She didn't say flexible hours. Or better pay structures. Or more time off.

She said dogs.

More dogs, everywhere.

And I mean… the practicality doesn’t necessarily stack up against some of those other things, but at the same time… wouldn’t more dogs make us feel better?

I spent half an hour talking to her about community, about tradeswomen racing across Europe with no phones, about workshops that accidentally change women's career trajectories, and about what a genuinely inclusive industry looks like.

And I could have carried on talking to her for hours. One thing I definitely learned though?

She's earned that answer.

Lucy is Head of Engagement at The Installer Show and has been at the heart of the UK installer community for over a decade. She is one of those people who makes you feel genuinely optimistic about an industry's future.

This episode is well worth half an hour of your time.

🚨 PLEASE SUPPORT THE ALL WOMEN TRADE TEAM taking part in this challenge as a RAISING FUNDS TO SUPPORT a dear tradesman friend in the Industry who is bravely fighting cancer. SPONSOR LINK HERE: https://race-for-change.raiselysite.com/t/lucy-dixon-team 🚨

That’s where the conversation starts… but it’s not where it ends.

In the latest episode of Tap Into Something Better, I’m joined by Faye Allen BSc (Hons), PgDL, FRICS, MAE Allen, author of Building Women and expert witness with 30+ years in the industry.

After speaking to 1,000+ women, the real reasons are clear:

– Feeling excluded early in their careers

– Bullying and harassment

– Lack of flexibility for working parents

This isn’t just a women’s issue. It’s a retention, performance, and culture issue for the entire industry.

Listen to the Full episode & grab a copy of Faye's fantastic book, Building Women today!

Sophie is a senior construction executive, shareholder at Novus Property Solutions, Non-Executive Director, and Board Trustee at CITB. With over a decade of experience across marketing, HR, client engagement and leadership, she brings a rare, full-spectrum view of what truly drives performance in construction and property.

In this episode, we go beyond projects and pipelines — and into what really matters:

👉 Leadership from both executive and non-executive perspectives 👉 Why culture is the biggest driver of business performance 👉 The power of psychological safety in high-pressure environments 👉 Creating inclusive workplaces where people can thrive 👉 The future of construction, facilities management and ESG

One of the most powerful takeaways:

“When people feel safe, everything improves — decision-making, retention, innovation and wellbeing.”

Whether you’re in construction, facilities management, property, or working with high-value clients — this is a conversation about building better businesses, not just buildings.

• How Non-Executive roles change leadership thinking • Why psychological safety is a commercial advantage • How to build cultures that retain and attract talent • The role of inclusivity in long-term industry success • What gives real hope for the future of construction

This episode is for:

🏗 Construction professionals 🏢 Facilities management leaders 💼 Property developers & HNW client advisors 🌱 ESG & sustainability advocates 👷‍♀️ Women building careers in the industry

“If I could change one thing — it would be genuine psychological safety, where people feel safe to speak openly about challenges and opportunities.”

This is the first in a special series featuring women shaping our industry.

Coming up next: ✨ Faye Allen — Founder of Building Women ✨ Lucy Dixon — InstallerSHOW

🎧 Follow the podcast for more conversations with leaders shaping the future of construction, property and the built environment.

Anna shares the real experiences that led her to build We Build Too, from witnessing talented women being pushed out of the sector to navigating outdated and often patronising systems as a customer herself.

Together, Hannah and Anna explore:

• Why women still feel unseen and unsupported in construction

• The systemic barriers holding back progress (and why slogans aren’t enough)

• The urgent need for better data, safety, and inclusion on sites and in leadership

• What the industry could look like in 10 years if women truly thrive

• And the one change Anna believes would make workplaces better for everyone

This is an honest, insightful conversation about designing industries that work for all — and building a future where women don’t just enter construction, but lead it.

🎧 Listen now and discover how We Build Too is helping pave the way for the next generation. And please sign up for their newsletter here to find out more about the platform, services & take part in future surveys/research.

In this episode of Tap Into Something Better, I’m joined by Alistair Scott — a leader who truly walks the talk when it comes to people-first leadership in facilities management.

