Change Please: A Tale of Innovation, Social Enterprise and Good Coffee
Cemal Ezel has a company called Change Please which helps homeless people become baristas, access vital services and get safely, and sustainably, off the streets. Sir Richard Branson called Change Please his ‘start-up of the year’ in 2019 and it was rated the ‘Best Social Enterprise in the World’ in 2018. Cemal personally was rated the 46th Coolest Person in the World in 2015, and we definitely agree with that!
In this video from the 2022 Happy Workplaces Conference, Cemal takes us through Change Please’s journey from inception to the modern day, and beyond.
David Marquet’s Ask me Anything at HW21
As Commander of a nuclear submarine, David Marquet determined to make no decisions and instead to coach his staff to be their best. The Sante Fe became the best performing submarine in US navy history. He talks about how he did it in his book Turn The Ship Around.
At the 2021 Happy Workplaces Conference, David joined us for an Ask Me Anything session. Questions were crowd sourced from the audience at the event, with David answering the best ones. Watch David’s video and read the transcript here.
Valentina Culatti: How UNIT9 Use the Principles of the Happy Manifesto
UNIT9 has had the best ever staff survey we’ve ever seen – and Valentina Culatti, Managing Director, explained how she achieved it using the principles from the Happy Manifesto in this inspiring talk from the 2016 Happy Workplaces Conference in May. Watch the full video of her talk (20 minutes).
Why You Need to Make Friends at Work – Shannon Banks, Be Leadership Ltd
How important is it that you make friends in your workplace? Find out in this talk by Shannon Banks, with results from the Harvard Grant Study.
Simon Fowler, Board Member at the John Lewis Partnership Talks Happy
Simon Fowler, a Board Member of the John Lewis Partnership, talks about their unique culture that aligns very closely with The Happy Manifesto principles in this video from the 2015 Happy Workplaces Conference.
How Can You Get Your People To Do What They Are Great At?
Gallup has found that in the UK, only 17% of employees get to do what they are best at everyday at work. But when they do get to do what they are best at, they are 30-40% more productive.
In this short video, taken from the Happy Workplace Round Table on 23rd October 2024, Henry gives examples about how Happy and other organisations have gotten people to work to their strengths. How can you implement these ideas at your workplace?
How Can You Ensure Decisions Are Made By Frontline Staff, Rather Than Managers?
How are decisions made in your organisation? Are they made by the frontline staff, or by the managers? Henry Stewart explains how you can get rid of outdated hierarchical decision-making processes in this Happy Workplace Round Table, recorded on Wednesday 6th November 2024.
Alun Pomfrett: Why It’s Important To Make Pre-Approval Work
Giving your staff more autonomy means they don’t require as much oversight, freeing up the time of managers. It allows people to take ownership of their work, feel trusted and confident, and creates more joy at work. Implementing it, however, can be tricky.
Alun Pomfrett, HR Manager at Leicester-based Cocoa Amore and graduate of Happy’s
Level 7 Senior Leadership Apprenticeship Programme
has developed a very simple way to make autonomy work for your staff, as he explains at the 2023 Happy Workplaces Conference.
Helen Taylor: Break Free From Bureaucracy with Pre-Approval
How much money would you trust your employees to spend, without checking with their manager first? £50? £100? How about £50,000?
Helen Taylor from the London Borough of Hounslow, who is currently enrolled on the Level 7 Senior Leadership Apprenticeship Programme, explained in this talk from the 2023 Happy Workplaces Conference how she has implemented a system where her staff are Pre-Approved to spend £100,000.
Does Your Organisation Have a Coaching Culture?
In this video, recorded from his live session on Wednesday 9th October, Henry Stewart highlights the importance of coaching in the workplace – and asks, does your organisation have a coaching culture?
