The Mindtools L&D Podcast

Back in mid-March we spoke to Emerald Works' CEO John Yates and Frontline Pedagogy Lead, Laura Watkin, about their experience of starting senior roles remotely. This week on the Mind Tools L&D podcast, Gemma talks to freshly recruited team members from the same organisations - Emerald Works team member, David Sharkey and People Coordinator at Front, Simi Manik - on their remote onboard experiences...

As there's no set or prescribed route into or through a career in L&D, no two career journeys are the same. This week on the Mind Tools L&D podcast, Gemma and her guests, Zahra Clarke-Johnney, Digital L&D Manager at English Institute of Sport, and Mind Tools' very own Sami Chan and Nahdia Khan, consider how to best plot one's way in, and through our evolving profession. We discuss: routes into the...

In this 1-minute announcement, Ross G, Ross D and Gemma reveal some exciting changes taking place at Emerald Works. To check out our new-look website, visit: emeraldworks.com   We'll be back next Tuesday as normal!

In this special episode, the regular Good Practice Podcast team have given up the microphone to Frontline's Laura Watkin, who returns to the show as guest host. Laura last appeared on episode 236, 'Working with strangers', and wanted an opportunity to reflect on her experience by leading a conversation with Ross G and Ross D. This episode includes some material we would normally cut, in order to p...

When we think of 'innovation', we tend to picture the bright ideas that people have in the bath. In reality, innovation is the product of hard work, collaborative effort and repeated failures. In this week's episode of The Good Practice Podcast, Ross G and Owen explore innovation with Alan Cabello, Senior Research Fellow and Innovation Lecturer at ETH Zurich, and founder of SparkWorks and Sparkade...

The menopause might seem like a strange topic for a show about work, performance and learning - but half of the world's population will experience the menopause, and it does not take place around working hours. So, this week, Ross G is joined by Emerald Work's Katie Danes and Jamie Thomas, as well as Emerald Publishing's Erika Valenti, to share their experiences. We discuss: what the menopause is...

How do you accurately measure the effectiveness of your learning and development function? Can you provide clear evidence that your team are delivering value for your organisation? And how do you compare to other L&D teams? If your answer to any of these questions is: 'I have no idea', then benchmarking might be a good place to start. This week on The Good Practice Podcast, Owen and Ross G are joi...

If you work in L&D or HR and are looking to procure any kind of service, how do you know who to trust? If you work for a vendor or supplier, what approach do you take? On this week's episode of The Good Practice Podcast, Ross G is joined by L&D buyer Gemma Paterson and L&D seller Danny Seals to explore vendor relationships. We discuss: the characteristics of great supplier relationships making the...

On The Good Practice podcast this week, we're speaking about how to get ahead at work. Gemma and Ross G are joined by Gorick Ng, author of The Unspoken Rules: Secrets to Starting Your Career Off Right . We discuss: The "rules"  (Giving the impression of) competence, commitment and compatibility The implications of the rules on others Show notes To learn more about Gorick Ng and to order his book,...

Frequently criticised as box-ticking or virtue signalling by big business, diversity training has become a major talking point once again. Not least because of the resurgence of black lives matter last year, and the UK Government's recent - much criticised - report on race. So does diveristy training make a difference? And what do organisations need to do to drive change? On this week's episode of...

This week on The Good Practice Podcast, we're removing power dynamics and stripping away management layers with the return of our book club. Emerald Works CEO John Yates and Emerald Publishing CEO Vicky Williams join Ross G and Owen to discuss Humanocracy, by Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini. We discuss: the challenge the book presents to bureaucracy a human-centred approach to organisation design th...

The quality of compliance training is, let's face it, variable. So how do you get across the dos and don'ts so that they transfer into safe and effective practices? This week on the Good Practice Podcast, Gemma is joined by compliance crazy, Tameka J. Harris, and co-host Ross G, to discuss: ways to think about compliance training  useful design tips and techniques Show notes For more from us, incl...

If your organisation had a pot of money that could either be used to fund apprenticeships or paid to the tax man, how would you choose to spend it? This week on the Good Practice Podcast, Ross D is joined by two colleagues from Emerald Group, Mike Shaw and Fiona Allison, to discuss the Apprenticeship Levy. We cover: what the Levy is and how it works the extent to which L&D has failed to take advan...

