The Yolk Podcast - home to Diversity Champions: Recent Episodes
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Welcome to Yolk Recruitment's podcast channel.
The home of Yolk's DIVERSITY CHAMPIONS, the podcast where we talk to: thought leaders in the field of Equality, Inclusion and Diversity; individuals with protected characteristics and their representative organisations; and Public Sector leaders who champion diversity in their work and personal lives.
It’s brought to you by Yolk Recruitment – reshaping recruitment in the Public Sector and Not-for-Profit space. Get in touch with us via the details on our website yolkrecruitment.com
Music: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
We also host our virtual HR Insights webinar updates herewhere we discuss all things HR, employment law and careers.
In this HR Insights session we focused on the important topic of Menopause in the workplace and what adjustments can be made by both HR teams and business owners.
Once again, we were joined by resident speaker and employment law specialist Anna Denton-Jones of Refreshing Law who was on hand to advise on all legal aspects of addressing the impact of Menopause in the workplace.
We were also thrilled to have Niki Haggerty-James, the Business Development Manager of Health & Her, an expert in women's health and Menopause, who will be delivering a guest speaker talk to shed light on the impact of Menopause in the workplace.
The session focused on topics including:
- The latest Menopause statistics and figures
- Effectively addressing Menopause-related issues in the workplace
- The financial implications for businesses
- The legal considerations for business owners and HR teams
- Common signs and symptoms of Menopause
Listen here for an enlightening and informative session where you can gain practical knowledge, guidance, and actionable takeaways on supporting employees experiencing Menopause.
The MeToo movement, which started in 2017, brought to light the widespread issue of sexual harassment in various industries and the workplace. The movement, which began as a hashtag on social media, encouraged survivors of sexual harassment to share their stories and sparked a global conversation about the prevalence of this problem.
As a turning point for so many industries, it has encouraged employers to expand on their policies and training programs, and to keep working towards creating a more inclusive work environment for all employees. As employers, we must continue to make progress in preventing and responding to sexual harassment in the workplace.
In this episode of HR Insights, Anna Denton-Jones from Refreshing Law delves into the important topic of sexual harassment in the workplace. With the Me Too movement making headlines, Anna discusses its effects and an employer's current legal duties. She also explores the proposed new statutory duty to prevent harassment and how it differs from the current legislation. In addition, Anna provides insight into the involvement of the police in harassment cases, victimisation claims, and the typical lifecycle of a complaint.
During the podcast, Anna responds to thought-provoking questions from participants and shares her first-hand experience of dealing with sexual harassment cases as an HR professional. Whether you're an employer, employee, or simply interested in this crucial issue, this episode offers invaluable insights and expert guidance.
Anna-Denton Jones, Refreshing Law
How has the pandemic affected people's mental health and how should employers handle it in turn?
In this special episode of HR Insights, we were thrilled to be joined by special guest speaker, Dr Jen Daffin, Community Clinical Psychologist and Trauma Informed Practice Lead from Platfform.
As mental health problems have been made increasingly worse by ongoing crises, it is imperative as employers that we take the time to look at what we can do to assist our employees.
As we discussed in our previous session, Managing Conflict in a Burnout World, employers should take a position of understanding the problems their employees are facing with a holistic approach. The ‘whole-self’ environment at work brings an expectation for workplaces to look at the support that they can provide.
In this HR Insights session, we explored the psychology behind the trauma caused by the pandemic, what has changed in terms of what employers will see in work, and how employers need to think differently in the responses they make going forward.
In this special episode of HR Insights, we were thrilled to be joined by special guest speaker, Leah Steele, a burnout and resilience mentor and coach who founded Searching for Serenity.
As HR professionals, managing professional conflicts and avoiding employee burnout are two key factors to the job. On the back of a global crisis, and the unpredictability of the working world and changing work/life balances, businesses are reporting an uplift in work related conflicts and staff struggling with workloads.
