The Power of Intentional Culture: Building Better Workplaces Through Connection
In this episode of the “Culture Crush Business Podcast”, host Kindra Maples speaks with Toby Kheng and Emilie Forrest, co-founders of Freeformers, about the importance of intentional workplace culture. Their discussion highlights how contrasting personalities can enhance business strategies, emphasizing relationship-building and the concept of company culture as a balanced ecosystem that thrives on respect and communication.
Toby and Emily advocate for a “human-centered design” approach, encouraging leaders to engage with frontline employees to better understand their needs and improve employee experience. They critique rigid corporate structures and promote tailored employee journeys and alumni networks to foster long-term loyalty, concluding that valuing employees as customers is crucial for cultivating a positive workplace culture that employees are proud to support.
Freeformers believe in making a better world of work for everyone.
There has to be a balance between the value an organisation gives to its employees, and the value employees give to the organisation. Only then will a business be able to measure and design for engagement and productivity.
An organisation’s most valuable assets are its people. They work with organisations to help them understand and adapt their people’s experience. Using human-centred design, they help their clients to understand their people better and make purposeful and evidence-based decisions. The result? A better world of work for everyone.
Follow Freeformers on LinkedIn, Instagram.
Toby Kheng is an HR and People Partner dedicated to enhancing employee experiences globally. As the founder of Freeformers, he aims to create a better world of work for all. Alongside co-founder Emilie Forrest, he has introduced innovative concepts like Mutual Lifetime Value and The True Employee Experience Lifecycle.
Toby focuses on integrating customer experience principles into HR, helping businesses design new strategies, optimize their tech stack, and build strong teams. With expertise in behavioral economics and human-centered design, he transforms best practices in customer experience into tools for fostering productivity and engagement. His diverse industry experience fuels his passion for creating thriving work environments.
Emilie Forrest has taken an unconventional route throughout her career. From working in internal HR in a large organisation to a boutique data consultancy, Emilie brings a huge—if somewhat eclectic—mix of experience to draw on.
Passionate about helping people and organisations use data more effectively, Emilie is always looking for ways to make better decisions with data and automate dreary manual processes, freeing up time for the more interesting parts of the job. She cares deeply about making things accessible (read: making things work simply and easily) for everyone.
Emilie uses human-centred, learning, and inclusive design principles to help employers craft the very best employee experience for all their employees.
About Culture Crush
At Culture Crush, culture isn’t just a corporate buzzword. It’s a key factor that can either boost your company or lead to its failure.
We’re culture consultants, with a focus on leadership, appreciation, communication, processes, accessibility, mental health, diversity, inclusion, and creating a dynamic workplace.
As a growing company:
Culture Crush Business is your hub for company culture resources. With deep cultural insights and years of expertise, we evaluate your company’s needs and connect you with the precise resources to cultivate a thriving culture.
We work with CEOs, founders, HR Directors, or Culture Leaders of companies or teams, who value company culture and understand its impact on their business success. With Culture Crush you’ll learn how to transform your workplace into a place of unity, efficiency, and growth. Don’t just fix your company culture – transform it with Culture Crush Business.
On this podcast: We focus on everything surrounding businesses with good company culture. We will talk with company leaders to learn about real-life experiences, tips, and best practices for creating a healthy work environment where employees find joy and satisfaction in their work while also striving and growing within the company. We share the resources to help improve company culture and showcase them on the podcast with their tips and tricks for growing culture.
About the Host
Kindra Maples is a spartan racer, past animal trainer, previous magician’s assistant, and has a weakness for Oreo cookie shakes. Her journey working with people actually started working with animals as a teenager (don’t worry we won’t go that far back for her bio).
She worked for over 15 years in the zoo industry working with animals and the public. Her passion for working with animals shifted into working with people in education, operations and leadership roles. From there her passion of leadership and helping people develop has continued to grow.
Then came the opportunity to lead the Culture Crush Business Podcast and she jumped on it. Leadership, growth, and strong company cultures are all areas that Kindra is interested in diving into further.
Thank you for our Sponsor!
This episode is sponsored by Gateway Bank, a community bank in Arizona that specializes in serving small businesses across the Valley and the country.
When you work with Gateway, you don’t have to call an 800 number for support, or submit your loan application and wait weeks or months for an answer. You get fast, personal service from a team who knows you and cares about you.
When Gateway was founded in 2007, the team had a vision of building a hometown bank that prioritizes people over profits. Over 15 years later, they’re proud to still be one of the highest-performing AND highest-rated community banks around.
Whether you need a loan or banking services for your business, Gateway is here to help. Visit gcbaz.com/culturecrush for details and a free consultation with bank President James Christensen.
All loans are subject to approval. Member FDIC.
