"Culture is the soup in which EX swims" - Wright-Wasson 2019
Reimagining work
"Culture is the soup in which EX swims" - Wright-Wasson 2019
About Warp and Woof
About Me
What on earth is Warp & Woof?
What on earth is Warp & Woof?
Amanda holds a post-graduate degree in Human Resources Management and is a qualified Positive Psychotherapist, Master NLP/EFT Practitioner and industry-recognised Business/Life Coach. She is also an International No.1 Best-selling Author and has spent over 20 years in multi-disciplinary, Senior-level HR roles, coupled with over a decade a
Amanda holds a post-graduate degree in Human Resources Management and is a qualified Positive Psychotherapist, Master NLP/EFT Practitioner and industry-recognised Business/Life Coach. She is also an International No.1 Best-selling Author and has spent over 20 years in multi-disciplinary, Senior-level HR roles, coupled with over a decade as a Positive Psychotherapist in Private and Corporate practice.
This unique blend of experience has given her a strong understanding of the psychology and neuroscience in designing and implementing human-centric, holistic Employee Experience (EX) Transformations for Companies.
Amanda understands what makes both people and Organisations tick, and uses her background to create a (w)holistic experience that encompasses every facet of your business.
In this post-pandemic VUCA world we live in, Amanda understands the importance of providing clarity, meaning and purpose when Organisations (and the humans within) need it most.
What on earth is Warp & Woof?
What on earth is Warp & Woof?
What on earth is Warp & Woof?
noun
The underlying structure on which something is built; a base or foundation.
American Heritage
The threads in a woven fabric composed of the warp (threads running lengthwise) and woof (threads running crosswise) to create the texture of the fabric.
Wiktionary
The underlying structure or foundation of something, as in He foresaw great chan
noun
The underlying structure on which something is built; a base or foundation.
American Heritage
The threads in a woven fabric composed of the warp (threads running lengthwise) and woof (threads running crosswise) to create the texture of the fabric.
Wiktionary
The underlying structure or foundation of something, as in He foresaw great changes in the warp and woof of the nation's economy. This expression, used figuratively since the second half of the 1500s, alludes to the threads that run lengthwise (warp) and crosswise (woof) in a woven fabric.
In the context of EX, Warp and Woof relates to the essential foundation or base of your Company being the humans within it.
They are the very fabric of your business.
The Warp and Woof.
What is EX?
What on earth is Warp & Woof?
When work becomes Great
Let's be honest. Work can be miserable if you hate your job. Throw in a more common toxic culture or environment and you have a recipe for low morale, high turnover, absenteeism and poor engagement and productivity.
Richard Branson famously once said "If you look after your staff they will look after your Customers. It's that simple".
And
Let's be honest. Work can be miserable if you hate your job. Throw in a more common toxic culture or environment and you have a recipe for low morale, high turnover, absenteeism and poor engagement and productivity.
Richard Branson famously once said "If you look after your staff they will look after your Customers. It's that simple".
And it is.
At the heart of EX is a human-centred approach that utilises positive psychology and empathy to give your people a voice and gives your business an unseen edge over your competitors - it delivers a positive social impact and that has a direct influence on your employees' engagement, productivity and retention, and more importantly, your bottom line.
So why are so many Companies getting it so wrong?
In 2018, Kennedy Fitch conducted a survey of 250+ companies and researched what they call ‘EX Pioneers’ to better understand the business case for EX. Their findings ranked the most important reasons for the business case for EX: engagement and retention; business growth and strategic requirements; increasing customer satisfaction; fostering an employee-centric culture; competitive advantage; and increased performance.
These are all relevant strategic drivers for focusing on EX within your Company, and there is some compelling data that helps to make the case for investing in EX for each of these.
To take engagement and retention as an example, in their 2020 Global Culture study of some 20,000 employees, O.C. Tanner found that 59% of respondents would accept a role in a different company today if it offered the same work, pay and benefits, meaning less than half of respondents have loyalty to their Company.
Research by Gallup (2018) found that just 12% of employees strongly agree that their organisation does a great job of onboarding, which could be useful data if this is an area you wish to focus on.
Gallup also found that 23% of employees said that they experience burnout very often or always, and 44% feel burnt out. A high level of burnout within organisations impacts absenteeism, performance and more.
And recent data by Gallup shows that 85% of employees worldwide are not engaged in their work, which means that just 15% of employees are.
As a result of the Covid-19 crisis, the world of work has changed, irrevocably. A new, hybrid workforce has emerged. As a result of this it has become more important than ever to ensure your employees feel connected and have a strong sense of belonging somewhere that goes over and above the psychological contract of work for pay.
