How HR Leaders Change the World – Details, episodes & analysis

Reflecting on the pause provided by the pandemic, Gena discusses that people are considering how they want to work and who they want to work for, how this is driving employee relationships, a shift in the business environment to co-creating work, and the resulting opportunity for higher employee engagement. 

Gena shares her pride in LVMH’s DE&I work and describes her vision for DE&I becoming embedded across all colleagues’ responsibilities. Discussing compassion and empathy, Gena shares the opportunities LVMH takes to harness its brand voice, and calls on you to lead with compassion through your daily work.

How HR Leaders Change the World - Live! 13 November 2024

Our sell out conference is back! In London and on Live Stream.

The role of HR in ESG and Sustainability is rising up the agenda. 

What brilliant opportunities ahead for you and your teams to create even more business value and positive change.

And so, if you’d like to build your influence and impact, if you’d like to spend a day with pioneering CHROs and fellow HR Changemakers, come and join us!

You’ll leave with knowledge and actionable ideas that you can implement too, and, for even more inspiration – we’re so excited to share this - our keynote this year is acclaimed Swazi-British actor, Richard E Grant. Speaking on the topic, 'From global perspectives to daily to do lists'… we can’t wait…  

Check out the inspiring agenda and click here to secure your place today: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-hr-leaders-change-the-world-live-2024-tickets, we can't wait to see you there! 

👥 Join the free How HR Leaders Change the World community: https://frombabieswithlove.org/pages/hrchangemakers

Follow us on Linkedin: @FromBabieswithLove

Noting the impact of connections between personal experience and being fearless in business leadership, Thomas advocates for the importance of commercially understanding a business model in order to drive change, and discusses ways you can start a bold change initiative using commercial data. 

Commenting that to sell to the world you must understand the world, Thomas shares thoughts on customers, investors and ESG, the role of HR in shareholder discussions and his approach to learning about societal trends and markets. And with a wonderful call to action, Thomas calls on you to stand up, and challenge! 

How HR Leaders Change the World - Live! 13 November 2024

Our sell out conference is back! In London and on Live Stream.

The role of HR in ESG and Sustainability is rising up the agenda. 

What brilliant opportunities ahead for you and your teams to create even more business value and positive change.

And so, if you’d like to build your influence and impact, if you’d like to spend a day with pioneering CHROs and fellow HR Changemakers, come and join us!

You’ll leave with knowledge and actionable ideas that you can implement too, and, for even more inspiration – we’re so excited to share this - our keynote this year is acclaimed Swazi-British actor, Richard E Grant. Speaking on the topic, 'From global perspectives to daily to do lists'… we can’t wait…  

Check out the inspiring agenda and click here to secure your place today: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/how-hr-leaders-change-the-world-live-2024-tickets, we can't wait to see you there! 

👥 Join the free How HR Leaders Change the World community: https://frombabieswithlove.org/pages/hrchangemakers

Follow us on Linkedin: @FromBabieswithLove

Nikki shares the sense of personal fulfilment that being a People Director provides her and discusses how, alongside ground-breaking initiatives such as a gender-neutral uniform, enabling change for individuals creates powerful positive impact. 

Discussing trust in the workplace, Nikki summarises the impact for policies and business performance in shifting to culture based on the assumption that people want to do good work. 

Excited for the future of both technology and human experience, Nikki shares thoughts on people-centred leadership, summarising the work that leaders at Virgin put into being a purposeful business, and provides examples of the ways policies and business practices can drive change. 

Referenced Resources:

👉 Your free 2024 Guide: Cutting Edge Family Friendly policy and practice 

Did you know, our research showed that only 15% of people feel company support for working parents has kept up to date with society.

This episode is brought to you by From Babies with Love. We believe that every child should be safe, loved and learning, and donate 100% of our profits to orphaned and abandoned children around the world. 

We provide our flagship parental leave gift service to hundreds of global HR functions, helping them connect with colleagues across parental leave and in returning to work, contributing to engagement and retention objectives, and so too gender balance goals.

It’s the story of how your parental leave gifts, celebrating and appreciating your colleagues, and at the same time empowering vulnerable children, that creates such poignant employee engagement. Such enhanced value compared to a bunch of flowers! Or any other gift that doesn’t have the Sustainable Development Goals at its heart. 

We transform often existing, ad-hoc spend in to a strategic, consistent and inclusive tool in your Working Parents strategy. 

In doing this work, across our clients we see many other strategies and tools that provide exceptional employee experience across family planning and care, and we’re delighted to share that knowledge with you, in our new 2024 guide, Cutting Edge Family Friendly policy and practice.

As well as data and latest examples across 5 key themes in family friendly workplaces, from gender inclusive policy to grandparents at work, you’ll enjoy exclusive behind the scenes features from M&G plc, Standard Chartered and The LEGO Group. 

