2025’s Fab Five: Top insights from Digital Workplace Impact this year
Digital Workplace Impact, Episode 159: 2025’s Fab Five: Top insights from Digital Workplace Impact this year
Nancy Goebel (aka her Digital Twin)
Hello and welcome to the Digital Workplace Impact studio. Today we’re doing something a little different and I have to say that it is pretty exciting.
First up, you are not hearing Nancy Goebel, Digital Workplace Group CEO and host of this podcast! This is actually Nancy’s digital twin. Yep, that’s right, I’m standing in for Nancy today to show you how digital twins are fast becoming part of the content creator’s toolkit. There are lots of tools out there that can turn text into voice for podcasting and beyond. This one happens to be from 11 Labs.
Second, we’re taking a worthy pause to look back at five standout episodes from our 2025 podcast season. These conversations didn’t just inform, they sparked transformation and inspired leaders around the world – and to make this recap even more engaging, we’ve included some guest soundbites that really brought these episodes to life.
Episode 158
Ready? Let’s dive in. Number one is Digital brilliance: Lessons from DWG’s 2025 Award winners, episode 158. This episode was a masterclass in excellence. We explored what makes award-winning digital workplaces tick – from intentional design to cultural alignment and AI-driven personalization. Joining Nancy in the studio were Awards judges Rory Gardner, DWG Member at Fidelity Investments, and Kerry O’Donnell, DWG Luminary.
Kerry O’Donnell, DWG Luminary
“The digital workplace is a great platform to educate employees. It’s where employees go as a trusted source, right? So it’s important to publish your clear and accessible AI guardrails there, in simple, easy-to-understand, plain English, which AI can help you with… to address employees’ day-to-day use here.
And one of the themes is that sometimes people who are in the beginning stages of AI don’t think it works because they don’t see the full potential of what it can do. And the digital workplace is a place to showcase company-level thoughts on this, or department-level, individual successes, as well as understand what it takes to do this responsibly and ethically.”
Key takeaways from episode 158:
- Award-winning workplaces put people first with human-centred design.
- They align culture and technology to create impact.
- Everything is backed up with strong governance to keep innovation sustainable.
Your call to action from episode 158 is to give this episode a listen and ask yourself: What would it take for us to become an award-winning digital workplace?
Episode 157
Number two, Hearst Network’s approach to building change agility with purpose, episode 157. Change is inevitable, but Hearst Network shows us how to make it purposeful. Dean Possenniskie shared how values-driven leadership and adaptability can coexist with cutting-edge tech.
Dean Possenniskie, Managing Director EMEA and UK, Hearst Network
“We have three company values and three words. They are curiosity, courage and care. They are our three values in our company. You know, curiosity is what drives us to question, explore and innovate. Courage: we talk to courage as showing up as your true self, with confidence and heart, and – really importantly – even when the road ahead is uncertain. And finally, care is sort of part of everything we do. It’s how we treat each other. It’s how we approach our work. It’s how we connect with our partners and the world.”
Key takeaways from episode 157:
- Purpose anchors agility; linking change to values builds trust.
- Communication matters: storytelling helps people understand the why.
- Adaptability is a skill every team needs, not just leaders.
Your call to action from episode 157 is to listen in and reflect. Ask yourself and your stakeholders: Are our change initiatives truly aligned with our core values?
Episode 156
Number three: The role of DEX at one of Fortune’s Best Company: Robert Half, episode 156. Digital employee experience or DEX isn’t optional any more. Evelyn Lim explained how Robert Half uses agile practices and global collaboration to elevate employee experience.
Evelyn Lim, Senior Director, Digital Workplace Colleague Experience, Robert Half
“There’s always something more, something new, to tackle. But even looking back, and I have this great graphic now that I show, here’s how the journey of the internet has come since 1998 and it looks very transformative, so it’s great to look back on. And even when we have made one-degree shifts, we’ve made little changes, it’s all added up to something big.”
Key takeaways from episode 156:
- DEX drives retention; it’s a talent magnet.
- Accessibility is non-negotiable – inclusive design matters.
- Feedback loops keep experiences fresh and relevant.
Your call to action from episode 156 is to check out the episode and do a quick DEX health check: Are your tools and processes truly employee-centric?
Episode 150
The fourth episode, number 150: Generative AI: the catalyst for intelligent collaboration today and beyond.
AI isn’t coming, it’s here! This episode explored how generative AI is reshaping workflows, decision making and creativity.
Oscar Berg, Senior Consultant in AI & Collaboration at Exobe
“My belief is that you need to have a culture that is open and fosters trust and collaboration to make use of AI. That’s what I mean with culture eats AI for breakfast. If your culture isn’t ready for AI, you will have a hard time finding value from AI and adopting it.”
Key takeaways from episode 150:
- AI accelerates collaboration and sparks creativity.
- Ethics and governance are essential for trust.
- Upskilling is urgent – AI literacy is the new must-have skill.
Your call to action from episode 150 is to share this episode with your tech and HR teams. Ask yourself and your team: How ready are we for AI integration?
Episode 149
The final episode is: Unlocking the future: Inside DWG’s 2025 research programme, episode 149. This one gave us a sneak peek into DWG’s research agenda, covering intranet futuring, AI literacy and change agility. Elizabeth Marsh joined me to talk about how storytelling and data-driven strategies will define the next chapter of digital transformation.
Elizabeth Marsh, DWG Director of Research
“And this year it was very clear where we wanted to focus – and it was going deeper into that readiness, into the people readiness, but as you say, also into the team readiness. So how ready is the digital workplace team for the way that their roles are going to evolve?”
Key takeaways from episode 149:
- Research shapes strategy; data beats guesswork every time.
- Storytelling drives adoption – it makes change relatable.
- Continuous learning is the secret to staying ahead.
Your call to action from episode 149 is to listen and use it to inform your 2026 roadmap: Which research themes align with your priorities?
So there you have it – the Fab Five from 2025!
These episodes give you a roadmap for thriving in an era of constant change, AI readiness and ethical adoption. Employee experience as a cultural cornerstone. Data-driven decision making for agility and resilience. Don’t just listen, act. Share these episodes with your teams, use them as conversation starters, and embed their insights into your strategy.
You can find all these episodes at digitalworkplacegroup.com/podcasts.
Until next time, keep shaping the future of work with purpose and impact!
P.S. We hope you found it interesting to experience this podcast through the lens of Nancy Goebel’s digital twin.
Digital Workplace Impact is brought to you by the Digital Workplace Group. DWG is a strategic partner covering all aspects of the evolving digital workplace industry, not only through membership, but also benchmarking and boutique consulting services. For more information, visit digitalworkplacegroup.com.
