Helen Cook

A lot of organisations are having to rework their current workforce strategy in light of the current operating environment. An “unsettled” employee-employer relationship, skills shortages, transformative technology and pressure for efficiency are shaping how the best organisations will manage their talent this year.

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Great evening yesterday learning first hand from Steven Bartlett about the primary importance of culture and people to any organisation’s success.   Insights to share: 👉 Authenticity is key —> contradictions between your stated culture / values and reality erodes trust and leads to disengagement   👉Avoid “subtle decay” which starts slow and then moves fast —> act on the small signs, have the uncomfortable conversations, don’t let quiet dissatisfaction breed, nip bad behaviour in the bud before it is too late   👉 Clarity and consistency are vital —> be clear on the productive behaviours you want and the unproductive behaviours you will not tolerate (your “culture bible”)   👉And on branding (in particular around social media): - Make sure your message demonstrates value for strangers (not only your existing network) - make it about them, not you - Find the broad story for everything you post, that others will relate to - create a curiosity gap in people’s minds - Tell a story that taps into people’s emotions   With thanks to Octopus Investments, PINPOINT and Chapter 2 for hosting!

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Useful for HR Professionals…

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Today Legal & General set out a refreshed strategy, determining where future growth will come from, and how we’ll deliver for our customers, clients and shareholders in the years to come. As António Simões said this morning, we have a strong starting point: passionate and talented people, a proud heritage and compelling purpose, and market-leading businesses. Strengthening this starting point – by making L&G a simpler, growing and better connected business – will require different ways of thinking and working together. Alongside speaking to investors and analysts today, we’re focused on making sure our employees understand our vision for growth, by spending time to set out our strategy and answer their questions through a series of events. Earlier today I joined António Simões as part of an employee event attended by over 5,000 people. What impressed me most about the questions today is the commitment of our people to doing the right thing, and their appetite for evolving how we work and what we do. Together, we can continue to transform L&G, play a central role in meeting the long-term investment needs of society and individuals, and remain a great place to work.

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Is the focus on tightly defined experience helping employers? There are so many talented people out there right now looking for work or for their next role. Sadly this has coincided with one of the most conservative job markets in years. An added challenge is the obsession with highly defined experience over ability. Why for example do we see some roles requiring 10+ years experience? If you performed really well, executed flawlessly, and drove results for 5 years surely that is as valuable? The objective is clearly to deter the overwhelming majority of applicants. There are two challenges here. Great people who can drive real change are sidelined. The second is in hiring people that are institutionalised, some of whom will not bring any fresh thinking or innovation to their new organisation. Agree? 

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Following our recent ExCo development session, where we explored how differently we all prefer to think and communicate (spoiler: very differently!), I’ve been reflecting on the importance of diversity in the workplace. When it comes to diversity, the ways we can differ are endless—and that’s a wonderful thing! Imagine how dull life would be if we all looked, thought, and acted the same way. At Afin, we truly value diversity. Embracing and respecting each other’s differences isn’t just enriching—it’s what sparks the range of thinking and creativity that drives our bank forward. Our colleagues reflect our customers— each one an individual, deserving of recognition and value. As an ExCo team, our diverse mix of perspectives can sometimes make things challenging. But as we take the time to better understand each other and really listen, we’re seeing the benefits. Our conversations are becoming richer, our decisions more well-rounded, and it’s clear that our diversity isn’t just a strength—it could just be our superpower! What’s your superpower? #DiversityAndInclusion #InclusionMatters #WorkplaceDiversity #TeamworkMakesTheDreamWork #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveTeam #GrowthMindset #AfinValues #LifeAtAfin

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The UK is undeniably facing a significant cost of living crisis. While inflation dipped to 3.4% in February 2024, this still means everyday essentials are considerably more expensive than a year ago. This situation presents a complex challenge, both for individuals and businesses. We take a look at the causes, and the potential path forward in our recent blog below. https://lnkd.in/ebZ3z2dC

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https://lnkd.in/e4GGuzrq A good read. Experience in understanding and interpreting the data is the most important element. Questions like 'Why are we seeing these numbers?' 'what can we do?' mean that HR teams don't jump to the wrong conclusions and creating the wrong approach or strategy.

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Thinking of outsourcing your Nominated Officer role in Guernsey?  Cilla Torode and Paul Ford outline eight game-changing benefits for financial institutions. From ensuring regulatory compliance and reducing key person risk to providing continuous, independent support, outsourcing makes compliance more efficient and resilient.   Check out their insights on how a trusted partner like Bovill Newgate can elevate your regulatory framework 👇

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Follow our Wilton & Bain LinkedIn page to get the latest on our new podcast, premiering next week!

