Former Youi manager launches Exsona to improve workplace culture for businesses

A former Youi manager has launched a new start-up from his Palmview home to improve workplace culture for businesses as staff burnout and turnover rates rise nationally.

A former Youi manager has launched his own Palmview start-up to help businesses improve workplace culture as staff burnout and turnover rise nationally.

Ryan McGrory established consultancy firm Exsona in May, 2022, which designs programs and strategies that fix gaps in employee wellbeing, satisfaction and fulfilment for small to large companies.

Mr McGrory’s career at the Sippy Downs-based insurance company spanned more than 10 years and has been recognised nationally and internationally for his work in human resource management and development.

His most acclaimed project at Youi was digital app YourGame which enables employees to track their personal accomplishments at work and earn prizes based on their progress.

The platform was developed in-house in 2017 by Mr McGrory and his team of Youi staff.

Mr McGrory said he had the intention of starting his own company for a few years and felt the time was right to put his ideas into practise.

Exsona founder Ryan McGrory launched his business consultancy start-up earlier this month. Picture: Patrick Woods.

“I think there’s huge challenges within businesses with experiences and culture in Australia,” Mr McGrory said.

“With crises such as burnout, attraction (recruitment) challenges, ‘the great resignation,’ and issues around cost of living, I felt there was a strong need for companies to develop deeper insights into their workplaces and what they can do to make them better for employees.

“Success relies on culture, so whether it’s getting companies out of a difficult situation, there’s a reason why major or successful companies continue to remain ahead of their competitors.”

Exsona’s services include design, research and people analytics, creativity and insight data, toolkits, workshops and more.

The start-up is currently working with three businesses including one on the Sunshine Coast, Sydney and Melbourne.

Exsona designs a range of programs and strategies for businesses to improve their workplace culture and productivity

Its launch comes as data from a recent NAB survey which polled 1200 people between November and December, 2021 showed 20 per cent of Australians quit their job that year while another quarter were thinking about leaving their role.

The main factors for the resignations in the survey included burnout, career stagnation and poor pay which were compounded by Covid-19.

Advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted a report in 2014 which found that every dollar businesses spend on mental health measures could see a return on investment of about $2.30 on average.

At present, Exsona’s team consists of two staff and has received high levels of interest for its work from local and interstate businesses.

Mr McGrory said he plans to keep his business small and nimble to focus on the quality of its services and plans to develop apps in the future.

“Growth for the sake of growth is not a good idea, it’s not suited to me and I want to inspire people,” Mr McGrory said.

“There’s so many examples of businesses that stay small, profitable and successful and those are the ones I want to emulate.”