.

Support the show

Timestamps

[00:19] Episode overview and who is Tracy Hawkins?

[03:00] What does it mean to be in charge of remote work experience?

[05:41] How did Twitter support employees to adapt their homes to remote work? 

[09:38] What are the main lessons from dealing with the challenges of the pandemic at Twitter?

[12:26] Is the office dead? 

[16:00] Are the COVID changes in the workplace temporary? 

[19:14] Useful tools for remote work. 

[21:08] How do you build a workplace experience if you are only working remotely? 

[23:35] Will Twitter be reducing its office space?

[27:35] Twitter’s office re-entry plan.

3 Key Highlights 

1. Asynchronous work will likely be part of the future of work. People in the future will be able to work on their own schedules, at times that are convenient to them. 
2. The office is a tool. Therefore, it wouldn’t make sense to kill it or declare it dead. Rather, the way we use the tool (that is the office) will merely shift.
3. Useful tools for remote work include Google Docs and Salesforce. They can also be great for managing health check ins.  

Links 

Connect with Tracy Hawkins: LinkedIn | Twitter | Real Estate and the Workplace Twitter

Connect with Kursty Groves: LinkedIn | Twitter

Support the show

Support the show

Spatial Attraction is written, produced, and hosted by Kursty Groves.

Original music and sound production by Lee Golledge.

For episodes and updates, visit https://kurstygroves.com/podcast/ - and follow Spatial Attraction on LinkedIn and Instagram.

To suggest a theme or guest, email [email protected].

Send us Fan Mail

A podcast that charts the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on workplaces.
Join author, professor and workplace consultant  Kursty Grovesas she gathers stories and learnings from influential organisations as they tackle the question: will the office ever be the same again?

Each episode explores the moments during and post-pandemic when extraordinary people are reimagining and reshaping workplaces to support people through this unprecedented time – from tech giants with extended work-from-home policies, fully-remote businesses to COVID-safe coworking and collaboration hubs. 

Support the show

Support the show

Spatial Attraction is written, produced, and hosted by Kursty Groves.

Original music and sound production by Lee Golledge.

For episodes and updates, visit https://kurstygroves.com/podcast/ - and follow Spatial Attraction on LinkedIn and Instagram.

To suggest a theme or guest, email [email protected].