The OpenBlend Podcast

Hosted by Anna Rasmussen

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Latest episode

Jul 2024

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EN-GB

About the show

At OpenBlend, we're on a mission to enable managers to better look after their people. Traditional performance management is broken and work-life balance is an out of date concept, today, employees are motivated by their work-life Blend: a mix of personal and professional drivers that enable them to achieve all their goals in life. We've launched this podcast to share real stories that bring this to life. OpenBlend Founder & CEO Anna Rasmussen interviews a variety of senior HR and people leaders, delving deep into their stories, what drives their approach to people performance; unearthing how they deal with their own unique challenges within their respective industries and work with OpenBlend to unlock the performance of their people. Each of these leaders shares how they think about the ‘whole person’ and have dealt with the impact of isolation on their colleagues. They’ve put the need for effective remote management at the forefront and ensured open and honest coaching-led conversations are at the heart of every manager/employee relationship. The distance brought about by Covid19 to our working relationships has made the need for effective people-centred performance management more important than ever. We hope you are inspired by these stories of breakthrough people leadership.

Listen to episodes

11 recent

July 23, 202423 min

Episode 6: Conversations That Matter - Anna Wildman, Oil In The Engine

Welcome back to our Conversations that Matter podcast series. Throughout this series, you'll hear the opinions and experiences of individuals who deeply believe in the power of conversation. Each episode will be unique, some stories are personal, some and professional, but all are incredibly insightful. We are thrilled to welcome our next guest, Anna Wildman, Director of Oil in the Engine. Oil in the Engine provides bespoke skill-building workshops and 1-2-1 coaching to help HR and learning development professionals around the world. Anna's career spans from 10 years in The Royal Navy, to becoming the Global Director for Learning and Development at KPMG. She is also the author of the brilliantly practical guide, ‘NOW You're Talking! The manager's complete handbook to leading great conversations at work - even the tough ones'. In this episode, we hear more about Anna's phenomenal career, what led her to write her successful book, and the importance of empowering managers to drive effective 1:1 conversations to boost the performance and development of their people. Join us on social to keep up with all things OpenBlend.Follow us on LinkedIn, where you can connect with our Founder & CEO Anna, and our Chief Revenue Officer, Jordan. Have you got a question for us that you'd like answered? Email hello@openblend.com today. #OpenBlend

March 11, 2024Episode 538 min

Episode 5: Conversations That Matter - Aaron Alburey, LACE Partners

Welcome back to another episode of our Conversations that Matter podcast. Throughout this series, you'll hear the opinions and experiences of individuals who deeply believe in the power of conversation.We are excited to welcome our next guest, Aaron Alburey, CEO and Founder of LACE Partners, a leading HR and Payroll transformation consultancy.Aaron has worked in the HR space for over 30 years, setting up LACE partners with his business partner Cathy in November 2014. Aaron previously worked for both Accenture and Deloitte, and is incredibly passionate about the delivery of HR technologies to improve employee engagement and productivity.OpenBlend's Founder and CEO, Anna Rasmussen sat down with Aaron to reflect on how HR tech has evolved over the last 10 years, and a relationship of balance between human conversations and technology to truly drive long-lasting, people performance.Join us on social to keep up with all things OpenBlend.Follow us on LinkedIn, where you can connect with our Founder & CEO Anna, and our Chief Revenue Officer, Jordan. Have you got a question for us that you'd like answered? Email hello@openblend.com today. #OpenBlend

January 22, 2024Episode 443 min

Episode 4: Conversations That Matter - Phil Donnelly, Travelport

Welcome back to our Conversations that Matter podcast series. Throughout this series, you'll hear the opinions and experiences of individuals who deeply believe in the power of conversation. Each episode will be unique, some stories are personal, some and professional, but all are incredibly insightful, Our first guest of 2024 is Phil Donnelly, Chief People Officer at Travelport, an innovative technology platform that supports exceptional travel retail experiences. As you'll hear throughout the conversation, Phil has had an incredibly diverse career in the world of HR, spanning over 30 years. From starting his career in the military where he learned teamwork and high performance, Phil has spent the last four years with Travelport's leadership team transforming and delivering incredible value to their customers, their stakeholders, and of course, their people.Anna Rasmussen sat down with Phil to discuss the changing landscape of the employee experience and how the role of the manager has shifted to one of performance coach and career concierge.Join us on social to keep up with all things OpenBlend.Follow us on LinkedIn, where you can connect with our Founder & CEO Anna, and our Chief Revenue Officer, Jordan. Have you got a question for us that you'd like answered? Email hello@openblend.com today. #OpenBlend