This week on The Good Practice Podcast, we're following up on our recent virtual classroom facilitation episode with an in-depth look at design. Jennifer Lindsay-Finan and Karen Vieth, both of InSync Training, share their experience and advice. We discuss: when virtual classrooms are most appropriate the team's process for planning virtual classrooms the biggest mistakes people make in virtual cla...

A year into lockdown, more and more people have started new roles without ever having met a colleague face-to-face. In this week's episode of The Good Practice Podcast, we find out what that's like for people professionals. To discuss, Ross G is joined by Emerald Works CEO John Yates, Frontline Pedagogy Lead Laura Watkin, and Study Group HRD Ed Griffin. Our guests all have different roles in diffe...

Few businesses have felt the impact of Covid-19 more keenly than those in the hospitality industry. Bars, restaurants and cafés have been forced to alter their working practices to keep staff and customers safe. So, how has L&D responded to the challenge? This week on the Good Practice Podcast, Ross D is joined by James McLuckie from Flow and Thomas Stroppel from Dishoom to discuss: what James has...

If you're a trainer missing the thrill of face-to-face learning, but embracing online facilitation nevertheless, then this episode is for you! This week on the Good Practice Podcast, Gemma chats to Jo Cook and Gaëlle Watson to explore the possibilities that digital life offers facilitators. We discuss: the shifts that have taken place in what facilitators can do to enhance the online learning expe...

Covid-19 has changed the world of work, but how has this affected our approach to learning and development? Until now, reporting has been largely anecdotal. So, this week, we're digging into the data. Ross G and Owen are joined by fan favourite Sukh Pabial of Challenging Frontiers, who shares insights from a study he carried out from November 2020 to January 2021. We discuss: the methodology and l...

What ideas are L&D most excited about in 2021? And what impact has Covid-19 had on perceptions within our industry? This week on the Good Practice Podcast, Ross D and Owen are joined by Donald Taylor to dig through the results of this year's Global Sentiment Survey. We discuss: the emergence of reskilling/upskilling as a priority for L&D the extent to which Covid-19 has amplified or disrupted tren...

Does your HR team add value to your organisation? Has HR spend spiralled out of control? Does HR's willingness to become the mouthpiece of bad news let leaders off the hook? In this week's episode of The Good Practice Podcast, Laurie Ruettimann - host of the Punk Rock HR podcast - joins Ross G and Owen to discuss. Show notes We're trying something new! Join us on Clubhouse this Thursday, February...

What L&D trends, tropes and clichés would you put into Room 101? Back in 2019, we cast the misappropriation of 'agile', learning styles, and cheesy stock imagery into oblivion. Nearly two years on, we've decided it's high time for another clear-out!  This week on the Good Practice Podcast, Ross D is joined by Owen, Gemma and Ross G to make the case that existential crises, gratuitous fun and retro...

If you're looking to change up your approach to learning and development, or just seeking quick tips to focus on performance, this week's episode of The Good Practice Podcast is for you. Author Michelle Parry-Slater joins Ross G and Owen to share insights from  The Learning and Development Handbook , her new book out this February. We discuss: problems with treating face-to-face training as the 'd...

Are you an L&D specialist running a small business? Or are you thinking of becoming one? On this week's episode of The Good Practice Podcast, Lightbulb Moment's Jo Cook and Syncskills' Gaëlle Delmas-Watson join Ross G to share their experiences and advice. We discuss: the advantages and disadvantages of running a small business the importance of values tips and advice for people who are thinking o...

We're back! In this first podcast of 2021, Ross G and Owen speak to digital learning consultant Myles Runham. We discuss:   the success most organisations experienced when moving rapidly to distributed working in 2020 the much needed shift from synchronous to asynchronous working and learning the role of learning and development in 2021. Show notes For more from us, including access to our back ca...

It's customary at this festive time of year for well-meaning podcasts hosts to call upon their friends to participate in the annual Good Practice Podcast! And this year, we're playing 'Blankety Blank'! Phil Willcox sits in as host, with contestants Jo Cook and Julie Drybourgh in competition for the prize. And our panel are: Ross G, Owen, Sukh Pabial and Jo Wainwright. Listen now for fun and frolic...