If you’ve got data, it should be driving learning in your organisation. So says David James, Chief Learning Officer at Looop, where he helps businesses use a data-driven approach to learning in order to solve business problems.

In this episode, David argues how using data and a resource-based approach to supporting employees can help the traditional learning and development function evolve in response to the demands of the digital age.

Key moments in this podcast:

  • The danger of L&D in organisations being simply a conga, where everyone has a great time dancing but where the development isn’t data-driven;
  • The importance of providing learning opportunities that people actually need, not those that the organisation wants them to have;
  • The need to remain focused on the intended outcome of development, and make the ‘learning’ as timely and efficient as possible, and
  • The value of making the culture of an organisation visible to employees through the use of digital resources.

We loved David’s concept of the ‘conga’, where lots of people seem to be having a good time but where there’s little evidence of learning or change. Since we recorded this episode, we’ve noticed congas in all sorts of learning experiences from higher education to corporates to startups. 

Next time you attend a learning event, ask yourself what change the event is likely to produce in the participants. And keep an eye out for a conga…

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