Channel 4’s People Director Kirstin Furber will be one of the esteemed panellists taking part in the opening keynote debate at MAD World this year, alongside the likes of CIP Chief Executive Peter Cheese and BBC Chief Medical Officer Dr Clare Fernandes and facilitated by Dame Carol Black (For full agenda and to register, see here).
The debate will ask which is more important, individuals intervention or institutional change, when it comes to a healthy, happy and productive workforce.
Furber is known for her personal resilience and empowering individuals to take charge of their wellbeing – in her spare time, she has founded a project called the ‘Sunday Night Blues’ aiming to share insights about how to reduce the anxiety many people feel before the working week starts, even if they love their job; something she also calls the ‘Sunday night scaries’.
Her resilience has had to go up a notch in recent months as she was unfortunately involved in a car accident, which saw her transition from the purchaser of wellbeing services to the user of them. Typical of her optimistic outlook, she’s used this as an opportunity to analyse and improve the Channel 4 offering, as well as doing everything in her personal power, like yoga, to rehabilitate.
We caught up with her to find out more ahead of her keynote appearance at MAD World.
What’s top of your mind regarding health and wellbeing right now?
Well, I suppose it’s currently personal for me because I had quite a bad accident about six months ago when I was hit by a car.
Physically I’ve had broken bones and cuts, so have been going through the process of mending, but it’s been a real reminder to me of the mental impact of difficult times.
It’s given me a really deep understanding of the physical and mental effects of a big trauma and how you rehabilitate yourself back into your life and work. I’ve been supporting people with their wellbeing, but then when you go through something like this yourself, then it gives you a different perspective.
How do you think it’s changed your perspective?
It gives me a deep appreciation for people who are struggling with their mental health.
What’s it been like experiencing the wellbeing services you’ve helped to set up?
Channel Four’s been really, really supportive. I’ve gone from talking about our services, to actually using them, and part of this journey for me has been being able to see what has worked and what hasn’t.
What has helped?
Well, I teach yoga, so my practice has really helped because it’s all about adapting.
In a sling I wasn’t allowed to move for weeks but I meditated and focused on the movement I could do, like moving my feet, and building from there. Yoga helped because you can see your progress and it’s great physically as well as mentally.
I’m probably now 90% there physically, but I’m confident I will get back to 100%, but that it will take time. And patience. But it’s all been good learning for me, and I try and see it that way.
You’ve been at Channel Four for four years. What would you say is your biggest challenge?
As we all watch TV differently, this means we are adapting as we move to a digital first approach, that requires different ways of working.
Add in hybrid working that I know, as I speak too to other HR peers, that we are all trying to figure out, there is lots of change for us to navigate as people professionals, leaders and employees. The important thing through all of this is that we all continue to talk and communicate as we go through this change.
The main challenge is creating a wellbeing programme that is truly holistic.
You mentioned the importance of communication. How do you get feedback from employees?
Well, we do pulse surveys and other surveys, which are helpful to see whether we’re on the right track. But I’m a big believe in those ‘in the moment’ conversations. They enable you to tweak what you’re doing as you go.
We like to use employee representation groups to get their input, as well as managers and leaders. We’ve just done some workshops on the back of launching our new strategy, for example, and it’s very much a two-way conversation.
Do you see any particular challenges when you’re managing creative people?
A lot of people ask me that, but I really don’t think you can generalise about groups of people. We are all different.
For me, the focus is more about – how do you engage with different people, so we all come together and move forward? And then it’s about using different communication channels to reach people.
What are your thoughts on where we are with EAPs and whether they need to evolve more?
We are changing in how we interact these days, with people much more comfortable interacting online.
When it comes to EAPs, I think we need to provide a range of ways for people to get the information they need, which might not require talking to anyone. Or it could require quick, bespoke, in-person interaction. It goes back to one solution does not fit all.
AI is paving the way for delivering that type of personal, instant information. What are your thoughts on AI?
When it’s able to effectively predict what people need, then AI becomes very, very powerful. But we need to make sure it’s predicting what we want, and what our people need, and not just what the system thinks we need. But that’s a whole other can of worms!
Broadly, for the HR community, and therefore for employees, I think there is a real opportunity to free up HR teams to spend more time with people and having meaningful conversations.
You’ve done alot of work around your passion project the ‘Sunday Night Blues’. Is there any update on that?
Yes, we’re working on a toolkit to support people starting their week in the best way.
I’m passionate about how the worrying anticipation of Monday might mean you’re not turning up to work in the best way. I’m interested in how that impacts us, and our team and colleagues. The project is about actions that can be taken to reduce that feeling of anxiety, which you may have even if you really enjoy your job.
What are you most looking forward to at MAD World?
It’s great to have a real mix of people and companies together and I find it so interesting that we’re all grappling with, broadly, the same issues at the highest level. We are all then translating solutions into what’s going to work in our organisations and it’s really helpful to hear how others did it. The value is definitely in these really open conversations.
The Leaders’ Summit at MAD World is an event driving excellence in workplace culture, employee health and wellbeing.
The Summmit on 17th October 2024, will bring together speakers and attendees from across sectors and with a range of job titles for two tracks of leading-edge content that showcase best practice and provide insights and inspiration for all those looking to achieve maximum engagement with initiatives, optimise investment, stay one step ahead and really make a difference.
The stellar lineup of speakers, as well as Kirstin Furber, People Director, Channel 4, includes: Professor Dame Carol Black GBE FRCP FMed Sci; Peter Cheese, CEO, CIPD, Vanessa Harwood-Whitcher, Chief Executive, The Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (IOSH), Dhavani Bishop, Head of Group Colleague Health & Wellbeing, Tesco, Dr Clare Fernandes, Chief Medical Officer, BBC, Christian van Stolk, Executive Vice President, RAND Europe, Andrew Gibbons, Group Head of Wellbeing, Recognition and Hybrid Working, HSBC, Karen Brookes, Chief People Officer, Sir Robert McAlpine, Jaimy Fairclough, Wellbeing Specialist – People Division, Sainsbury’s, Dr Femi Oduneye, Vice President Health, Shell International B.V. and many more. You can find out more and register to attend here.
