That phrase may seem silly or even a bit banal amidst the busyness and the pressures of the lives we’re all leading.  But stop and think, just for a moment.

 At the end of the working day today I received an email from a friend and colleague I care about.  She began by telling me how busy she was.  Her emails tend to begin that way.  I wanted to respond telling her we’re all busy.  That’s how life is for too many of us.  Then her email made me think about the product we’ve created.  You could read about it at www.spiceframework.com but before you do, read on for a moment or two.

 I’ve been directly involved in people development and, in particular evaluation systems since the mid-1980s.  I’d like to think, I know my craft.  Knowing my craft, I’m endlessly frustrated.

 I’m frustrated by so much of what I read from so called experts in Learning and Development in particular.  They keep trotting out the same old tosh.  It seems to me they keep rehashing the same old methodologies, dressing them up this way and that until they are like the proverbial emperor’s new clothes, if you know that particular story.

 So, just for a moment: stop and think.

 Some years ago, a good friend of mine and someone who had formerly been CEO of a public sector funded training organisation said of a particular business, ‘They can train their people if they like, but it won’t make any difference’.  I assure you, he wasn’t being dismissive of training as such.  I happen to know what he was really referring to: the need to not just increase knowledge or even skills but instead, the need to change behaviour and then beyond that to connect behaviour change to performance improvement.  My friend was right.  Measuring behaviour change is critical.  In fact, in a conversation I had with Ed Houghton, the Head of Research at the CIPD about data and Learning Analytics, he said this, ‘CIPD research indicated UK HR professionals lag behind global trends in terms of analytical/data handling capability and confidence’.  He is so right.  In fact, I reckon UK Learning & Development practice is falling further behind global trends. 

 I’m reminded of one of my favourite books, Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift.  Here I’m not especially thinking about the part many of us are familiar with, when Gulliver is captured by the little people of Lilliput.  No.  I’m thinking about the big agenda in the book in satirising the ignorance of the complacent.  I really and truly believe Learning and Development, along with H.R. needs to wake up in the UK.

 New products and practises will come into the market.  They will radically change the profession.  We need to wake up.  I know many of us feel overwhelmed, like the friend who emailed me today.  But how many of us are ignorant of the change that is upon us and how many are complacent, endlessly rehashing and representing the same old tosh, confident in our position.  This is all because change is coming.

 Ok, this may not sound that hopeful.  Well, no.  At least it’s not for the rehashing of established practise.  Remember my friend and his saying, ‘They can train their people if they like, but it won’t make any difference’.  The last thing I am saying is that people shouldn’t be developed.  They should.  My friend was saying they should too.  But we need to reframe our methods, because in that there is hope.

 I mentioned earlier in this blog that I’d been involved in evaluation systems since the mid-1980s.  I have.  I’ve seen methods and emphases come and go.  And I’ve had the privilege of having time and opportunity to reflect and to develop technology that is designed to support, to provide a resource in challenging and demanding times and which, more than anything connects people to performance wherever they are through any web enabled device.  More than anything it provides tools to delivery learning resources cheaply and efficiently and provides tools to evaluate behaviour change and to measure impact.  I ask you, what’s not to like? I believe there is hope in this.

So here  I am giving my gift to you of the use of our tools for free for 28 days with no obligation.  What’s not to like?  Click this link and find out more.  You might well find that little ray of sunshine, that sign of hope in challenging times.  tinyurl.com/b3wtvf32

 Alternatively contact me here:

T: 0113 7332692

E: [email protected] 

Written by Michael Croft

February 4, 2021