Want to know how to level up your employee experience using design thinking? Want a no-nonsense approach to designing people-centred products, services, and experience? Well, Danny Seals has written the book on these and tells us all about it in this episode. KEY TAKEAWAYS Levelling up your employee experience has never been more important. Examine the problem properly, don´t simply go with what you think the issue is. Use the ladder technique that Danny shares in this episode. People need...

Do we need to concede that we’ll never be able to accurately measure the impact of our soft skills development solutions? If so, that’s an enormous amount of spending without knowing if we’re making enough of a difference. In this episode, we discuss how it is possible to plan, design and deliver for real impact and how this is already working. KEY TAKEAWAYS Tell people upfront how what they learn applies to their job.  Use proprietary internal knowhow to plug content gaps.  Have people...

What’s it like to lead L&D at one of the world’s most renowned and successful companies? Netflix has grown into an international powerhouse of home entertainment and is almost as famous for its people practices as its product. In this episode we lift the lid on L&D at Netflix and explore what development looks like at this aspirational and ambitious brand. KEY TAKEAWAYS The culture informs everything Netflix does. Netflix takes a different approach to performance management. At...

Skills-based approaches to organisations, the workforce and development are gaining in prominence. This is hardly a surprise when one of the biggest problems across entire industries and economies is the growing skills gap. So a skills-based approach is aimed at meeting these problems head-on. In this episode, we explore what this all means for L&D and our stakeholders and how we get involved. KEY TAKEAWAYS A skills-based organization organises a lot of their work and talent structures...

Without doubt, 2023 has been dominated by AI. Whether it’s through fear, anxiety, excitement or over-exposure, generative AI - and most prominently ChatGPT - has been at the forefront of thinking, development and investment as the world rushes to catch up with this emergent technology. But what could it mean for L&D? According to Ross Stevenson, quite a lot. Listen as Ross shares his exhaustive exploration of this technology and tells us how we can be benefitting today. KEY...

The latest CIPD report on the Learning & Development profession is both revealing and inspiring. L&D practitioners and leaders have had a huge amount to deal with, in recent years, with many using circumstances to make radical changes. For others, not so much. So, what does this all mean and what do we need to do about it? In this conversation, we unpack the report and highlight some key findings - as well as provide commentary and insight ourselves. KEY TAKEAWAYS The CIPD report...

Since Shannon first appeared on the podcast in 2021, podcasting has grown exponentially into a mainstream channel for organisations and individuals. However, despite this growth, it is still a marginal tool in corporate learning and not fully embraced for its potential to make culture accessible and make exclusive conversations open for employees to hear. In this episode we address some of the challenges organisations face - and overcome - to make podcasting work for them.

As organisations face disruption from digital advancements, a parallel skills shortage is being experienced in the labour market. In the face of these two challenges, Learning & Development teams are seeking ways to make a predictable and reliable impact on developing their people. In this episode, we explore what Aviva is doing to upskill and re-skill in digital skills to ensure the company thrives in the future.

Business impact is an elusive goal for Learning & Development, but it needn’t be. In this episode, as part of a series on achieving measurable impact, Bonnie Beresford unpacks what we should mean by business impact and how we make it attainable as well as planned and measurable.

If L&D can’t influence or change behaviour, then we need to ask ourselves “What are we for?” Similarly, if we can’t measure whether behaviour change has occurred then our position should be precarious. In this episode, Laura Paramoure tackles this topic head-on to make it measuring behaviour change accessible and attainable. KEY TAKEAWAYS Giving knowledge to an employee doesn't make any difference unless they apply it in their job. Learning courses are instruments for change. The...

We kick off our mini-series on Measuring Impact with Kevin answering questions about how we plan to make a measurable difference rather than leaving it to chance or trying to retrospectively seek value once we’ve delivered an agreed - if not largely hopeful - solution.

