In this episode of Let’s Talk About EX , we sit down with Matt McFarlane—founder of Comp Strategy and brains behind the Startup People Summit—to talk all things compensation. We unpack: Why startups get compensation wrong (and what it costs them) The rise of pay transparency—and how to prepare for it What ‘getting it right’ really means (hint: it’s not just about numbers) Why early-stage people leaders need better support (and how Matt’s fixing that) Matt also shares the backstory behind launchi...
Jun 25, 2025•29 min•Season 3Ep. 12
About the episode: Nora Koslowski is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of EVEN, a digital career development platform designed to shift the stats and support more women into leadership. In this episode, she shares the founder story behind EVEN (which started over a cocktail), her firsthand experience of workplace discrimination, and the structural challenges that still hold women back at work. We also dive into: Why the “hourglass” issue is stalling gender equity What great inclusive cultures actually l...
Jun 18, 2025•29 min•Season 3Ep. 11
On this episode (in recognition of Men’s Health Week) we’re joined by Rae Bonney OAM — mental health specialist, men’s health advocate, counsellor, and all-round force for good. From workplaces to policy tables, Rae’s work challenges how we think about masculinity, mental health, and the stories we tell ourselves about what men “should” be. In this episode: Why “men don’t talk” is a myth The heartbreaking (and too-common) story of Hypothetical Harry Why most wellbeing programs fail to reach the ...
Jun 11, 2025•39 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Show Notes Host: Ryan McGrory Guest: Alexia Elmers, Talent Acquisition Specialist Episode Highlights: EVPs and Employer Branding: Alexia discusses the importance of crafting authentic employer brand narratives that resonate deeply with potential hires. Diversity and Inclusion: Insights on fostering inclusive workplaces that celebrate diversity of thought and contribute to team success. Candidate Experience: Alexia shares her approach to transforming the recruitment experience by being transparen...
Feb 25, 2025•23 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Episode Title: Elevating Human Experiences at Work Guest: Alana Bennett Founder, Connected Experience Expert in Employee Experience Design and Fractional CPO Services In this Episode: About Alana Bennett: Introduction to Alana's journey from leading employee experience before it became a recognised field, to founding Connected Experience. The Birth of Connected Experience: How the pandemic influenced the trajectory of employee experience and led to the creation of Alana's company during a pivota...
Feb 11, 2025•32 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Show Notes: Episode Title: Leading with Integrity: Fay Calderone’s Blueprint for a Respectful Workplace Guest: Fay Calderone, Employment Lawyer and Author Overview: In this episode, Ryan McGrory sits down with Fay Calderone to discuss her impactful work in employment law and her recent book, "Broken to Safe." Fay shares her insights on how leaders can create safer, more inclusive workplaces that not only comply with laws but also foster a culture where employees flourish. Key Points: The Inspira...
Jan 28, 2025•37 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Introduction to Luke Jamieson: Meet Luke, a self-proclaimed ‘well-behaved larrikin’ and a visionary in employee and customer engagement. The Story Behind the Bio: Luke discusses his humorous yet insightful take on professional bios and how it reflects his approach to work. Unconventional Career Paths: From his beginnings as a pastry chef to becoming a CX and EX leader, Luke shares how diverse experiences contribute to his expertise. Gamification and Engagement: Insights into how gamification can...
Jan 15, 2025•32 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Allan Sparkes on Transforming Adversity into Advocacy Join us in this powerful episode of "Let's Talk About EX," where we sit down with Allan Sparkes, CV, OAM, a name synonymous with bravery and resilience. Allan is not only a celebrated hero but also a staunch advocate for mental health. His life's work, transitioning from a decorated police veteran to a mental health advocate, offers invaluable insights into the role of mental wellness in high-stakes professions. In our conversation, Allan sha...
Nov 18, 2024•30 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Episode Overview: Join host Ryan McGrory as he explores the fascinating world of neurodiversity in leadership with Mariane Power, a clinical psychologist and executive coach who specializes in neuro-affirming solutions for neurodivergent leaders. Discover the unique challenges and strengths that neurodivergent individuals bring to leadership roles and how inclusive practices can benefit everyone in the workplace. What You’ll Learn: The importance of neurodiversity in fostering innovation and cre...
Oct 15, 2024•35 min•Season 3Ep. 4
In this episode of "Let's Talk About EX," Ryan McGrory sits down with Dr. Kathryn Page, an acclaimed expert in leadership, workplace wellbeing, and organisational development. Dr. Page delves into the critical intersections of leadership and organisational culture, providing invaluable insights into enhancing employee engagement and resilience. What You'll Learn: How strategic leadership profoundly influences workplace culture and employee wellbeing. Practical steps leaders can take to foster a ...