Save time in preparing your business cases and learn from others across industries: Download your free Guide here! Make an impact, at a defining moment.

Topics in this episode: 

•         Personal fulfilment as a People Director
•         The impact of gender-neutral uniforms
•         Trust, choice and business results
•         The best of both: technology and human experience
•         Purpose and leadership
•         Closing the gender gap, in business and societally
•         Neurodiversity
•         Leaving the ladder the down

👥 Join the free How HR Leaders Change the World community: https://frombabieswithlove.org/pages/hrchangemakers

Follow us on Linkedin: @FromBabieswithLove

Describing her work to help colleagues break down and understand Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Chasity shares her approach to get from theory to steps we can take each day.

Noting changes across generations, Chasity provides thoughts on human nature at work and changing how we view talent, as well as her work to drive equity through access to employment.

Sharing how breaking down barriers and eliminating biases stems from building relationships, Chasity advocates relationship work is one of the best ways to build equity and inclusion and calls on us to be courageous in speaking up for diverse populations and challenging bad behaviour.

Here’s a snapshot of a few things we talked about:

[4:30] Translating DE&I into actionable steps we can all take

[8:00]  Building relationships in safe spaces across generations

[12:00] Changing traditional views of talent

[16:00] Helping create equity inside and outside of work

[21:00] Challenging people to do the work

[26:00] The Diverse Attorney Pipeline programme

[29:00] Being courageous

Referenced resources

Cutting Edge Parental & Family Leave Policy and Practice

The Diverse Attorney Pipeline Programme

“I love How HR Leaders Change the World” – if that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing our show! This helps us achieve our goal, to reach more of your peers, so we can all contribute to further and faster change. Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review”. Be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. We’ll add a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Follow How HR Leaders Change the World today! 

Danny discusses the opportunities and risks arising from changes in work that have been fast forwarded due to the pandemic. From inclusion to technology and rewarding work, Danny describes her approach at Aviva.

Danny advocates that creating an inclusive environment is a culmination of small, daily activities, akin to getting fit or being healthy, and shares examples of cost-free steps everyone can take, including why allies are so impactful.

Asking everyone in HR to start collecting data on hybrid working, Danny calls on the HR profession to use this data to show models of working that are best for both business and people.

Here’s a snapshot of a few things we talked about:

[3:00] Responding to the pandemic

[4:40] Creating careers and opportunities

[6:30] The future of work – opportunities and risks

[12:00] The future of work – technology

[15:50] Inclusion – how organisations change society

[19:20] D&I – no silver bullet, keep going every day

[23:55] Capturing data on hybrid working 

Referenced resources

Cutting Edge Parental & Family Leave Policy and Practice

“I love How HR Leaders Change the World” – if that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing our show! This helps us achieve our goal, to reach more of your peers, so we can all contribute to further and faster change. Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review”. Be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. We’ll add a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Follow How HR Leaders Change the World today! 

Ahead of World Wellbeing Week starting on 27 June, in this special episode we hear from Rachel Vecht who shares her decades of experience helping companies to support their colleagues’ wellbeing.

Discussing strategies for strong relationships, from parent-child to colleague-colleague, Rachel provides practical examples we can all use day to day, (I loved the magic ratio of 5:1!) as well as underlying principles that inform her approach.

Discussing the impact of how the pandemic has ‘humanised’ businesses, Rachel calls on us to keep the momentum in the seismic changes taking place in the workplace.

Hear Rachel’s fantastic examples and simple suggestions you can implement at work and at home, including approaches you could launch during this year’s Wellbeing Week.

Here’s a snapshot of a few things we talked about:

[3.00]  Strategies for strong relationships

[5:40] Examples of practical steps you can take

[8:25] A seismic acceleration of change in the workplace

[11:35] Gender balance and addressing societal bias

[15:24] Examples of projects that deliver inclusion

[18:44] Opening doors of communication  

[21:20] Authentic and normalised communication

Referenced resources

Cutting Edge Parental & Family Leave Policy and Practice

“I love How HR Leaders Change the World” – if that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing our show! This helps us achieve our goal, to reach more of your peers, so we can all contribute to further and faster change. Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review”. Be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Tripti shares her passion for the role of HR in delivering Novartis’ purpose, to reimagine medicine. Discussing the role of individuals in organisational transformation, Tripti talks about shaping leadership and talent in a way that brings culture to life. Discussing her work to make career opportunities more transparent, Tripti provides an example of a pilot mentoring programme that is more agile, encourages a mindset change and empowers talent.

Advocating that the best way to drive Diversity, Equity & Inclusion is to ‘listen to learn’, Tripti describes the approach of giving leaders the tools to listen, as listening is perhaps one of the most presumed skills, and how this approach creates transformation.

