Work Life by Design

The old metrics of a desk for a person no longer apply. So, as we are all navigating a very new frontier of work, what are the right metrics?

This was the opening question for my panellists as we dove into our discussion on all things work people and place in our second stop on the book launch tour, celebrating the release of my book The Next Workplace in Melbourne.

For this conversation I was joined by Jacqui Whiteman, Chief Operating Officer at Davidson, Kylie Baullo, Managing Director at ADP, Petrina Stewart, People and Inclusion Lead at KPMG and Dan Mottau Global Director Organisation Development and Learning. We explored a range of topics from what is the right approach for organisations to take when thinking about creating a new workplace through to leveraging your workplace as a key asset in your employee experience value proposition through to the role your workplace plays in creating belonging, supporting diversity and inclusivity.

A conversation that had the audience engaged and jumping in with questions, we could have talked for hours!

Each of our panellists sharing their experiences of rethinking work, the workplace and the whole experience of work, this conversation leaves us each with a lot to think about!

This is the second part of our two-part conversation from Melbourne. If you missed the first part, head back and tune into my conversation with Jacqui Whiteman on how the team at COMUNiTI and I worked with Davidson to reimagine their next workplace in both Brisbane and Melbourne.

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The Melbourne launch event celebrating the release of my book The Next Workplace was a treat! This time I was indulged in reminiscing over another of my favourite projects, and a featured Case Study in the book, Davidson, a national workplace performance firm. What's special about this client is that we have worked together on two projects now, Brisbane and Melbourne, and… this was the first time that Jacqui Whiteman, Davidsons COO, and I had met face to face!

Delivering Brisbane in the midst of the pandemic saw us experimenting with all the tech tools to continue to deliver our first-class service to our clients. With Melbourne following shortly after, and with their extended lockdowns, the entire Melbourne project has been delivered virtually.

This was a lovely opportunity for us to connect #IRL over a wine and reminisce, heading back to the very beginning, recalling the initial challenges that Davidson were facing in their space and the impact it was having on their people, their teams and overall business performance. Exploring the inspiration in their corporate values and social pillars, and the solution in the finished design, we then discuss the impact that the space has had and continues to have on their people, their recruitment, the cross-disciplinary collaboration and to their bottom line.

This is Part 1 in a 2-part conversation. Part 2 will follow in next weeks episode as Jacqui and I are joined by Kylie Baullo, Petrina Stewart and Dan Mottau for a panel conversation on all things work, people and place.

Melbourne is our second stop in the festivity's celebration the launch of the book. Having kicked off in Brisbane, we finished in Sydney. All of these conversations are being shared right here on the podcast, so if you've missed the first two episodes from Brisbane, head back and tune into those. All up there will be 6 episodes sharing all of the conversations from the evenings, with so many takeaways on how we can all elevate our experience of work.

LINKS Get your copy of Mel's new Book "The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential"

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To celebrate the release of my book The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential, I hosted a series of events in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney to start a bigger conversation on all things work, people & place. And how we can leverage one of our greatest assets, our Work Place, to elevate our human potential.

Our first event was in Brisbane, hosted by Hall Chadwick, a past client of COMUNiTI.

In Part 1 of our conversation, shared with you in the last episode, Director Rob Sendall and I were interviewed by Nadia Taylor, CEO of Mapien, another past clients of COMUNiTI, were we reflected on "Unearthing a Brand Story; How Hall Chadwick went back to its roots to redefine the Employee Experience".

Today in Part 2 of our Brisbane Launch conversation, Rob, Nadia and I are joined by Kate Hill, Corporate Real Estate at APA and Jessica Sharpe, Chief People Officer at Entain Aust, as we dive into a lively conversation.

Through this conversation we discuss the role of the employee experience in our workplace and how brand experience shows up and the purpose of the workplace and how this supports their organisations to perform. We close out our conversation with an emotive conversation on the controversial 4-day work week, the opportunities and challenges whilst also taking a look at what flexibility can look like in varying service and product-based industries.

LINKS Get your copy of Mel's new Book "The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential"

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To celebrate the release of my book The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential, I hosted a series of events in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney to start a bigger conversation on all things work, people & place. And how we can leverage one of our greatest assets our Work Place, to elevate our human potential.

Our first event was in Brisbane, hosted by Hall Chadwick, a past client of COMUNiTI. To kick off the conversations I invited Director Rob Sendall to join me as we were interviewed by another of my former clients at COMUNiTI, Nadia Taylor, CEO of Mapien.

