Working With Humans

Entrepreneur Matt Phelan sits down with multi-award-winning diversity and inclusion expert Mo Kanjilal to discuss her book the Inclusion Journey and what is next up on the journey.About Mo KanjilalCo-Creator of multi-award-winning diversity and inclusion company, Watch This Sp_ce. TedX speaker, Non-Exec Director, Trustee, writer, and campaigner for equality. Our book 'The Inclusion Journey' is published by Kogan Page.My experience as an award-winning Vice-President at a global corporation has seen me lead change management, diversity, inclusion and employee engagement programs across a range of sectors. My work includes:- Co-Creator at Watch This Sp_ce helping you with your inclusion journey. Watch This Sp_ce works across sectors, has won many awards and we speak regularly at events. - Non-Exec Director at Here – Care Unbound, a healthcare social enterprise in Sussex leading on communications, diversity and inclusion.- Vice-Chair at The Clock Tower Sanctuary charity, leading on diversity and inclusion

Matt Phelan Co-Founder of The Happiness Index sits down with Anne Burt the head of Employee Engagement at DEFRA to discuss Employee Engagement in the workplace.Matt asks Anne the following questionsWhat makes you happy?Tell us about your careerWhy do employees act the way they do?What factors influence employee engagement scores?How can we foster curiosity in the workplace?How can we shift from reactive "firefighting" to proactive problem-solving?What is the role of leadership in creating a supportive work environment?How can we create an environment where employees feel empowered and free to be human?About Anne BurtWith two decades of experience in change, engagement, communications and continuous improvement, I have a wide range of skills in understanding and reaching audiences. I have designed and implemented award-winning and industry-recognised solutions for hard to reach staff and stakeholders.I have extensive experience of leading, designing, creating and driving business change strategies.My

Workplace Happiness expert Matt Phelan and Global Communications and HR Leader Stephanie Sampiere sit down to discuss the DNA of the workplace culture and how that manifests in a healthy EVP.About Stephanie SampiereAccomplished global communications, people, change and culture strategist who partners with executives to lead employee communications, engagement, experience, culture, talent and change programmes and activities for global organisations. Award-winning leader focused on creating narratives and building and developing the teams, projects and initiatives to engage and excite employees. Steers multiple, concurrent projects and activities within deadlines and on budget. DE&I and inclusive culture champion.Matt asks Stephanie the following questions.1) What makes you happy?2) How can you make room to hear the voices that matter?3) Why do they work here? 4) Where do they want to go?5) How do you build an EVP?6) What is a company's DNA?7) How do you support managers in times of change?

Matt Phelan sits down to discuss with Jo Dodds her career and work with Engage for Success. Jo defines the 4 enablers of Employee Engagement and how you can use them to drive employee engagement.The Four Enablers of Engagement are 1) Strategic Narrative · 2) Organisational Integrity · 3) Engaging Managers · 4) Employee Voice.Matt asks Jo the following questions What makes you happy?Tell us about your career?How do you find a career with purpose ?How did you get involved in engage for success?Can you give us a brief summary of the Engage for success 4 enablers ???What have you learnt about Strategic narrative?How do you Engage managers?Are there any key lessons for listening to voice of the Employee? What is Organisational integrity and why is it important?Jo in her own wordsI'm an employee engagement consultant. I also coach, speak, train, consult and facilitate depending on the need. I am co-Strategy Director for Engage for Success.My key strengths are around communication, individualisation and collecti

About this episodeMatt Phelan and Dr Carrie Goucher discuss the fascinating world of meeting culture, how it evolved, why it is a problem and how we can fix it. About Dr Carrie GoucherDr Carrie Goucher is a leading expert on fixing broken collaboration and helping organisations move faster by rethinking how they meet, decide and execute.With a PhD in Meeting Culture from Cambridge, she coined the term “Collabureaucracy" to describe the invisible friction slowing companies down. As the creator of FewerFasterBolder, Carrie helps global brands, governments, and high-growth teams cut meeting overload, streamline collaboration and drive real progress.You can get a free technique or idea for collaborating faster every Thursday in her FrictionFree newsletter - www.FewerFasterBolder.com/frictionfreeQuestions in this episodeWhat makes you happy Carrie?Why do companies ignore the issue of bad meetings?What is the cost of bad meetings?What is Collabureaucracy? How do we fix the The international time zones and call

Matt Phelan co-founder of The Happiness Index sits down with Richard Reid a Behavioural Psychologist and Psychotherapist to discuss the importance of Psychological Safety in modern leadership.Richard in his own wordsAs a seasoned executive coach, psychologist, and consultant with decades of experience, I am committed to working with senior leaders, entrepreneurs, and public figures in addressing complex problems and taking advantage of strategic opportunities. As an in-demand media spokesperson and keynote speaker, I provide a unique combination of psychological acumen and business insight while supporting organisations in reaching their full potential and prospering in an increasingly fast-changing world.In this episode Matt asks Richard these questions.What makes you Happy?Tell us about your career?What is psychological safety?How can you have an honest supportive environment?How open is an open door?How do you encourage people to speak up?Is vulnerability important?How does feedback and authentic conversat

What if the secret to saving your company £10 million a year isn't a new product or a cost-cutting measure, but simply listening to your people?This week, we're joined by Kevin Green, Chief People Officer at First Bus, the UK's second-largest bus company. As an experienced business and HR leader, and author of the best-selling book Competitive People Strategy, Kevin is uniquely qualified to discuss how HR can drive tangible business transformation.In this episode, Kevin Green explains how HR often gets overcomplicated and why it's vital to measure its impact. He shares a groundbreaking case study from First Bus, revealing how a focus on employee engagement led to a remarkable £10 million in annual savings. Kevin breaks down his approach, providing a clear playbook for HR leaders to secure investment and get their ideas on the executive agenda.He also shares his vision for the future of HR, emphasising a shift from administration to strategic business partnership.

