The Assembly

In this fantastic interview, Dr Kinga Petrovai chats with Adam about her unique approach to workplace learning, The Learning Hive. 

Dr Kinga Petrovai is a workplace learning consultant and podcaster with a doctorate in learning technologies from Oxford University and an M.Ed. from Harvard University. With a background as an electrical engineer, Kinga works at the intersection of research and practice, developing, evaluating, advising, and designing learning solutions to improve skills in the workplace. 

She has worked with a variety of organisations and universities, including the Government of Canada and the U.S. Department of State. On The Art & Science of Learning podcast, Kinga interviews global leaders in learning, with listeners in 100 countries.

In this episode, Kinga talks to Adam through the six key parts of the Learning Hive model, walking through examples that a typical organisation might face. Throughout this conversation, Kinga touches on: 

• How conversation builds long-lasting learning 
• Building a learning community within your organisation
• The importance of the physical environment in learning
• Tips and tricks on how to build deep focus while hosting a learning session

This is a must-listen for anyone interested in building a learning culture that is community-oriented and long-lasting. 

Connect with Kinga on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kinga-petrovai-phd-30b7a539/ 

Learn more about the Learning Hive and Kinga’s consulting services: https://www.theartandscienceoflearning.com/ 

Check out the Art of Science and Learning Podcast: https://www.theartandscienceoflearning.com/e101-jan-present 

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this fantastic interview, Adam chats with Tom Newman, the Group Head of Talent Development at Together Money. Tom is passionate about talent development and creating an environment for people to realise their full potential. He believes that talent development done well empowers others to define their own success and allows organisations to thrive by building an ongoing culture of learning. 

In this episode, Tom and Adam discuss Together Money’s week-long L&D festival: Learnfest. Each year, employees at Together Money gather to grow their skills and engage in exciting talks and events. 

While discussing Learnfest, Adam and Tom touch on: 

1. How Learnfest delivers not-so-average learning interventions
2. How unique guest speakers help us find learning in unexpected places (such as the football pitch) 
3. The basics of building a L&D programme from engagement to strategy to feedback
4. The value of qualitative feedback to ROI 

If you’re looking for a way to boost engagement in learning this year, and help develop a culture of learner-led learning at your organisation, this may be the episode for you. 

Connect with Tom on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-newman-a744a967/

Check out Together Money: togethermoney.com

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this excellent interview, Adam discusses the tips and tricks of retaining great employees with Kelly Pirotte. Kelly is the Group Head of Learning and Development for the Keys Group, a national multi-site business in the care sector. She holds an MSc in Management, which sparked her interest in Learning and Development and has completed the CIPD Advanced Diploma, earning Fellow status. 

Kelly's passion for making a difference in people’s learning experiences shines through her work in L&D. Kelly shares her advice for empowering others through learning to build retention. Including: 

1. The importance of homegrown management to build a strong learning environment
2. Using podcasts and other tools to do your learning on the go
3. Weaving learning throughout the day in creative ways 

Looking to foster a long-lasting learning culture and staff? You won’t want to miss this episode. 

Connect with Kelly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-pirotte-fcipd-24717045/ 

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this fantastic interview, Adam chats with head of talent management, learning and DEI at travel agency Love Holidays, Clodagh Beatty. Clodagh has spent over 20 years shaping Talent Management and Learning and Development across various industries worldwide, with a focus on financial services and tech scale-ups. 

Throughout her career, Clodagh has supported elite athletes transitioning into new careers, developed global programs for early-career talent to senior executives, and driven cultural transformation initiatives. Known for building high-performance cultures with a focus on employee engagement and retention, she is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD, a two-time award finalist, and a member of the International Coaching Federation.

In this episode, Clodagh gives Adam her top tips and best practices on how to develop skills that last. Some of her advice includes: 

1. How to lean on your personal motivation to develop a skillset
2. The importance of proactive learning in talent management
3. How mentorship and career pathways can launch you further in your career

If you’re looking to take you and your team’s learning to the next level, this is the podcast episode for you. 

