In this episode we share a moment with Tara, Head of People at Monzo – currently the UK’s fastest growing bank – they are providing a modern alternative to consumer finance and are all about solving problems with the mission of making money work for everyone.

This is my first Moments podcast since joining Mo as Community Lead back in the summer, and I am delighted that it was such a fun, lively and informative chat with someone we have been hoping to have on for a while now.

Tara heads up the People Collective at Monzo and has been part of the company’s amazing journey, as they’ve grown from just 50 people to nearly 1,500 people in just 3 years! 

"Make sure everyone belongs before they arrive"

It’s clearly been an amazing ride and we loved hearing all about it from a people perspective – Tara shared how the company culture has developed over time, the innovative ways to drive/maintain employee engagement and working relationships in a rapidly growing organisation, and the huge importance of a focus on employees health and well-being. 

We really enjoyed our chat with Tara, learning about the challenges and successes of working within a modern, fast scaling organisation like Monzo and picking up some tips along the way!

Our Moments podcast brings you interviews with people who think differently about work; insight and evidence that is making a difference to organisations big and small; and practical ways in which you can make positive changes in your workplace.

Please subscribe and let us know what you think of this latest podcast. We would love to hear from you so do get in touch if you'd like to be involved, have thoughts on who we should chat to next, topics for us to discuss or ways we can make it better and better. 

It is also available on Acast and Spotify.

As we start to look forward to 2020, we chat with Katie Jacobs, Senior Stakeholder Lead at the CIPD and former Editor of HR Magazine to take a look back at where HR is now, where we thought it would be and have some predictions of where it is going.

Welcome to the next podcast! This time round we have a chat with Katie Jacobs, Senior Stakeholder Lead at the CIPD. In her role she focuses on senior leaders and building a community for them - basically, doing what she loves... working with HR professionals across the country. 

In her past life she was a business journalist and has edited some prestigious publications including HR Magazine which ignited her love for the world of work and led her to where she is today.

As we head into a brand new year, we wanted to take a look back at where HR is, where we thought it would be and have some predictions of where it is going and Katie was the perfect person to share this with. 

The good news is there are some big opportunities in store for HR in 2020! Katie feels that there has never been a better time for people leaders to have influence and impact on organisations and their leadership team. 

There has been a shift in focus for the HR function. Katie discusses how it is moving away from being process driven and more towards principles, guidelines, values and the human experience of the workplace. 

Macro factors are having an influence on people at work with one example being sustainability. As more people are increasingly concerned about issues such as climate change, forward-thinking HR will need to consider this to attract and retain talent. 

When looking back at past predictions Katie and Luke discuss how technology has changed (and continues to change) the future of work and how HR plays a role in how this is managed, while maintaining that people-focused-viewpoint.

We wrap the episode up with some interesting thoughts from Katie on what will happen over the next 5 years in the world of HR. (You will have to listen to find out!)

Katie gave us real food for thought on the future for HR with some great real life examples, we could have continued the conversation all day!

Our Moments podcast brings you interviews with people who have a different view of work and can give ideas, insight and practical examples on how you can make positive change in your workplace.

Please subscribe and let us know what you think of this latest episode. We love hearing from you and we’re very keen to have you involved, hear your thoughts on who we should chat to next or topic areas that would be of interest to you so we can make sure that we are giving you the best content possible! 

It is also available on Acast and Spotify.

Adam shared with us that as a doctor you are rarely treated as a human and the many successes of the role are never celebrated but the negative parts have lasting effects.

Last night we made the first step in bringing together a collective of people motivated to change the world of work for the better.
The Mo Community was launched over drinks, canapés, fantastic views of London and a look into the life of an employee of the NHS - the moments at work with Adam Kay.

‘If you are not in a good place, you cannot do your best work.’

Reflecting on his hectic life as a junior doctor, Adam gave an honest account of the demanding work culture that he was part of for so long; being undervalued but over worked, giving us a reminder that employee engagement is vital no matter what your career choice. There is a real importance not only for work/life balance, and the wellbeing side of things but also to be there to support colleagues and employees when things are tough.

The evening was a fantastic way to launch The Mo Community and we are all super excited for all the upcoming plans we have for you all.To keep in the know with our events, podcast and other content make sure you are signed up to our community list.

Our next event in this series will be over breakfast at The Gherkin with Maggie Alphonsi, former English rugby union player, commentator and media professional on Wednesday 20 November. She will give her perspective as an employee and will touch upon the importance of relationships at work and how building and maintaining a supportive team at work as well as her challenges of being heard in a male dominated industry. 

