Rachel
Burnham writes: Whenever I participate in an event as lively
and as broad as the CIPD L&D Show, with conference, exhibition, free events
on the exhibition floor, fringe events and many serendipitous meetings with
interesting people, I am very aware that every participant will have their own
impressions, their own stories to tell of the event and their own list of
significant points.
So here are my key themes from this year’s show. They are based on the sessions I took part in
as a member of the Blogsquad – you will find a link to my Sketchnotes from
these sessions here.
1. Performance rather than learning
The overwhelming theme for me from the sessions I took
part in on the first day, was the need in L&D to focus on performance
rather than learning. This was not a
new insight for me, I have written before on why this is so important a change
in approach for us in L&D, but I haven’t heard so many speakers address this
so consistently as part of the essential thinking within their practice.
Charles Jennings in A1 ‘Beyond the Blend’ spoke of a need
for a change in mindset ‘from learning to performance’ and spoke about new
roles for us in L&D, including the ‘performance detective’. Jane Hart in C1‘Supporting Social &
Collaborative Learning in the Workplace’ talked about focusing on performance
when designing guided learning opportunities and in ‘Equipping your L&D
with Essentials for the Future’ Derek Bruce shared that the biggest change in
ABN AMRO had been introducing ‘performance consulting’.
It was great to hear so many speakers having this as the
backdrop to their practice, but there is a long way to go for this to be the
case for most organisations in my experience.
2. Focus on the learner
The
second theme of focusing on the learner, also ran through many of the sessions,
but this time in many different forms.
In a
superb session B1 ‘The Secret to Learning Design’, Nick Shackleton-Jones urged
us to ‘take time to understand what bugs your people’, in other words what
makes it difficult for them to perform to their very best and then address
these issues. He shared a model: Concern
–Task – Resource which he and his team had used to help identify these ‘bugs’
or concerns and address them.
He
used an analogy which really caught my attention, urging us to ‘draw what you
see’ when focusing on these concerns, rather than what you expect to see. One summer I spent a happy afternoon drawing
some lilies that were in full flower. I
think of lilies as elegant, with flowing lines and great colours. But when I started drawing this particular
flower, I realised that it was also bumpy and hairy! Not what I had expected at all, but part of
the reality of a real lily!
This
was the theme that challenged me the most.
I know that within the organisations I work with, this is where we have
a lot of scope to do better.
3. 70:20:10
Just about all the sessions, I took part in, referenced
the 70:20:10 approach at some stage. It
was particularly great to hear this coming through so strongly and practically
in a number of case studies in various sessions. Derek Bruce in ‘Equipping your L&D Team
with the Essentials for the Future’ talked about the key values which his
organisation worked with around learning – this included ‘365 – learning is
everyday’. And it was mentioned both by
Tom Pape of BT and by Steve Mapp and Gary Bellamy of Lloyds Banking Group in
their case studies on collaborative learning.
Charles Jennings of course explored it and talked about
extending learning into the workplace through two approaches: either adding
learning to work; or taking learning from work.
Whilst, this approach has been around for ages, it is
still uncommon thinking in most of the organisations with which I have contact
with and in my experience not fully bedded into the practice of most L&D
professionals. I think we still have a
long way to go to get the full benefits out of this approach as a profession.
4. Technology is a secondary issue
This was a refreshing note that was sounded on a number
of occasions over the event.
I had deliberately chosen many sessions which explored
using technology or digital tools (to use the new preferred terminology), yet
even in these sessions, presenters were making it clear that technology should
not be a driver. Jane Hart emphasised
people first and foremost. Lisette
Toetenel emphasised that platform and other technology questions were secondary
to the issue to what learning do you want learners to experience.
It is certainly important that we are aware of how technology
can be used in L&D and The Open University launched a useful short guide to
this during the Show – here’s a link to my review of the report. And without doubt we need to be addressing
the gap in the digital skills of L&D practitioners which was discussed by
Laura Overton in ‘Equipping your L&D Team with the Essentials for the
Future’. But it is good to be reminded
that technology is just one factor to consider.
5. Collaboration & cream
My final point from the Show tackles a concern that has
often been raised in relation to social and collaborative learning which is the
fear ‘what if the wrong information is shared?’.
What was lovely in the sessions involving case studies
was to hear this issue raised and robustly answered from practical experience. We were urged not to over-control what gets
shared socially, as ‘cream rises to the top’ and reminded that our colleagues
in our organisations are savvy enough to share and recommend what adds value. A number of speakers were directly asked
about the issue of incorrect material being shared and responded in a similar
way by saying that if incorrect or misleading information is posted, colleagues
are very quick to correct this.
So, these are my 5 significant points from two days of
conference going, Sketchnoting, discussing and reflecting. If you were there, or participating at a
distance via social media, they may not be yours, so why not compare notes and
share your impressions.
You may also be interested in a broader curation of
material from the Show by the brilliant Ian Pettigrew, which brings together a
range of material shared via social media.
Rachel
Burnham
15/5/16
Burnham L & D Consultancy helps L&D
professionals become even more effective.
I am particularly interested in blended learning, the uses of social
media for learning, evaluation and anything that improves the impact of
learning on performance.
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