We’ve both been in Learning & Development (or Training, as it was known) since the 1990s. It seems that so much has changed and yet so much remains the same. I.e., Classroom training was the primary means of development, tech was emerging but seen as supplementary (and perhaps inferior), and we struggled to demonstrate our value beyond attendance and satisfaction. And yet the nature of work has evolved, technology has advanced enormously, employee expectations have shifted, and work...

Have you ever wanted to hear learning experts with different views explore ways in which they disagree? Respectfully, of course.

What does a pivot to performance-oriented L&D look like in a fast-paced high street environment? In this episode, Lila Warren, Global Head of Retail Academy at Pret a Manger, shares her motivations and approaches to affecting performance with learning solutions designed to make a meaningful impact.

Measuring impact is notoriously difficult but without it, our profession cannot progress, and we won’t fulfil our potential. There is a huge role for Learning & Development in the upskilling and reskilling efforts required to plug the skills gap, but we won’t do that without holding ourselves accountable for actual impact. In this episode, our panel explores what this means and the practical steps it will take us to make a planned and meaningful impact.

In 2021, Michelle published her book, The L&D Handbook, aimed at providing practical steps and tools for L&D professionals wanting to move away from traditional classroom teaching but not sure where to start. Since then, the need for this pivot has only increased. In this episode, we explore what L&D can do to make a greater impact in what is likely to be a tough time for all.

Would it surprise you to learn that 40% of executive transitions fail during the first 18 months? These can work out to be expensive failures. So, what can L&D do to ensure a more successful transition? In this episode, Navid Nazemian, author of Masting Executive Transitions shares insights and practical steps that organisations can take.

So far, it seems 2023 has been the year of Chat GPT but what does it mean for L&D? Should you be using it now? Should your learning tech provider be incorporating it into their platform? Does this mean that the robots are coming for our jobs? This episode offers an intriguing glimpse into the future of corporate learning and the transformative potential of generative AI. KEY TAKEAWAYS Generative AI is here to stay. Seek out those who are using it and learn from them. Play with ChatGPT,...

Organisations are facing a skills crisis, and some are more aware than others. But these organisations will find themselves let down by their L&D departments if the market-driven myths around skills development are believed. As Peter Sheppard and David James discuss in this episode, skills can only be developed if they are understood in the context in which they are to be employed. There are no silver-bullet solutions that enable companies to avoid this.

In the final episode of this series, we welcome back Mirjam Neelen, Carl Binder, Teemu Lilja, Fredrik Peterson Herfindal, and Judith Hale to answer your questions.

In this episode, Judith Hale, Performance Improvement expert, and thought leader will be sharing her experience and approach to working with stakeholders and clients to make a real impact on performance and results.

In this episode, Teemu Lilja and Fredrik Peterson Herfindal speak about their pivot to a performance-oriented approach at their organisation, the Swedish company Telia, and how this has led to both incredible business impact and recognition by their colleagues and the industry. Theirs is an inspiring story that started by listening to podcast conversations just like this...

In this episode, Carl Binder talks about Pivot to Performance, and his methodology, and brings this to life with real-life examples. Carl is CEO of The Performance Thinking Network, helping organisations accelerate results through the performance of their people.  A widely published author, keynote speaker, and consultant, Carl began as a Ph.D. student with B.F. Skinner at Harvard, and has spent over 40 years bringing behaviour science into practical, down-to-earth application.

Welcome to series 2 of L&D’s Pivot to Performance and the first of 5 conversations.  As with series 1, Guy Wallace and David James are speaking with esteemed guests about their own pivot from ‘Learning-focused’ practice towards a ‘performance orientation’ that more predictably and reliably, let alone efficiently and successfully, achieves demonstrable results for both employees and organisations. In this episode, Mirjam Neelen talks about her pivot to performance, her approach to...

With global economic uncertainty and hardship, organisations are likely to be making tough decisions in 2023, and if Learning & Development departments are going to survive and succeed, they are likely to be challenged to achieve more with fewer resources. In this episode, David explores his experience of leading L&D at Disney during the post-2008 banking crisis and shares lessons on how he rose to the challenge of achieving more with less.