Sep 24, 2024•38 min•Season 3Ep. 3
In this episode of Let's Talk About EX , host Ryan McGrory is joined by Jenna Mikus, a strategic advisor who blends wellbeing science with architectural insights to promote environmental health and eudaemonic well-being. Jenna shares her innovative approach to creating spaces that not only meet the functional needs but also enhance the well-being of individuals through her concept of 'Eudaemonic Design.' What You'll Learn: The principles of Eudaemonic Design and how it integrates with architectu...
Aug 30, 2024•35 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In this episode of "Let's Talk About EX," join your host Ryan McGrory as he dives into an engaging conversation with Kelly Stone , a celebrated writer, trainer, and coach renowned for her innovative approaches to employer branding. Kelly shares her insights on how businesses can revolutionize their employer brand by empowering their team to be authentic brand ambassadors. From deploying grassroots strategies to leveraging internal subject matter experts, Kelly discusses practical steps to make y...
Apr 16, 2024•27 min•Season 3Ep. 1
What are key issues impacting employee’s wellbeing, and how do we support them? We tackled this and more in the latest episode of Let’s Talk About EX where we were joined by Dr Natalie Flatt, a psychologist, researcher and business owner with a knack for innovation - especially in the workplace wellbeing and mental health area! We had an awesome conversation as Natalie shared her insights and experience in working with organisations to improve their response to wellbeing in her role as Co-founde...
Oct 23, 2023•43 min•Season 2Ep. 6
If you don’t define your culture, then how can you describe it to others? How do you drive it? How do you grow it? How do you measure it? We covered this in the latest episode of Let’s Talk About EX where we were joined by Mary Lemonis , the Chief People and Sustainability Officer at REA group . REA Group are a collection of 16 brands, with 3000 employees operating across three continents. Whether you know REA group or not, you’re probably familiar with and have used their technology and platfor...
Aug 08, 2023•30 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Millions of Australians are working parents. In fact, 67% of families in Australia have two working parents! It’s amazing that with so many people experiencing what it’s like to work as a parent that our workplaces, the employee experience and even society doesn’t really feel like it’s designed for smooth sailing for parents. On this episode of Let’s Talk About EX, we’re joined by Nadine O’Regan , General Manager at TQ Solutions . We discussed the experience or working parents - their needs, fru...
Jul 18, 2023•32 min•Season 2Ep. 4
In this episode of Let's Talk About EX, we’re joined by Claudia Barriga-Larriviere - Senior Director, People and Culture at Sendle. She is seasoned professional in culture and strategy in corporate but also with an emphasis in the startup space. In our conversation, Claudia shared her unique insights on the importance of authentic startup cultures and their impact on well-being and success. There’s so much gold in this conversation - tips, takeaways and insights … so much. Enjoy! Check out Claud...
Jun 05, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 3
In this episode of Let's Talk About EX, we’re joined by Jonathan Clark the co-founder of The Eighth Mile Consulting , a company that specializes in helping organizations navigate complex challenges and achieve their goals. With over a decade of experience in the Australian Army, Jonathan brings a unique perspective on leadership and change management. In our conversation, we delve into his insights and experiences, discussing the role of leadership in creating a positive employee experience and ...
May 09, 2023•44 min•Season 2Ep. 2
In this episode of "Let's Talk About EX," we sit down with Alisha Murdoch, the Head of People and Culture of Jetts Australia , to discuss what makes the company a great place to work. Jetts Australia is a fitness franchise that operates over 50 gyms throughout the country, and they've built a reputation for valuing their employees and creating a positive work environment. During our conversation, Alisha shares her insights on the company's culture and how they prioritize employee development and...
Apr 10, 2023•27 min•Season 2Ep. 1
On this episode, I caught up with Kyla Banks , Group Head of Employee Experience and Internal Communications at nib . Kyla leads an extraordinary EX team and has done some incredible things at nib - supporting some revolutionary people initiatives to support wellbeing, performance and the overall employee experience. She has a background in marketing and PR, so it was good to get the chance to discuss what attracted her to EX, learn about her approach - as well as discuss some of the unique EX c...
