Do you know your way around badges and credentials? Or, are you like most people and struggle with the terminology and what achievements they actually recognize?

Listen to this episode for an entertaining deep dive into the topic of badges and, as Donald Taylor sits down with Dr. Doug Belshaw to discuss the importance, various fields of application, and actual value of badges and credentials.

Some highlights include Dr. Belshaw addressing the question of credibility and verification of credentials, the difference between bases and credentials, and the motivation and value of a badge. How will hierarchy be influenced by badges and credentials in the future? Listen to hear more on this fascinating topic!

Links and resources

Twitter: https://twitter.com/dajbelshaw

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

Blog: https://dougbelshaw.com/blog/

Other:

https://weareopen.coop/

https://openbadges.org

https://www.ibm.com/skills/badges/

https://blog.weareopen.coop/badges-for-digital-transformation-7e9e1a17e714

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh1PhPWra9w

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:6831021062386458624/

https://github.com/IMSGlobal/openbadges-specification/pull/303

Learn from two highly successful experts why a real Learning and Development department is the best choice for a business.

Malene Engelbrecht Schau, Head of Wind University at Siemens Gamesa, and Lisbeth Andersen, Global Head of Learning Operation at Siemens Gamesa sit down with Donald Taylor to talk about the importance of Learning and Development in general, why L&D should not be outsourced and what other businesses can learn from their experience in an environment where security is a particularly important factor for the team.

Starting from inside the Sales team Malene Engelbrecht Schau and Lisbeth Andersen have created an impressive and effective L&D department that is not only appreciated by the team but also highly approved by the business leaders.

Links and resources

Malene Engelbrecht Schau

https://www.linkedin.com/in/malene-engelbrecht-schau-a834b97/

Lisbeth Andersen

https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisbethandersen1108/

How important is accessibility to you and to your company? Probably not too much. But that is about to change.

Michael Osborne, a user-experience-driven developer with a focus on accessibility who recently took on his new role at Upskill Digital as a Learning Experience Designer, sits down with Donald Taylor, the host of the Speexx Exchange podcast, to discuss the importance of accessibility in L&D.

Statistics say that approximately 1 billion people have some kind of disability, which means 1 in seven people is somehow affected and thus it is most probable that among your customers or students are far more people with a disability than you might think. But that is just one reason why you should put more thought into the topic of accessibility. Find out why it is so important to make accessibility a priority instead of an add-on and why it benefits everyone. Listen in and learn from the expert!

Links and resources

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeOzzy

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

Are you focused on efficiency, or are you focused on effectiveness? Founder of the Global Curiosity Institute (and former CLO for Cognizant) Stefaan van Hooydonk, a well-known educator, strategist, innovator and consultant, sits down with Donald Taylor to discuss this, and other pertinent inquiries, for the Speexx Exchange podcast. As someone who oversaw the learning over 300,000 people at Cognizant, Stefaan shares his thoughts on learning generosity, and insights on how to best magnify the voices of every single person within an organization. Indeed, like us at Speexx, Stefaan believes so much knowledge is – as we say – “already in the room” (to be found within the organization). He and Donald also talk about how curiosity is a beautiful gift that L&D folks can give to an organization. Listen in to find out why!

Links and resources

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stefaanvanhooyd

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

We’re in “the age of the centaur,” where the best teams (like the mythological centaur – half man, half horse) are made up of two parts: Part human, part machine. Data consultant and former Channel 4 Chief Data Scientist Greg Detre speaks with Donald about the interchange between people and machines, starting with the identification and recognition of skills. From there, they discuss how to trim these insights down to a manageable set of resources (akin to data visualization) and make teams more efficient and effective in the workplace.

Links and resources

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregdetre/

Blog: https://blog.gregdetre.co.uk

Other: https://www.makingdatamistakes.com

“A really well thought-out and implemented technology solution,” is what Donald Taylor calls Mitja Kulcar’s (MOL Group’s Frontline Training & Development Lead) digital transformation and learning efforts for frontline employees. It’s hard enough to train people in an office; how do you do it with frontline staff? Believe it or not, digital learning transformation can prove successful and effective for frontline workers – in this case, using microlearning (people needed to dedicate only three to five minutes per day, maximum!) – and in this episode, Mitja Kulcar explains how he and his team pulled this off. Give it a listen to hear tips on how to best fit learning into one’s workflow, and how to get away from “nightmare” face-to-face learning.

Links and resources

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

Speexx and Donald Taylor are fortunate to get a deep dive on stakeholder engagement from Banco Santander’s Elisabetta Galli, and why proper stakeholder mapping is crucial when it comes to talent management and digital transformation. Elisabetta is Group Executive Vice President and Global Head of Knowledge, Development and Talent Management at Banco Santander, where she is responsible for knowledge development and talent management across the group. She and Don discuss how to best approach change management plans and communication plans; how to set yourself up for success when it comes to digital transformation; and how HR and IT can best work together.

Links and resources

Twitter: https://twitter.com/boldbubble

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabetta-galli-3a105223/?originalSubdomain=es

Donald has the fortune of speaking with Chief Learning Officer of the Year 2020, Air New Zealand’s CLO Dr. Sydney Savion. With more than 20 years of experience in learning, culture and workforce capability development, Dr. Savion offers suggestions on how to improve learning cultures. She provides input on how L&D managers can create more strategic relationships within their organizations (“find 10 new best friends”) so that L&D is able to bring the right decision-makers along on the transformation journey. Dr. Savion and Donald discuss how so often it’s not actually the board making decisions, but rather certain executives in various verticals – how do people in the HR and training industry ensure they’re aligning with the folks who are actually making things happen? Dr. Savion makes recommendations on workforce development strategies to ensure future readiness – one that yields desire business outcomes, even in this pandemic.

Links and resources

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrSydneySavion

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sydney-savion-baa4147/

What can the L&D industry learn from the railway industry? Quite a lot, apparently! In this episode of the Speexx Exchange podcast, Donald Taylor talks to Guy Wilmshurst-Smith, Head of Professional Development and Training at Network Rail. With years of valuable experience coaching leadership, educational and professional development, Guy explores how an organization can use analytics to produce provable links between training and performance.

Links and resources

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guy-wilmshurst-smith-50350728/

In this fascinating and cerebral Speexx Exchange podcast, Donald explores the world of cognitive neuroscience with Dr. Itiel Dror, a Senior Researcher at University College London. In his daily work, and for this podcast episode, Dr. Dror shares insights on the human brain and cognitive system and shows HR and L&D managers how to apply this knowledge to enhance learning, decision-making and human performance.

The pair share best practices for L&D managers on how to reduce a learner’s cognitive load; creating actually “brain-friendly” learning experiences; why we should be wary of any learning marketed as “brain-friendly”; and what we can borrow from lessons catered to pilots, bankers, and orthopedic and cardiothoracic surgeons – and why making a mistake is, oftentimes, the very best way to learn.

Dr. Dror on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/itiel-dror-7301723/

Resources from Dr. Dror on brain-friendly learning: http://www.cci-hq.com/training.html