Work Happy Podcast: Episode 10
Over the course of a fascinating first season of the Work Happy podcast we’ve come to learn so much from some of the biggest national & international brands about how the internal communications landscape has shifted in recent times.
Approaching the season finale, it seems only appropriate to review a selection of the most poignant points from the first 9 episodes, from IKEA’s bible and focus on togetherness, to BT’s incredible radio show and personal approach to flexible working.
If you find some of these insights fascinating and want to learn more, then why not listen back through the series, and subscribe to be the first to know about the next, highly anticipated season as soon as it drops.
This episode covers
- How Yammer has been used to share inspiring stories among global teams
- The personal approaches taken towards picking appropriate channels
- Maintaining culture and togetherness
- Different businesses’ implementation of flexible working
- What it means to Work Happy
Highlights
All about simplicity
“We need to make it as easy and quick as possible to just plug and play with content like Flatpack TV or anything else that we’re doing. So we have email alerts, and screens within the stores where we put the content up as well. We try not to be too precious about it. But for us, it’s all about the simplicity and making it as easy as we can for those who are working so hard in such trying circumstances.”
[Guy Britt – IKEA]
[Guy Britt – IKEA]
Vlogging
“Right at the start of the pandemic, the MD took to vlogging. He’s a dab hand now with his iPhone and some post it notes. And he was doing weekly updates from his home for all colleagues, whether they were working or furloughed.”
[Dawn Robinson – TUI]
[Dawn Robinson – TUI]
Achieving Together
“That is also something that is almost like the base of our culture: how we together can achieve things. It’s not about me, and it’s definitely not about Guy! But it’s about what we can do together, and when we do it together that’s when we actually achieve the biggest impact.”
[Daniela Rogosic – IKEA]
[Daniela Rogosic – IKEA]
Employees at the heart
“How do we make sure that we put the employee at the heart of our communication so that it’s easy, it’s simple, it’s really obvious and it’s all interconnected, rather than expecting them to go from place to place? You wouldn’t as a customer, so why should we expect our employees to be any different with how they consume content and how they access our tools?”
[Jess Lonsdale – Virgin Media]
[Jess Lonsdale – Virgin Media]
Active listening
“Active listening is crucial for the success of any communications campaign, or any change campaigns in the business. You’ve got to be listening to the people who are experts.”
[Kate Goodman – Good Comms Company]
[Kate Goodman – Good Comms Company]
Growing the team
“Our little team are no longer all based around our support centre in Dorset, we’re all over the place, and that shouldn’t actually matter. Actually, we should be able to bring in the people to our organization who are the right people, and not worry about where they’re based.”
[Jess Noble – RNLI]
[Jess Noble – RNLI]
User by User
“I think if we’re speaking in general terms, home working won’t be favoured. I don’t think they’ll be favouring that work-from-home approach for the future. But I think there’ll be taking it on a user by user basis, so actually taking everyone’s personal situation into account.”
[Lauren Tiller – BT]
[Lauren Tiller – BT]
Focusing on Outcomes
“For the organization, I think Work Happy is all about being outcome-based. It’s not about watching the clock and going, ‘Oh, I’ve got 10 minutes to waste, sit here and look busy’. Virtual work means no one’s watching you, so you focus on outcomes.”
[Dawn Robinson – TUI]
[Dawn Robinson – TUI]
Enjoy not Endure
“I read a statistic that more than half of us think that work is something to be endured, and that stress is something to be expected, and that just comes with the job. I think ‘Work Happy’ means the opposite of that.”
[Lauren Tiller – BT]
[Lauren Tiller – BT]