Together we reflected on the journey we embarked on almost 6 years ago and the continued impact that the workplace has had on their business since. "Unearthing a Brand Story; How Hall Chadwick went back to its roots to redefine the Employee Experience"

This is the first part, in a two-part series from the evening. In Part 2, I'll be sharing with you the panel conversation that followed, where we are joined by Jessica Sharpe, Chief People Officer at Entain and Kate Hill, Corporate Real Estate at APA.

You can see more of the Hall Chadwick Project below;

Case Study | Video

LINKS Get your copy of Mel's new Book "The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential"

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Creating employee incentive programs and wellbeing initiatives have been known to take a "scattergun approach" offering the infamous fruit box or step count challenge or even prove to be nothing more than lip service beyond a company announcement.

However, to embed programs that make real transformative change to an organisation, the business first needs to understand their people and what would make the greatest impact on them and in return the organisation.

And that's exactly how today's guest has approached the implementation of such successful initiatives in their organisation.

Nicole Karagiannis is the Chief People Officer at Harrison.ai. With over 15 year's experience in the Human Resources sector. Forging her career at Westpac prior to working in the fintech, health and disability sector, Nicole combines her experience and deep passion of care with the future focus of technology, to lead the Talent, Business Partners, Learning and Development, and IT professionals who enable harrison.ai to grow meaningfully, whilst fostering a culture of innovation and inclusion.

Harrison.ai is a health-tech scale-up dedicated to impacting millions of lives a day through comprehensive AI solutions as medical devices. The company operates two joint ventures: annalise.ai and franklin.ai. In her current role at harrison.ai, Nicole led the design of the organisation's innovative "Becoming a parent" program which provides support for employees and their partners through early pregnancy loss and miscarriage.

In today's conversation we explore Harrison.ai's 6 pillar wellbeing program and how the pillar of Social Connection has impacted the design of their remote first workplace plus how Nicole came to develop the Becoming a Parent Program, the catalyst for the program, and how she developed a business case for the program that even got the CFO on board.

If you are business leader looking to push the boundaries of employee experience and to innovate new ways to become an employer of choice, or an employee considering the next phase of your life in starting a family, this episode will inspire you to think bigger about how your workplace can make a meaningful and intentional difference in the lives of your people.

LINKS Get your copy of Mel's new Book "The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential"

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Businesses often miss a HUGE opportunity when they start designing their next workplace. Often jumping in and trying to solve the immediate problem, they either start scribbling on floor plans or heading straight to market to see what the best leasing deal is. And while both activities are part of the process, they are not where organisations should start. This approach will leave your business with a short-term fix, rather than looking at the long-term view of the horizon.

The first chapter of my book The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential, and the first pillar in my Workplace Dynamics Blueprint, is Reimagining the Future of Work. And for good reason.

This is the first step that so many businesses miss, leaving them with a workplace that they begin to quickly outgrow or is no longer fit for purpose.

So. in today's episode I'm sharing the three key things that all businesses should do BEFORE they embark on this exciting adventure to creating the next workplace, and how you can maximise this opportunity that you are likely to only get every 10 or more years.

LINKS Get your copy of Mel's new Book "The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential"

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Introducing plants into our indoor environments can have an incredible impact on health, wellbeing and general disposition. Biophilic Design has been gaining traction in the design industry for several years now, and if you're not familiar with this term, its essentially describing the innate human connection that we have with our natural world. And in relation to our indoor environments, it is, in essence bringing the outside in.

Which is the perfect segway to introduce today's guest, Ryan McQuerry of Auckland based interior plantscape firm, Outside In. As budding entrepreneur and lover of horticulture and nature, Ryan co-founded Outside In, in 2014.

Ryan and his team have been creating some incredible indoor plantscapes, describing the physical, emotional and profitable impact of introducing plants into our city workplaces, against the ability for us to access nature in our dense, built environments.

One of these projects is for litigation firm Meredith Connell in the heart of Auckland's CBD. Inspired by the stress reducing, calm inducing great walks of New Zealand, Meredith Connell's CEO wanted to recreate this immersive experience in their CBD office, for all their employees. Incorporating a custom designed Forest Floor and temperature-controlled forest terrarium, spanning 2 floors and 1,400sqm, this project is an incredible example of what is possible.

Ryan shares with us the inspiration for the project, the technical aspects of the install along with the observed and reported impact that the space has had on their employees.

The first of its kind, this project is sure not to be the last to embrace immersive interior plantscapes.

LINKS Get your copy of Mel's new Book "The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential"

Connect with the Outside In;

Website | Email | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Meredith Connell Workplace

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"So, who are you working for?"