Here’s a snapshot of a few things we talked about:

[3:50] HR for the work of reimagining medicine  

[5:40] A different look at transformation – personal change

[7:29] Shaping leadership and talent to bring a culture to life

[12:45] Making career opportunities more transparent

[16:30] DE&I must be reflected in a business’ work and how listening to learn drives DE&I

[25:00] Using individual superpowers and a learning approach to achieve collective success

Referenced resources

Cutting Edge Parental & Family Leave Policy and Practice

“I love How HR Leaders Change the World” – if that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing our show! This helps us achieve our goal, to reach more of your peers, so we can all contribute to further and faster change. Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review”. Be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. We’ll add a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Follow How HR Leaders Change the World today! 

In this special episode we hear from colleagues Ulf Bengtsson and Hortense Thorpe on their experience of changing workplace culture and support for colleague fertility.

Describing their personal and professional journeys, Ulf and Hortense share the steps they took to build the support and approach to fertility that Centrica has today, how personal stories became a business case.

Advocating for the power of networks and Employee Resource Groups, Ulf and Hortense call on us to bring our passions to work, and to be curious – to have open minded conversations with colleagues – not for a specific reason – just to chat.

Here’s a snapshot of a few things we talked about:

[3.00] Hortense and Ulf’s personal experience and why they created a Fertility Employee Resource Group

[8.30] Starting with a story and a digital, social network

[11:20] Leadership roles: C-suite buy in

[17:45] 4 elements to creating Fertility support, and starting with passion and openness

[22:15] The power of a network

[29:00] Present the case for what you’re passionate about and being curious

[31:50] Creating change: spend a couple of ours in a network and encourage openness           

Referenced resources

Cutting Edge Parental & Family Leave Policy and Practice

“I love How HR Leaders Change the World” – if that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing our show! This helps us achieve our goal, to reach more of your peers, so we can all contribute to further and faster change. Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review”. Be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. We’ll add a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Follow How HR Leaders Change the World today! 

Describing her belief that business success or failure is underpinned by culture, Alex shares a wonderful litmus test we can use when considering company culture: colleagues’ desire to come to work, even if they didn’t get paid.

Alex reflects on the Great Re-evaluation arising from the pandemic, preferring this phrase to the Great Resignation, and noting resignations are happening where a company or a role lacks purpose.

Recommending that we take a holistic approach and raise awareness of issues such as gender equality and mental health, Alex also discusses TFG London’s strategy on flexible working and shares fantastic examples of how HR Leaders create social mobility.

Here’s a snapshot of a few things we talked about:

[3:20] Culture that drives success business

[8:15] The Great Re-evaluation

[12:14] Why flexibility is the future of work

[16:20] How HR Directors create social mobility 

[21:00] Recognising unconscious bias

[27:00] A holistic approach and raising awareness

Referenced resources

• Cutting Edge Parental & Family Leave Policy and Practice

“I love How HR Leaders Change the World” – if that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing our show! This helps us achieve our goal, to reach more of your peers, so we can all contribute to further and faster change. Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review”. Be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. We’ll add a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Follow How HR Leaders Change the World today! 

Mona describes how her role as CHRO helped BMO Financial Group create and bring to life their purpose statement, to Boldly Grow the Good. Mona shares how, in turn, the purpose statement helps design and deliver people strategies.

Mona advocates that HR practitioners build expertise across a broad range of HR areas and discusses HR skill sets that business needs today. Describing her passion for learning, personal growth and opportunity for all, Mona also summarises integrated opportunities that support customers, communities and diverse employees.

Asking you to believe in the huge impact of the HR profession, and in yourself as an agent of change, Mona calls on you to reflect on your own passions and purpose, and how you can connect with like-minded people - because when that happens, enormous things are possible!

Here’s a snapshot of a few things we talked about:

[3:20] Creating and bringing a purpose statement to life  

[9:15] More needs to be done – an exciting future and the role of financial services

[12:40] HR skill sets to achieve BMO’s purpose

[15:00] Building out HR expertise across different areas of HR

[18:30] Learning, personal growth and opportunity for all

[22:20] Advancement of women and the Canadian indigenous community

[26:50] Mindset: believing in the huge impact of HR and yourself as an agent of change.       

Referenced resources

Cutting Edge Parental & Family Leave Policy and Practice

BMO Financial Group purpose statement

Leadership Character Framework from Ivey University

“I love How HR Leaders Change the World” – if that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing our show! This helps us achieve our goal, to reach more of your peers, so we can all contribute to further and faster change. Scroll to the bottom, tap to rate with five stars, and select “Write a Review”. Be sure to let me know what you loved most about the episode!

Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the podcast. We’ll add a bunch of bonus episodes to the feed and, if you’re not following, there’s a good chance you’ll miss out. Follow How HR Leaders Change the World today!