‘You’re going to know your customers better than any system, Digital value is about human value, it’s about working with people to solve problems’   

As a successful leader in Digital (at the BBC and at Ask.com), Myles has observed L&D’s embracing of new technologies but also its failure to transform itself. We discuss what digital transformation really means and what it will take for L&D professionals to make the most of the opportunities that digital now offers. 

  

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

• Digital capability is largely remiss in L&D and is a blocker to positively changing the profession, is this what you see?
  The preoccupation with technology is a real problem for the industry. For too much of the time for too many people digital means technology implementation
  
  One of the most important aspects is the pace at which you have to move and having a clear focus on data and evidence.
  
  The digital world has shown the values and benefits of a prototype to demonstrate and gather real data and this is driven at pace
  
  You can’t make a transformational change from your current position; you have to have new information and data.
  
  The stuff that we use ourselves has completely changed the way we communicate, our entertainment and access to each other.
  
  The digital revolution has not been about systems it has been about having new experiences that add value to our lives in different ways
  
  The L&D profession is still stuck in the trap of finding new ways to do what its always done rather than finding new things to do. 

• What is digital transformation for you?
  The challenge for L&D is that the learning pace is now set outside of the industry and we need to change how we work to meet the rising expectations we all,  as consumers, have. 
  
  It’s about what we can do with the technologies we can create and how we can apply them
  
  We need to constantly be aiming to give the best consumer experience we can.
  
  One of the challenges is for the industry to look beyond learning data and be smart about other sources of data, we need to be smart about all of the data landscape to help us understand what the problems are and how we will solve them. 

• What's your position on digital and face to face?
  
  It’s not about one or the other it's about how you use the tools you have available to solve the problems. It can be people coming together, or a phone call, it's about an event that is helpful.
  
  The learning classroom is a human event that due to what it is surrounded by has increased in value and importance. 

  

VALUABLE RESOURCES 

Myles Runham LinkedIn 

Myles Runham website   

  

BEST MOMENTS 

‘The L&D world needs to become much more confident working in these ways’ 

‘For people in senior positions, it’s about letting go and trusting in something new’ 

‘You need to be where people are and understand why they want to learn in the first place’ 

‘There is a recognition now that everything is changing, and it is happening at a pace so beware of certainty’ 

  

ABOUT THE HOST 
David James 

David has been a People Development professional for more than 20 years, most notably as Director of Talent, Learning & OD for The Walt Disney Company across Europe, the Middle East & Africa. 

As well as being the Chief Learning Strategist at Looop, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D as well as an active member of the CIPD L&D Advisory Board. 

  

CONTACT METHOD 

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning?lang=en 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin/ 
Website: https://www.looop.co/