Alastair is:

• Founding Director of Maze Vanguard Group

• Founder of Integrated Estate Management (IEM)

• A driving force behind the IWFM Veterans in FM Network

• Board member of Veterans Can

• Ambassador for Care After Combat

• 🏆 Veteran Leader of the Year (Veterans Awards, Oct)

We dive into:

• Why ex-service personnel are hugely underestimated in FM

• How veterans bring real-world leadership, resilience and delivery under pressure

• Why compliance and sustainability must be treated as wellbeing and safety issues, not tick-box exercises

• A brilliantly simple way to think about building compliance (hint: think MOT, not paperwork)

• Why trust — not beanbags or foosball tables — is the single biggest missing ingredient in modern workplaces

This conversation is about more than FM. It’s about leadership, inclusion, purpose and designing workplaces that actually work for human beings.

🔗 Explore Alistair’s work and the organisations we discuss:

• Integrated Estate Management (IEM): https://integrated-em.com/

• IWFM Veterans in FM Network: https://www.iwfm.org.uk/community/veterans-in-fm.html

• Veterans Can: https://www.linkedin.com/company/veterans-can/

• Maze Vanguard Group: https://mazevanguard.co.uk/

If you care about: ✔ Better leadership ✔ Supporting veterans in industry ✔ Smarter, safer, more human workplaces

— this episode is for you.

Episode Summary In this episode of Tap Into Something Better, host Hannah Freeman sits down with Sharmin Akter to explore what it truly means to design workplaces that empower people to thrive. Together, they unpack how wellbeing, inclusivity, and green spaces can transform workplace culture and why the future of facilities management lies in elevating the human experience. Sharmin shares her passion for creating environments shaped with employees, not for them—from sensory gardens to nap pods—and explains how meaningful innovations can boost productivity, creativity, and connection.

• Real workplace transformation is done with people, not to them.

• Sensory gardens and green spaces foster inclusivity, creativity, and wellbeing.

• We are human first, employees second.

• Listening to employee voices is essential for meaningful change.

• Facilities management is shifting from a cost centre to a strategic business driver.

• Diversity in leadership is crucial for shaping better environments.

• Innovations like nap pods can significantly enhance workplace culture.

• Short power naps can deliver major productivity boosts.

• The best workplaces are inclusive, human-centric, and experience-led.

• Transforming Workplaces: A People-First Approach

• The Power of Green Spaces in Work Culture

• “Creating a sensory garden for inclusivity.”

• “We are human first and employees second.”

• “Power naps can boost productivity.”

00:00 — Introduction to Transformative Workplaces 01:13 — People-Centred Initiatives in Workplace Transformation 05:28 — The Impact of Green Spaces on Wellbeing 10:36 — Diversity, Equity, and Employee Empowerment 15:47 — Facilities Management as a Strategic Driver 20:28 — Innovative Ideas for Enhancing Workspaces

Samantha shares her journey from conservation to innovation, explaining how Halcyan’s 30-year warranty water conditioners prevent limescale, protect appliances, and drive long-term energy savings. Together, they uncover why water is radically undervalued in sustainability conversations, the importance of accountability in green claims, and how small innovations can create big environmental change.

💡 Key Takeaways:

• Halcyan prevents limescale build-up while saving energy.

• Limescale dramatically increases energy use.

• A 30-year warranty proves durability and trust.

• Real sustainability demands honesty and accountability.

• Small solutions can drive large-scale environmental progress.

• Dogs in the workplace can improve wellbeing too!

🎧 Tune in for an honest conversation on sustainability, innovation, and why it’s time we start valuing water properly.

Follow Samantha Mant, and Halcyan on Linkedin here

You can follow Andrew Hulbert on LinkedIn here.

And you can find out more about The Tap Specialist here

In this episode of Tap Into Something Better, we sit down with Paula Brockwell — chartered occupational psychologist, culture strategist, and founder of The Employee Experience Project. Paula’s on a mission to dismantle the “fun-washing” culture trend and replace it with something bolder: real, scalable, measurable culture change that starts with capability and ends with accountability.

We talk about:

• Why “perks” don’t fix broken systems

• Who actually owns culture change (spoiler: it’s not just HR)

• How to build alignment without chasing perfection

• The role of curiosity in healing fractured teams

If you’re tired of meaningless engagement surveys, one-off workshops, or vibes-based culture strategies… this one’s for you.