Chief People Officer Chloe Cameron and Matt Phelan discuss the workforce and workplace of the future. Matt asks Chloe the following questions What do you mean by workforce and workplace? What is our relationship with work? 4 generations in the workplace, how will that work? Discuss technology in the workplace and how it will impact work in the future? Is belonging going to be important in the future? How can we use AI to reflect the future society we want and who controls it? Is brilliant culture possible in any organisation? Are people good? is agile HR a real thing? Why do you think cognitive dissonance is such a big threat to culture? How can you raise expectations on what work can be? Can you rant about performance management please? About Chloe An unashamed book nerd who loves working in a digital world, Chloe came to her career in B2B technology via a history degree believing the Internet to be the Guttenberg Press of the 21st Century. Starting out in channel marketing for first Micorosoft and then

Susan Ní Chríodáin the author of Leading Beyond the Numbers joins us to discuss her book and work focused on Integrating Business with Emotions. Susan answers the following questions; What makes you happy? Why did you write Leading Beyond the Numbers? What are the key lessons you want a reader to take away? How can someone listening, go back to their organisation and start to help people see beyond the numbers? In a time where many companies are struggling financially can this book help? Have there been any unexpected consequences of writing the book? Why I Do What I DoI believe that when leaders approach challenges with Curiosity + Courage, they unlock Possibilities often hidden beneath the surface. My mission is to partner with leaders and teams to uncover these possibilities, foster genuine connections, and create workplaces where people and organisations thrive together. By creating space for individual strengths, we build sustainable success that has real impact.What I OfferIn pivotal moments — navig

HR expert Mirela Oana joins the podcast to discuss the impact of AI on the future of work. Mirela answers these questions What makes you happy? Definition of what we mean by AI? Which of the drivers of happiness and engagement will AI be able to help most on, which ones the least  Any practical examples of how businesses can help people feel more safe with the topic of AI e.g. is there concern about AI replacing jobs? What training and enablement do people need? Can AI help me be happier? Is happiness of an AI important? About Mirela HR Director with progressive experience in fast-paced organisations across FMCG, Fintech and Media Technology. I have people management experience in international setting and a track record of building teams that add value by helping organisations to drive their digital transformation and HR strategy execution, facilitating change to unlock operational agility and service transformation.I’m a great believer in the power of technology to reshape HR, driving operation

Patrick Phelan interviews Matthew Phelan on what The Happiness Index has planned for their 2nd Employee Happiness Conference in London, UK.Podcast discountIf you use the code MattP when signing up for this event it will give you a 30% discountYou can sign up herewww.eventbrite.co.uk/e/employee-happiness-annual-conference-tickets-888246929477

Matt P, Matt S and Sharon discuss the previous episode (please scroll back) that was 100% AI generated. Matt shared his observations that:  - The AI consumed over 100 research studies but didn’t reference them all. - This tech could be a really useful learning aid if audio is your preference. For example you could take any document, upload it and listen to it back as a podcast - Apparently one of the most listened to podcasts in retail is now built and read by AI. It’s called something like Retail Economics.  - I think we are entering a world where we need to tag content as including AI. A bit like we do with food ingredients. - I find the AI having a point of view discombobulating. As a listener of podcasts it’s the POV I come for. I want to trust it due to the rich research I’ve fed it but I struggle to trust it. Is this a generational thing? Will future generations laugh at this observation? - The AI image of me fails to capture my receding hairline and increasingly grey hair. - If you want to use the

As an experiment I just fed all the publicly available Employee Happiness research papers focused on Performance from the last 10 years into Google AI. I then used that AI to turn the findings into a podcast. The entire process took 2 mins max. Have a listen and let me know what you think... Scary? Useful? Am I out of a job? Better than my normal episodes?

In this episode we explore Aoife’s career around the world and her path to working to create happier workplaces. Aoife has worked on organisations such as Unilever, Mars, Coca-Cola and Kraft-Heinz. We discuss imposter syndrome, how to create happier work places and why this is important for leading a successful business.

Matt sits down to chat about all things self-esteem and employee engagement with Senior Culture Leader, Business Consultant and Entrepreneur, Anais Nebel!

Matt sits down with Emma Woods, UK Group Head of HR at  Rotala Group Limited to discuss: What makes you happy? How did you get into HR? Any advice for anyone wanting to move sectors? Can you go from being a bus driver to MD? What are your tips for developing managers? Can you be a nice HR person? What is HR excellence? How can HR and recruitment work better together? How do you make a difference in HR? What advice would you give to your younger self?

Matt is joined by Paul Spiers, Founder and Host of The New P&L, as they unpack why next gen leaders are looking for a new P&L and whether happiness belongs in P&L.

Matt sits down to chat to Jules Eustance, Founder of The Corporate Success Co. to discuss career development and leadership develop for retail and e-commerce. Delving into how to create illusive measurement andaccountability, this is not one to miss!

In this episode we see Kashi takeover once again, hosting a Q&A session on the release of 'The Happiness Index - Why Todays Emotions Equal Tomorrows Business Success'. A live Q&A with audience participation, you'll find out how this book came to be and why it's such a useful tool.

Matt is joined by Founder of The World Happiness Summit, Karen Guggenheim to delve into the story behind the 3-day event that sees the world’s leading experts in the science of happiness and wellbeing gather to share practice and tools!