Opinion

DEI, Diversity, equity and inclusion symbol.

Inclusion starts here: Empower your team to make the difference

Robert Ordever

Robert Ordever explores why top-down diversity, equity and inclusion strategies often fall short. He argues that truly inclusive cultures are built from the ground up, through team behaviours, emotional intelligence and authentic recognition—turning DE&I from a corporate initiative into an experience that helps everyone feel valued, heard and respected. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives fail when organisations adopt a purely top-down approach. Often concentrating on attracting a range of diverse employees from varying backgrounds, these organisations throw employees together…

HR management interface, employee structure chart, and team analytics dashboard. Concept of workforce planning and data-driven HR.

Planning for tomorrow’s workforce, today

Cory Steinle

Cory Steinle explores how automation, AI, and shifting market needs are transforming workforce planning. By combining task and skills intelligence with ethical AI, organisations can shift from reactive hiring to proactive strategy, redeploying talent, boosting agility, and making good people decisions that keep pace with the speed of business change. Organisations are navigating a workforce landscape being reshaped by automation, generative AI, and evolving markets. By 2030 up to 30% of current working hours could be automated (McKinsey), and nearly…

Business of Training Conference 2025 showing Stella Collins speaking on stage.

Value is back, and this time it means business

Gaëlle Delmas-Watson

At the 2025 Business of Training Conference, Gaëlle Watson reports on an industry redefining its purpose. With trust, outcomes and business impact essential, L&D professionals are being challenged to adapt their approach, collaborate and prove their value or risk being left behind in a world of changing work and demands. The 2025 Business of Training Conference from Inmisceo once again gathered an eclectic mix of leaders:  from management development specialists to niche providers in aviation and healthcare, united by a…

top view of workplace with business documents, laptop, smartphone and alphabet cubes with wellness word

The human side of AI: Why wellbeing is the next core capability

Tom Bryant

Artificial Intelligence is reshaping work at speed, but human wellbeing is struggling. TJ Conference speaker Tom Bryant explores how L&D can take the lead in building wellbeing as a skill, designing more human-centric workplaces and using AI with intention to support emotional intelligence, resilience and adaptability in the modern workplace. Artificial intelligence is transforming the workplace faster than most of us imagined, taking on administrative, analytical and repetitive tasks with astonishing speed. Yet while AI is supposed to lighten the…

Man touching an innovation concept on a touch screen with his finger

From AI to ADHD: designing learning for every mind

Sascha Evans

Learner outcomes are dropping, and AI is being hailed as the fix, but technology alone won’t solve a broken approach to learning design. TJ Conference speaker Sascha Evans argues that L&D must flip the script on inclusion and adopt a proactive mindset to support diverse learners from the very beginning. This week, Google published a white paper laying out their vision for the Future of Learning. Their research shows that learner outcomes have dropped sharply worldwide, and UNESCO projects a…

employee wellness concept

The wellbeing effect: why smart L&D strategies go beyond skills

Jo Cook

Craig Fearn explores the basics of how L&D, when strategically focused on wellbeing, transforms both individuals and organisations. This integrated approach builds resilience, reduces burnout and boosts performance, creating a workplace where people can thrive personally and professionally, all while driving long-term business growth and engagement from the inside out. When L&D is applied strategically it is a catalyst for systemic change; this is particularly apparent when applied to employee health and wellbeing initiatives. By investing in L&D with a…

Human versus artificial intelligence concept comparing wooden cubes on purple background

AI vs human learning: Where the real value lies

Helen Routledge

Helen Routledge argues the real opportunity with AI isn’t replacing L&D teams but rethinking how we approach our work. By blending AI’s scalability with human insight, learning becomes immersive, realistic, and effective; preparing people for critical moments before they count and delivering performance-driven outcomes that matter to individuals and organisations. Every few months, a new ‘influencer’ pops up declaring that AI is going to replace trainers, instructional designers, or entire learning departments. It’s a provocative headline and it generates clicks…

wooden cube with letters ROI and ROE. Return on Equity (ROE) vs. Return on Investment (ROI)

Three ways to show training’s real value

Ajit Kumar Kar

In a world where training drives business strategy, measuring its impact is crucial. Dr. Ajit Kumar Kar outlines three practical approaches, ROI, ROTI and ROE, that help organisations justify investment, track outcomes and align learning with performance. Discover how to make training accountable, strategic, and report well for future investment. In today’s volatile business landscape, training is no longer optional, it’s a strategic enabler. Companies invest in training for a number of reasons: Training fuels people’s growth to match the…

Listen Learn Lead symbol. Concept words Listen Learn Lead on wooden blocks. Beautiful orange background. Business and Listen Learn Lead concept. Copy space.

Why your first 90 days in L&D should focus on rhythm, not results

Kanishka

New to L&D? Kanishka shares a three-phase rhythm (listen, learn, lead) to help L&D professionals start strong and avoid burning out. Adapted from the book A Simple Methodology for Life, this 90-day approach builds confidence, credibility and calm through small, purposeful actions and reflection at each stage of the journey. Stepping into a new learning and development role is exhilarating, and overwhelming. New trainers, facilitators, or instructional designers often rush to ‘prove value,’ only to find themselves firefighting rather than…

Stressed Businessman

Rewriting the leadership playbook: Why burnout is a system failure

Mia Serra

Burnout isn’t a flaw in individuals; it’s a warning light for broken systems. Mia Serra and Claudie Plen-McCormack argue that leadership and culture must evolve to prioritise inclusion, psychological safety and sustainable performance. Without structural change, well-being initiatives remain surface-level fixes in complex environments that continue to overstretch and exclude. Burnout isn’t a personal failure. It’s a system failure. Yet in many organisations, burnout is still treated as an individual shortcoming, something to be “fixed” with a mindfulness session, an…