What if your biggest workforce segment is the least connected? In this episode, Toby Mildon speaks with Peter Durkin, CMO at Blink, about the hidden risks of overlooking frontline employees—and how organisations can turn connection into a strategic advantage.

They explore why traditional communication tools fail deskless workers and why solving this challenge requires more than just new technology. Peter introduces the concept of a “frontline connection methodology” and explains how organisations can move beyond surface-level fixes to drive meaningful engagement, productivity, and inclusion.

Key takeaways:

• Why 80% of the workforce is often excluded from workplace communication
• The risks of treating employees as a cost rather than a competitive advantage
• Why technology alone won’t solve frontline engagement challenges
• The importance of change management, digital identity, and adoption strategies
• How better connection drives inclusion, productivity, and employer brand

Guest: Peter Durkin, Chief Marketing Officer at Blink

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterdurkin/
• Website: https://www.joinblink.com/

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If you're enjoying this episode and looking to boost equity, inclusion, and diversity in your organisation, my team and I are here to help. Our team specialises in crafting data-driven strategies, developing inclusive leaders, designing fair recruitment processes, and enhancing disability confidence. With a blend of professional expertise and lived experience, we're ready to support you on your journey. Reach out to us through our website.

If you want to build a more inclusive workplace that you can be proud of please visit our website to learn more.

Are you always putting others first at work? You might be heading for burnout — and not even realise it.

In this powerful episode, Toby Mildon speaks with Pam Burrows, known as The People Booster, about her unique CARE model for wellbeing. Pam shares her own burnout experience and how leaders who constantly serve others without taking care of themselves can harm not only their health, but their teams too.

We explore practical ways for HR and ED&I professionals to avoid burnout, manage energy, and shift mindset — starting with ditching guilt and embracing balance.

Key takeaways:

• Why wellbeing is a leadership responsibility.
• How guilt signals poor boundaries — and what to do about it.
• The CARE model: Compassion, Acknowledgement, Reality, Energy.
• The link between self-care and truly inclusive workplace cultures.
• Simple, actionable wellbeing strategies that stick.

Guest highlights:
Pam Burrows has over 30 years’ experience helping organisations boost wellbeing and reduce stress. She’s the creator of the CARE model and author of Burnout Buster.

Guest links:
Pam's Website
Connect with Pam on LinkedIn
Resources: Burnout Buster Book, Monday Motivation signup

Send us a message

If you're enjoying this episode and looking to boost equity, inclusion, and diversity in your organisation, my team and I are here to help. Our team specialises in crafting data-driven strategies, developing inclusive leaders, designing fair recruitment processes, and enhancing disability confidence. With a blend of professional expertise and lived experience, we're ready to support you on your journey. Reach out to us through our website.

If you want to build a more inclusive workplace that you can be proud of please visit our website to learn more.

What does it take to lead with inclusion in a complex, global organisation?

In this episode of the Inclusive Growth Podcast, Toby Mildon speaks with Rebecca Pearson, Chief Sustainability and People Officer at Bupa, about her incredible 31-year journey from frontline employee to executive leader. Rebecca shares how active listening, employee-led initiatives, and a values-driven culture underpin Bupa’s inclusive approach to leadership.

You’ll hear practical insights into how inclusion is embedded into the DNA of the organisation—not as a “nice to have” but as a core business priority. From frontline feedback leading to immediate policy changes, to the power of employee advisory boards, Rebecca offers invaluable lessons for Chief People Officers navigating today’s polarised and pressurised environments.

Key takeaways:

• Why inclusion must be embedded in day-to-day leadership, not treated as a side project.
• How active listening leads to real, meaningful change.
• The role of psychological safety in building trust and performance.
• Why Bupa’s approach to diversity goes beyond metrics to everyday connection.
• How aligning sustainability and people strategy creates long-term inclusive growth.

Guest Highlights:
Rebecca Pearson, Chief Sustainability and People Officer, Bupa
Rebecca's LinkedIn Profile
Bupa's Everyone's Welcome Website

Send us a message

If you're enjoying this episode and looking to boost equity, inclusion, and diversity in your organisation, my team and I are here to help. Our team specialises in crafting data-driven strategies, developing inclusive leaders, designing fair recruitment processes, and enhancing disability confidence. With a blend of professional expertise and lived experience, we're ready to support you on your journey. Reach out to us through our website.

If you want to build a more inclusive workplace that you can be proud of please visit our website to learn more.

Why are disabled individuals still excluded from leadership?

In this episode of The Inclusive Growth Show, Toby Mildon speaks with Pravjoth Gill, a disability advocate and recent HR graduate, whose dissertation explores the misrepresentation of disabled people in leadership roles – and what inclusive HR practices can do to change this.

Pravjoth shares how her lived experience and intersectional identity shaped her research, what the biggest blockers to disabled leadership are, and how internalised ableism and outdated workplace systems continue to hold talent back.

Key takeaways:

• Why disabled leaders are often seen as ‘inspirational’ – and why that’s problematic.
• The real barriers beyond bias: broken systems, lack of adjustments, and inaccessible leadership pipelines.
• What HR can do now: co-creating inclusive training with disabled voices.
• The role of voluntary sectors and what others can learn.
• What the workplace could look like in 10 years if we get inclusion right.

