L&D Disrupt

Agile L&D, you’ve probably heard of it, but what the hell does it actually mean? In this episode Patrick Mullarkey, Learning and Development Lead at Snyk, shares his first hand experiences of implementing Agile learning, explains why it’s worth doing and how to manage the change in your organisation, as well as how exactly to measure the impact of Agile L&D on your business.

Patrick explains to us how Agile L&D can encourage companies to waste less time on unsuccessful projects by speeding up the ‘failing fast’ process, and how important it is to engage with stakeholders using the right language in order to gain the trust necessary to start working in this way. Whether you have no experience of implementing Agile L&D or you consider yourself an expert - listen in as we demystify the buzzword of the moment and bring some real meaning to Agile L&D.

Running Order

1:39: What the hell is Agile L&D?

4:32: Why we look to Agile L&D in the first place

8:40: What do you gain from moving to a more Agile way of working?

11:00: Failing fast

12:06: Using the right language to get stakeholders on board

17:53: I want to go Agile - where do I start?

21:35: How to measure if it’s working

25:36: Quickfire round

How to connect

Find Patrick on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mullarkeypj/

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/

All good things must come to an end. And sadly, that’s true for Series One of 99 Problems But Work Ain’t One. But we couldn’t just let it fizzle out! So we’ve compiled our favourite nuggets of knowledge from every episode. Get ready for some brilliant insights into the worlds of L&D, HR, People Development, Talent Management and forward-thinking workplaces.

Thank you to anyone who’s tuned in and supported the show so far and to our 13 amazing guests who’ve joined us for some really insightful and fascinating conversations. We’ll be back for a second series soon - so make sure you’re subscribed wherever you’re listening.

Each clip is timestamped below with a note of the guest and episode number, so if you want to head over to any of the conversations you missed, you can!

Running order:

0:00 > Introduction to the episode.

Where you can find these episodes:

Watch every episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNtHJIUeVUyIybZBlnsgUW3ypL4dLQhKh

Listen to every episode on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/70k8Cfn70DcPD0CEBA1ySs

Listen to every episode on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/99-problems-but-work-aint-one/id1572432505

Read shownotes for every episode: https://gethownow.com/podcast/

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: http://instagram.com/hownowhq

Our Website: http://gethownow.com/

It goes without saying that customer success has changed since the pandemic, but the better questions are how has it evolved? What can leaders do more effectively in response? And how can we learn socially from our CS colleagues and other departments in the world of hybrid work?

Angela Guedes, Head of Customer Success at Belvo, joined us on this week’s episode to answer these questions and plenty more.

We talked about her transition from a similar role at Typeform (where she worked for seven years), the best starting point for building a CS function at a young company, the importance of recognising internal customer needs, the optimal onboarding journey, and whether there’s a pressure to know all the answers when you’re leading a team.

Running order

0:00 Intro to Angela Guedes.

1:52 How the pandemic has changed customer success.

4:17 What’s it like joining a new company and building a CS function?

6:16 What does an optimal onboarding journey look like for a new starter?

10:33 The roles and responsibilities of a Head of Customer Success.

15:05 Is there a pressure to know all of the answers?

17:24 How Angela approaches learning and becoming better at her role?

19:47 Replicating social learning in the hybrid and remote CS world.

23:08 The voice of the customer programs.

25:42 Quickfire questions.

How to connect

Find Angela on:

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: http://instagram.com/hownowhq

Our Website: http://gethownow.com/

Why would a company move from KPIs or that standard goal-setting model to objectives and key results? Or, as you might know them, OKRs. That’s the big question we put to Jacquie Gay, Program Manager of Talent Development at TomTom, in this week’s episode of 99 Problems But Work Ain’t One.

From finding a North Star that everyone in the company can follow to how OKRs can move us towards more effective measurement, Jacquie shared some great experiences of how that OKR shift works in practice. We also found time to chat about the impact on TomTom’s learning culture, how the pandemic drove positive changes that they’ll stick with moving forward and how Jacquie is helping managers prepare for this new world of work.

Running order

0:00 Intro to Jacqueline Gay, Program Manager, Talent Development at TomTom.

2:23 What prompted the move towards OKRs at TomTom?

5:52 How to have a conversation about HR’s purpose and OKRs.

