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PODCAST

Friends with Benefits

‘Friends with Benefits’ is the essential podcast for rewards and benefits leaders. Hosted by Carl Chapman and David Duckworth from Ben, each episode brings together top minds in benefits and HR to unpack the latest trends shaping the world of benefits. Think AI, employee engagement, ROI, and more. Expect real talk with industry innovators and bold ideas you’ll want to steal. If you’re building better benefits, this is the podcast your CPO wishes you’d listen to.

business management

All Episodes

00:11:43

The Christmas Special: Reflections, Wishes, and the...

Friends with Benefits ·

2025/12/23

Our festive episode reflecting on the first year of the Friends with Benefits podcast — plus Santa drops by with the world’s biggest benefit wishes.In this Christmas Special, Carl and David look back on a standout first year for the Friends with Benefits podcast — from launching the format to hosting guests who challenged conventional thinking in reward and benefits.The conversation covers reflections on standout episodes, why passion-led discussions matter more than scripted topics, and what themes

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00:36:42

The One With Josephina from British Airways: Why...

Friends with Benefits ·

2025/12/10

Josephina Smith, Reward and Recognition Director at British Airways, joins Carl and David to explore the shift from financial wellbeing to financial empowerment — and why employers must think differently if they want people to make better financial decisions.She breaks down the global design of BA’s award-winning financial empowerment program, the real drivers behind the pension gender gap, why reward must be seen as a value-creation function (not an admin one), and the mindset needed to

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00:33:06

The One With Tony from Aristocrat: What 40 Years in...

Friends with Benefits ·

2025/11/25

What happens when one of the earliest flexible-benefits pioneers looks at the industry today — and realises many of the same issues still haven’t been fixed?Tony Nevin has spent over four decades in reward and benefits, working as an advisor, consultant, practitioner, entrepreneur, and one of the earliest team members at Thomsons (later Darwin, now Mercer).Tony joins Carl and David to reflect on four decades in benefits — from the birth of flex, to the pitfalls of tech, to the ongoing struggles with

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00:46:51

The One With Christina from Cohesity: How...

Friends with Benefits ·

2025/10/29

What happens when benchmarking becomes a comfort blanket — and the industry forgets what flexibility really means? In this episode, Christina Alliak, Director of Benefits at Cohesity, joins Carl and David to explore how the industry got tangled up in comparison reports and legacy systems, and what it’ll take to build something better. Together, they dig into the messy middle between aspiration and reality — from flexible benefits dreams and ancient insurer tech to admin overload, prevention vs

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00:39:46

The One with Will from Halfords: Why Benefits Lost...

Friends with Benefits ·

2025/10/13

What happens when employee benefits get too complicated, too noisy — and people stop caring?In this episode of Friends With Benefits, we sit down with Will Winter Smith, Reward Director at Halfords, to explore why traditional benefits strategies are no longer landing with today’s workforce. From private medical that “lost its way” to too many bolt-on products and confusing comms, Will shares a refreshingly honest look at what’s broken — and what actually gets people to engage.00:00 — Engagement Is

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00:55:38

Fwb/Ep6 — The One with Lee from Block (ex-Google):...

Friends with Benefits ·

2025/09/23

What does it really look like when you build benefits with inclusion, equity, and integrity from someone who’s worked in both Big Tech and policy?In this episode of Friends With Benefits, we sit down with Lee from Block (formerly at Google) to dig into what “equity by design” actually means in a global company. Lee shares honest lessons about balancing equality vs equity, navigating local trade‑offs, and why the numbers you benchmark with might mislead more than help.00:00 — From Social Work to

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00:54:58

FwB/Ep 5 — The One with Benefits Leader Mark: Global...

Friends with Benefits ·

2025/09/11

In this episode of Friends with Benefits, David sits down with global benefits leader Mark to break down the hard-earned lessons from rolling out benefits tech across 50+ countries.From why engagement isn’t just a comms problem to how AI could derail more than it helps, this episode gets into the operational realities most people don’t talk about.They unpack:— Why most global rollouts miss the mark on engagement— How to design for personalisation at scale— The role of consistency vs. autonomy across

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00:54:10

FwB/Ep4 — The One with Steve from Autodoc: Radical...

Friends with Benefits ·

2025/08/20

In this episode of Friends with Benefits, Carl and David are joined by Steve Bianchi ex-Unilever, now Chief People Officer at Autodoc. Steve brings his systems mindset, startup grit, and global experience to the table as they unpack everything from UK healthcare policy to why payroll is the most underused channel in benefits comms.They discuss the limits of fairness, the value of radical transparency, the true cost of “workations,” and why benefit strategies need to move from one-size-fits-all to

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00:43:14

Friends with Benefits: Episode 3 – The One with Joana...

Friends with Benefits ·

2025/08/18

In this episode of Friends with Benefits, Carl and David sit down with Jo Viana, Director of Global Benefits at Eventbrite, to get real about what it takes to build benefits that actually matter especially when you’re supporting people across 9+ countries. They dive into the messy realities of global equity, the limits of utilisation metrics, why mental health needs more than a tick-box, and how communication can make or break your benefits strategy. It’s honest, sharp, and full of lessons from

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00:45:52

Friends with Benefits: Episode 2 – The One with John...

Friends with Benefits ·

2025/08/18

Benefits are bloated. Data is broken. ROI is murky. But people still need support that works.In this episode of Friends with Benefits, we're joined by John Whitaker, Senior Director of International Benefits at Workday. From decluttering bloated benefit portfolios to the real reasons wellbeing ROI is so hard to prove, John brings a refreshingly honest view of what actually matters in the benefits space. We cover global cost pressures, benefit duplication, the data gaps still holding us back, and why

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00:23:05

Friends with Benefits: Episode 1 – The one where...

Friends with Benefits ·

2025/08/18

In the very first episode of Friends with Benefits, Carl and David kick things off by diving into the tangled world of employee benefits and why it’s getting harder for companies to get it right.They share their own career journeys, but more importantly, they lay the foundation for the conversations to come: honest chats with reward leaders, brokers, and consultants who are shaping the future of work.Timestamps: 02:00 – Why This Podcast Exists03:00 – The Complexity of Benefits04:00 – Why Benefits

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11 results

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