How to help people love what they do at work
Digital HR Leaders Podcast hosted by David Green Summer Special: Dan Cable

How to help people love what they do at work

David Green 🇺🇦 David Green 🇺🇦

David Green 🇺🇦

Co-Author of Excellence in People Analytics | People Analytics leader | Director, Insight222 & myHRfuture.com | Conference speaker | Host, Digital HR Leaders Podcast

Published Aug 11, 2020
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We have to work in a more agile way where we have to give people freedom to learn

In many respects the COVID-19 pandemic is essentially a people crisis and it has been heartening to witness that many organisations we work with at Insight222 have put the safety and wellness of their workforce at the centre of their response to the crisis.

However, multiple studies show that an alarming majority of employees are actively disengaged and lack motivation. They are not helping their organisations and by suppressing what neuroscientists call “our seeking systems” organisations are not helping their employees by focusing on making work routine instead of creative and joyful.

My guest for this week's episode of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast is Dan Cable, Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School. Dan explains that because we spend most of our waking hours at work, his mission is to spend his working hours trying to understand how people can feel like work is part of their real life, rather than the long commute to the weekend.

After recording this episode with Dan, I had an extra zest and spring in my step for the rest of the day. I am confident that many of you will experience the same positive reaction after listening to Dan's energy, passion, ideas and the evidence he provides that backs this up.

HR’s goal is to create an organisation where people feel safe to experiment and learn and then share that learning

You can listen by clicking on the image below or by visiting the podcast website here.

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In our conversation Dan and I discuss:

  • Why biology as opposed to lack of motivation causes the malaise of workplace disengagement: ("We created organisations that are great for scale, but not consistent with how our brains evolved")
  • How by galvanising three triggers, leaders can activate their employees seeking systems and drive exploration and learning: ("You don't need a 2 or 3 million pound budget to make this thing work, it really is more about getting a mindset of giving employees the chance to trigger what they already want to trigger")
  • How HR can use job crafting to drive engagement, stimulate learning, create innovation and essentially enable people to bring their best selves to work: ("Job crafting is really disruptive because what it starts with is you don't know what the job is until you know the person.")
  • Early insights from a real-life experiment Dan is leading with an organisation involving employees shutting down email, turning off phones and dedicating time to crafting their roles to their strengths
  • Why leaders need to not only recognise the need for changing the way our organisations work, but need to act also: ("There is a difference between recognising something cognitively and acting different behaviourally."
  • How helping employees understand the impact of the work improves resilience and creates innovation
  • Examples from companies like Microsoft, Randstad and Dairy Crest who are using techniques like job crafting to drive employee experience and outcomes
  • A three-step process for people to stimulate their full potential as outlined in Dan’s upcoming book, Exceptional.

This episode is a must listen for anyone interested in how neuroscience can help drive culture, engagement and wellness in their organisations. So that is Business Leaders, Organisational Psychologists, Chief HR Officers, Senior HR Leaders and anyone in a People Analytics or HR Business Partner role.

By enabling employees to experiment, play to their strengths and personalise purpose, leaders can make organisations great places to work that unlock value, for customers, employees and the enterprise


LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

To listen to the Podcast and read the transcript of my discussion with Dan, head over to myHRfuture by clicking on this link: How to Help People Love what they do at Work.


WATCH THE VIDEOS

As well as the podcast, there will be a couple of videos available on the myHRfuture YouTube channel highlighting two of the topics Dan and I covered in our conversation. In the video below, Dan explains how job crafting drives employee engagement.


GET INVOLVED

If you enjoyed listening to this week's podcast episode, I'd be grateful if you could take the following steps:

  1. Please subscribe to the Digital HR Leaders podcast and weekly newsletter to make sure you don’t miss an episode.
  2. Please take the time to rate the show on iTunes. We rely on your feedback and support to make the podcast, so this is very helpful!
  3. Who would you like to see me interview in future episodes? Let me know in the comments below.
  4. Lastly, don’t forget to share on social media with your friends and colleagues, your support is always greatly appreciated!


THANK YOU

A huge thank you to Dan for such a lively, insightful and energising conversation and for sharing his time and knowledge. You can check out Dan's website at dan-cable.com (where you can pre-order Dan's new book Exceptional, and buy his first two books Alive at Work and Change to Strange), you can also connect with Dan on LinkedIn and follow Dan on Twitter @DanCable1.

I also recommend checking out the video below, which perfectly captures Dan's energy, style and ideas on why organisations need to adapt.

Thanks also to Ian Bailie, Manpreet Randhawa, Caroline Styr and the myHRfuture team for creating the Digital HR Leaders podcast and video series.


CATCH UP ON THE DIGITAL HR LEADERS PODCAST

If you haven't listened to all of the episodes of the Digital HR Leaders Podcast, you can catch up now by clicking on the links below.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

David is a globally respected writer, speaker, conference chair, and executive consultant on people analytics, data-driven HR and the future of work. As an Executive Director at Insight222, he helps global organisations create more cultural and economic value through the wise and ethical use of people data and analytics. Prior to joining Insight222 and taking up a board advisor role at TrustSphere, David was the Global Director of People Analytics Solutions at IBM Watson Talent. As such, David has extensive experience in helping organisations embark upon and accelerate their people analytics journeys. David also hosts the Digital HR Leaders Podcast on myHRfuture.

Nova Buchan

Senior Tech & Marketing Recruiter | Talent Navigator | Connecting Growing Businesses with Exceptional Talent at Capital Edge Recruitment

4y

Great podcast, interesting and insightful. I would be interested in reading - Exceptional, Alive at Work.

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Tom Stewart

Master Principal Solutions Consultant at Oracle

4y

I think you are absolutely right, David. There’s a delicate balance between managing development along lines directly relevant to the organisations needs and allowing colleagues a license to roam. The intersection supports the emergence of new approaches and even strategies that are colleague-led rather then centrally driven.

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Holly Kortright (she-her)

CHRO Navy Federal Credit Union

4y

Leaders focused on being empathetic and the best listeners. Throw out the job descriptions and encourage leaders to enable employees to create their futures and solve the biggest organizational problems through learning and entrepreneurship.

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Devika Valsaraj

4y

Job crafting sounds very interesting and love the way we are engaging neuroscience to ensure we generate affiliation and purpose dynamically - but are we moving back into person specifications vs jobs for the org structure - how rewards models align in this context would be interesting 🤔

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Carol Palombini

Fractional CHRO | Helping Tech Companies Grow with Data-Driven People Management | Leadership Development | Emotional Intelligence Psychologist

4y

"It is also the case that if they are in charge of changing that organisation, they become a threat." I loved that Dan brought that up. It happens that people are hired to make changes, but fired because they do that. As a consultant I have to use all my psychological skills in order to read the unspoken text and grasp what CEOs really want to change in the organisation and on themselves. Making leaders understand the consequences of what they are asking for is crucial for the work to be done and change to happen.

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