9:28 An example of an objective and key result.

11:54 Have OKRs changed behaviour and what’s measured at TomTom?

15:31 Implementing OKRs in a distributed workforce.

18:15 Has the pandemic changed TomTom’s learning culture?

20:15 How has Jacquie approached preparing managers for the new world of work?

24:13 Quickfire questions.

How to connect

Find Jacquie on:

Find Nelson on:

Find HowNow on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hownowhq/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hownowteam

Instagram: http://instagram.com/hownowhq

Our Website: http://gethownow.com/

Just because we sit in the same room or department, that doesn’t make us a team! In fact, a lot of companies have lost sight of what a great team is because they’re just doing things the way they’ve always been done.

Those were just a couple of the hard truths Pam Hamilton shared with us in this week’s episode. Pam recently released her second book, Supercharged Teams: Power Your Team With The Tools For Success which offers 30 tools for great teamwork. And she was kind enough to share some of them with us in this conversation.

From why we all have a responsibility to call out opportunities for better behaviour to how sending voice notes can be far more effective than writing long emails, and the need for shared goals in creating effective teams - this episode is packed with ideas for supercharging teams and resetting the rules around how we collaborate.

Running order

0:00 Introduction to Pam Hamilton

1:57 Why should someone supercharge their teams?

3:17 What has changed since the pandemic in terms of this team dynamic?

5:32 What does a supercharged team look like? And who’s accountable for it?

9:12 What should you be looking for in your culture to drive that behaviour?

10:15 How do we set goals effectively for our teams? And what comes next?

16:16 Pam’s thoughts on synchronous and asynchronous learning and working.

21:07 Effective ways to share knowledge in the hybrid working environment.

25:35 Interesting ways people have implemented Pam’s tools.

28:11 What could managers be doing to lay the groundwork for supercharged teams?

30:25 How should people be approaching offline collaboration and workshops today?

38:47 Quickfire questions.

How to connect

Find Pam on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/paraffinpam

Find Pam’s Supercharged Teams book here:

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: http://instagram.com/hownowhq

Our Website: http://gethownow.com/

What’s the impact of our learning and development efforts? Has training fulfilled its purpose? And why are the answers so often a mystery?

The L&D Detective is here to help! Kevin M. Yates joined us in this episode to offer a three-part framework for measuring impact, explain why measurement is a skill in itself and discuss why failing to define impact means more difficulty in measuring it.

Kevin also told us the backstory behind the name L&D Detective, which skills a professional needs, whether management is asking to see measurement metrics, how he almost left the industry and a lot more.

Running order

0:00 Intro and the origins of the L&D Detective

5:00 Are L&D demanding more budget without demonstrating impact?

7:58 Does L&D report differently when it’s to the HR/People Function vs. the C-Suite?

10:33 What should L&D be measuring?

13:53 Measuring learning effectiveness.

14:19 Examples of business and performance outcomes.

18:21 When is the right time to think about all of this?

20:28 Tech’s role in measurement and examples of success.

24:20 Which skills does an L&D professional need?

30:47 Quickfire questions.

How to connect

Find Kevin on:

Download the L&D Detective Kit: https://kevinmyates.com/l%26d-detective-kit

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: http://instagram.com/hownowhq

Our Website: http://gethownow.com/

For too long learning has been about giving people new and more information, but it hasn’t been built around where the learner needs to apply that knowledge. Bob Mosher’s 5 Moments Of Need Framework help you pivot to a mindset where you consider the workflow first and foremost!

In this episode, Bob also explained why traditional classroom training has gone unchallenged for so long, how to empower learners to use information when you’re not around, why building skills should be viewed in terms of your performance and how you apply them and so much more.

Running order

0:00 Introduction to Bob Mosher and The 5 Moments of Need Framework’s origins

7:46 Why Apply is the moment you need to start with and pivot to.

11:29 The 5 Moments of Need SAVE classroom training and the legacy classroom model.

20:49 What are The 5 Moments of Need/what is the framework?

25:31 How can L&D professionals apply the framework to their day-to-day life?

30:42 What does great design for apply, change and solve look like?

36:11 Bob’s view on the shift towards building skills.

39:31 What L&D has done well during the pandemic.

43:36 One thing you can do to improve your learning culture today.

