Chloe's Tailored Thinking Journey

Me.

Me.

 

Hello!

To anyone wondering who I am, I am employee number 2 at Tailored Thinking, next to Founder and Chief Positive Deviant, Rob Baker. Rob was looking to expand his team and picked me to be the chosen one! Whilst we are a micro-business, we have a number of collaborators, partners and facilitators. However, I’m formally employee number 2, so by hiring me the company has actually doubled in size.

My role?

Content developer (creating and developing content for the website, social media platforms and more).

My background

I recently graduated with a master’s degree in Media and Journalism. But I persistently found myself edging towards the creative and digital marketing side of things. This lead me to apply for a digital marketing apprenticeship with a fantastic company called The Juice Academy! They’re so current and really on the money in terms of digital marketing and content creating so it was a non brainer to apply.

Outside of work

Outside of work I am super social and love to be around friends and family. Some of my favourite things in life include football, animals (especially dogs), music and exploring. I love going to music festivals and events with friends, particularly in summer. I have played football pretty much all of my life and currently play for Wallsend Ladies.

Why Tailored Thinking?

For me, I like to help people and contribute to change in society. So, to be able to work for such a positive organisation that makes real life change to people’s jobs, lives and organisations is something I am really passionate about. This is also my first job working for a professional business, so it’s really exciting for me.

How have I found it so far?

Starting a new job is always daunting. Particularly in a global pandemic! As a graduate, going into the working world, I had lots of doubts leading up to my role. Will I be good enough? What happens if Rob doesn’t like my work? But I couldn’t have asked for someone better to work for. We still haven’t actually met in person, but we zoom daily, and it almost feels very normal. He even sent me this welcome pack before I started which was really kind.

My Tailored Thinking welcome pack.

My Tailored Thinking welcome pack.

My first few weeks at Tailored Thinking and I have done so much already! Blog writing, graphic design, video editing, meeting with clients and so much more. Having the freedom to use my own initiative and imagination when creating content is what makes it so enjoyable.

In the future I am going to be writing about my experiences with applying positive psychology in my work. I’m no specialist but it’s something I’m really interested in and love to try new things. If you would like to follow my journey at Tailored Thinking, then you can connect with me on LinkedIn or keep your eyes peeled for more upcoming blogs!

Thanks for reading :)

Chloe.

Chloe Mark is Tailored Thinking’s resident content developer and formally employee number 2 of the business.
















Winner - HR Consultancy of the Year 2020

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Yes, you read that right!

We are delighted to have won the CIPD HR Consultancy of the year award for 2020!

But what did we do and how did we do it?

“What most impressed the judges about Tailored Thinking was the HR consultancy’s distinctly innovative and evidence-based approach to the job crafting initiative delivered for Connect Health, which “improved working lives across the organisation” and left “an impressive legacy” [1].”
— CIPD Judging panel feedback







Enjoy the whole CIPD People Management Awards or skip to our award at 18:15!

What was the award for?

To be considered for the national awards, Tailored Thinking had to submit a project with a client. We were delighted to partner with Connect Health and present a case study of a job crafting initiative called ‘Be who you want to be’ which we designed and developed with and for them.

Who are Connect Health?

Connect Health are the largest, independent provider of integrated community MSK (musculoskeletal) and physiotherapy services in the UK. Connect have a pioneering approach when it comes to supporting and enabling people which is driven by Lisa Davidson, Chief People Office at Connect Health and Sarah Dewar, Director of People at Connect Health.

What was the project?

‘Bee who you want to be’ was a distinctive, innovative and evidence- based approach to job crafting. The project was focused on enabling people to bring their whole and best selves to work by making small individual and personal changes and improvements to their jobs.

‘Be who you want to be’.

‘Be who you want to be’.

What was the purpose of the project?

The purpose of the project was to consolidate Connect Health’s position as an employer of choice within their industry sector and to create a fulfilling and positive workplace.

Connect recognised the potential and value for both the business and employees themselves in finding ways to tap into the diverse strengths, talents and experiences across their workforce.

What did the project involve?

The project involved 3 key phases.

  • Phase 1 involved testing job crafting as a concept with different groups across the organisation.

  • Phase 2 involved evaluating the impact and feedback from pilot groups.

  • Phase 3 involved embedding job crafting conversations across Connect, through quarterly discussions between team leaders and their colleagues. Each quarter a different theme was discussed such as tasks, relationships, wellbeing, skill development and growth. At the end of each conversation employees were encouraged to make a small positive and personal experimental change to their job.

