Do companies need L&D, or do they need better systems for growth? There is a question people in workplace learning do not ask often enough. Do companies actually need L&D? Not learning. Not development. Not growth. Those things matter. Deeply. But the function as we know it? The courses, platforms, pathways, mandatory modules, competency frameworks […]
Do companies need L&D: the captive market problem Read More »
Induction is not onboarding. And onboarding is not a checklist. There is a moment in almost every new job when the gloss starts to fade. The welcome email has been sent. The branded bottle has been handed over. The values deck has been clicked through. Someone has explained where the fire exits are, how to
Induction and onboarding is a lie Read More »
Redundancy is a business decision. How you do it is a cultural one When organisations are under pressure, their values stop being words on a wall. They become a system of choices. Who gets told what.How much time people are given.Whether leaders own the story.Whether the people leaving are treated as a cost to remove,
AI, redundancies, and brand fallout: Block and Brewdog Read More »
Employee listening platforms aren’t listening Employee listening has become one of those phrases that sounds hard to argue with. Of course organisations should listen to employees.Of course people should have a voice.Of course leaders should understand what is happening inside the business before making decisions about culture, performance or change. The problem is not the
Employee listening platforms aren’t listening Read More »
“We need HR” is the comforting lie companies tell themselves when they scale At the start, you do not need HR. When there are two of you, or five, or maybe even ten, work is close enough to manage through conversation. You know what people are doing. You know when someone is struggling. You know
AI, redundancies, and brand fallout Read More »
Most employer brands are a comforting lie Most employer brands sound the same. You know the lines. “Shape the future.”“Bring your whole self to work.”“Unlock your potential.”“Join us on a mission.”“Enjoy unbelievable perks.” They are polished. Positive. Search-friendly. Often beautifully designed. And, too often, completely forgettable. The problem is not that employer branding exists. It
Most employer brands are rubbish Read More »
Too many organisations treat accessibility as a nice-to-have, when in reality, it’s fundamental to creating truly diverse and inclusive workplaces. In this episode of Freeformers Unplugged, Emilie and I explore why accessibility needs to be baked into workplace design from the outset—not as an afterthought, but as a critical foundation. The problem with treating accessibility
Accessibility isn’t an add-on – it’s the unlock to true diversity Read More »
HR keeps telling businesses they need to become skills-based—but here’s the thing: HR hasn’t done it themselves. This week on Freeformers Unplugged, I was joined by Calli Adamson Bakken to challenge whether HR and L&D teams are actually practising what they preach. If we’re going to push organisations towards a skills-based future, we need to
A skills-based future: why HR & L&D must rethink its own model first Read More »
I’ve spent the last three months deep in an AI project, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: AI isn’t just creeping into HR—it’s sprinting. The question is, are we keeping up? This week on Freeformers Unplugged, Emilie and I tackled what feels like the most pressing issue in HR right now: AI
HR’s AI wake-up call: Adapt or get replaced Read More »
When it comes to employee advocacy, most businesses have tunnel vision. They check Glassdoor reviews, scroll through LinkedIn testimonials, maybe throw a few surveys into the mix, and call it a day. But as we discussed in this week’s Freeformers Unplugged live stream, that’s like judging the entire value of a film based on a
Beyond Glassdoor: The real value of employee advocacy Read More »
