Most organisations think onboarding starts on day one. Graham Stow thinks it starts the moment someone is offered the job, and in this episode he makes a compelling case for why getting that gap right makes all the difference.

Graham is an onboarding and role transition specialist who works with organisations to understand how onboarding is actually being experienced by the people going through it, and what practical changes can be made to improve it. In part one of his conversation with Anna, he unpacks why onboarding and induction are not the same thing, why most organisations get the first 90 days wrong, and why the line manager is almost always the single biggest factor in whether a new joiner thrives or quietly starts looking for the exit.

The conversation covers the information overload problem, the danger of treating new starters as a resource to be rapidly deployed rather than a person to be supported, and the gap that opens up when HR builds a process but managers are left to deliver it without guidance or buy-in. Graham introduces the concept of the onboarding experience gap: the same process given to three different managers will produce three very different experiences.

Anna and Graham also explore the changing expectations of today’s workforce, why candidates are increasingly in a position to say no, and how the new Employment Rights Act changes to day-one unfair dismissal protections are making organisations rethink their probation period approach entirely.

The conversation closes on psychological safety and psychological contract, two terms that get used a lot but mean very different things, and why one can unravel the other quickly if it is not backed up by how managers actually behave day to day.

This is part one of a three-part conversation with Graham Stow. Find out more about his onboarding review, design, and enablement work at grahamstow.co.uk

Connect with Anna

Got a question or a topic you’d like covered on the podcast? Anna would love to hear from you.

Find her on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, or visit The People Expert to find out more about her work supporting line managers and HR professionals.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hr
Instagram: instagram.com/practicalmanager
TikTok: tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanager
The People Expert: thepeopleexpert.co.uk

Most organisations have a maternity policy. Far fewer have a maternity experience worth talking about. In this episode, Anna is joined by Zoe Duce, founder of MoveThru, a former Projects Director who spent over 15 years managing large teams in media, advertising and at Amazon before becoming a mother herself and turning her experience into a practical resource for professional parents and the companies that employ them.

Zoe explains why the return from maternity leave so often goes wrong, and the answer is almost always the same: a combination of silence, assumption, and a process that is designed around the organisation rather than the person coming back. Managers assume the employee knows what to expect. Employees assume the manager has done this before. Neither is usually true.

The conversation covers the practical steps that make a genuine difference: how to use keeping in touch days properly rather than treating them as a casual coffee, why a 90-day return plan created together by manager and employee removes the anxiety on both sides, and why flexible working requests should never come as a surprise on day one if the right conversations have been happening throughout leave.

Zoe also challenges a widespread but rarely examined problem: companies that have excellent policies nobody knows about, or worse, policies that exist on paper but that employees feel they cannot actually use without being judged for it. She shares what it looks like when culture quietly overrides policy, and what organisations can do about it.

For line managers specifically, Zoe is clear: do not avoid. More regular check-ins, a shared plan, and an open conversation about what both sides need are the things that keep talented people in the building.

Find out more about Zoe’s work with individuals and organisations at movethru.co.uk. Her free Maternity Leave Project Plan, a shared resource for managers and employees covering every stage of the process, is available to download at https://www.movethru.co.uk

Connect with Anna

Got a question or a topic you’d like covered on the podcast? Anna would love to hear from you.

Find her on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, or visit The People Expert to find out more about her work supporting line managers and HR professionals.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hr

Instagram: instagram.com/practicalmanager

TikTok: tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanager

The People Expert: thepeopleexpert.co.uk

Content warning: This episode contains open discussion of suicide, suicidal ideation, and domestic abuse. If you are affected by any of the topics covered, support is available. Samaritans can be reached any time on 116 123, free of charge, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Some conversations feel too big, too risky, or too far outside a manager’s remit to have. In part two of her conversation with Andrea Newton, founder of Confident Conversations and a specialist in suicide prevention, domestic abuse, and mental health in the workplace, Anna moves into the territory most managers avoid entirely.

Andrea begins by tackling one of the most persistent myths in mental health: that if someone tells you they are thinking about ending their life, it means they are not serious. Not true, she says plainly, and the evidence backs her up. More than 80% of people experiencing suicidal thoughts will signal it to someone, but rarely in explicit terms. A manager who knows what to listen for, and feels confident enough to ask directly, can make a genuine difference.

She also challenges the assumption that suicide is always a mental health issue requiring a clinical solution. Around half of deaths by suicide involve people who are not mentally ill but are simply overwhelmed by circumstances: debt, housing, relationship breakdown, loss. Andrea shares a powerful real example of someone whose situation was transformed not by a prescription or a therapy referral, but by an appointment at the Citizens Advice Bureau.

The conversation moves into domestic abuse, where Andrea makes the case that it rarely presents with visible signs. Coercive control, financial restriction, unexplained anxiety, and an inability to stay late or attend social events are all signals that a manager who knows their people might notice. She signposts the organisation EIDAS for employers looking to build policy and awareness in this area.

Throughout, Andrea’s message is consistent: your job is not to become the help. It is to help people get the help they need. Staying curious, listening well, and knowing where to signpost is enough. Taking on the role of primary support is not just unhelpful. It is a risk to the manager as much as to the individual.

This is part two of Anna’s conversation with Andrea Newton. Find out more about Andrea’s training, speaking, and dual risk work at confidentconversations.co.uk

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Samaritans: 116 123 (free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week)

Papyrus (support for young people and those concerned about them): 0800 068 4141

EIDAS (employers and domestic abuse): eidas.org.uk

Connect with Anna

Got a question or a topic you’d like covered on the podcast? Anna would love to hear from you.

Find her on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok, or visit The People Expert to find out more about her work supporting line managers and HR professionals.

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annathomas-hr

Instagram: instagram.com/practicalmanager

TikTok: tiktok.com/@practicalpeoplemanager

The People Expert: thepeopleexpert.co.uk