HRchat Podcast
Listen to the HRchat Podcast by HR Gazette to get insights and tips from HR leaders, influencers and tech experts. Topics covered include HR Tech, HR, AI, Leadership, Talent, Recruitment, Employee Engagement, Recognition, Wellness, DEI, and Company Culture.
Hosted by Bill Banham, Bob Goodwin, Pauline James, and other HR enthusiasts, the HRchat show publishes interviews with influencers, leaders, analysts, and those in the HR trenches 2-4 times each week.
The show is approaching 1000 episodes and past guests are from organizations including ADP, SAP, Ceridian, IBM, UPS, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Simon Sinek Inc, NASA, Gartner, SHRM, Government of Canada, Hacking HR, McLean & Company, UPS, Microsoft, Shopify, DisruptHR, McKinsey and Co, Virgin Pulse, Salesforce, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and Coca-Cola Beverages Company.
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Podcast Music Credit"Funky One"Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
HRchat Podcast
CIPD ACE Preview with Woosh Raza
The CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition (ACE) is happening next week! Joining Bill Banham on the pod is CIPD 2024 panelist and Principal Consultant at Woosh Ltd, Woosh Raza.
Woosh shares his remarkable career path from private banking to founding Woosh Limited. Woosh's dedication to fostering meaningful, high-trust conversations propelled him into impactful HR roles within the healthcare and not-for-profit sectors. With a commitment to values like equality, diversity, and inclusion, Woosh has become a passionate advocate for transformative change in HR.
Woosh also talks about the panel he'll be on at ACE and some of the speakers he's excited to see on November 6 and 7 at Manchester Central Convention Complex.
Join us for a great conversation about the charity sector with Woosh, chair of Radical Recruits and trustee for the Charity HR Network. Discover how Radical Recruits is reshaping recruitment by supporting marginalized groups and reinvesting in its social mission. Woosh also sheds light on the unique resources offered by the Charities HR Network, the only membership group dedicated to HR leaders in the charity space.
About CIPD
The CIPD is a professional body for world of work experts. The CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition (ACE) is a two-day event that's a major HR event of the year. It's a highly-anticipated networking event for people professionals from around the world. The conference features speakers, exhibitors, panel discussions, interactive workshops, and more.
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Welcome to the HR Chat Show, one of the world's most downloaded and shared podcasts designed for HR pros, talent execs, tech enthusiasts and business leaders. For hundreds more episodes and what's new in the world of work, subscribe to the show, follow us on social media and visit hrgazettecom and visit hrgazettecom.
Speaker 2:Welcome to another episode of the HR Chat Show. Hello listeners, this is Bill Bannam. The CIPD Annual Conference and Exhibition, aka ACE, is the annual conference and exhibition taking place on November 6th and 7th at Manchester Central Convention Complex, and guess what? I'll be there. Here to speak with us in this episode is CIPD 2024 panellist Woosh Raza, founder and principal consultant over at Woosh Limited. Woosh, welcome to the HR chat show today. It's a pleasure to have you on for the first time.
Speaker 3:Thank you, thank you. Thank you, thank you, hi, bill, hope you're good and yeah, hopefully, um, and hi to anyone listening.
Speaker 2:It's a, it's a pleasure to be on the show show I can't believe we haven't done this before. I know you've come up on my radar a few times and then, just very recently, steve folger, the awesome man that he is, says have you got whoosh on your show yet? If not, you've got to talk to this guy. He is awesome. So here you are, thank you.
Speaker 3:Thank you again well, I'm very thank you for the recommend and thanks to steve for the recommendation as well, and the fact that he said that after sharing however much prosecco we drank that night is actually, you know, really encouraging. That I obviously didn't say anything or do anything. That was, um, that was worthy of not.
Speaker 2:Then, uh, you know, recommending me on a podcast, so that's amazing okay, let's uh, let's just start by taking a couple of minutes, if it's okay, and learning a bit about you, telling, telling our audience about you. Can you, can you share a bit about your career background and your current role as founder in principal over at woosh limited?
Speaker 3:yeah, sure, um, you know. So my career has a everyone. When I get asked this question, I find I find it a bit I don't know where to start really. So I start with the. I guess I start with the kind of the why for me and and that's all, that's kind of stayed something that's really committed to me, since I was like you know, since, from a very young age and really, when I kind of ventured into the world of work, I wanted to make a difference, I wanted to make impact, I wanted to, um, I wanted to take over the world, and these were really the principles which which I kind of stepped into the working world, um, and so I did a.
