L&D Disrupt

A phrase you will often hear getting thrown around in the L&D space is ‘putting the learner first’, but you might wonder how many people proactively design a strategy to meet employees’ needs, rather than just the needs of the business… In this episode we’re joined by someone who is super passionate about designing experiences that are intentionally built with the learner in mind. Sarah Stevenson, Vice President, Learning and Employee Experience at Schlesinger Group, is on the show to chat about how Design Thinking has impacted her work for the better, and how you can use the principles to create some real change! Running order: 04:11 ADDIE vs. SAM 07:10 Applying Design Thinking to L&D 15:54 Getting to the MVP 20:26 Using feedback to improve your offering 24:05 Does L&D have a ‘data problem’? 26:43 You get what you measure! 27:50 Design Thinking - where do I start? 29:58 Quickfire round How to connect Find Sarah on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahkstevenson/ Find Nelson on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonsivalingam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatNelsonDude Find HowNow on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hownowhq/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hownowteam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hownowhq/ Our Website: https://gethownow.com/

L&D and HR - a match made in heaven, or a marriage of inconvenience? Whatever opinion you hold, there’s no escaping the fact that at some point in your L&D journey you will most likely work with, or sit within, a HR function. In this episode we’re joined by Lauren Cunningham - ​​L&D Manager at Bumble - to help us navigate this partnership and work through the hurdles that can hinder your harmonious efforts! Running Order:  00:00 Intro 05:19 Building relationships to avoid silos 08:34 Changing your approach once you move into a function 11:07 Testing and iterating to achieve results 14:02 Budget implications of moving into a function 16:06 Myth-busting perceptions around L&D! 18:20 Figuring out where to start as the first L&D hire 20:08 Where you should position L&D in your organisation 20:55 Quickfire round How to connect Find Lauren on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenleacunningham/ Find Nelson on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonsivalingam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatNelsonDude Find HowNow on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hownowhq/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hownowteam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hownowhq/ Our Website: https://gethownow.com/

There’s no doubt about it - 2022 is already shaping up to be a huge year for L&D. While the pandemic kickstarted widespread WFH back in 2020, most organisations have now adopted this hybrid set up for the long-term. And what does this mean for learning and development? Our expert panel will help you ride the waves of L&D challenges, so you'll sail smoothly and confidently through 2022 and make it your best year yet. Running order:  00:00 Intro 06:30 Pull learning isn’t the death of push learning! 11:02 Is it time to add TikTok to your tech stack? Building a ‘best of breed’ learning ecosystem 15:21 Social learning has been around forever - but we need to spot and nurture those interactions 18:59 Leveraging storytelling in a digital world to create engaging learning experiences 24:00 If you have the will, you’ll find the skill! 27:13 Things to consider when reviewing your tech stack 35:13 How to approach resistance to change 38:52 Applying influencer marketing to your organisation 45:16 Focussing on the small actions and moments that make up a culture 49:02 The hats L&D need to start wearing 50:46 Adopting a start up mentality 56:34 One thing you can do THIS MONTH to make a difference How to connect Find Lavinia on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laviniamehedintu/ Offbeat: https://offbeat.works/ Find Ross on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rstevensonuk/ Steal These Thoughts: https://stealthesethoughts.com/ Find Nelson on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonsivalingam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatNelsonDude Find HowNow on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hownowhq/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hownowteam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hownowhq/ Our Website: https://gethownow.com/

Picture this - you’ve spent weeks crafting an unforgettable learning experience, finally engaging employees in an exciting way and making a real difference to the L&D strategy within your company. The day arrives. You launch it, you wait, you wait some more… and nothing happens. You were sure this would be a massive success - and maybe it WOULD be - if anyone actually knew about it! In this episode we’re joined by Hannah Waddams, Marketing Director at MAAS Marketing, to learn how and why L&D should use marketing to create that necessary awareness. Running order:  01:37 Have you got a marketing problem? 03:48 How you can start flexing your marketing muscle 05:44 Uncovering the identities of your ‘learners’ 07:17 Defining your learning brand 10:20 Personalising your comms with learning personas 13:11 Channels you can leverage to reach employees 18:10 Influencer marketing for L&D 22:15 Successful tactics you can try 24:52 How you should measure impact 27:47 The Marketing for Learning podcast 28:31 Quickfire Round  How to connect Find Hannah on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannahwaddams/ Marketing For Learning: https://open.spotify.com/show/6WuDqzOExdEP7ugRgMCsJ7?si=089480ede6d44d24  Find Nelson on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonsivalingam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatNelsonDude Find HowNow on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hownowhq/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hownowteam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hownowhq/ Our Website: https://gethownow.com/

​A whopping 75% of people quit their jobs to get away from their manager! So while we might have the best intentions, your management style could be driving people to pastures green.   ​Surely not, you gasp! Well, here's the thing, most people just aren't aware that their actions are negatively affecting their colleagues.   ​ There’s a gap between someone's intentions vs. the impact they’re having, and the only way to bridge it is by actively working on your self-awareness in the workplace. So, are you ready to join Ally Jones for a good old session of introspection? Running order: 03:35 What is the ‘awareness-gap’? 08:17 How to create an environment where people can share feedback 13:31 Tools to work on your own self-awareness 17:21 Helping first time managers to develop leadership skills 21:22 Defining the levels of listening 23:51 What can L&D do to close the gap? 32:44 Focussing on what you can impact 35:07 Advice for newly promoted leaders 45:18 Working on developing ‘soft’ skills How to connect:  Find Ally on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonjonescoach/ Find Nelson on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonsivalingam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatNelsonDude Find HowNow on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hownowhq/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hownowteam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hownowhq/ Our Website: https://gethownow.com/