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The job isn’t finished (is it ever?!), but my part in the next chapter of Skipton Group is complete. Some highlights: ✅ Our co-created behaviours framework is driving high-performance conversations about how we work together and is embedded in our performance framework, bonus framework, recognition framework and other ways of working. ✅ We were brave in stopping our annual survey and replacing it with a cultural diagnostic that gave us richer insight into what we did brilliantly, and where we needed to renovate our culture. ✅ 70% of colleagues have declared diversity and social characteristics enabling us to create achievable and measurable targets to increase inclusion. ✅ Managers now have access to a People Metrics dashboard being used daily to inform and up-skill our management population. ✅ Colleagues are now accessing HR services digitally with 87% self-service success rates via chat bot, and case management resolution averaging 8 hours. ✅ We’re having meaningful conversations on talent and succession that do away with traditional 9-box or HiPo/HiPe ratings and lead to genuine development and readiness for roles. ✅ 87% of colleagues are accessing learning opportunities every month consistenly. ✅ And experimentation is underway on new listening and engagement approaches; apprenticeships; and improving attraction, recruitment and onboarding. One of our leadership truths is, ‘what got you here won’t get you there’. I’m living that out now as this week I pass the reigns over to the incredibly experienced hands of Roberto Canenti, who I know will continue to take Skipton’s colleague experience from strength to strength. My thanks go to all of our colleagues for making my time at Skipton truly memorable. Special thanks to the incredibly talented People Team, you’re absolutely fabulous! I’ll look forward to championing Skipton on from the sidelines. #Culture #Leadership #Innovation #Careers

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Really looking forward to reading this new book from Alex Edmans so important to keep learning about how to navigate statistics, studies and information. #EvidenceBasedPractice

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Emerging technology such as AI will be transformative in redefining HR and the way we work. I am pleased to see Aldermore Bank’s experiences come to life through Alexandra Pierce’s participation in this week’s Criticaleye round table discussion with Simon Holland from Accenture. Keeping in touch with peers and discussing future skills, talent management and culture should be a big focus for HR leaders as we all navigate and explore these exciting innovations. #BackingYou #AI #FutureOfWork

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I have been speaking to d&i Leaders (Diversity and Inclusion Leaders) about how we can recognise and reward #employeenetworks. In this piece, I discuss the importance of employee networks with Jo Faragher (she/her), but we also examine why they are often undervalued. I think that’s mainly because employers can see employee networks as passion projects. This hugely undervalues the work of the network and the people within it, don’t you think⁉   I want to encourage employers to provide network leaders with protected time to fulfil the additional work and ensure that the work takes place during working hours.    I also think that many network leads are looking for visibility. Employers can fulfil this by inviting network leads to present their work, achievements and successes to the senior team and feature their work in internal and external communications.   What do you think? What else can we do to reward employee networks? #commentbelow   #employeeculture #productivity #employeeengagement

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If you are visiting the CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition tomorrow not only are Benenden Health exhibiting, but our expert Talent Development Manager, Dr Amy Pressland will be presenting at 11am on the Employee Engagement Stage. Amy will be sharing our 2024 Gender Health Gap research and what this means to the workplace. The stats from our research paints a concerning picture: - As many as 60% of women we surveyed feel that they have had a health issue not taken seriously by a medical professional - Almost half of women have struggled to receive a diagnosis in their lives (45%) - 42% of women we surveyed feel uncomfortable talking to their manager about their health issues Don’t miss Amy’s presentation to explore how employers can empower managers to improve the experiences of female employees. Plus, don’t forget to visit our team at stand B3 to learn about affordable healthcare for all employees – there will even be a smoothie up for grabs and a FREE health assessment! #EmployeeExcellence #EmployeeHealthcare #HR #Healthcare

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How benefits help HR deliver meaningful support!

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Digital verification innovation will transform how consumers and businesses engage with the financial services sector  Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) leadership bringing together a range of stakeholders in tackling economic crime will make it easier for businesses to access financial services.  The White Paper published today highlights how this industry leadership can have real positive impact. Terrific leadership by Leon Ifayemi Teresa Lam #FinTech #Innovation #FinancialServices #EconomicCrime #DigitalVerification  Charlotte Crosswell OBE Alex Marsh ★ Madush Gupta ★

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Our Group CEO Andrea Rossi and Chief Financial Officer Kathryn McLeland are today joining the investor community and industry leaders at the Department for Business and Trade's International Investment Summit in London. Some great short videos over the last week on the ways in which M&G plc is supporting and investing across the UK. #UKInvestment

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There are still many challenges facing companies that are trying to fix the issues around creating a truly diverse workforce. Diverse Talent Networks (DTN) is a talent consultancy that is at the forefront of these initiatives. We have partnered with Lee Higgins at DTN on some recent projects and they have some excellent ideas in this area. DTN has just launched a survey to try and understand in more detail some of the experiences that people in the market have faced. It is focused on people in technology, and is very short. Anyone in my network who has a spare 5 minutes, please could you take the survey. It will really help them to gain a better understanding of what is happening in the market and they will of course publish the results, once it is completed. https://lnkd.in/gsYDiV-p #diversity #dei

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