Connect with Clodagh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clodagh-b-2403b7a/

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

This bonus episode features Emma Ewing With a leading trainer provider and founder of Big Fish Training, Emma chats with Adam on how individuals can make the most of life at work, grow in their careers, and build up their professional confidence and happiness. 

Emma and Adam walk through the six ways to take control of your career: Building Your Career, Building Success, Building Relationships, Building Networks, Building Focus, and Building Confidence [CORRECT DEPENDING ON DISCUSSION]. Jump into your career in 2025 with these key steps and start building your career with confidence and purpose today. 

Note: This episode is taken from a recorded webinar. You can watch the full webinar here: [Insert link to AY website with webinar on it] 

Connect with Emma on LinkedIn: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmaewingtraining/

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn 

In this great episode of L&D Challenges, Adam chats with Nicki Finnigan, Director of Learning and Development at financial advisory company St. James Place, about SJP’s new learning experiences they’ve created recently.

Leading a number of transformative L&D projects, Nicki launched a new platform and app that delivers a learning programme to the SJP partnership and employees. Combining this with Virtual Reality and AI, Nicki and her team have taken L&D at SJP to new heights.

In this episode, Adam and Nicki discuss how they have rolled out these new initiatives as well as some of the early results and lessons learned. They also look at what has made their L&D initiatives successful among their employees. Including: 

1. Accelerating soft skills with Virtual Reality and AI
2. Creating and maintaining a personalised app for learning
3. Revenue-based L&D versus cost-based L&D

If you’re interested in getting some new technology under your L&D belt or integrating a new learning platform in your learning experience, this is the episode for you. 

Connect with Nicki on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickifinnigan/ 

Check out St. James’ Place’s podcast Every Day’s a School Day wherever you stream your podcasts 

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, 

leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this incredible episode, Alison Armstrong walks us through the importance of trauma-informed training and the essential skills of intervention when having conversations around challenging topic of suicide. 

Alison is a best-selling author and training specialist with a wealth of experience in the areas of alcohol, drug and suicide prevention. She has developed training across these topics to various stakeholders, organisations, and businesses across the UK and internationally. An excellent trainer and public speaker - and a qualified celebrant - Alison has personally trained over 3,000 people in suicide intervention skills and believes that everyone should be trained to help reduce the stigma of suicide. 

Alison talks Adam through the best practices for kind and compassionate trauma-informed training. Including:

1. How to intervene when someone is having thoughts of suicide 
2. When NOT to use personal stories 
3. Intentional language choices that reduce stigma

This is a must-listen for anyone interested in fostering a safe and welcoming learning environment no matter how challenging the subject. 

Connect with Alison on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-armstrong-602850191/

If you are having thoughts of suicide, help is available right now if you need it. For support for yourself or someone else:

1. Samaritans – Call 116 123, Email [email protected]
2. Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) - Call 0800 58 58 58 (5pm to midnight every day)
3. National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK - Call 0800 689 5652 (6pm to midnight every day)
4. Papyrus - Call 0800 068 41 41, Text 07860 039967, Email [email protected]
5. Shout - Text "SHOUT" to 85258
6. NHS - Call 111, select option 2
7. Call your GP and ask for an emergency appointment

If you have seriously harmed yourself or you feel that you may be about to harm yourself, call 999 for an ambulance.

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this exciting interview, Adam speaks with Harry Chapman-Walker, CEO of Kallidus. Harry Chapman-Walker studied Politics and International Relations at the University of Bath and later earned a Master’s in International Business Law and joined Kallidus in 2013.

After completing an Executive MBA in 2020, Harry moved to the US in 2021 as Executive Vice President of Sapling, driving Kallidus' North American expansion. In March 2024, he returned to the UK as CEO of Kallidus, leading the company's strategy and vision to bridge the global development gap and create a customer-focused organization.