Connect with Paula on LinkedIn or visit employeeexperienceproject.com

We explore how water quite literally creates civilisation, why visibility and equity in the trades matter, and how self-employment can be both empowering and isolating. Hattie shares stories of resilience, innovation, and community — from building tanks out of gabion baskets to empowering survivors of abuse through DIY Champs.

This is an episode about water, work, and what it takes to change an industry that wasn’t built with women in mind.

Follow Hattie on LinkedIn

Check out the Tradeswomen Together Podcast

Find out more about The Tap Specialist

Speaker, coach, customer experience expert, and co-founder of Tomorrow Meets Today, Sajna has spent her career breaking barriers, mentoring future leaders, and challenging organisations to stop treating inclusion as a tick-box exercise.

In this episode of Tap Into Something Better, Sajna and Hannah explore: 💡 Why equity and inclusion still get stuck in “tick-box” mode — and how to change it 🧠 The mindset shifts that help women (and especially South Asian women) rise, without burning out 🌟 “The Imposter Monster” — and why feeling uncomfortable is actually a sign of growth 🤝 Building your “personal boardroom” to co-elevate with others instead of going it alone 🚫 Why workplace culture has to outlast individual leaders — and how to make systemic change

Sajna brings honesty, humour, and hard-won wisdom to a conversation that proves: representation matters, mindset matters, and true culture change is always possible.

Check out Sajna on LinkedIn.

And find out how we support FM and workplace design companies to bring inclusivity and sustainability to the table.

Founder of Unstoppable Living Limited, multi-award-nominated accessibility consultant, coach, and disability advocate, Luis is known for his fearless honesty and his mission to make inclusion real, practical, and impactful.

In this episode of Tap Into Something Better, we dive into:

• Why accessibility has to be built in from the start - not retrofitted later at huge cost
• The surprising digital barriers costing businesses billions in lost revenue (and how to fix them)
• Why “reasonable adjustments” are anything but reasonable - and the policies that actually work
• How AI is becoming an enabler for disabled professionals (and why it’s not about replacement)
• Plus: why Luis thinks bringing your hobbies to work could transform culture

This is a conversation full of blunt truths, practical insights, and a fresh perspective on what it takes to move accessibility beyond tick-box exercises and into everyday business success.

Follow Luis on LinkedIn here

Check out more about The Tap Specialist here

Kat Parsons is the Group Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Centrica — and a force for change in some of the UK’s most male-dominated industries. In this episode, Kat shares why true inclusion starts with picking one big thing and going all-in, how a simple conversation about menopause unlocked cultural change in FM, and why vulnerability (with a dash of humour) is her secret leadership tool.

We also dive into the Female Design & Build Project — Kat’s audacious mission to renovate her home using an all-female team, from architects to asbestos surveyors. The result? A living case study proving women belong in every role, on and off the tools.

Whether you’re leading cultural change, advocating for underrepresented voices, or just love a good story about breaking the rules to get results — this conversation will leave you inspired (and maybe a little braver).

Follow Kat on LinkedIn here.

Together they explore:

• Why FM is such a powerful second career for veterans - and what still needs to change

• The radical case for supporting women through menopause and perimenopause

• Why older women and career changers are being excluded from the D&I narrative

• How to retain female leaders after you’ve promoted them

• And yes, why every office needs a dog

It’s real, it's relatable, and it’s a must-listen for anyone designing, managing, or leading workplace culture.

Follow Louisa on LinkedIn

Or check out The Human Centric Workplace

Together they go far beyond the yoga mats and fruit bowls to talk about the real shifts companies need to make if they want to build workplaces that truly serve people - not just policies or productivity metrics.

Expect honest conversation, real-world insights, and the kind of practical thinking that challenges the status quo.

We cover:

• Why “return to office” is one of the most damaging buzzwords in workplace culture

• The disconnect between what employees want vs. what they need, and how to close the gap

• The role of tech, design, self-awareness, and (yes) therapy in building better spaces

• How to spot whether a workplace is inclusive the second you walk through the door

If you work in FM, HR, culture or leadership - or you're just tired of performative workplace culture - this episode is a must-listen.

Follow Simone on LinkedIn

Or check out The Human Centric Workplace

Listen now, and if you’re an FM or workplace lead ready to build better, tap into our Trade VIP perks: thetapspecialist.co.uk/pages/tradevip

Follow Andie on LinkedIn