Wellness Warriors at Work
Wellness Warriors at Work
Heka
At Heka, we are on a mission to make every single employee feel a valued member of their company. This is why, on a weekly basis, we interview passionate leaders building award-winning work cultures at companies like Monzo, Trouva, Social Chain and Mind UK. Our guests uncover what it actually takes to create a culture and workplace where employees are happy, healthy, and empowered to be the best version of themselves. If you’re looking for inspiring stories, out-of-the-box ideas and practical advice to make employees feel valued, you are in the right place. Hosted by Alicia Sánchez.
Using employee benefits to attract and retain top virtual talent
Today we are joined by Leanne Schofield, People Lead at Form3, an award-winning payment technology provider for financially regulated institutions. Form3 was recently nominated by Tempo as one of the top startups to work for in the UK and in this episode, Leanne reveals their unique approach to company values and workforce diversity, as well as the company's active role in encouraging employees to take care of their holistic health. Are you part of the Wellness Warriors at Work community yet? Subscribe here for insightful interviews, monthly events and the opportunity to share your own #wellnesswarriorwisdom with our community. Download our free Employee Health Survey template to get an understanding of what your employees truly want.
Sep 27, 2021
19 min
Mental health vs mental fitness: Why workplaces must shift their approach
Today's guest is Jana Dowling, founder of Arkeo, an app launching this October that empowers individuals and organisations to take control of their mental fitness.  Arkeo is one of those innovations which truly has the power to transform how we live our lives. People usually feel quite helpless when it comes to taking care of their mental health, however, what if we could actually start tracking it, working on it, improving it? Wouldn’t that make everyone feel a little more, in control? In this episode, Jana shares how individuals and companies can benefit from tracking mental fitness. We discuss existing challenges in the mental health area, and why a different approach is necessary. We also deep-dive into future trends in this space: will mental health support become an expectation in the workplace? Where can you draw the line between what is the employees’ and what is the employers’ responsibility? All of that and more in the following conversation. Are you part of the Wellness Warriors at Work community yet? Subscribe here for insightful interviews, monthly events and the opportunity to share your own #wellnesswarriorwisdom with our community. Download our free Employee Health Survey template to get an understanding of what your employees truly want.
Sep 15, 2021
24 min
Help your employees be their best selves: why and how to do it
We had a chat with Simon Masters, Director of People and Talent at SPG, a market-leading fintech company, providing digital payment solutions across the legal, financial and professional services industries. SPG, was ranked amongst the top startups to work for in the UK in 2021, and in this conversation, Simon shares the behind-the-scenes of how they’ve achieved such a great employee experience. We discuss the culture at SPG and what makes it unique, as well as explore how leaders keep “in touch” with employees' sentiment and needs. Simon also explains how SPG empowers people to make a change and the process they follow to choose and adopt new benefits which truly make a difference to employees’ lives. Are you part of the Wellness Warriors at Work community yet? Subscribe here for insightful interviews, monthly events and the opportunity to share your own #wellnesswarriorwisdom with our community. Download our free Employee Health Survey template to get an understanding of what your employees truly want.
Aug 18, 2021
20 min
A new approach to employee mental health: Why it must become a business priority
We recently had a chat with George Taktak, Founder and CEO of How Mental, the mental movement on a mission to support everyone in prioritising their mind. With a community of over 660 000 people on Instagram, the How Mental team knows a thing or two about how to create a culture of trust, inclusivity and care. In this conversation, we discuss all things mental health. We look at what burnout actually is and how it is impacting employees in today’s working environment. We explore how George takes care of the mental wellbeing of the team, their company culture and ideas to encourage business leaders to open up about their mental health. Finally, we look at the challenges preventing people from accessing mental health support and potential solutions to overcome this. Learn more about how Heka can support you creating mental health inclusivity in the workplace: https://www.hekahappy.com/blog/creating-mental-health-inclusivity-in-the-workplace Are you part of the Wellness Warriors at Work community yet? Subscribe here for insightful interviews, monthly events and the opportunity to share your own #wellnesswarriorwisdom with our community. Download our free Employee Health Survey template to get an understanding of what your employees truly want.
Aug 4, 2021
28 min
Remote first? A holistic approach to employee wellbeing & diversity
Today our guest is Michelle Davies, VP of Operations at WeFarm, the world’s largest knowledge network and marketplace for small-scale farmers. WeFarm was ranked amongst the top startups to work for in the UK, and in this episode, Michelle shares some behind-the-scenes of how they’ve built such a great culture. We discuss a controversial topic, work mode. Does the traditional office continue to be the best mode of work, or is it possible for companies like WeFarm, that are remote-first, to tap into even more advantages from working fully remotely? We look into how WeFarm supports the mental and physical health of employees, as well as how they foster diversity and inclusion. The latter is pretty amazing at WeFarm, as Michelle reveals that their tech team only, has members living in 5 different countries and representing 10 different nationalities. Finally, we discuss trends and challenges that you can expect to see in the HR sector in the coming years; I’m confident that these will be invaluable for you to stay ahead of the curve. Explore the range of mental-health experiences available for employees on Heka: https://www.hekahappy.com/experiences Are you part of the Wellness Warriors at Work community yet? Subscribe here for insightful interviews, monthly events and the opportunity to share your own #wellnesswarriorwisdom with our community. Download our free Employee Health Survey template to get an understanding of what your employees truly want.
