Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2020 - 53

JULIE WINKLE GIULIONI

PERFORMANCE
MATTERS

BEYOND PIVOTAL:
THE PIVOTING ROLE OF
LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT
For years, we've understood the pivotal
role of learning and development (L&D).
The discipline is generally recognized
as central to building the skills,
capacity and culture required to deliver
business results. And L&D professionals
increasingly find themselves with a seat
at the table where mission-critical matters
are addressed.
However, since the COVID-19 pandemic,
L&D has gone beyond pivotal to pivoting.
Many leaders in this arena are engaging
in significant adjustments designed
to respond to challenging business
conditions. They describe an evolving
and expanding role centered around
emerging needs and the opportunity to
innovate and add value like never before.
One of the most visible pivots that L&D
professionals were immediately faced
with was enabling organizations and
people to engage and learn remotely.
The migration of assets and individuals to
virtual platforms has been top priority. At
the same time, many L&D functions have
found themselves making other profound
changes to what they do, how they do
it and the contributions they make in
the process.
"I'VE BECOME A CRISIS
MANAGEMENT RESOURCE."
Stephanie is responsible for delivering
learning to financial professionals. Tried
and true methods worked well for this
audience, then the pandemic hit. Nearly
overnight, priorities and needs shifted. No
longer able to wait for the next workshop
or webinar, these finance folks needed

answers. Their issues were more varied
than ever before, and it quickly became
clear that corralling topics and skills into
unified learning events was not possible.
Stephanie realized that her response had
to mimic the urgency of the situation.
So, Stephanie pivoted and created a crisis
resource center. She collected articles,
videos and podcasts and catalogued
them for easy access. She used the
firehose of questions and challenges
posed by her clients to inform her work.
And she engaged them in sharing tools
and links they'd found. Within weeks, she
had created a go-to platform with the
resources people needed.

L&D HAS GONE
BEYOND PIVOTAL TO
PIVOTING.
But, realizing she could - and should - do
more, Stephanie instituted office hours.
She redeployed some of her former
teaching time to be available by phone
or video to answer questions. Uptake
was slow initially, but word got around.
Before long, her office hours became
a virtual watercooler around which
financial professionals would gather to
share stories, resources and support.
That's when she realized that she had
evolved learning into the realm of crisis
management response.
"I'M AT THE FOREFRONT OF
EMPLOYEE WELLNESS."
Erik is responsible for people and culture
within a high-tech manufacturing firm.

Known as a strategic thinker, he earned a
reputation for offering learning solutions
that delivered measurable business
results. Then, everything changed. Given
the essential nature of the organization's
work, some employees remained onsite
while others were required to work at
home, creating great strain for the highly
connected workforce.
So, Erik pivoted in response to the
concern and upset demonstrated by
the workforce. He made it his and
his team's business to reach out and
check on employees to determine
what they needed. Hearing themes
around disconnection and isolation, he
established "Talk it Out Tuesday," an
informal, virtual drop-in meeting that
allowed people to check up on each other
and offer support. He began conducting
regular emotional temperature checks
via pulse surveys. His team offered short
weekly webinars addressing the issues
reported by employees. As a sense
of calm returned to the workforce, it
became clear that Erik had moved L&D
to address another strategic priority:
employee wellness.
While the disruption and devastation
delivered by this global pandemic should
not be minimized, silver linings exist. And,
fortunately, the learning function has not
just stepped up to the challenges but has
evolved and expanded its capacity and
influence with its ability to pivot.
Julie Winkle Giulioni has 25 years of
experience working with organizations
worldwide to improve performance
through learning. Email Julie.

T R A I N I N G I N DUSTR Y MAGAZ INE - L& D'S ROLE IN CHANGE MANAGE ME NT I WWW. T RAININGINDU S T RY . C OM/ MAGAZ I NE

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Training Industry Magazine - November/December 2020

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