44. The biggest work from home experiment we have ever done with Laura Staples

As a neo-generalist, Laura Staples has navigated multiple domains - across transformation, organisational development and human resources - in a variety of leadership roles. Laura is the Head of People & Performance at Laminex Australia and has spent the last 15 years pushing the boundaries in organisations with an eye on the future, seeking out the best experiences to fuel her knowledge and passion for the future of work. Laura is passionate about untangling complexity - be it people, processes or systems - and uncovering the hidden opportunities to transform ways of working. Naturally curious and at times outspoken, Laura is known for her creative leadership and ability to design innovative and commercially viable solutions which surprise and delight. In this episode Laura shares how just several months after COVID-19 forced us all into lockdown, Laminex Australia transitioned to a permanent work from home environment. She discusses how they made the change, having to take into consideration their current employees needs, as well as the recruitment and on-boarding of new employees. Links Laminex Australia Time Stamps 00:46 What working from home (WFH) now means for Laminex Australia 01:21 "And then suddenly overnight…the world transitioned into the largest work from home experiment" 03:11 What Laminex Australia has learnt about virtual recruitment and on-boarding 04:29 "We're designing recruitment experiences where the candidate can put themselves in a real life scenario that may occur within the business, so that we can test how they would respond or react" 07:34 Ways in which communication has changed at Laminex Australia to support the on-boarding of new staff 08:50 "We created an online strategy festival...we broadcast that out to over 200 employees via zoom" 12:05 Managing reward and recognition in a workforce that's so dispersed 15:34 How Laminex Australia is helping WFH employees switch off once the workday is over 17:06 "What's the physical thing that you can switch off at the end of the day, which is the symbolic shift from, I've left the office now and now I'm at home"