Speaker 3:I did what you know lots and lots of, I guess, um, people my age at the time were doing in terms of experimentation. I jumped, uh, from lots of different spaces but I'd soaked up skills and knowledge really, really quickly. So I started in private banking. I worked in Halifax, lloyds, santander, barclays, retail roles, but with an HR focus, and stepped in. I kind of blagged my way onto HR, if I'm being really honest, because I remember when I was at Halifax and this was right about the time that Lloyds and Halifax were merging and so the HR department went from being you know, nice, cushy little, you know very, you know well-oiled machine to an absolute crazy pandemonium. As the merger took hold and I think I just got a glimpse into the side of HR that really intrigued me in terms of like wow, there are really high trust conversations happening in this kind of pressurized environment and it made me feel really, really valued actually, and also really grateful for the trust that people were sharing with me. So I was like, yeah, this is somewhere I want to really build my career. And so I moved from there into kind of health care and private health care.
Speaker 3:I've worked in kind of big organizations like private mental health and private psychiatry, and then I think it got to the point that I was in my mid-20s at this point. And then I think it got to the point that I was in my mid-20s at this point and I thought, right, I have worked here, I've built a solid understanding of HR and HR management and how to apply that commercially. But really from a values perspective, what really drew me to the not-for-profit sector, which is where I've been up until this point for the last kind of over a decade was values, and that's kind of what made me really want to move ship and that's when I joined the charity sector and I've worked across different roles and there have been a business partner. I've been head of my previous role as an exec director of people, and where I've got to, I guess, in terms of Wish Limited is I have always taken an interest in my career and I've been on like I've you know, I will I'll gladly, kind of you know, represent the career any which way I can.
Speaker 3:I've worked the CAPD. It's like a, like a um. I'm still I'm working with CAPD, um. I've done lots of things through kind of trustees and networks, um, and that's kind of what kind of born wish limited because I feel like I could make impact through my consultancy with this with lots and lots of different clients, and so kind of born wish limited because I feel like I could make impact through my consultancy with with lots and lots of different clients and so kind of. That's what I'm, what I'm doing now. I'm blessed to be able to work really closely with people, work that kind of what the HR function is, but also from an ED&I perspective, which is something else that I'm incredibly passionate about um, and that's kind of, yeah, what's brought me to this point and I'm very early on to this new journey of mine. It's literally been like the end of the second week today.
Speaker 3:so yeah, that's a bit more about me and kind of my trajectory and yeah.
Speaker 2:Thanks for listening to this episode of the HR Chat Podcast. If you enjoy the audio content we produce, you'll love our articles on the HR Gazette. Learn more at HRGazettecom. And now back to the show. All right, thank you very much. Well, it sounds like we need to do a part two in, say, 12 months, when you're 12 months into yeah, yeah, great way of thinking.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 100 percent so you are on a panel. Uh, on day two. I do apologize. Before we hit record today, listeners I said right, okay, uh, I understand, you're a panel on day one. It's called this. And Wush said no, bill, don't scare me, like that, it's on day two, it's a day two panel and the panel is called Sustaining Momentum in Career Development to Enhance Workforce Productivity. Can you tell our listeners a bit more about the session and some of the other panellists?
Speaker 3:Absolutely so.
Speaker 3:I mean, the session is going to be a really, hopefully, a really informative session and, you know, really thinking about kind of the, I guess, the current context of sustaining career momentum in the world that we're now in and, as we know, the world is incredibly complex and the world is incredibly agile and we're moving at like a lightning speed when it comes to change and pivoting and careers, and so it's going to be a deep dive into kind of what does that look like from a skills development piece in terms of your workforce.
Speaker 3:So we're going to be getting into kind of things around, you know, pivoting your career and acquiring new skills and how employers can support employees and developing, kind of, you know, skills that are that that are fastly becoming critical skills to have in the workplace, and so that's going to be a deep dive. And my particular focus for the panel will be to look at that from an inclusion lens, because I'm fascinated about OK, well, how do skills and inclusion mix? And they do, because, of course, you know you've got different generations coming into the. You know we're working at the moment with five generations in one in any one time in the workplace, which is incredible. So you've got so many different viewpoints of like the world of work there and you've definitely got social mobility which comes to play, which is obviously thinking about, you know, level, of degree levels versus vocational qualifications. So it's set to be a really, really, um, thought-provoking kind of panel event and uh, yeah, I'm really looking forward to being on the panel.
Speaker 2:Okay, very good, thank you very much. So you are at cipd, as are lots of other awesome speakers, including, uh, peter cheese and bruce daisley, who listeners you can see in person at disrupt london with hr zones culture pioneers summit on november 13th. He's uh, he's the keynote there. I think bruce is awesome. He's been on the show before. I couldn't tell you what episode number maybe in the 500s, not quite sure. Um, but check that out as well. Um, so there's bruce, there's peter. There are lots of cool speakers. Who? Who are you looking forward to seeing?
Speaker 3:I mean, I mean, I think so obviously, one of the keynotes is joanna lumley, um and um, I'm fanboying over that, to be honest, in particular because, um, I just find it, I think it's a really refreshing that copd kind of have keynotes that aren't necessarily in the profession. So I think, um, uh, you know, a few years back, uh, mohsin Zaidi was another person who was a keynote, who was, he was a personal inspiration to me, but he's a lawyer and he's, he talks about, you know, intersectional identity. But this year I'm really excited to Joanne and Emily, um, and just kind of the impact of of her really coming on, because obviously her career I mean obviously Av Fab and like her being on TV but I'm fascinated to see kind of what she, the perspective that she'll bring into kind of the workforce and the world of work right now. So she's definitely someone I'm really excited to kind of listen to and hear also I've got to say sky at night.