The lovely Maggie Alphonsi MBE, England Rugby World Cup Winner, commentator, columnist and speaker gave the packed out room a truly inspiring talk on her career, her successes and failures and how they have all contributed to the journey that she continues to be on today.

Yesterday was a big day for us here at Mo. Up in the beautiful surroundings of The Gherkin, we welcomed our community to the second event in our “Moments at work” series. 

Here are some key takeaways from the morning.

Having a purpose is so important. Maggie shared a great story from the women's England rugby team where each player was asked to record a two minute video explaining why they wanted to win the game. The team came together and shared their reasons. By understanding their personal motivations they opened up and allowed themselves to be vulnerable making them a higher performing team and with a strong winning attitude. 

‘Be comfortable with being uncomfortable’

Maggie was the first female and female of colour to ever be asked to be a pundit in any male sport. An absolutely incredible achievement but completely away from her comfort zone of the rugby pitch. She learnt to focus on her strengths rather than what she couldn’t do and enjoy the challenge - something which I think many of us should take onboard.

Emotional connection takes time and hard work to build but really is a key ingredient to a high performing team. By understanding each other on a more personal level and celebrating each other's success, there is positive reinforcement and real sense of community in the workplace - basically making everything better.

‘Failure allows you to be successful’

Let’s be honest, no-one enjoys failing. But on the flipside, it can change your mindset and allow you to be successful in the future. Maggie has celebrated many successes in her career which are all priceless moments to her personally, but to get to that point failure has played a key role. 

Maggie is currently part of a great mental health campaign in association with ITV, Britain get talking. Building a high performing team is great but it is also important to look after yourself, however that looks for you.

The morning was such a great way to start the day on a massive high; from the clear weather, panoramic view, audience participation and the inspirational talk itself we loved it. 

We cannot wait for all the events in 2020 and to see you all more regularly. As always any thoughts, feedback or ideas do share, we love hearing from you.

On Wednesday 20 November we are hosting our second of a series of three speaker events - moments at work.

On Thursday 19 November we are hosting our second of a series of three speaker events - Moments at work.


Wednesday 20 November, 08:00 – 10:30, The Gherkin 


The next instalment of the Moments at Work Series is here and we are ridiculously excited to be heading over to the Gherkin to hear more moments at work! (and enjoy the stunning views across London). This time round we are joined by Maggie Alphonsi, former English rugby union player, commentator and media professional – arguably the one of the most famous names in women’s team sports.

Her career path has been an interesting journey with challenges and successes along the way. This isn’t a story focused on rugby but about the importance of building and maintaining a strong, supportive and collaborative team to deliver results.


She will also share how she worked under pressure in a male dominated industry and pushed the boundaries to deliver great results! 
Register your details to come along to The Gherkin (and feel free to bring along colleagues) to start your day with inspiration alongside others that are motivated to positively change the world of work.

I come from a saas consultancy background and have worked in the recognition, benefits and wellbeing space for the last few years. I have a real passion for people, I believe that creating a culture of recognition in which people feel that their contribution at work is valued is the key to employee engagement.

I’ve just joined Mo as part of our brand new growth team. It is my job to go out and meet with HR teams and chat to them about their recognition strategies. I am originally from Ireland but landed in the UK after a quick 6 year detour in Dallas, Texas.

I come from a saas consultancy background and have worked in the recognition, benefits and wellbeing space for the last few years. I have a real passion for people, I believe that creating a culture of recognition in which people feel that their contribution at work is valued is the key to employee engagement. So, it’s exciting that I get to work with the HR community to design tailored recognition solutions to simplify their complex challenges. I am really looking forward to meeting some of you at our upcoming community events and chatting about what’s going on in your world.

Outside of helping HR I am a lover of food, travel and art. I can usually be found at a 1Rebel boxing class most mornings. I absolutely love cheesy rom coms and trash TV so if Love Island is your thing, I am your girl! 

I’m a proud Scotsman and Brit, obsessed with rugby, cricket and golf and would be described by most who know me as a little too keen on Bruce Springsteen (he’s the greatest musician of all time, fact. Argue with me once you’ve been to 27 shows). I’ve just moved back to the UK after 12 years in Australia.

Take a moment and let us introduce you to Scott, our new Enterprise Sales Director. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I don’t think I’ve been this excited to be a part of a team before. Making work better and helping people love what they do, to have a better experience has always been my passion. I don’t think there’s a group of people more aligned to that purpose than Mo.