Fostering healthier workplaces is a necessity at any time, but particularly because of a crisis that has intensified job demands and drained job resources.
In this HR Insights session, we explored what burnout looks like in the workplace, how to identify the potential pitfalls to create a more sustainable and resilient working environment and the top 10 tips to manage the conflict that arises as a result.
In a special HR Insights session, we partnered with Leonard Cheshire to discuss how we can make recruitment as accessible and diverse as possible.
Diversity within the workplace offers businesses a huge range of benefits, including better problem solving, employee engagement, increased profits and better decision making, but a conversation about diversity cannot be had without first talking about disabilities.
In Britain alone, over 14 million people have a disability or long-term condition. While they make up over 21% of the population, or one in five people, it may surprise you to find out that only 54% of disabled people are in employment. Disabled people have to apply for more than 60% more jobs than non-disabled people in the UK. Do you feel confident hiring a disabled person?
In this special HR Insights session with Kirsteen Allison of Leonard Cheshire and Anna Denton-Jones from Refreshing Law Ltd, we explored how we can empower employers to identify and remove barriers that prevent disabled people entering the workforce, and how to increase their recruitment accessibility.
We are thrilled to welcome our latest guest to Yolk’s Diversity Champions podcast; Kirsteen Allison – Disability Awareness Trainer at Leonard Cheshire.
In conversation with Nici Jones of Yolk Recruitment, this podcast covers Kirsteen's experience as a disabled person and the work she does to remove barriers and increase disability inclusion and what employers can do to start their disability inclusion journey.
A big thank you to Kirsteen for joining us on this episode, we thoroughly enjoyed the conversation!
If you think we’ve faced change in the last two years, you should be aware that even bigger changes are around the corner. With COP26 having highlighted key problems, it is clear that environmental and sustainability challenges and social issues present even bigger development changes, now more than ever.
What can businesses and HR be doing regarding environmental and sustainability challenges, and the social issues that come with it?
In this session, Anna Denton-Jones of Refreshing Law Ltd spoke about what’s around the corner and what HR can be doing.
- What is ESG, why is it important and what is HR’s role?
- The areas that are impacted
- Measures HR might be considering
- Reshaping pensions
As our last HR insights session of the year, we invited our listeners to pose their questions to HR expert and employment solicitor, Anna Denton Jones of Refreshing Law Ltd.
The session answered the burning questions you've had on HR and employment law, covering the validity of electronic signatures, what employers can do to help prevent mental health crises in their employees and whether an employer can enter a homeworking employee's home.
We also covered the three most essential training sessions for employees, what happens with GDPR if emails are taken outside of the workplace, the menopause, and more.
We are thrilled to welcome our latest guest to Yolk’s Diversity Champions podcast;
DENISE CURRELL – HEAD OF PEOPLE DEVELOPMENT at CAREERS WALES.
In conversation with Nici Jones, Yolk’s Director of Public Sector & Not-for-profit, this latest episode delves into the challenges involved with ensuring you’re seen as a diverse employer of choice within the public sector.
Denise shares a range of tips and gave us some fantastic examples of the processes she has developed and put in place at Careers Wales. These range from ensuring the language in your job adverts is as inclusive as possible, through to auditing and improving your application processes so that you’re encouraging a diverse candidate audience to apply and not alienating those with protected characteristics.
And of course, hear Denise’s top tips for other employers starting out on their journey to improve Diversity & Inclusion.
A big thank you to Denise for joining us on this episode, we thoroughly enjoyed the conversation!
This topic for HR Insights came about as a result of 2021 Pride where we wanted to continue supporting the LGBTQ+ community outside of just the one month of June, and make it all year round.
The session focused on the support employers can offer LGBTQ+ workers and what HR professionals should keep in mind when ensuring their work environment is as inclusive as possible.
We also covered choices employers can make to help improve diversity and inclusion for their workforce and LGBTQ+ employees, as well as discussing the positive broadening of legal protection for the LGBTQ+ community.
