Culture

Hands illustrating diversity

How ambition around your DE&I plans drives employee engagement

Yetunde Hofmann

Challenging the organisation to focus on purpose and consider everyone involved can bring all sorts of benefits and Yetunde Hofmann shares how As many consultancy reports and research pieces have shown over the years, DE&I is integral to organisational success. It drives innovation, creativity, commercial gains, and is also key to winning – and retaining – talent. But sustaining an organisation’s focus and drive around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) plans can sometimes be difficult. Strategies lack direction, progress isn’t…

L&D – adapting to the pace of change

Paul Heath

Paul Heath calls upon all learning and development pros to be ready for technological change The pressure on businesses and their employees to adopt technology and transform digitally is ever-increasing. But when the pace of change is so rapid, how do learning and development (L&D) professionals ensure their people can keep up and succeed? L&D people must adopt the latest learning methods. Training is no longer just about making information available but helping individuals become the best versions of themselves.…

Reassuring employees about AI

Luke Smith

Luke Smith offers ideas on how to reassure employees they won’t be replaced by artificial intelligence As AI becomes increasingly capable, even employees in highly skilled industries are becoming concerned about job security. One recent study showed that 24% of Americans believed AI might make their job obsolete. As a business leader, how can you help employees understand that your organisation isn’t planning to lay everyone off and replace them with bots? It can be challenging, especially given the number…

Addressing gender disparity in engineering

Kerrie Doherty

Kerrie Doherty looks at the work being done to progress women’s careers in engineering It is well known in the engineering industry that there is a significant gender gap and a growing skills gap. These dual problems highlight the need for clearer opportunities for women in engineering and the vital role that employers have in supporting women’s careers. The following outlines some ways engineering employers can successfully carry out this crucial task. Each year in June, International Women in Engineering…

Attracting Gen Z

Richard Stockley

Is safety the new benefit of choice for Generation Z? Richard Stockley discusses ways to engage this vital group It’s no secret that holding on to young talent is becoming increasingly difficult. Many businesses are feeling the pressure. Job vacancies continue to rise whilst progress towards upskilling existing workforces remains slower than industry demand. As a result, employers are finding alternative ways to retain talent. With Gen Z employees expected to make up 27% of the global workforce by 2025,…

Building a collaborative culture

Steve Macaulay

Steve Macaulay and Sarah Cook explore how to create and sustain a collaborative culture in organisations Working together in a complex global environment is challenging even though it can yield substantial benefits. Collaboration yields great results, but only if it is structured well. Despite its recognised benefits, achieving effective collaboration is no easy task – and how can HR and L&D play a substantial role. What is collaboration In an era dominated by technological evolution and remote work trends, collaboration…

Picture of laptop with added images over the top and the text spelling AI

Joining the dots . . . on generative AI

Martin Couzins

This month Martin Couzins dives into the latest news on Generative AI and asks ‘who are you listening to?’ It’s all gone a bit bonkers. The generative AI news firehose shows no signs of diminishing, just take a look at the generative AI news updates on TechCrunch: I counted 34 stories on the topic published between 25 and 28 September and in there are some significant updates. For L&D teams, there is an opportunity to then shape the opportunity for…

Three checkpoints when using AI in designing learning

Nic Girvan

Can a machine-human partnership elevate training efforts? Nic Girvin offers some advice using DEI as her example Can artificial intelligence (AI) really add value to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training experiences, when it lacks emotion, empathy and the ability to understand the complexities of human nature? With AI so glaringly inhuman, how can this machine resource contribute to an organisation’s behavioural change and cultural transformation? The unfortunate reality – despite extensive evidence arguing the necessity – is that DEI…

The benefits of attracting disabled consumers

Katy Talikowska

The culture of excluding the disabled is changing, Katy Talikowska looks at the barriers and how to break them down The representation of disabled consumers is no longer a mere suggestion for businesses. In addition to being a moral imperative, failing to account for the disabled population is a strategic business risk. With $8 trillion a year in disposable income, people with disabilities represent a largely untapped market opportunity. The disability community still faces major challenges that must be addressed.…

Setting up learning for success

Paul Matthews

In the second of two articles on establishing successful learning, Paul Matthews examines collective responsibility In the first article in this series we looked at getting clarity on the wants and expectations of the various stakeholders involved in a staff development programme. If those wants and expectations involve employees changing the way they do their jobs, and that will usually be the case, a ‘team’ effort is needed for those objectives to be realised. This is one of the reasons…