I’ve joined the Growth team as Enterprise Sales Director. It’s my job to work with HR teams that want to build a compelling culture where reward and engagement can thrive. I’m here to help them build the best solutions but also where we can build long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships. We’re obsessed by service and customer success, our job is just beginning when our customers start using Mo and what sets us apart is our commitment to working only where there’s true value and to cultivating intelligent interventions and engagement strategies. We don’t just drop in software.

I’ve been in tech for 10 years, consulting to finance, legal, management but predominantly HR professionals. I want people to have a better relationship with work and believe there are too many people who don’t feel the reward or fulfilment they should. I also think the market has failed to empower that and it’s time we did something about it. That’s why I was compelled to join Mo. We believe work can and should be a rewarding part of life, not something to get through.

Relative to other functions, It’s actually not that long ago that HR-focussed tech emerged and that benefits & reward programs became a must have. But we seem to have driven what we wanted people to do or thought they would value from the top down and kind of hoped it stuck. Increasingly, as consumers, people are choosing products that not only make their life easier but which complement their preferences; I don’t think we’ve really managed that with most corporate platforms.

Now, as a result of the talent war and shifting work practices, there are any number of suppliers and platforms for almost anything you can imagine people-related. But I think it’s time we did it better. I think it’s time we listened to what our people want and gave them meaningful, relevant rewards. It’s not good enough just to say it anymore or to hope that they’ll use and value what we give them. We have to know there’s a strong reason and that we can use intelligent analytics to constantly give them the option to interact with work and to be rewarded how they would choose.

The Mo Community launch is here! On Thursday 26 September we are hosting our first of a series of three speaker events - Moments at work.

Thursday 26 September, 18.30 - 21.30, Ace Hotel, Shoreditch 

100 Shoreditch High St, Hackney, London E1 6JQ, UK


The series will feature diverse guest speakers sharing their stories of work - both good and bad - and how they have learnt from their experiences. We will have a first hand insight into the employee experience in different industries and roles.

Our first speaker is Adam Kay, the best selling author of the hilarious book 'This is going to hurt', comedian, TV writer and former doctor. Hear Adam's personal account of significant moments from his working life and how he made a big life changing decision in order to have a positive change. 

He will also treat us to some live extracts from his award winning book, giving a funny but honest (and sometimes a little gruesome), first hand look at life as a junior doctor in the UK.

The Mo Community is a collective with a common passion - we believe in moving forward to create a motivated and happy workforce. This event is just the start to bring us together to be inspired, share knowledge and experiences. 

Adam is a top selling author with This is Going to Hurt, his “hilarious and heartbreaking” (Charlie Brooker), “blisteringly funny” (Jo Brand) memoirs from his former career as a junior doctor which was published by Picador in September 2017.

The book was an instant Sunday Times number one bestseller and the bestselling non-fiction title of 2018. It has spent a record-breaking eleven months at number one in the charts, is the best-selling e-book of all time, and has sold a total of 1.5 million copies. This is Going to Hurt has been translated into 36 languages and achieved number one bestseller status internationally.

If you haven’t yet read it, we highly recommend that you do! His follow-up book, 'Twas the nightshift before Christmas', is due out in October.

He also writes extensively for TV and film, with credits including Mitchell & Webb, Very British Problems, Mrs Brown’s Boys, Crims and Mongrels.

We are delighted to have Adam join us for this first community event to give an inspiring and funny account of his time as a junior doctor, the pressures and levels of burnout he suffered and how he chose to make a dramatic change in career in order to be happier at work.

Make sure you register your details to confirm your place and we look forward to meeting you!.

To give a quick intro to me - I have a background in marketing and event management, with around 12 years experience (eek!) of designing, marketing and delivering a real mix of different events - from award ceremonies to business pitch days, round table 

My name is Claire and I am really excited to be joining the team at Mo in a brand new role as the Community Lead!

To give a quick intro to me - I have a background in marketing and event management, with around 12 years experience (eek!) of designing, marketing and delivering a real mix of different events - from award ceremonies to business pitch days, round table discussions/focus groups to large, full day conferences. 

I have worked for companies such as London Business School and IPSE, The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed. 

I really love thinking of creative ways to bring people together and as well as providing memorable experiences, helping people to connect and build genuine relationships. Face to face interaction is so important in this modern world!
I attend loads of events myself to keep my mind fresh and build my own network - meeting new people is inspiring! 