We also discussed the correct terminology, as well as trans rights employment cases and disputes faced by groups with competing beliefs.
Domestic Abuse is something all employers need to be aware of and understand their role in tackling.
A bill is currently going through Parliament to ensure there is a statutory definition everyone can work to.
It’s on employers minds as we all became aware in lockdown that for some, home was not a safe space.
In this episode, Anna Denton-Jones discusses what it is, what to look out for, how it can affect the workforce and the measures employers might take.
Useful links discussed in the episode:
- BBC Three documentary ‘Is this coercive control?’ available on the iplayer
- National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247 and www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk
- Womens Aid and Safer Lives work with employers to help them create policies
- https://www.vodafone.com/content/dam/vodcom/files/vodafone_domestic_violence_toolkit_2020.pdf
- www.survivingeconomicabuse.org
- https://www.solacewomensaid.org/get-help
- https://www.refuge.org.uk
- https://www.cipd.co.uk/knowledge/culture/well-being/supporting-employees-experiencing-domestic-abuse#gref
- Hollie Guard Personal Safety APP
Our first HR Insights webinar of the year was a packed one.
Anna Denton-Jones of Refreshing Law focused on the topic of Covid-19 vaccinations and the impact they will have on the workplace and HR professionals when rolling out new HR policies and procedures.
This included issues such as; vaccine hesitancy from employees, data protection, staff contracts, the risks of discrimination, impacts on recruitment, awareness of unfair dismissals, and legislation to stay on top of.
An incredibly timely and important webinar, loaded full of information, with our most virtual attendees so far! Have a listen to this month’s HR helping hand.
(Please excuse some of the background noise in the first minute due to some unmuted mics. Noise levels out from 1.20.)
This week I am joined by:
ANNETTE MASON – HEAD OF TALENT AND DIVERSITY AT DWR CYMRU WELSH WATER – the not-for-profit utilities provider.
We talk about the EDI forum she has established at Welsh Water and the employee network groups they’ve subsequently set up with the input and direction of their Inclusivity Ambassadors.
We discuss the engagement initiatives and activities they are running such as reverse mentoring, a national Inclusion Week of events and their ‘Be Yourself’ campaign.
And of course we look at the way they gain and share best practice from and with other organisations and hear Annette’s top tips for other employers starting their journeys to improve Diversity & Inclusion.
Here's the link to the Youtube video mentioned in the podcast:
https://youtu.be/VKAifNbjcz0
It was great to catch-up with Annette on a topic about which she is clearly genuinely passionate – and I hope you enjoy listening to the conversation too.
This week we are joined by Lesley (Head Of Pay, Reward, Diversity & Inclusion) and Nicola (Inclusion & Cultural Diversity Advisor) at IPO
We discuss the great work they are doing to positively affect the culture of their organisation, some of the networks they have established and their success stories so far, as well as hear their top tips for other organisations who may be starting their journey to address the D&I agenda.
Music: The Right Direction by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
Hosted by Yolk Recruitment and presented by Anna Denton-Jones of Refreshing Law, we held another virtual HR Insights webinar in November to continue with our HR updates during Covid-19.
We retraced a few topics from September, including the latest on the new furlough goal-posts, working from home, and well-being, as well as new topics including lockdown 2, domestic violence, Brexit, vaccinations and DSARS.
Listen today for your latest HR news.
HR Insights came back in September 2020, this time as a virtual event, with Anna Denton-Jones answering all of your burning HR questions and covering off as many key issues affecting HR professionals at the moment (of which there are a lot!)
One key message to remember from this episode? Be kind to yourselves! HR professionals are dealing with a lot at the moment, and with the goal-posts ever changing, don't forget about your own mental health.
We're excited to announce HR Insight's first ever podcast! Anna Denton-Jones from Refreshing Law Ltd will be discussing the legal framework around settlement agreements and sharing 20 years of experience of negotiating them on either side of the fence.