Q Learning and development is a cornerstone of HR transformation leading to significant business results. Could you name TOP obstacles organizations are facing in this field in 2019?
It would be easy to say that the top challenge is moving to a learner-centric learning approach that is embedded in the workplace. However, the real challenge is having the culture, processes, and technology in place within the organization to support it. These are the biggest obstacles to overcome. As the expression goes, you cannot dance faster than music.
Q Speaking of innovation, what do you feel is the biggest breakthrough to learning and development so far?
Without a doubt EdTech, the fastest growing technology segment after FinTech. What is exciting about EdTech is all the new opportunities it provides to make learning more engaging and available to all. Where it goes wrong, is when the focus goes to the technology rather than the learners.
Q What are your future goals at Nordea and most importantly what is your approach to driving change and developing Human Resources now?
My main goal at Nordea is to make it a continuous learning organization. To put this into place, there are three main activities taking place.
- The first is with the business areas to create a strong connection to their priorities and meeting each of them where they are today and understanding where they want to be tomorrow.
- The second is at the learner level, ensuring that they understand what formal and informal learning is available and making it easy to access.
- The third is at the organizational level, ensuring that the culture, processes, and technology are in place to support learning. However, the foundation to make this successful is ensuring that the Learning Team’s house is in order.
Q We know you have your own formula created back in 1995 when you moved from Corporate Strategy to Corporate Learning, which holds through the test of time. Could you tell us about it in more detail?
When I was in Corporate Strategy, one of the main frustrations of the Executives was how to engage people in it. Having been sent on a High Potential Program that was solid, yet very academic, I realized that this could be a great role for the Learning function – make it a platform that allowed the organization and individuals to grow. Through linking the Corporate Strategy and Learning, the organization can build capability while it builds professional communities, it can foster collaboration within and across professional communities while aligning them to a common goal and through this allow the organization to transform and grow through brining greater benefits to its’ clients.
While digitalization has greatly enhanced the ways in which corporate learning can do this, using it as a platform for organizational and individual growth remains unchanged.
Q What were the successful ideas you have implemented while working as a Chief Learning Officer?
Nordea brought me into the creation of a continuous learning culture driven through a Corporate Learning Function. The first steps have been to establish function and embed it within the organization. I started on my own assisted by an external consultant and a graduate hire at the end of 2017. My first promise to the business was to consolidate the learning professionals across the businesses and put in place a target operating model that drives efficiency while continuing to deliver all the learning projects that were planned for 2018. We successfully did that. We built a plane while flying.
This year the focus has been on taking a strategic approach to the investment made in learning, rationalizing the offer, delivering digital age learning approaches and ensuring transparent reporting to the organization. For the first time ever, the organization now knows how much it invests in learning and what capabilities are being developed. Now that these foundations are in place, the focus is now turning to embedding a continuous learning culture.
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