Where are you going? (ep 18)

To kick off 2022, we share one organization’s ongoing journey to establish a hybrid way of working. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is a major UK charity and has been a much valued AWA client over the years. Executive Director of People & Organizational Development Kerry Smith and Head of Organizational Change Sarah Cousins share their story – from before the pandemic hit in 2020, to their plans and expectations for 2022.

Covid-19 has, as for many organizations, changed the way BHF operates, how it raises funding to support its research and how it runs its retail operations. Mirroring these changes, its way of working has also significantly changed – fundamentally through embracing transparency, honesty and involving staff in planning the future way of working. The challenges of the pandemic to people’s wellbeing, mental health and sense of certainty have created a much greater awareness of what their community need. People are at the heart of everything – even more so than before.

Our guests from BHF discuss their “flexibly connected” program; the creation of working together agreements; how they are supporting managers to consolidate the skills they need to manage hybrid teams; the evolution of blended location employment contracts; and their move into a new, smaller office, which has 50% less desks and is organized around activities, not neighborhoods.

Featured guests:

• Kerry Smith, Executive Director of People & Organizational Development, British Heart Foundation (UK)

• Sarah Cousins, Head of Organizational Change, British Heart Foundation (UK)