Dec 05, 2022•26 min•Season 1Ep. 13
On this episode, I caught up with Oscar Trimboli - author of how to listen, Deep Listening & Breakthroughs. As well as an author Oscar is also a professional speaker, an apple award winning podcast host and a successful mentor who works with clients to achieve growth within their organisation, for their team and with their leaders. He’s a true expert on the topic of listening - and I could listen to him all day. We discussed Oscar’s new book - How to Listen - and he was full of interesting s...
Nov 23, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 12
On this episode, I caught up with Tim Fisher , Head of Academy at Tapi Carpets & Floors in the UK. Tim is one of the most passionate individuals I’ve met - particularly when it comes to Values, Leadership and having fun at work. He is a self-proclaimed 'learning geek' - and I can vouch for that having worked with Tim before. He’s also a leader with a lot of great experience, ideas and perspective - which I’m grateful he was willing to share in this episode of the podcast. We discussed authen...
Nov 03, 2022•22 min•Season 1Ep. 11
On this episode, I catch up with Paul Woods , founder of Adopt & Embrace and General Manager at RapidCircle. We had a great chat about the recent history and current challenges that workplaces have around hybrid and remote work strategies. Paul was generous in sharing his experience, tips and thoughts on how to merge your tech and culture approach We also talked about his inspiration, his take on employee experience - and how you might take your leaders and company on a digital confidence jo...
Oct 12, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 10
On this episode I'm joined by Verity Bell, Vibe Manager at the innovative and exciting Dovetail . I’ve known Verity for a few years now - and can say that she is not only a fantastic person but is highly passionate and knowledgable on the topics of Employee Experience, engagement and culture. She’s built wellness programs, led global event strategies and designed excellent experiences in her previous role in EX at Atlassian, where she spent just over a decade at. I was fortunate enough to have h...
Aug 26, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 9
I’m joined on this episode by Lucy Harrington founder and lead facilitator of The Wholistic Being, a business that specilaises in providing mental health, suicide prevention and wellbeing training as well as consultation services in this space. Lucy's experience spans over a decade of both personal and professional experience, enabling her to provide high-quality services for organisations big and small. She is passionate about mental health literacy, education and awareness and this is what we ...
Aug 09, 2022•21 min•Season 1Ep. 8
On this episode, I'm joined by Viren Thakrar. Viren co-founder of In The Game, a culture-building platform to support businesses with hiring, team development and cross-team connection. He's got 15+ years of experience in the people and culture space, supported by his Masters in Sport & Exercise Psychology. He values fun, freedom, adventure, growth, creativity, and achievement and loves to play video/board games, listen to and DJ house music, and watch soccer. You can find more about his ama...
Jul 27, 2022•24 min•Season 1Ep. 7
On this episode, we're joined by Phil Wolffe of KinexHealth. Phil is a workplace wellness expert and one of the most experienced practitioners in the country. An exercise physiologist by trade, Phil has completed over 25,000 individual consultations across a wide range of populations and has seen a huge range of health conditions. With over a decade of experience designing and implementing workplace wellness programs, from the head offices of Australia’s largest banks to the gold mines of Papua ...
Jun 29, 2022•20 min•Season 1Ep. 6
On this episode, I catch-up with Hannah Blane , Vibe Manager at Immutable . She talks us through life at a successful tech start-up that is experiencing great growth - and she tells us how her epic role supports the larger team’s passion and purpose as she supports people to do great work. We also talked about her inspiration, her take on employee experience - and is very generous with advice for ways to improve vibe in your organisation. We hope you enjoy!...
Jun 13, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 5
On this episode, I chat to Aaron Williams, CEO of Mindstar on the topic of workplace wellbeing, and how organisations can create a culture that supports their people and leaders. We also speak about the impact that wellbeing has on leaders - and how certain leaders thrive. Aaron does amazing work with his business Mindstar, supporting organisations to improve their wellbeing via their wellbeing coaches, training and workshops - and more. Check out what they do via - https://www.mindstar.com.au/...
May 30, 2022•26 min•Season 1Ep. 4
On this episode, I'm joined by Dr Karen Sutherland, an award-winning social-media author and educator. We talk about the impact of social media, and how organisations can avoid the pitfalls of poor relationship management. We also talk about how organisations might use social media to boost attraction - and their employer branding in an authentic way. Check out what Karen does on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenesutherland/ And, learn about her awesome marketing agency Dharana Digita...
May 14, 2022•22 min•Season 1Ep. 3
In this episode of Let's Talk About EX, I catch-up with Russell Robinson, an international expert in engagement. We speak about engagement trends, as well as employee voice (and silence) and where diversity and inclusion is headed.
Apr 25, 2022•23 min•Season 1Ep. 2