Guest Highlight:

Pravjoth Gill, Associate at CIPD

🔗 LinkedIn profile

Send us a message

If you're enjoying this episode and looking to boost equity, inclusion, and diversity in your organisation, my team and I are here to help. Our team specialises in crafting data-driven strategies, developing inclusive leaders, designing fair recruitment processes, and enhancing disability confidence. With a blend of professional expertise and lived experience, we're ready to support you on your journey. Reach out to us through our website.

If you want to build a more inclusive workplace that you can be proud of please visit our website to learn more.

Why short-term diversity efforts fail - and how to fix them

In this episode of The Inclusive Growth Show, Toby Mildon is joined by Juliane Schlüsener, a systemic organisational developer, researcher and coach. Together, they explore how organisations can drive sustainable equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) by going beyond surface-level initiatives and embedding change across systems, structures and people.

Juliane shares insights from her research into women working in male-dominated industries, revealing how stereotype threat undermines performance. She also explains why organisations must align their structures and processes with people-focused training to achieve lasting change.

Key takeaways:

• The science behind underperformance in minority groups
• Why short-term EDI initiatives often erode employee trust
• How to embed long-term change through a systemic lens
• The role of leaders in supporting inclusive cultures
• Why Juliane remains hopeful despite societal EDI backlash

Guest highlights:
Juliane Schlüsener, systemic organisational developer and EDI coach

🔗 Juliane Schlüsener's LinkedIn profile
🌐 Visit mildon.co.uk for more resources and support

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If you want to build a more inclusive workplace that you can be proud of please visit our website to learn more.

Are employee-owned organisations the key to inclusive, high-performing teams?

In this episode of the Inclusive Growth Show, Toby Mildon is joined by Jeremy Gadd, Partner at Telos Partners and former senior leader at the John Lewis Partnership. Together, they explore what it really means to be an employee-owned organisation and why this model is gaining traction across the UK.

Jeremy draws on over a decade of experience helping businesses transition to employee ownership, offering insights into the practical, cultural, and performance-based benefits this structure can bring.

Key takeaways:

• What defines an employee-owned organisation—and the different ownership models.
• Why businesses are turning to employee ownership for long-term sustainability.
• How ownership structure impacts inclusion, engagement, and trust.
• The role of leadership in fostering inclusive, purpose-driven cultures.
• Why co-creation and shared responsibility are vital to success.

Guest Highlight:
Jeremy Gadd is a Partner at Telos Partners LLP
and has 30+ years' experience with employee-owned organisations, including the John Lewis Partnership.

👉 Visit Jeremy’s LinkedIn

Send us a message

If you're enjoying this episode and looking to boost equity, inclusion, and diversity in your organisation, my team and I are here to help. Our team specialises in crafting data-driven strategies, developing inclusive leaders, designing fair recruitment processes, and enhancing disability confidence. With a blend of professional expertise and lived experience, we're ready to support you on your journey. Reach out to us through our website.

If you want to build a more inclusive workplace that you can be proud of please visit our website to learn more.

Could you spot the signs of radicalisation in an employee’s home life?

In this moving and eye-opening episode, Toby Mildon talks to Sarah Hardy from Exit Hate, a charity helping individuals disengage from extremism and supporting affected families. Sarah shares her personal journey after her teenage son was radicalised by a far-right group and how that experience impacted her work, wellbeing, and relationships.

They explore the vital role of HR professionals and line managers in recognising signs of distress, showing empathy, and supporting employees dealing with radicalisation at home. Sarah provides practical advice on how workplaces can become safe spaces during difficult times.

Key takeaways include:

• Early warning signs of radicalisation affecting family life.
• The emotional and professional toll on parents in the workplace.
• Practical ways managers can support affected employees.
• Why compassion and non-judgemental conversation matter.
• The critical importance of early intervention and signposting to support.

Guest highlight:
Sarah Hardy, Family Support Programme lead at Exit Hate.
Website: https://www.exithate.com/
Visit Exit Hate page on LinkedIn

Send us a message

If you're enjoying this episode and looking to boost equity, inclusion, and diversity in your organisation, my team and I are here to help. Our team specialises in crafting data-driven strategies, developing inclusive leaders, designing fair recruitment processes, and enhancing disability confidence. With a blend of professional expertise and lived experience, we're ready to support you on your journey. Reach out to us through our website.

If you want to build a more inclusive workplace that you can be proud of please visit our website to learn more.

You deal with conflict at work every day, and rising polarisation makes this harder. This episode gives you a straightforward way to strengthen your inclusive leadership and keep your team steady when views clash.

You’ll hear:

• How political, economic and tech pressures shape your people’s behaviour.
• Why psychological safety and brave spaces matter.
• A clear four-step method to manage difficult conversations.
• How to calm the room, set simple rules, model curiosity and close well.
• The six inclusive leadership behaviours that build trust: empathy, relationship building, learning orientation, open-mindedness, composure and flexibility.
• How to move from unconscious or performative inclusion to intentional, everyday actions.
• A quick self-check you can use to spot strengths and gaps in your culture.

If you want support applying this work in your organisation, you can reach me at toby@mildon.co.uk.

Send us a message

If you're enjoying this episode and looking to boost equity, inclusion, and diversity in your organisation, my team and I are here to help. Our team specialises in crafting data-driven strategies, developing inclusive leaders, designing fair recruitment processes, and enhancing disability confidence. With a blend of professional expertise and lived experience, we're ready to support you on your journey. Reach out to us through our website.

If you want to build a more inclusive workplace that you can be proud of please visit our website to learn more.