Executive Experience

WorkTheory is grounded in senior executive leadership experience.

Before establishing the firm, Phillipa served as Chief People Officer within a complex, multi-site New Zealand organisation, leading governance, workforce design and culture transformation at executive and board level.

The initiatives below reflect large-scale strategic programmes delivered across distributed teams — shaping operating models, inclusion frameworks and employer positioning.

This executive experience now informs the fractional advisory support provided through WorkTheory.

Advancing Organisational Accessibility as Strategic Governance

Role: Chief People Officer
Sector: Multi-site hospitality and service organisation

Operating across multiple locations with diverse customer demographics, the organisation recognised both a commercial opportunity and governance responsibility to strengthen accessibility for customers and employees.

Accessibility had historically been addressed informally. Leadership required a structured, organisation-wide approach aligned to brand, compliance and workforce inclusion strategy.

Strategic Challenge

  • Inconsistent accessibility practices across sites

  • Limited workforce confidence in supporting diverse customer needs

  • Reputational and compliance exposure

  • Missed opportunity to strengthen inclusive employer positioning

Accessibility needed to shift from ad hoc initiatives to embedded governance.

Executive Intervention

Led the design and integration of a formal accessibility framework across the organisation.

This included:

  • Establishing accessibility as a leadership and governance priority

  • Implementing the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower scheme as part of a broader inclusion strategy

  • Embedding accessibility expectations into workforce training and operating standards

  • Aligning customer experience, workforce inclusion and brand narrative

  • Strengthening partnerships with national accessibility organisations

The initiative was positioned not as a marketing activity, but as operational and cultural infrastructure.

Outcome

  • Consistent accessibility standards across multiple sites

  • Increased workforce confidence supporting diverse customer needs

  • Strengthened employer positioning as an inclusive organisation

  • Reduced reputational and compliance risk

  • Enhanced customer trust and brand integrity

Accessibility became embedded into governance and workforce design rather than remaining a standalone initiative.

See external media Hidden Disabilities Sunflower 

Designing a Strategic Employee Value Proposition (EVP)

Role: Chief People Officer
Organisation: Multi-site hospitality group

Operating in a highly competitive talent market, the organisation faced increasing recruitment pressure and retention volatility across multiple sites.

Remuneration alone was insufficient to differentiate in-market. Leadership required a cohesive workforce value strategy aligned to organisational purpose and long-term sustainability.

Strategic Intervention

Led the design and implementation of a structured Employee Value Proposition that:

  • Clarified employer identity and leadership narrative

  • Aligned benefits to workforce lifecycle needs

  • Integrated targeted wellbeing initiatives (including Digital Wills) into a broader retention framework

  • Embedded EVP messaging into recruitment and onboarding systems

The approach focused on strategic alignment rather than cost escalation.

Outcome

  • Strengthened employer brand positioning

  • Improved candidate quality and engagement

  • Increased retention stability

  • Enhanced executive clarity on workforce strategy

This work reinforced the organisation’s long-term workforce resilience and competitive positioning.

 

Culture Transformation

Employer of Choice & Brand Alignment

As Chief People Officer, led a culture and employer positioning transformation within a multi-site service organisation.

The objective was to strengthen workforce engagement, retention stability and brand integrity during a period of growth.

This included:

  • Designing a structured Employer of Choice strategy aligned to organisational values

  • Integrating culture metrics into leadership accountability frameworks

  • Aligning internal brand experience with external customer promise

  • Overseeing workforce brand design, including modernised uniform strategy, to ensure consistency between identity, culture and customer experience

The transformation strengthened employer positioning, improved workforce cohesion and reinforced brand credibility across multiple sites.

Look at the case study on here 

Employer Positioning, Inclusion & Workforce Pipeline Design

Led a multi-year culture transformation aligned to organisational growth and inclusion strategy.

This included:

  • Establishing a structured Employer of Choice framework aligned to leadership accountability

  • Aligning internal brand identity with workforce experience, including modernised workforce brand design

  • Embedding culture metrics into executive reporting

To strengthen long-term workforce sustainability, inclusion was integrated as operating infrastructure rather than standalone initiatives.

Workforce Inclusion & Pathway Design

  • Designed and implemented the Open Doors Internship, creating structured employment pathways for individuals with disabilities and embedding accessibility into workforce planning and operating standards

  • Established a Māori and Pacific Youth Scholarship to create targeted entry pathways for rangatahi not in employment, education or training, strengthening workforce pipeline and advancing equity objectives

These initiatives were positioned as strategic workforce design interventions — supporting retention, brand integrity and long-term capability development.