L&D in the hybrid world of work has its challenges, but also lots of opportunities. In this episode we’re joined by Jeni Brown, Chief People Officer at Teamwork, the team collaboration software used by over 350,000 organisations. Listen in as we discuss how L&D can create a digital-first learning culture that really helps people to grow in this new world of work. Running order:  0:00 Intro 01:19 Pivoting to hybrid working 03:20 Digital first onboarding 05:53 Communicating culture remotely 07:49 The need for content creation 12:14 Measuring performance 14:55 Outcomes over output 16:55 The evolution of collaborative learning 19:31 Ensuring successful buy-in 24:07 Quickfire round How to connect Find Jeni on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeni-brown-6953037/ Find Nelson on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonsivalingam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatNelsonDude Find HowNow on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hownowhq/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hownowteam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hownowhq/ Our Website: https://gethownow.com/

​Congratulations, you've just bagged your new exciting job in L&D! Like every role, you want to hit the ground running, to make things happen as fast as possible and prove your worth.​But is sprinting off from the L&D starting line the right approach? Or should you be more measured and thoughtful in your first 90 days?   Join Alex Anderson and Artheka Sivaharan in this live episode as they answer things like:  ​ How long should you spend ‘figuring things out’ before you start developing solutions? What’s the best way to facilitate meaningful conversations with your colleagues to get as much insight as possible? How you can challenge the stakeholder misconception and common narrative that you're there to provide exactly what they ask for? Running Order  00:33 Intro 05:10 Overcoming the challenges of joining a company remotely 06:56 Getting the most out of initial conversations 07:56 Figuring out where to focus your time and energy 11:12 Communicating the position of L&D to the rest of the business 13:58 Managing stakeholder relationships 16:51 Agreeing on realistic expectations 19:04 When should you start implementing strategies? 22:18 Transitioning into a startup 23:29 Keeping employees at heart of L&D 26:40 How do you define success? 30:16 Deciding which data to collect 33:00 Structured vs. open learning pathways 38:38 Getting stakeholders to create content 43:23 Enhancing the DEI culture 48:50 Would you do anything differently? How to connect Find Artheka on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artheka-sivaharan-assoc-cipd-38852714b/ Find Alex on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandersonuj/ Find Nelson on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonsivalingam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatNelsonDude Find HowNow on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hownowhq/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hownowteam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hownowhq/ Our Website: https://gethownow.com/

We’re shaking things up in this episode as we’re joined by HowNow’s very own Head of Customer Success, Lulu Dermeche. Lulu has tons experience helping customers to implement L&D, and today we’re making the most of her expertise to help you successfully launch your L&D strategy! Running Order: 00:00 Intro 02:13 Are you communicating the ‘why’? (1) 04:46 Thinking like a marketer! (2) 06:40 Involve your stakeholders at the right time (3) 08:56 Examples of great marketing 11:12 Finding your L&D champions (4) 15:25 Focus in on the problems you want to solve (5) 20:58 Get employees creating content (6) 22:52 Everybody is knowledgable! How to connect: Find Lulu on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luciledermeche/ Find Nelson on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonsivalingam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatNelsonDude Find HowNow on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hownowhq/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hownowteam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hownowhq/ Our Website: https://gethownow.com/

How can you make employee mental health a priority in fast-paced startups? That's the topic we tackled in the very first edition of L&D Disrupt Live! James Routledge, Lauren Cunningham and Will Beaton joined us to answer questions like: Why should startups make mental health a priority? Can you spot when efforts are just performative? Which metrics should we be looking at? What action can you take this week to really make a difference? Running Order 04:50 Why should startups make mental health a priority? 07:25 Why it’s taken so long for mental health to get on the agenda 08:41 Can you spot when efforts are just performative? 13:19 Bringing a wellbeing team into the business 15:00 How to position a business case for wellbeing initiatives 19:43 Rolling out new measures in a hybrid setting 21:49 Empowering leaders to drive mental wellbeing across teams 23:45 Keeping volunteers engaged and inspired 26:23 The importance of making people feel heard 28:15 Which metrics should we be looking at? 31:27 What to do when you feel like a cultural misfit 37:38 Creating a strategy in a startup vs larger corporate company 40:45 How can you prevent burnout in startups? 46:18 Taking control of your own wellbeing 47:43 Is there a clash between growing revenue and a people-first culture? 53:13 What’s one thing you can do this week to move the needle? How to connect: Find James on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdroutledge1/ Find Lauren on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenleacunningham/ Find Will on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-beaton-24228b106/ Find Nelson on: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonsivalingam/  Find HowNow on: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hownowhq/

You’re the first ever L&D hire in a startup and you have a complete blank slate to work with - but where on earth do you start? Artheka Sivaharan, Learning and Development Lead at MyTutor, was in this exact position just a few months ago. Listen to the episode to hear exactly how Artheka handled the situation as she shares her best tips for growing L&D from the ground up. Running order: 01:15 How do you know when you should bring in an L&D person? 02:18 Where do you start when you have a blank slate? 03:51 Directing people away from self-prescribing 06:33 Positioning the value of L&D 08:15 Choosing which problems to tackle first 09:58 Using data to build business cases 11:10 Creating a business case proposal 16:22 The benefits of working in sprints 18:48 Getting tangible results 21:30 Supporting your first L&D hire 23:33 Quickfire round How to connect Find Artheka on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/artheka-sivaharan-assoc-cipd-38852714b/ Find Nelson on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nelsonsivalingam/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThatNelsonDude Find HowNow on: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hownowhq/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/hownowteam Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hownowhq/ Our Website: https://gethownow.com/