In this episode, Harry and Adam discuss the key moves and players in an organisation that help build strong L&D, including: 

1. Finding the key to engagement in the organisational culture
2. Creating learning that supports the individual and business
3. The power of middle managers
4. How personal development benefits the wider organisation

Connect with Harry on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrychapmanwalker/

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In the second podcast episode recorded at the Learning Futures event by iVentiv, Adam chats with Charles Jennings, Sina Melder, Leon Jacob about embracing collaboration and different learning cultures to foster learning development. Topics include: 

1. Demonstrating value to the organisation through L&D with Charles Jennings
2. AI beyond content creation with Sina Melder
3. Transforming soft skills into leadership skills with Leon Jacob

Charles Jennings is a prominent figure in workplace learning and performance, co-founding the 70:20:10 Institute and pioneering the 70:20:10 model for learning and development. With experience as a Chief Learning Officer, author, and consultant, he has transformed organizational learning strategies globally. 

Sina Melder is the Senior Global Organisation Development Manager at chocolate brand Lindt & Sprüngli. With extensive experience in digital learning and organisational development from her previous roles at PepsiCo and Procter & Gamble, she focuses on creating impactful global learning experiences. 

Leon Jacob, Director of People Experience at Medbase Gruppe, is transforming HR into a cohesive, digital-first team focused on employee experience. He is developing a robust Learning & Development function with innovative leadership programs and cross-functional learning initiatives in the healthcare sector.

Thank you to our Sponsor iVentiv for supporting the L&D Challenges podcast.

iVentiv is the market leader in events for Global Heads of Learning and Talent. You can join an iVentiv Executive Knowledge Exchange in cities around the world, hosted by businesses including Novartis, Visa, Metlife, ASML, Microsoft, Bosch, and Axa. Find out more:

Heads of Learning: iVentiv.com/events

Learning providers: iVentiv.com/sponsors

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

In this special podcast episode, Adam interviews Sam Zalcman of ST Microelectronics, Priyakumar Nair of Roche, and Peter Fischer of HEC Paris at the Learning Futures event in Basel, Switzerland, hosted by iVentiv.

Adam dives into data-driven decision-making, personalisation, and measuring impact to enhance learner engagement with Sam Zalcman, Priyakumar Nair, and Peter Fischer. Topics include:

1. Leveraging data to shape L&D decisions with Sam Zalcman
2. Using data to help learners maximize their time with Priyakumar Nair
3. Personalising training through AI with Peter Fischer

Sam Zalcman is the Global Head of Learning and Leadership Development at STMicroelectronics. A leader in workforce transformation, Sam brings experience from Deloitte Switzerland in talent strategy and from Philip Morris International, where he built a culture of learning and agility. 

Priyakumar Nair, Head of Global Learning Services at pharmaceutical company Roche, focuses on impactful learning solutions that help employees thrive. With over 25 years in HR services, he has driven transformative initiatives in HR digitalization, shared services, and governance.

Marketing professor Peter Fischer researches AI’s potential for positive social impact at HEC Paris. Peter aims to improve decision-making and address global issues like polarisation and short-termism through his work. His recent research explores creativity in analytics and AI's role in marketing, showcasing his commitment to advancing knowledge in these areas.

Peter’s Academic profile: https://www.hec.edu/en/faculty-research/faculty-directory/faculty-member/fischer-petermathias 

Thank you to our Sponsor iVentiv for supporting the L&D Challenges podcast.

iVentiv is the market leader in events for Global Heads of Learning and Talent. You can join an iVentiv Executive Knowledge Exchange in cities around the world, hosted by businesses including Novartis, Visa, Metlife, ASML, Microsoft, Bosch, and Axa. Find out more:

Heads of Learning: iVentiv.com/events

Learning providers: iVentiv.com/sponsors

Looking for a content library to help your team develop their productivity, communication, leadership skills and more? Check out assembleyou.com and follow us on LinkedIn.