I am passionate about the power of relationships and the growing importance of a community. The Mo Community will give us a platform to join together and work collaboratively - a support network with events, both online and face-to-face, and new, regular content. 

I am looking forward to connecting with you all to find out what it means to you, what you want to hear about and how we can support you and your employees in the future of work.

I have a lot of exciting ideas/plans to unite us (and have some fun along the way) to support our quest to change the way we look at work. I do also really want to hear from you to help me understand your challenges, successes and everything in between.  

Us, as a collective, have a common passion - we believe in moving forward to create a motivated and happy workforce. By joining together via the Mo Community we can make a positive impact on the world of work.

I will be in touch again soon with updates but in the meantime please do sign up to hear more from The Mo Community and feel free to contact me directly - I would love to hear from you.

Mo we are really excited to be speaking at the upcoming Investors in People breakfast event next month.

Investors in People,have a similar vision to Mo - calling for a movement that puts people first – for the benefit of every person in every workplace, for increased productivity and for a stronger, healthier and happier society.

AI and the changing world of HR technology

Wednesday 4 September 2019, 09.00 - 13.00, One American Square, 

17 America Square, Crosswall, London EC3N 2LB, UK

Investors in People have a similar vision to Mo - calling for a movement that puts people first – for the benefit of every person in every workplace, for increased productivity and for a stronger, healthier and happier society. This is why it seemed a perfect fit for us to come along and speak at their breakfast event back in September that focused on technology and the future of work. 

Our CEO, Luke, led an energetic session on our evolving relationship with work. He gave insight into how the expectations of the workforce are changing as the experience they get in the rest of their lives raises the bar for what they expect at work. He questioned how is life, the experience economy, and technology changing our demands at work? And what does this all mean for employee engagement?

The morning was free to attend and was a great chance for us to connect with HR professionals as well as enjoy some ace content from the other speakers from Veran Performance and Qlearsite

Investors in People host many events across the year, up and down the country. Check out the latest here and keep an eye out for future speaker collaborations with Mo! 

AI and the changing world of HR technology 

Today is a special day for us. Today we say goodbye to ThanksBox and hello, Mo.  Before I share more, you’re likely to be here, reading this, because you’re interested in our future, so I’d like to start by saying a huge thank you for being a part of our journey so far....

Today is a special day for us. We go from being called ThanksBox, to being called Mo.

Today we say goodbye to ThanksBox and hello, Mo.  

Before I share more, you’re likely to be here, reading this, because you’re interested in our future, so I’d like to start by saying a huge thank you for being a part of our journey so far. To the people that have taken the time to tell someone they made a difference via the platform, to our customers for having belief in us to help create a better working environment for your people, to the investors that have backed us, to the people that have visited our site or replied to one of my emails, and finally, to our people, for fighting every day to make work better - you’re helping make a difference to the world of work and I thank you for all of your support, please keep it coming!

In 2014, a major problem with work wouldn’t stop whirling around in my head - I kept obsessing over why we spent so much more time, money and effort trying to create meaningful experiences for our customers, but put in just a fraction of the effort for our people. 

Yet, one of the most used phrases I heard from CEOs was (and still is): 

“Our people are our most important asset.”

I’m a big believer in having a positive mindset and the positive affect this can have on others, so we started by enabling organisations to better celebrate success, recognise performance and appreciate others - but, above everything else, helping those ‘assets’ feel valued for the blood, sweat and tears they put in to their work. We’ve since helped organisations reach record levels of recognition, created tonnes of happy tears, won awards and had a significant impact on their levels of employee engagement.

2018 was a year of exceptional growth for us. Our organisation is unrecognisable from a year ago. Our revenue is up 100’s of percent, we’re now working with even more amazing brands, and we’ve added more people to our team than you can count on your fingers and toes!

We start 2019 in a great place, having just raised a multi-million pound investment round in December and lead with a new proposition, lots of product enhancements and a great new visual identity with Mo. 

We’ve learnt a lot in the last couple of years since the launch of ThanksBox. Most consultants and presentation experts provide just 3 points to take away, but I’ve given you an extra one for free:

1. Our relationship with work is broken. 

Does work have to be a mere means to an end for us? Enough to get by. To fund our various holidays or just to put food on the table? Work should be a mutually beneficial relationship, where both employer and employee get more. In the main, the relationship the world’s working population has with work is broken: 85% of the worlds global population is not engaged in their work - yet, we typically spend over 100,000 hours of our lives at work. How will we look back at that time when we're grey and old? Did we waste it, or did we seek more from work? 

