happy Blogs

3 v 45: The three most important things I've learned about culture change

Isabelle Trowler became the chief social worker for Children and Families in 2013. The title of her talk at the 2017 Creating Happy Workplaces in the Public Sector Conference—“3 versus 45”— refers to her general tendency to speak about 45 things. For this talk, Isabelle sought to condense the lessons she’s learned over a 25 year career into three main points she thinks everyone should take on board. Watch the full talk here.

Why you should give responsibility to frontline practitioners

Across a 25 year career in social work, Isabelle Trowler has consistently railed against a raft of imposed procedures and rules. In this four-minute clip from the 2017 Creating Happy Workplaces in the Public Sector Conference, Isabelle explains what happened when she started to delegate the decision-making as close to the frontline as possible.

Build a business, create a great culture, win awards and make a profit

Dominic Monkhouse developed the UK divisions of the web-hosting businesses, Rackspace and Peer 1. He tried to make them exciting places to work by giving employees freedom within clear guidelines and heeding the "recruit for attitude, train for skill" precept. In his talk at the 2017 Happy Workplaces CEO conference, Dom poses the question, “What are you going to make a difference in? Who with?” Watch the full talk here.

Implementing Happy Principles in a Public Sector Mutual

Brendan O’Keefe was inspired by the Happy Manifesto and sought to implement its ideas at Epic CiC—an education support public mutual founded in response to the changing landscape of public sector funding. Speaking at the 2017 Creating Happy Workplaces in the Public Sector Conference, Brendan explains how he took a more active role in stimulating great results and growing a happy workplace.

Doing Things Differently in Children's Services

As Head of Children’s Services at Monmouthshire County Council, Tracy Jelfs faced the difficult task of improving KPIs, reining in spending and creating a happy, engaged workplace while also delivering quality services to vulnerable children and young people. Speaking at the 2017 Creating Happy Workplaces in the Public Sector Conference, Tracy details her experiences tackling these twin challenges.

Building a Culture of Trust at the National Audit Office

Susan Ronaldson is the NAO's Director for Engagement and Change. She was joined by Steve Mirfin, Head of Skills and Talent, at the 2017 Creating Happy Workplaces in the Public Sector Conference to speak about the measures the NAO has taken to get the best out of its people. Read the transcript and watch the full talk below.

The GDS 'It's OK' List

The culture is all around you in the Government Delivery Service office, says Alex Segrove, and the organisation understands the importance of internal communication. In this three minute clip from the 2017 Creating Happy Workplaces in the Public Sector Conference, Alex outlines how GDS has established an agile workplace that's highly responsive to the user, based on principles of trust and freedom

How the Government Digital Service creates a happy, diverse workplace

Alex Segrove is the Delivery Lead for the Government Delivery Service (GDS) – the digital transformation unit within the Cabinet Office. GDS are guided by 11 core principles, which Alex outlines in her talk at the 2017 Creating Happy Workplaces in the Public Sector conference. Read the transcript and watch the full talk below.

Tips for Dealing with Difficult People

As a facilitator, I spend a lot of time trying not to describe people as difficult. I try to put a positive spin on it: it's the behaviour, not the person; people are trying to do the best they can with what they have and who they are. But sometimes, I know that, when it happens to me, my response is that the person I find difficult is just difficult. In this blog, Paul explains the cycle of conflict and gives some advice for dealing with 'difficult' people, both at home and at work.

Creating Happy, Engaged Workplaces in a Traditional Industry

Gemma Beadle, the HR Manager at Advanced Technology Services UK, has a passion for wellbeing in the workplace. Joined by ATS Site Manager, Damien O’Neill, Gemma spoke at the 2017 Happy Workplaces conference about ATS’s achievements in creating a happy workplace. Read the transcript and watch the full video here.