HR Futures

This podcast explores what the lasting change will be in how organisations will operate post the pandemic. Jim offers his insights on what the People function of the future should focus on to have more impact. We explore measurement and how to empower managers to inspire and engage their people so that they improve productivity and performance. This is a pragmatic yet thoughtful podcast where we explore the views of someone who has been making a difference for many years.

Lara is an innovative HR leader who is working in a fast growing AI consultancy organisation. We explored their approach to people which is open, thoughtful and participative. We talked about how they have used both design thinking and UX as a way to create better people management interventions. This inclusive co creation approach is both new and refreshing it also offers much stimulus for HR leaders to explore. If you want to think about how HR can operate and add value, this is the podcast for you.

In this podcast we explore how Bertie took his people function on an agile journey.

We explore the rationale, the difficulty in making it happen and the significant business benefits of introducing this approach. We also explore how Collinson responded to the pandemic what they learnt about their people and what they are going to introduce as a response. How to use data and evidence to drive people decisions. This is a cracking podcast full of warmth and innovation from a people leader making a difference.

This podcast explores how Rakesh created and led a talent driven strategy aimed at attracting and retaining business critical capability. Kevin & Rakesh talk about how they partner with the business to bring about change and to add value. They talk people data and analytics and why this is so important in a talent rich business. This is a podcast that which will be useful for those HR leaders seeking to make more impact.

Lesley has wonderfully diverse industry experience across fashion, food and ferries! 

As usual, Kevin and Lesley talk about what is important in HR - "Talk the language of the business" - and how HR needs to change and add more value. However, Lesley also talks honestly about the challenging impact of Covid-19 on P&O, and sadly the consultation process that she has been part of to ensure the survival of the business and save as many jobs as possible. Her direct experience is well worth a listen for any HR people going through tough job reduction processes in this difficult business environment. 

This week Kevin talks to Daniel Kasmir, Chief People and Procurement Officer at TalkTalk.  Daniel has the unusual dual role of looking after the People and Procurement departments but actually results so far in this new role show that there is good alignment between the two. 

Kevin and Daniel get into what makes a successful HR function, "You need to determine the HR agenda based on the business objectives", and customer priorities and costs are good places to start.

Daniel gives some insight into how TalkTalk have dealt with the Covid Crisis, which he started thinking about in January. "We spent lots of time in the early days repurposing people", Daniel says, "it was quite exciting!". Now the challenge is deciding on how to act differently going forwards. Listen in to find out his and Kevin's thoughts. 

This week Lisa Robbins, HRD EMEA at Starbucks lifts the lid on Starbucks' HR challenges and her career to date. 

Lisa and Kevin talk about the value of Lisa's cross-functional experience and how it has helped in her various roles. They also look at the thought process to decide on the priorities for a business - "clarity on where the business wants to go and clarity on how the people function can help" is the first step. 

Recorded during the recovery from Coronavirus, Lisa also covers how Starbucks has navigated crisis and started to look forwards. 

In this Episode, Gethin Nadin talks to John Amaechi about how the learnings from Covid19 and the current anti-racism sentiment converge in how we think about the workplace of the future.

From Wellbeing initiatives and how we deal with stress at work, to what John thinks about 'the New Normal', Leaders of the future and what being an everyday Jedi really means, there are insights abound.

Mira Magecha, CPO at Just Eat is this week's guest on the HR Futures podcast with Kevin Green. As a previous consultant, Mira is used to coming up with solutions fast and has demonstrated such in the context of the Coronavirus disruption that we are going through. "With a small group we set up a BCP team and within 2 days we had a plan". Listen in for her innovative but very practical tips (around 15 mins in) that have helped Just Eat and their stakeholders navigate this current crisis.

In a bonus episode during season 3, Kevin Green sits down with Andrew Perkins, Global Director Kaplan Performance Academy. They discuss the importance of technical competence and behavioural confidence in the context of Kaplan's newly launched product line up that brings together learning, coaching and assessment. 

This week, Kevin talks to Melanie Steel, former People Director to the Cabinet Office and RSA, now the owner of her own people change and transformation consultancy - People Change Expertise.  Melanie talks about loving being a serial Interim so that she has the freedom to challenge and question. "You're one step removed and looking in". 

In part two, Kevin and Melanie discuss how to prioritise what to include in an HR strategy and what to omit.  "Start with the business context" says Melanie, "I would love for HR to be more integrated into the business - there is still a lot of them and us". Listen in for tips from someone who has influenced many top companies devise theirs. 

As with other episodes in this series, we recorded during the Coronavirus disruption. Melanie talks about how her current client, Arup have dealt with the crisis - "within a week we were making big decisions effecting the company's future remotely" and the importance of scenario planning in strategic HR at the moment.

This episode was recorded during the Coronavirus lockdown and Valerie and Kevin spend time addressing the challenges that it has brought to organisations, like the difficulties of remote working for teams - "it's a huge behavioural and educational piece for line managers". However, when done correctly, Kevin points out that 80% of remote workers feel more engaged. Listen in for their tips. 

Like all of the HRDs Kevin interviews, Valerie has many stories and much experience to share, like the real story behind the media headlines of working on the G4S Olympics project for 2012. 

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This week Kevin sits down with Sarah Mason, Chief People Officer at Foxtons. Sarah's career has taken so many twists and turns, starting in sales and moving into the people space via recruitment and further study.