Speaker 2:Um, maggie adarin pocock is speaking there. I think she is awesome. Uh, I haven't seen the sky at night, father still making that. It was one of the longest running shows, I think, in the world of course. Yeah, I don't think I have well, I do hope they're still doing it, that's for sure. Um, okay, okay, continuing on. You are the chair of a charity called, uh, radical recruits. I believe in a trustee yes charity hr network as well.
Speaker 3:Um, can you just give a bit of lip service just for a minute or so and uh big those up to our listeners oh, absolutely, um, I mean, firstly, I'm hugely, uh, privileged, honoured to be talking about this on your podcast because, for me, one of the big passions about one of my huge passion for me is the charity sector. I've worked in it for a long time. In fact, my last job was at the membership body for charities in England. So, you know, really thinking about the voluntary sector across England and kind of the workforce as the kind of people director workforce, because as the kind of people director, so it's great to be able to talk about two, two particular obviously, interests and and places that I that I hold dearly in terms of um, both of the charities that you've mentioned and the network. So I'll start with Radical Recruits. So Radical Recruits and if you haven't heard of it and please do kind of google Radical or look it up on my LinkedIn profile as well Radical is a charity that's set up by an incredible change maker. She is a really inspiring individual, her name's Emma and she set up the charity to basically support people from underrepresented groups and marginalized backgrounds and really support them into employment. And what's different about Radical is that you, you know, a lot of recruitment agencies are private, um, whereas this is a not-for-profit and so actually everything the charity is, it's, it's, it behaves like a recruitment agency, but all the funds are reinvested back into the social purpose for the charity, which is incredibly inspiring, and there's a whole range of programs that underpin their, their employee placement. So they work specifically with people from prisons and people of the global majority and they kind of support people kind of into meaningful employment and they work with a range of different kind of employers on this issue. So, yeah, if you have recruitment needs, if you're thinking about kind of recruiting and building diversity into your workforce or recruiting with that kind of you know, csr agenda in mind, then Radical is definitely your charity. So, yeah, do give that, do check that out.
Speaker 3:Um, a second kind of yeah, the trustee, um, and I'm also a trustee, as you, as you mentioned there for the charity HR network. So the charity's HR network exists and I'm so honored again I and proud to be a trustee. It's the only membership networking kind of group really for HR leaders and senior HR leaders in working in the charity sector. So if you're an HR leader and you're working in the charity sector, it's definitely worth subscribing and becoming a member for the Charities HR Network, prescribing and becoming a member for the charities hr network. Um, I'm, yeah, I'm a trustee, but I sit alongside an incredible group of trustees.
Speaker 3:Um, our chair is is martin dicker, who's the people director at unicef, um, and we are basically we support, you know, senior leaders in the hr space working charities with with range of different things. We have meetings, we have working groups, we have regular newsletters, we get discounted offers and products from the likes of cipd and other partners that we kind of partner with. Um, so, yeah, it's great to be involved in the charities hr network and, yeah, if you are in the sector then and you are an hr leader, then do, do look it up and do sign up do look it up, do sign up.
Speaker 2:Uh, whoosh, send me over some links after this and we can add those to the show notes and whatnot as well, to help folks find those amazing organizations. Okay, before we wrap up, whoosh, I bet you're everywhere because you're super cool. I bet you're all over the linkedin and the x and the instagram and the tiktok and all the other cool places. How can folks connect with you?
Speaker 3:I mean definitely I am everywhere, um, and my name is very much like my, my style. I'm literally wishing around here, there and everywhere, um, linkedin's like the best place to kind of come and grab me and so connect me on linkedin wish rather, um, and yeah, connect up and uh and reach out and and we can have a chat or a coffee. I'm also, yes, on instagram, both me and wish limited. If you type in worse with type of wish limited, hopefully that brings up my company and so I'm on instagram, uh, as well. So, yeah, um, get involved perfect.
Speaker 2:Well, that just leads me to say for today woosh, rosa, you superstar. I'm very much looking forward to meeting you next week as we record this episode, uh, at the cipd after day one for the Disrupt Manchester relaunch party. It'd be lovely to see you there in person and then, beyond that, I'm probably going to badger you to speak at other Disrupt events around the country in 2025. I'd love that. It's part of a lovely friendship. Awesome. Thank you Very, very nice to get to know you today. I appreciate you. Thanks so much, bill, and listeners as always, until next time, happy working.
Speaker 1:Thanks for listening to the HR Chat Show. If you enjoyed this episode, why not subscribe and listen to some of the hundreds of episodes published by HR Gazette and remember for what's new in the world of work. Subscribe to the show, follow us on social media and visit hrgazettecom.