None of our work is 'cookie cutter'. Why? Because every organisation is different. Your individual business circumstances will dictate the mix of people, processes, systems and measurements that are right for you.
It's part of our role to get 'under the skin' of the human side of your business. To gain a strong understanding of your culture; what your people value vs what you provide and what sabotages the day to day experience they have of working with you and to show you ways you can improve that will link directly to KPI's such as increased productivity, lower staff turnover, company and brand reputation.
A great EX takes time and resources.
A bad EX takes time and resources.
It's your choice how you want to spend your resources.
When work becomes Great
Be Curious, not Judgemental
When work becomes Great
At the heart of Warp and Woof is a purpose-driven desire to help humans have a better experience at work and to empower CEO's and MD's to create a conscious business in which you don't just give people 'perks' (the pool table, free pizza and beanbags brigade) - you help them to find meaning and purpose in their life and work.
Make your bu
At the heart of Warp and Woof is a purpose-driven desire to help humans have a better experience at work and to empower CEO's and MD's to create a conscious business in which you don't just give people 'perks' (the pool table, free pizza and beanbags brigade) - you help them to find meaning and purpose in their life and work.
Make your business one in which the humans inside it feel safe to bring ALL of themselves to work, not just the bits you think you pay them for.
⭐ 24% of employees who feel under-appreciated for their work immediately start looking for a new job. This shows how important it is to congratulate your employees for their hard work and to show them that their efforts don’t go unrecognised.
⭐ 96% of employees want an employer who is empathic towards them. If the Leadership Team don’t have this quality, employees are more likely to quit and find a boss who not only says they are empathic, but also actively show they care for and understand them.
Creating a great EX does not have to be earth-shatteringly complicated.
But it requires a conscious commitment across EVERY level of the business to creating an environment that starts and ends, not with the Customer…but with the humans who are the heart and soul of your Company - the people inside it.
➡️Civility
➡️Respect for all
➡️Properly listening
➡️Recognising contributions
➡️Ensuring a feeling of being valued
The old-school, traditional methods of running a business from a centralised-command-and-control, from Leaders who want and feel the need to micro-manage-every-detail of business is unwieldy, uncompetitive, and outdated.
With a great EX at the heart of your business, your Company won't just be a great place to work.
It's work becomes great.
What we do
Be Curious, not Judgemental
Be Curious, not Judgemental
Having a conversation about the nature of EX and what it means for your Company is a great place to start your EX Journey.
You can then move onto defining the goals for EX and ensure these are aligned to what you are trying to achieve as an Organisation using a range of Qualitative and Quantitative Data Sources including surveys, focus gro
Having a conversation about the nature of EX and what it means for your Company is a great place to start your EX Journey.
You can then move onto defining the goals for EX and ensure these are aligned to what you are trying to achieve as an Organisation using a range of Qualitative and Quantitative Data Sources including surveys, focus groups, interviews and workshops.
When you understand your goals, you can move to uncover what a great EX experience means to your people.
These insights then form part of your EX approach. With informed data rather than making assumptions on your part about what they want and need, the data gives you a deep understanding of your employees. This enables you to focus your strategy on specific areas (i.e. recruitment, onboarding, training, induction, management development etc.) depending on your business requirements.
We have a framework design we use which incorporates all the principles of EX to create a bespoke report, tailored specifically to your Organisation, complete with recommendations. You can choose to continue to work with us to implement the key areas for your business or take that report and work in-house with the results.
Our Consultancy fees are based on a fixed price basis unless you want us to implement your recommendations, at which point we move to a day-rate.
Be Curious, not Judgemental
Be Curious, not Judgemental
Be Curious, not Judgemental
We're huge Ted Lasso fans (now streaming on AppleTV+), and if you're not familiar with who Ted is and what he stands for, here's a quick recap.
Ted Lasso tells the story of a kind and well-intentioned American coach who is brought in to rescue a fictional Premiership football team AFC Richmond - despite a total lack of experience and follo
We're huge Ted Lasso fans (now streaming on AppleTV+), and if you're not familiar with who Ted is and what he stands for, here's a quick recap.
Ted Lasso tells the story of a kind and well-intentioned American coach who is brought in to rescue a fictional Premiership football team AFC Richmond - despite a total lack of experience and follows his, the Leadership Team and the players exploits as they navigate three seasons.
One of Ted's more famous scenes involves a darts match in which the American is challenged to a game of darts by a rival football club owner.
Without giving away the result, one of Ted's lines during this match is "Be curious, not judgemental", meaning don't assume to understand anyone based on your first impressions.
We work hard not to judge our clients and are always curious to understand what makes you tick - not rolling our eyes and tutting at you.
If you want to do better, you could do worse than be like us. Be curious, not judgemental about what makes your employees happy.