September 20, 2023Episode 325 min

Episode 3: Conversations That Matter - Elizabeth Cowper, We Are Ludo

Welcome back to our Conversations that matter podcast series. This week, we're joined by Elizabeth Cowper, Founder and CEO of We Are Ludo. For our next episode, OpenBlend's Founder and CEO, Anna Rasmussen, sat down with Elizabeth to discuss how organisations can and should foster an individualised approach when it comes to the employee experience, ensuring that today's workforce feel seen and heard. We Are Ludo provide tech for inclusion, working to close the gender pay gap, educating, informing and supporting HR. Join us on social to keep up with all things OpenBlend.Follow us on LinkedIn, where you can connect with our Founder & CEO Anna, and our Chief Revenue Officer, Jordan. Have you got a question for us that you'd like answered? Email hello@openblend.com today. #OpenBlend

August 17, 2023Episode 219 min

Episode 2: Conversations That Matter - Alex Mecklenburg, Truth&Spectacle

Welcome back to the OpenBlend podcast, and our new series, Conversations that Matter. As part of this series, OpenBlend CEO and Founder Anna Rasmussen will sit down with individuals who deeply believe, like us, in the power of conversation. Each story will be unique - some personal, some professional, but all incredibly insightful. In our latest podcast episode, Anna spoke with Alex Mecklenburg, a Leadership and Change Coach & Consultant and Co-Founder of Consequential, Dot Project and Truth&Spectacle, to discuss how technology can improve human relationships. Join us on social to keep up with all things OpenBlend.Follow us on LinkedIn, where you can connect with our Founder & CEO Anna, and our Chief Revenue Officer, Jordan. Have you got a question for us that you'd like answered? Email hello@openblend.com today. #OpenBlend

June 21, 2023Episode 146 min

Episode 1: Conversations that Matter - Claire Decarteret, Gallup

Welcome to the OpenBlend podcast, and our new series, Conversations that Matter. As we kick season 2 of our podcast off, we wanted to reflect and celebrate the power of great conversations. As part of this new series, OpenBlend CEO and Founder Anna Rasmussen will sit down with individuals who deeply believe, like us, in the power of conversation. Each story will be unique - some personal, some professional, but all incredibly insightful. In episode 1, Anna sits down with the fantastic Claire Decarteret, Managing Director EMEA for Gallup, a world-renowned analytics and advice firm. Their conversation explores the data and results behind Gallup's 5 different types of effective conversations that we should be having in the work place. Join us on social to keep up with all things OpenBlend.Follow us on LinkedIn, where you can connect with our Founder & CEO Anna, and our Chief Revenue Officer, Jordan. Have you got a question for us that you'd like answered? Email hello@openblend.com today. #OpenBlend

February 17, 2021Episode 428 min

Episode 4 - An interview with Sarah Mason, Chief People Officer at Foxtons on diversity, inclusion and maintaining a close-knit company culture

Chief People Officer, Sarah Mason FCIPD discusses the importance of diversity and inclusion at Foxtons and how they've been using digital and performance management platforms to keep their D&I communities and hybrid teams connected and maintain their close-knit company culture.Join us on social to keep up with all things OpenBlend.Follow us on LinkedIn, where you can connect with our Founder & CEO Anna, and our Chief Revenue Officer, Jordan. Have you got a question for us that you'd like answered? Email hello@openblend.com today. #OpenBlend

November 9, 2020Episode 333 min

Episode 3 - Interview with Sereena Abbassi, Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Consultant on taking activism into the corporate space

Equity, Inclusion and Diversity Consultant Sereena Abbassi explains the difference between equity and equality, experiences in discrimination in race and class and how she uses OpenBlend to bridge cultural divides in the workplace.Join us on social to keep up with all things OpenBlend.Follow us on LinkedIn, where you can connect with our Founder & CEO Anna, and our Chief Revenue Officer, Jordan. Have you got a question for us that you'd like answered? Email hello@openblend.com today. #OpenBlend

November 6, 2020Episode 229 min

Episode 2 - Interview with Chief People Officer Dave Parry on the powerful company culture at Gymshark

Chief People Officer Dave Parry explores what it takes to create a powerful company culture and create a dialogue on Race and Ethnicity in the workplace. Discussing Gymshark's BAME agenda, Dave explains how Gymshark has driven forward employee relationships with the help of OpenBlend and found a better normal against the challenges of Covid-19.Join us on social to keep up with all things OpenBlend.Follow us on LinkedIn, where you can connect with our Founder & CEO Anna, and our Chief Revenue Officer, Jordan. Have you got a question for us that you'd like answered? Email hello@openblend.com today. #OpenBlend

November 5, 2020Episode 140 min

Episode 1 - Interview with David Blackburn, Chief People Officer at the FSCS on remote people management

Chief People Officer David Blackburn discusses diversity and social purpose at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and the impact of Covid19 on people management, company culture and employee engagement. Join us on social to keep up with all things OpenBlend.Follow us on LinkedIn, where you can connect with our Founder & CEO Anna, and our Chief Revenue Officer, Jordan. Have you got a question for us that you'd like answered? Email hello@openblend.com today. #OpenBlend