46:41 Quickfire questions

How to connect

Find Bob on:

Find APPLY Synergies on:

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: http://instagram.com/hownowhq

Our Website: http://gethownow.com/

When you’re joining a fast-growing scaleup as the Director of People, where do you start? How do you shape the culture into something codified and scalable? How do you determine the priorities? And what steps can you take towards building a high-performance culture?

Valerie Mann joined us to talk about her journey at Elder, the UK-based live-in care & home care provider that uses ‘The Mum Test’ as part of their carer selection process. She explained what that involves, how Elder provided mental health and wellbeing support during the pandemic, and how they approach the situation of supporting both frontline staff and those based at the HQ.

Running order

0:00 Introduction to Valerie and Elder.

2:53 Working out priority areas when joining a new company.

6:08 Is it a daunting challenge to codify and scale culture?

10:17 Moving from shaping values to manifesting them in behaviour.

13:07 Building a high-performance culture.

16:55 Managing frontline workers and desk-based staff.

20:48 How Elder might invest in carer learning beyond compliance.

23:45 What is the ‘Mum Test’ for selecting carers?

24:58 How Elder has approached and supported mental wellbeing.

33.53 What’s next for Elder and their people development plans.

37:00 Quickfire questions.

How to connect

Find Valerie on:

Find ElderHQ on:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/elder-hq/

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: http://instagram.com/hownowhq

Our Website: http://gethownow.com/

When you’re running London’s largest online marketplace for flexible office space, the COVID-19 work from home orders must feel like the world’s largest curve ball. HubbleHQ founder Tushar Agarwal joined us to explain just how you approach and handle a situation like this.

But have those short-term challenges actually accelerated the trend for remote and hybrid working? Tushar explained why people are now demanding more flexibility, freedom and autonomy over where they work, but also provides the counter arguments for why 70% still want their company to provide an office of some sort.

We also discussed whether the government’s ‘Get Back To Work’ messaging could be worded better, how to better prepare managers and leaders to deal with this new reality and measuring the return on your office space investments.

Running Order

0:00 > Introduction

1:31 > Reacting to the pandemic as an office space providing/sourcing company.

8:06 >How Tushar dealt with the uncertainty of the past year and pandemic as a founder.

11:36 > The role of the office moving forward and how COVID accelerated current trends.

16:38 > The case for shared physical space.

21:09 > Tushar’s preferred approach to working.

26.08 > Is the ‘Get Back To Work’ messaging right?

30.12 > Better preparing managers and leaders to deal with this new reality.

33.23 > How companies can prepare their teams as they return to workplaces.

36:34 > Measuring the ROI on an office space.

41:32 > Quickfire questions.

How to connect

Find Tushar on:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/iamtoosh

Find HubbleHQ on:

Their website: https://hubblehq.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3519114

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hubblehq/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HubbleHQ/

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: http://instagram.com/hownowhq

Our Website: http://gethownow.com/

Where to find the show

Find every episode on YouTube here:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4QrYnD1H3oqVeAQQTyOhGQ

Why do so many organisations find it so difficult to establish and build their desired mindset? In Toby Newman’s opinion, they’ve not broken it down into relevant terms for their people or teams and they’re not always putting in the hours.

If you’ve ever wondered how you can democratise learning, handle impostor syndrome, feel like your true self or build the right relationships with your team, this is the episode for you. Why? Because they all relate to your mindset, and Toby’s an expert in learning mindsets and so much more.

Toby Newman is the L&D Manager at Here Technologies, the mind behind The Neverending Learner website and YouTube channel, a TEDx speaker and so much more.

Running Order

0:00 Introduction

2:20 > Establishing what a mindset is and why it’s a challenge for organisations.

6:44 > Why does L&D exist in most organisations?

9:44 > What mindset is required to deliver L&D effectively?

15:17 > Working out your current mindset and if it’s a learning one?

21:31 > Driving a behaviour of sharing learning and knowledge.

25:20 > Dealing with impostor syndrome as individuals and organisations.

28:48 > Practical ways of creating psychological safety.

41:23 > Work-life balance, blending the boundaries and re-thinking flexibility.

44:25 > What can leaders do today to nurture that mindset?

48:00  > Quickfire questions.

How to connect

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: http://instagram.com/hownowhq

Our Website: http://gethownow.com/