Jul 22, 2021
29 min
How to empower your employees to succeed and grow
This episode features Marnie Richards, Head of Employee Experience at EduMe, the Workforce Success platform used by modern companies to train, inform and engage their workforce. EduMe ranked amongst London’s top 50 start-ups to work for in 2021, and received accreditation by Flexa as a truly flexible place to work. During the interview, we discuss EduMe's commitment to empowering employees to be their "best working selves", the benefits they offer to support people's mental and physical health, and how they facilitate self-development and learning. Marnie also offers advice for companies managing the transition back to the office and shares her top tips for you to get leader buy-in for your employee wellbeing initiative. Are you part of the Wellness Warriors at Work community yet? Subscribe here for insightful interviews, monthly events and the opportunity to share your own #wellnesswarriorwisdom with our community. Download our free Employee Health Survey template to get an understanding of what your employees truly want. 
Jul 7, 2021
22 min
Compassionate leadership, active listening and creating a virtue-driven workplace culture
We recently had a chat with Asha Singh, Chief People Officer at By Miles. By Miles was voted the UK's best car insurance provider & best insurance app at the 2020 Insurance Choice Awards. The company was also recognised as one of the top startups to work for in the UK and in this episode, Asha shares the behind-the-scenes of the culture fueling their incredible achievements. We discuss the culture at ByMiles, how they support the holistic health of their employees and what makes their employee experience special. We also explore topics that are critical for modern leadership including active listening, emotional intelligence and hiring in a virtual world. This episode is very special because Asha not only has over 10 years of experience in the People area, but she is also a neuroscientist, allowing her to provide unique insights when it comes to workplace leadership and culture. Are you part of the Wellness Warriors at Work community yet? Subscribe here for insightful interviews, monthly events and the opportunity to share your own #wellnesswarriorwisdom with our community. Join our upcoming webinar on the 7th of July to learn all about how to attract and retain diverse talent. 
Jun 23, 2021
28 min
Aligning your people strategy, benefits and workplace culture
Today we are joined by Thomas Forstner, People and Talent lead at Juro, a contract automation platform that empowers legal & business teams to work with contracts together in one unified workspace. Juro was ranked by Tempo as one of the top startups to work for in the UK, and in this episode, we discuss the culture at Juro and what makes the employee experience special. Thomas also provides insights into employees’ main considerations when assessing new employers, and explains how organisations can immerse new hires into the company culture while simultaneously fostering diversity. Finally, we discuss practical ways to obtain and use employee feedback, and get a sneak peek into what Juro has been doing to support holistic health at their company. Are you part of the Wellness Warriors at Work community yet?  Subscribe here for insightful interviews, monthly events and the opportunity to share your own #wellnesswarriorwisdom with our community.
Jun 9, 2021
33 min
Behind the scenes of Monzo's employee-experience
We had a chat with Tara Mansfield, People Experience Director at Monzo Bank. Monzo was ranked Best banking app in the British Bank Awards and has also been recognised numerous times for being one of the top places to work in the UK. We discuss the employee experience at Monzo and how it is designed to enable employees to live out the company’s values. We also look into practical initiatives to support mental health and make people feel they belong. Additionally, Tara shares invaluable advice to get senior approval on your next pitch for a wellness initiative. Are you part of the Wellness Warriors at Work community yet?  Subscribe here for insightful interviews, monthly events and the opportunity to share your own #wellnesswarriorwisdom with our community.
May 19, 2021
28 min
How to encourage balance, passion and connection at work
Today we are joined by Kimberley Davies, Employee Experience Manager at Rise at Seven, a specialist creative SEO agency based in Sheffield and London. The agency has a strong, internal culture of enthusiastic Risers, and Kimberley shares all about how they’ve created this environment.  We discuss how Rise at Seven supports and nurtures employee passion and creativity, as well as the ways in which their employee experience attracts the right talent and gives people the tools to perform at their best. These initiatives include unlimited holidays, autonomy on the job and "power-hours" of uninterrupted work.  This interview is short and sweet, and we're sure you’ll enjoy it as much as we did.   Are you part of the Wellness Warriors at Work community yet? Subscribe!  https://www.hekahappy.com/wellness-warriors-at-work-community
Apr 29, 2021
15 min
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