We believe work should be more meaningful, to create a more fulfilling life.

Above I mentioned work as a relationship between an employee and an employer. Any great relationship seeks to inspire the best from the other party, think of your best friendships, partner or work colleagues. A good relationship is two-sided, no winner, no loser, but both equally vested in the success of each other, enabling you to be more, together. Achieving more is at the very foundation of our proposition for both our customers and our users. 

We believe more for an employee, is about the opportunity to do or be involved in more meaningful work. If you are to get more from work, you are making a better career for yourself. You will progress more. You will get all of the other benefits that come at work: promotion, pay rise, great customer conversations and pride in your work.

As an employer, most investments in being a better workplace, employee engagement initiatives or building a great culture are motivated by either a moral investment, or (more likely) an attempt to improve profitability. Much of the industry has positioned the investment in purchase of technology like ours, to help boost employee retention - we understand this, but we also know that people are going to leave your company eventually and the time until they leave is reducing drastically. So we believe this is about achieving more from your 'most important assets’, more in terms of a greater level of motivation, leading to a higher level of output from your existing people - not keeping them against their will with an offer just above the interview they went for, but actively engaging them.

There are very few jobs left that enable you to do everything required to achieve, on your own (if you can name one, I’ll buy you a Mojito!). People around you, help you do your job better (and sometimes worse) than you could otherwise do on your own. We’ve realised from the thousands of messages sent on the ThanksBox platform, that when people are celebrating success - it’s never alone, when someone is recognising performance - someone else has done more than you expected of them or when someone is appreciating their colleague, it’s normally because someone else sacrificed for your gain.

Relationships are key to getting more done at work. In today's world of work, you have to work with people to get more done, achieve better results, and get ahead. 

Relationships are the result of a series of meaningful moments. Moments of shared social experience, the highs and lows, the ups and the downs, these define the relationships you have both at home and at work. These moments are those that you will remember at the end of a fruitful career, the things and the people that stand out. We believe there are a lack of positive moments in today's working world and we believe you can help create more meaningful moments with Mo.

At Mo, we’re really busy building a technology platform to solve a very human problem, we’re creating features that create and enhance meaningful moments between colleagues, to help strengthen their relationship. 

We're on a mission to create meaningful moments that strengthen every working relationship, to enable both people and businesses to get more from work.

Today marks a big moment for us, I'm excited to introduce you to Mo. Thank you for taking the time to read my words, I’d love to hear your thoughts on our insights, the new brand or any other aspect of the future of work - please do email me at luke@mo.work or connect with me on LinkedIn.

Welcome to the Mo blog. A place to learn more about the world of work. We will share our stories from the trenches, insight from the wider world and feature some exciting people challenging the way we all look at what motivates people in work. 

In this episode we share a moment with Tara, Head of People at Monzo – currently the UK’s fastest growing bank.

The lovely Maggie Alphonsi MBE, England Rugby World Cup Winner, commentator, columnist and speaker gave the packed out room a truly inspiring talk on her career...

Becoming The Best Employer: The Grand Brighton

Off of back-to-back awards, I sat down with The Grand Brighton's People Director, to hear more about their strategy to....

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Moments with Monzo

Moments with Monzo

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As we start to look forward to 2020, we chat with Katie Jacobs, Senior Stakeholder Lead at the CIPD ...

Moments at work with Adam Kay

Moments at work with Adam Kay

Adam shared with us that as a doctor you are rarely treated as a human and the many successes of the...

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Moments at work with Maggie Alphonsi

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Moments at work with Maggie Alphonsi

Moments at work with Maggie Alphonsi

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Meet Jessica

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Meet Scott

Meet Scott

I’m a proud Scotsman and Brit, obsessed with rugby, cricket and golf and would be described by most ...

Moments at work with Adam Kay

Moments at work with Adam Kay

The Mo Community launch is here! On Thursday 26 September we are hosting our first of a series of th...

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Meet Claire

To give a quick intro to me - I have a background in marketing and event management, with around 12 ...

AI and the changing world of HR technology

AI and the changing world of HR technology

Mo we are really excited to be speaking at the upcoming Investors in People breakfast event next mon...

Hello, we're Mo.

Hello, we're Mo.

Today is a special day for us. Today we say goodbye to ThanksBox and hello, Mo. Before I share more...

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