We asked employees to write down what they love and loathe about their jobs.

We asked employees to write down what they love and loathe about their jobs.

“100% of employees applied job crafting & 98% said they could apply this to their own role [2]. ”

What were some of the outcomes?

The key outcome was that people were given increased flexibility and control of their jobs on a day-to-day basis which drove innovation and engagement.

There were a number of additional positive outcomes associated with the project:

  • 88% of people applied job crafting to their roles giving more people ownership over their jobs and careers.

  • 7% increase in intention to stay at the company and increased attraction rates.

  • 13% increase in engagement levels

  • 11% increase in ratings of Connect as a ‘Healthy place to work’

  • 4,900 days reduction of sickness absence

  • £396,000 savings in turnover

What is job crafting?

Job crafting enables people to proactively personalize their approach to work [3]. There are 5 different types of job crafting, task, relationship, skill, purpose and wellbeing crafting. Organisationally, job crafting has been found to positively influence job engagement, job satisfaction and retention [4].

““Job crafting has now become a way of life within the company, with crafting conversations taking place at all levels of the organisation”– Sarah Dewar – Director of people at Connect Health [5].”

Want to find out more?

If you would like to delve deeper into our project, we’re working with Connect Health to put together a formal case study and workshop to give you a better insight into how we went about this project.

Sign-up for our newsletter or keep your eyes-peeled on our website and our social media for further updates.

References

[1] http://www.cipdpmas.co.uk/best-hr-and-ld-consultancy/

[2] http://www.cipdpmas.co.uk/best-hr-and-ld-consultancy/

[3] Baker (2020). Personalization at work.

[4] Baker (2020). Personalization at work.

[5] http://www.cipdpmas.co.uk/best-hr-and-ld-consultancy/



 




The Five Ways to Wellbeing- Keep Learning

The Five Ways to Wellbeing- Keep Learning

Was there any skill or activity you wished you had learnt when you were younger, that you now feel is too late to learn?

If so, don’t worry- It’s never too late to learn. In the third blog in our Five Ways to Wellbeing series, we reveal the multitude of benefits that lifelong learning can bring to you, and suggest ways in which you can integrate learning into your everyday routine.

Time to trust rather than tether

Time to trust rather than tether

With society beginning to emerge from the throes of the Covid-19 pandemic, what can we expect from this new world of work, and why should personalisation and job crafting be incorporated into the restructuring process?

One thing is certainly clear - work as we’ve previously known it may be altered forever. The pandemic has demanded trust between organisations and employees - a trust which has yielded incredible business, as well as wellbeing, benefits.

How can job crafting support Diversity & Inclusion?

How can job crafting support Diversity & Inclusion?

We all perceive the world differently. Difference is what makes us human. However, despite our differences, we possess a desire to feel included and that we belong - this is as true at work as it is elsewhere. Yet it can be challenging for organisations to know where to start with creating diverse and inclusive workplaces. In some organisations the diversity & inclusion (D&I) agenda is perceived as a ‘tick box’ exercise designed to ensure legal compliance. A lack of genuine desire and commitment to create diverse and inclusive workplaces can result in strategies which fail to include the very people they are designed to support. Even in more progressive workplaces managers typically don’t recognise, and therefore make the most of, our diversity. At worst, it is ignored and even stifled.

How can you job craft?

How can you job craft?

So we know why job crafting is beneficial for employees and organisations. We know what the different types of job crafting are. But what about the How of job crafting? How do we make job crafting a reality in our working day-to-day? And how do we measure this and the outcomes of job crafting?

How can you encourage job crafting in the workplace?

A beneficial way of encouraging personal reflection on how work is being carried out is by asking yourself the following six question themes. These questions are designed to stimulate thought, energy and excitement about the aspects of your work you are interested in personalising and crafting further, as well as helping identify opportunities to shift and change.

What are the different types of job crafting?

What are the different types of job crafting?

In our last blog, we presented an introduction to job crafting and focused on the Why of job crafting - why personalising your work matters and the benefits it has been found to bring to employees and the wider organisation. This blog explores the What of job crafting - what the different types of job crafting are - to build a clearer understanding of the forms job crafting can take in the workplace. There are five core types of job crafting.

Why does job crafting matter?

Why does job crafting matter?

We eagerly welcome personalization into our lives - whether that is the opportunity to personalise our clothes, tins of chocolate or designing and printing amazing customisable greeting cards online. Being able to tailor things to our own personal preferences, style and values creates meaning and worth for us.

Job crafting enables employees to bring this personalization to the workplace.

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