Working with clients to support them in the early phases of working out what their next workplace is going to look like, how it will work and more importantly how it will enable their people to work, requires me to start conversations that invite teams and employees to share their views on their ideal future workplace.

One of the questions that I get asked frequently at the outset of this process is, "So who are you working for?" The concern that many leaders have is, that if I'm asking their people what they want, that they are then somehow expected to deliver on those requests and expectations. That their vision for the business and the fact that they are paying the bill is disregarded.

The truth is very different.

Our role is to lead change. To first support the business leaders to work out where they want to be and then to guide their people there.

And along the way there will be some who believe that it "cannot be done", and our role is to uncover the real reason beneath the tabled concerns and find solutions that work for their people and the business. Essentially calling bullsh*t and supporting another way.

So if you are a leader looking for support to lead a new way in your workplace, know that first and foremost we are working for you, but we will ensure that we bring your people on that journey with you.

LINKS Get your copy of Mel's new Book "The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential"

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Let me know if any of these resonate for you… are you feeling overwhelmed, under the pump, stressed, completely time poor and like there aren't enough hours in the day, which is leaving you totally exhausted and easily distracted...?

Sounding familiar? Well, you are not alone.

My guest today Dr Kristy Goodwin is here to tell us that thanks to our technology that has pervaded every corner of our lives, we are now living and working in ways that are completely incongruent with our neurobiology.

Dr Kristy has made multiple appearance here on the podcast and with the release of her latest book, Dear Digital, we need to talk, I had to have her back to share with us the impact that our "always on" digital world is having on us both personally and professionally.

Dr Kirsty is an award-winning research and speaker, who is on a mission to promote employee wellbeing and bolster workplace productivity.

As one of Australia's digital wellbeing and productivity experts, she shares practical brain-based hacks to tame tech habits and the latest evidence-based strategies to decode the neurobiology of peak performance in the technological era.

Dr Kristy works with senior business leaders and HR executives across the country's top organisations to support them in promoting employee digital wellbeing and performance.

In today's conversation she's shares with us the research and statistics on how our digital devices are impacting everything from our cortisol and stress levels to our sleep and even how we breathe! But don't worry, she's not going to just tell you all the bad things about our tech or recommend a digital detox, she also shares with us some simple, easy to adopt ways that we can tame our tech using her micro-habits, and implement "digital guardrails".

Whether you are looking for easy ways to steal back your focus or a people and culture leader looking at how your organisation can foster digital boundaries as we navigate new, unchartered flexibility territory, Dr Kristy shares her ideas on how to make this a reality.

LINKS Get your copy of Mel's new Book "The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential"

Connect with the Dr Kristy Goodwin;

Website | LinkedIn | Instagram | Buy Dr Kristy's new Book – Dear Digital

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Creating workplaces that inspire the human potential of those who inhabit them is a deep purpose for me. The opportunity to inspire the leaders of businesses to take that extra step, to create something special and unique for their people and their business, just lights me up.

So, when I first met today's guests, Claire & Sophie from the Serenity Collective back in 2019, it was love at first sight!

These two ladies have brought together their skills in innovation, learning design, change and community building to create the most beautiful community of humans, focused on enhancing the experience of work. The Serenity Collective brings together the kindest, most extraordinary people to catalyse real and lasting change in the world. Working with thousands of professionals every year has given them a unique insight into the "human side' of business. They have witnessed first-hand the decline in physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing in the workplace and the devastating impact this is having at an individual organisation and societal level.

So, they decided to do something about and so the Serenity Collective was born!

Together these ladies have created an incredible community of change champions, inspired to transform work and the workplace so that we all thrive!

Which lead to the creation of the Thriving Workplace Event. This is not a conference, its is truly an event. Bringing together some of the industry's best minds to share their stories, insights and what they have learnt about elevating the experience of work in their business's so that we can all thrive.

So, in today's conversation I've asked them to share why they believe this work is important, how they engage with organisations and what they have learned are the opportunities so that we can all embrace the change and adopt it into our organisations.

They also share the research that they conduct each year and the partners that they collaborate with to expand their reach out into the world, demonstrating the impact that this work can have on our people and our businesses so that we can all create thriving workplaces.

These are two very beautiful ladies and I'm sure that you'll be just as inspired by them as I am, and those in the community they have built.

And let's be honest… who doesn't want to thrive at work?!?

LINKS Get your copy of Mel's new Book "The Next Workplace; Designing Dynamic Environments that Inspire Human Potential"

Connect with the Serenity Collective;

Website | LinkedIn Sophie | LinkedIn Claire | Thriving Workplace Event 2023

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