The Handle PEx podcast

Fatherhood at work and fair parental leave, with Elliott Rae

2016 was a pivotal year for Elliott Rae.
After the traumatic events surrounding the birth of his daughter, and an eventual PTSD diagnosis, Elliott Rae set up MusicFootballFatherhood.com, an outlet for dads to have open conversations about the ups and downs of parenthood. Since launching the blog, Elliott has become one of the UK’s most prominent speakers and writers on fatherhood, mental health, equal parenting and gender equality.
We spoke with him about fatherhood at work, mental health, equal parental leave and the gender equity policies that need to be employed to ensure dads, and families as a whole, receive the time they need with their children - without compromising their finances. 
Stay in the loop on people and talent content at: https://www.handle.co.uk/the-people-experience

Why are we so disengaged at work? With Lindsay Kohler

What is it that makes us disengage with our jobs?
We've all heard the scary stats surrounding employee burnout, disengagement, and how quick people are to leave if their needs aren't being met. Whether it's not feeling rewarded for your work, valued properly or being micro-managed to the point of exhaustion - there could be a million reasons why we could feel ready to throw in the towel. 
Lindsay Kohler, however, doesn't think it has to be that simple. Lindsay is a Lead Behavioural Scientist at scarlettabbott and author of Even Better If: Building Better Businesses, Better Leaders, and Better Selves.
We spoke about why it is employees will start to disengage from their roles, the importance of having purpose, and how to improve your experience at your role by being honest about your blockers - or know when to quit. 
Stay in the loop on people and talent content at: https://www.handle.co.uk/the-people-experience

How to make work not suck, with Carina Maggar

Carina Maggar has, by her own admission, had a lot of jobs. 
From MTV host, to voiceover artist, and now author, she’s spent a lot of time in workplaces, and has a lot of thoughts on how we should navigate them.
In 2022, Carina published How to Make Work Not Suck; stories and advice compiled from her own experiences and beyond. 
In the first episode of Series 2, we spoke about what makes her tick at work, what she learned while writing the book, and how HR can prevent workplaces from sucking.
Stay in the loop on people and talent content at:
https://www.handle.co.uk/the-people-experience

Are we in a confidence crisis? With Mikaela Jackson

As we bring the year to a close and prepare for (a hopefully fantastic!) 2023, it's time to look inwards.
That's where Mikaela Jackson comes in very handy. She's an award-winning confidence and career coach, and the founder of coaching collective She Almighty.
In this conversation, Mikaela and I discuss the state of confidence and wellbeing, the impact of the pandemic, the effect these shifts in priority have had on our careers, and how people can truly prioritise themselves in 2023… 📅

Why we’re scared to talk about menopause, with Kate Usher

1 in 4 people consider leaving their job due to menopause symptoms... but 56% of managers and employees are reluctant to talk about it at work. 🤷‍♀️
Last time we talked about this issue, the feedback was enormous. It's clear that this is an issue people care a lot about - so we wanted to dive deeper.
Enter, Kate Usher - a leading menopause and gender consultant who knows a lot about the challenges menopause presents, and the ways companies can help.

The importance of switching off and showing up, with Ryan Hopkins

Ryan Hopkins knows a thing or two about fostering work cultures that attract, and keep, the best talent. 
As Future of Wellbeing Lead at Deloitte, Ryan is looking to move away from what he calls Wellbeing 1.0, and towards 2.0, a more proactive and complete approach that avoids the classic gimmicks and bells we're all sick of seeing. 
Molly and Ryan had a really fantastic chat, covering: how to create and maintain healthy boundaries in an 'always on' culture, why an 'in-office-out-of-office' might be your secret weapon, getting leader buy-in on seemingly tricky topics, and what the ideal work week could look like.

Paddle’s Amy Turner on creating a standout employer brand in a tight tech market

Amy Turner is the person to talk to if you want to know how to create an Employer Brand that attracts top talent.
Previously Global Employer Brand Manager at Bumble, Amy Turner now works at Paddle, a SaaS fintech company that recently reached coveted Unicorn status.
For episode 5 of the People Experience Podcast, Molly West and Amy discussed the diversity challenges facing the tech industry, the distinctions between employer brands for different types of businesses, how to prioritise authenticity, and what makes it so fulfilling as a job!

Embarking on the 4-day week, with Charmaine St. John

In episode 4 of the People Experience Podcast, we're discussing a very hot topic - the 4-day workweek!
By now, we're sure you've probably heard a lot about potential benefits and ideas surrounding reducing our time spent at work. But a lot of conversations leave out the all-too-crucial practicalities of actually putting things in motion. 
Someone who's on that journey is Charmaine St. John, Head of People at Hutch Games, a leading games company taking part in the 6-month, 4-day week trial currently happening in the UK. 
Molly West (Community Manager, Handle) spoke to Charmaine about why they're doing it, the steps they took to prepare, how they communicated with people, and what the results have been so far…
And for anyone who is considering the 4 day week at their company, Charmaine kindly shared some resources which she has found useful:
Book: How the Flexible Work Revolution Can Increase Productivity, Profitability and Well-being, and Create a Sustainable Future
Book: How smart companies work less, embrace flexibility and boost productivity
Case Study: Welcome to the Jungle
White Paper: Perpetual Guardian and Coulthard Barnes

Finding your workplace ’why’, with Simone Fenton-Jarvis

Episode 3 of the People Experience Podcast is on a topic we've been thinking about a lot in our team: What exactly is the purpose of an office now?
COVID laid to rest the days of just accepting the office as a given. And what's becoming clear is that moving forward, the companies with successful physical workspaces will be the ones that define, execute and communicate their purpose - and make them a worthwhile space to be. 
Molly West sat down with the fantastic Simone Fenton-Jarvis, author of The Human-Centric Workplace, to chat about finding your workplace why, listening to employee needs, and avoiding the pitfalls of a bad office environment... 

Creating a health and wellbeing strategy your employees deserve, with MVF’s Hannah Meredith

For our second People Experience Podcast, Molly West (Community Manager at Handle Recruitment) sat down with Hannah Meredith, MVF's Health and Wellbeing Partner.
At MVF, Hannah has created the much-celebrated 'Be Well' policy, and is herself the winner of the Great British Workplace Wellbeing Awards 'Most Inspiring Employee'. 
Their chat covered all things, from creating a holistic and multi-faceted wellbeing programme, to tailoring your offering depending on what your employees need, and exactly what you should avoid in the process!  Plus, Hannah dives into the priority wellbeing issues that she is prioritising for the future.

Employee Advocacy: the secret weapon in your employer branding toolkit, with Richard Turrell

In our first ever People Experience podcast, Molly speaks to Richard Turrell, Marketing Director and all around branding enthusiast on Employee Advocacy. We spoke about the impact of a truly excellent employee advocacy program, how to get genuine buy-in from people across your business, and what happens when it all goes wrong...