Going to Gemba: How the Best Leaders Design Frontline Jobs

In this episode, Luke and Laura reflect on their favourite moments of season 1. From the stuff, they found most insightful through to the downright funny as well as some behind-the-scenes goodies.

What does work look like without limits? Few people know better than Tim Buzza, Chief Customer Officer at Attune Work Solutions. As he travels the world, he’s learned employees have three unique modes of work: Creative, collaborative and concentrated. And that great leaders empower and enable their employees to design each mode how they work best. Learn how Tim inspires teams to create an employee experience that drives results.

Going to gemba is the practice of leaders learning from frontline employees. Sean McGinn, founder and director of the Agile Contact Centre, recommends the Japanese practice in today’s call centers, so leaders can design better frontline jobs and help employees do their work more effectively. Learn how to create a healthy and successful frontline employee experience.

How do you leverage performance-tracking technology without eroding employee trust? Glen Cathey, SVP, Head of Digital Strategy & Innovation at Randstad, joins the show to share how he navigates situations like this. Hint: It’s simpler than you might think. Listen in to hear his insights on navigating innovation, work relationships, and leadership.

Caring for your employees is key to your business’ success, and people like Lisa Dolan seem to have cracked the code on how to do it sustainably for hundreds of thousands of global employees. Lisa Dolan, Senior Vice President of Employee Engagement and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Teleperformance, shares best practices for employee engagement. We discuss the importance of listening to employees, caring for all areas of their well-being, and creating frameworks that enable sustainable performance. Resources https://centrical.com Key Takeaways: How to equip leaders for conversations about mental health and performance Why employee engagement decreases attrition How to build frameworks that support your team at work and at home Things to listen for: [04:00] The ripple effects of caring for your employees [07:30] How employee engagement decreases attrition [11:30] Supporting employees in life and work [14:00] Empowering people in their personal and professional growth [17:30] Equipping leaders for mental health and performance conversations [20:00] Making performance conversations conversational [21:00] Creating a framework to support your team in a hybrid environment [25:00] The future of work

As a leader, is it your responsibility to address an employee’s personal trauma? Yemi Penn, TEDx speaker, entrepreneur, and author answers this and many other big questions in this episode. She dives into incorporating mindfulness into relationships with employees and the importance of sharing our stories. While compassion isn’t something we're always taught to practice at work, it’s a critical element of successful organizations. Yemi makes the business case for creating space to be human at work and explains the difference between accommodating others’ trauma and being responsible for it. Resources Connect with Yemi on Instagram https://centrical.com Key Takeaways: How to become a trauma-informed leader The difference between being responsible for trauma and accommodating trauma The business case for creating space for compassion at work Things to listen for: [02:30] Two secrets and a lie [06:30] What it means to engineer powerful people [08:00] The connection between mindset and employee experience [10:00] Incorporating mindfulness into the employee experience [12:00] Building a culture of compassion and acknowledgment [14:30] Leaders’ roles in accommodating employees’ trauma [17:45] The importance of sharing our stories [20:30] Balancing boundaries with bringing your whole self to work [22:00] Uncovering business pain and pleasure [25:00] Bridging generational differences [27:00] Rapid fire questions with Yemi [28:00] Mind-blown moments with Luke and Laura

“We’re firing these Rare Breed talents for the same reason we hired them.” Talk about a mindblown moment! In this episode, Luke and Laura welcome author Sunny Bonnell to the BOOST stage to share more on her “Rare Breed” movement. Sunny is on a mission to empower leaders to harness the power of their most audacious, obsessed, weird, hypnotic, rebellious employees—all of these being “Rare Breed” traits that will, if fostered correctly, take your organization and its success to the next level. Throughout their conversation, you’ll be challenged and empowered to encourage your employees to wear their “rare breed” traits with pride–all the while, boosting morale, engagement, and innovation. On with the show! Additional Resources: Buy Sunny’s book - “Rare Breed” Take the “Rare Breed” quiz https://centrical.com Key Takeaways: Leaders need to encourage their employees’ “Rare Breed” traits The whole culture of your organization shifts when “Rare Breeds” can be themselves Leaders: invest in your people, but also invest in yourself. Are you holding a mirror up to your own leadership? Things to listen for: [8:00] What is a Rare Breed? [14:09] How organizations can realistically embrace Rare Breeds [19:08] The importance of “psychological safety” within your organization [23:14] How leaders can manage themselves [27:12] Leaders must hold a mirror up to themselves [27:53] Luke, Laura, and Sunny reveal their Rare Breed traits

