Today’s learning and development (L&D) professionals are facing a paradigm shift. Gone are the days when simply providing training was enough. Now, there’s a growing demand to demonstrate tangible business results from L&D initiatives. In this Brandon Hall Group™ Excellence at Work Podcast, COO Rachel Cooke sits down with Bob Gerard, a 35-year industry expert and Director of Accenture’s Learning Ingenuity team, to explore this trend and its implications for the future of L&D.
Topics include:
- The Business Results Shift: Organizations are increasingly interested in seeing concrete business outcomes from their L&D investments, moving beyond traditional metrics.
- Alignment with Business Objectives: Strategies for ensuring L&D initiatives directly support organizational goals and priorities.
- Data-Driven Decision Making: Leveraging analytics to track the effectiveness of learning programs and demonstrate their impact.
- The Rise of Learning Experience Platforms (LXPs): How modern learning technologies are enabling more personalized, engaging, and impactful learning experiences.
- Upskilling and Reskilling: The critical role of L&D in preparing the workforce for rapidly evolving business landscapes.
- Cultivating a Learning Culture: The importance of leadership in fostering an environment that values continuous learning and development.
- Future Trends: Predictions for the evolution of L&D and its role in driving business success over the next 5-10 years.
The L&D landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, with a renewed focus on delivering measurable business value. Bob Gerard’s insights provide valuable guidance for L&D professionals looking to navigate this shift and position themselves as strategic partners in their organizations’ success.
Speaker: Bob Gerard, Director of Learning Ingenuity, Accenture
Bob Gerard is a 35-year industry expert and Director of Accenture’s Learning Ingenuity team. He leads Accenture’s research and development efforts focused on internal learning, bringing a wealth of experience from designing early learning management systems to creating cutting-edge immersive learning experiences. Bob’s innovative work includes the creation of “One Accenture Park,” a virtual reality theme park for onboarding that has connected over 310,000 new joiners globally. As co-host of “The Learning Geeks” podcast and a frequent presenter at industry events, Bob continues to shape the future of learning. His current focus explores the impact of generative AI on Accenture’s learning function, aiming to make content development more efficient and engaging.
Host: Rachel Cooke, COO and Principal HCM Analyst, Brandon Hall Group™
Rachel Cooke is Brandon Hall Group’s Chief Operating Officer and Principal HCM Analyst. She is responsible for business operations, including client and member advisory services, marketing design, annual awards programs, conferences, and the company’s project management functions. She also leads Advancing Women in the Workplace and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, research and events. Rachel worked in the HCM research industry for 20+ years and held several key management and executive positions within the Talent and Learning Research and Performance Improvement industries.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company that helps the world’s leading businesses, governments and other organizations build their digital core, optimize their operations, accelerate revenue growth and enhance citizen services — creating tangible value at speed and scale. We are a talent and innovation-led company serving clients in more than 120 countries. We combine our strength in technology and leadership in cloud, data and AI with unmatched industry experience, functional expertise and global delivery capability. We measure our success by the 360° value we create for our clients, each other, our shareholders, partners and communities. Accenture was the leading winner in the 2024 Brandon Hall Group™ HCM Excellence Awards, taking home 211 awards.
