L&D can sometimes fail to make sense to even the most seasoned L&D leader but what about our colleagues in other departments? What do they make of our products and approaches? What do they make of our inability to equate our spend and effort to ROI? Well Ajay Pangarkar can tell us. His frustrations with L&D had him lean in from his Accounting background and tell us. But not just by heckling. But by giving us advice. In this episode, Ajay will tell us how we’re perceived and what we can do to better measure the impact of what we do.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Using business terminology, you are not 100% familiar with undermines your credibility.

• Knowledge is now genuinely driving businesses, so L&D is seen as far more important.

• Focus on the end result.

• Use the Kaizen approach – keep asking why.

• Become a listener, get into people´s heads and skill them up in a non-intrusive way.

• Data analytics is essential to L&D.

• Work with your financial team to deliver your business case.

BEST MOMENTS

“With all respect and love for Learning and Development, they are the nerds in the schoolyard trying to fit in with the cool kids.”

“Nobody in the organization cares about learning. They care about the doing.”

“We are in the golden age of L&D.”

“I always say they cut their budget because you didn't deliver value.”

Ajay Pangarkar Bio

Ajay is the author of four books, with the most recent titled, “Learning Metrics: How to Measure the Impact of Organizational Learning" (Kogan Page). He’s an award-winning author receiving multiple prestigious TrainingIndustry Readership and Editors’ Award, eLearning Magazine’s Learning Champion, and the World Training Development Congress named Ajay their “Distinguished Trainer”. He is a broadcast media commentator addressing workplace performance issues and contributor to leading international publications.

Ajay is also a Fellow of the Chartered Professional Accountants (FCPA, FCMA), Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP), and a world-renowned workplace performance authority on integrating employee performance strategies within operational environments.

On top of all this, he is a professor at the Sprott School of Business (Carleton University) and Smith School of Business (Queens University) as well as being actively involved with workplace learning working closely with LinkedIn Learning.

You can follow and connect with Ajay via:

Twitter: @bizlearningdude

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

Book: https://www.koganpage.com/hr-learning-development/learning-metrics-9781398615366

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Learning And Development Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523

L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home/

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 Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D.

CONTACT METHOD

• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin/

• L&D Collective: https://360learning.com/the-l-and-d-collective/

• Blog: https://360learning.com/blog/

• L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home/

A governance structure in L&D is a move from implicit to explicit practices. It brings rigour and structure to decision-making practices that would otherwise be nebulous and ill-defined. It is a recognition that L&D is, fundamentally, a strategic function – equally critical for the organisation’s growth and for its survival in turbulent times. But it doesn’t exist in every L&D team.

In this episode, Noah and Tom break down why it is essential and how we, as L&D, get to grips with it.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Governance aligns L&D more closely with business objectives and ensures consistent, scalable impact.

• The decision on where the L&D budget is spent has to be made by the business so that the budget can be allocated to training that generates profit.

• Governance includes careful management of your key constituencies and relationships.

• Alignment, communication, consistency, planning, measurement, execution, tracking, and project management are all equally important.

• Ask yourself what does better look like? Properly define what you are aiming for.

• New technologies are not always better, be sure to properly assess them.

• Good governance is never 100% done, it is an ongoing process.

• Taking a “solid core, flexible edges” approach to governance works well for most organizations.

• Be brave. It´s worth a little bit of pain to make big gains.

BEST MOMENTS

“Governance is about aligning learning to the strategic objectives and needs of the business… so that you can demonstrate the value of that learning function.”

“You have to create consistency in the learner experience .”

“AI is going to be a lightning rod.”

“Shiny object syndrome is the enemy of good governance.”

“We not only define what governance is, but we define what's what it's not.”

Noah Rabinowitz Bio

With 25+ years of experience in learning and leadership development, Noah has been Chief Learning Officer at Intel and Moderna and consulted globally with Korn Ferry and Deloitte. He specializes in innovative learning strategies, executive development, and large-scale digital upskilling programs, driving impactful results across industries.

Tom Kupetis Bio

Tom brings over 25 years of management consulting and learning solutions experience with Fortune 500 companies. As Executive Vice President at St. Charles Consulting Group, he oversees the firm’s go-to-market strategy. Previously, he held senior roles at Xerox Learning Services and Intellinex LLC (EY subsidiary).

Report: https://learningforum.substack.com/p/clo-lift-governance-as-a-strategic

VALUABLE RESOURCES

The Learning And Development Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-learning-development-podcast/id1466927523

L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home/

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 Officer at 360Learning, David is a prominent writer and speaker on topics around modern and digital L&D.

CONTACT METHOD

• Twitter:  https://twitter.com/davidinlearning/

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin/

• L&D Collective: https://360learning.com/the-l-and-d-collective/

• Blog: https://360learning.com/blog/

• L&D Master Class Series: https://360learning.com/blog/l-and-d-masterclass-home/