Aside from her career journey, Kevin and Sarah discuss the importance of good line manager coaching and measurable outcomes. The latter being a topic very close to Kevin's heart and a practice that Sarah has put to successful use in many roles. "Commercial, measurable outcomes, linked to practices that you have done is always a proud moment for me." 

Unusually for an HR leader, Quintin has studied twice in his career, deciding to spend 7 years studying Change Management for a doctorate in Business Administration in the middle of his career. "It was the only way to step change - reading another book or doing another short course wouldn't have been enough". The end product was a deep understanding of the importance of practice to change habits within the culture change process, not just change communication. Listen in to hear his academic learnings and practical understanding from his own experience of applying  those to his organisations. 

Simon Linares, ex HRD at Direct Line Group has international experience across several sectors including FMCG, telecommunications, and insurance. In this episode, his and Kevin's conversation covers his passion for mentoring people, the difference between change and transformation, and HR's position on the board. 

Simon's career started in sales and talks to Kevin about the transition to HR generalist - in short "it wasn't easy". In discussing his career Simon talks about reinventing himself, "you get the best out of me in the first 5 years of the job", and his latest reinvention as a non-exec, which is a journey that he is just starting. 

Debbie Moore, HRD GLH Hotels and host, Kevin Green
A serial HRD in the Hospitality and Retail markets talks about HRs role in bringing about change and transformation. She explains the labour market challenges at GLH Hotels and how her team are responding.

Angela O’Connor, Founder and CEO of HR Lounge and host, Kevin Green
A three time HR Director of the year tells her story about what great public sector HR looks like. We also explore the power of coaching to bring about individual and organisational change.

Jason Fowler VP & HRD of UK & Northern Europe, Fujitsu
Jason is recognised as a highly effective HRD in the technology market. He explains his people strategy for Fujitsu and how he is bringing about lasting change. We also talk about the huge potential data has within the HR function in the decade ahead.

Jacky Simmonds, Chief People Officer at Veon PLC
Jacky, a well know HR leader, talks about her experiences of being an HRD in the Travel, Airlines and Telecoms industries. Kevin and Jacky also explore the future of HR and what makes a great people strategy.

Kevin sits down with Shakil Butt, an HR Hall of Famer, Non-Exec Director at the CIPD, and founder of HR Hero for Hire. Shakil talks about what he loves about working in HR, his experience of being an HRD and why he has now decided to 'go out on his own' as a consultant. Shakil also reaches into his experience at IR Worldwide to discuss how do you get diversity and inclusion into the DNA of an organisation and reveals his best development tip - reaching out to other HRDs and openly stealing their good ideas.

We explore the role that HR plays in different types of organisations and what Craig thinks is critical to succeed in each. We also reflect on his time as a interim HRD the good, the bad and the fun!

Melanie is the recently appointed HRD at Adecco. We talk about what drove her movement from a specialist Resourcing role to that of a HR generalist. Melaine talks how this new phase in her career is providing more opportunities to make a difference.

In our series opener, Kevin sits down with Karen Beaven, an award winning HRD while she was at River Island and recently a best selling author. We explore her portfolio career and how she is keeping things interesting with different ventures. She’s an inspiration to many - this podcast is well worth a listen.

Julie Is widely recognised as a highly effective HRD having previously worked at Bunzl and prior to that Wincanton Plc. In this podcast we explore what HR should focus on and why? We talk how to develop great HR leaders of the future and we talk about Julie's passion for sport. This is a great podcast for all aspiring HR practitioners.

Neil is one of the most recognised HR leaders operating in the U.K. today. His blog Change Effect gets thousands of views because Neil says it as he sees it! This podcast gave us the chance to probe Neil’s thinking about what is great HR and why do we keep getting it wrong. Neil also talks knowledgeably about the different focus of HR in retail, publishing and utilities. Listen in this won’t be dull.

Tom joined only joined Bupa in mid 2018 but he’s already making a big impact. We talk about his experience of leading Transformation change during his time at Talk Talk and some of the lessons he’s learned. We also explore his view of what HR needs to do differently to have more impact. It’s a cracking podcast with an HRD you’re going to hear much more about.

This week Kevin interviews Raj Verma, Global SVP of HR at Sodexo, who talks about why he got into HR after studying law, and the tough challenges that he has faced through his career. Raj has so much experience to talk about (in our longest pod yet!); helping different cultures to work together, what's important in the workplace, connecting different locations, employee experience, and his views on the future of HR.

The third episode of The HR Futures podcast features Kathryn Pritchard, who at the time of recording was the Chief People and Strategy Officer at the Odeon Group. She is now the Group HR Director at Nord Anglia, a global education business.

In this podcast we discuss the huge impact that HR can have by using business and customer measures. Kathryn also talks about the importance of OD and how great HR people need well developed Consultancy skills.

In the second episode of The HR Futures podcast, we sit down with Sue Swanborough, HR Director at Whitworths, the fast growing specialist food business. Prior to this she was an HR Director at General Mills, one of the world's largest food companies.

This fast-moving podcast focuses on culture change and the role that HR can play in making this more successful. Sue also shares some hints and tips about how to succeed in HR and we explore the challenge the profession faces in the next decade.

The   first episode of The HR Futures Podcast features Ralph Tribe, Chief People Officer at Ascential Plc (a FTSE 250 media and data company), and  formerly HR director at Sky Plc and Getty Images.    In this   podcast we explore HR's use of data and how it needs to evolve, to become   more evidence focused.    We also   get under the skin of Ralph’s view on how HR can make more of a difference.   This podcast is informative yet entertaining.