From Gen Z to Gen X and every generation in between, every employee wants the same thing: engaging, relevant experiences. So, how do you create these experiences for employees of all ages? Who better to tell us than the man of the hour–Gal Rimon. Gal is the Founder and CEO of Centrical, and he has a bird’s-eye view of which employee engagement trends are sticking–and which ones aren’t. In this special bonus episode, he is sharing his tips for ensuring that you design experiences that engage all ages. And, he’s providing a sneak peek at what you can expect from Centrical’s annual event, Success 2022. – Join Centrical virtually at Success 2022 to explore how an employee-first approach to business success is the only way forward in today's workplace. At this annual event, you’ll hear how leading organizations are making strategic investments in their people through technology to drive purpose and belonging, inspire and support their growth, and maintain connection no matter where they are. Together, let’s be bold and rebuild the future of work. Visit events.centrical.com/success2022 to learn more and register. On with the show!

Are your employee training programs telling (and creating) impactful stories? On this episode, Renzo Urzua, Global Contact Centre Management Training & Design Lead for Mastercard, joins BOOST to share his insight on helping to manage and train global teams. We discuss the ways language and culture deeply impact training dynamics, and the importance of encouraging each employee’s own personal brand through the training process and beyond. Alright, enough from us – press play! – Join Centrical virtually at Success 2022 to explore how an employee-first approach to business success is the only way forward in today's workplace. At this annual event, you’ll hear how leading organizations are making strategic investments in their people through technology to drive purpose and belonging, inspire and support their growth, and maintain connection no matter where they are. Together, let’s be bold and rebuild the future of work. Visit events.centrical.com/success2022 to learn more and register. On with the show! Additional Resources: Lucha HSP Podcast https://centrical.com Key Takeaways: 3 key components of effective global training How to keep trainees engaged, especially in a global setting The importance of empowering employees to embrace their own personal brand Things to listen for: [08:40] Key ingredients for leaders to train teams well [11:00] Training programs across different language and cultural levels [14:00] Helping employees find their own personal branding [18:00] How to articulate your own personal brand [19:00] How to engage trainees (and any audience) to make an impact

It’s time for the moment of truth… Or, rather, the moments–the ones that define your culture, your employee experience, and your customer success! On this episode, Laura Patterson, President and Co-Founder of VisionEdge Marketing and author of Fast Track Your Business, joins BOOST to share the keys to providing a rockstar employee experience, and why even the littlest moments matter in creating experiences that impact your bottom line. We discuss how CX and EX both affect each other, why culture sets the foundation for business success, and how to progressively empower your employees. Alright, enough from us – press play! – Join Centrical virtually at Success 2022 to explore how an employee-first approach to business success is the only way forward in today's workplace. At this annual event, you’ll hear how leading organizations are making strategic investments in their people through technology to drive purpose and belonging, inspire and support their growth, and maintain connection no matter where they are. Together, let’s be bold and rebuild the future of work. Visit events.centrical.com/success2022 to learn more and register. On with the show! Additional Resources: Fast Track Your Business by Laura Patterson Vision Edge Marketing https://centrical.com Key Takeaways: 3 key components of organizational success How to progressively empower employees “Moments of truth” that define your CX and EX Things to listen for: [04:00] Setting a cultural foundation for CX and EX [06:00] Keys to leading and engaging your team [09:00] “Moments of truth” in CX and EX [11:30] How to progressively empower employees [13:30] What it means to “do no harm” in CX [15:00] Helping employees bring value to customer interactions [17:30] The importance of executive sponsors of initiatives [19:00] Staying committed and focused in an influx of distractions