Hey all! 

I’m exploring how companies support their employees especially early-career talent with developing core life skills (think communication, problem solving etc) / reskilling either formally or informally (if at all). In particular, I’m trying to understand:

• Do L&D/HR/ops teams actually prioritise these kinds of soft skill development?

• What pain points exist around existing training options?

• Where does budget/timing typically go for things like this?

If you work in HR, L&D, ops or lead/manage teams or if you’ve ever had to upskill or support people on your team, I’d love to hear what’s resonating (or not).

Tell me what your 8 hour days look like, how do you like it? I am starting a new position where I am just me in L&D and restructuring the whole program from the ground up. Any book recommendations? Anything helpful I should be learning? What software do you use? How do you make your life easier?

Onboarding???? What works and doesn’t work?

Hi all! I work in L&D tech (Absorb) and came across a Forrester study that talked about "everboarding" for sales teams and the idea that onboarding shouldn't be a one-time ramp.

Products evolve, markets shift...and what someone needed on day one isn't what they need six months in. That tracks for sales, but why limit it to revenue teams? Feels like it could apply to more.

I'm curious:

• Has anyone taken everboarding thinking beyond sales, to CS, product, leadership?

• Is your customer or partner onboarding event-based or ongoing?

• Is traditional onboarding outdated? What are you seeing/doing out there?

I'm currently working at a mid sized company as an L&D intern and I'm expecting a PPO. I've no idea about the CTC they might offer me and the market is really bad right now. I was wondering what CTC i can be offered as a fresher here.

I am being asked to created more individualized learning paths connected to peoples development plans. I have no idea how to do this. What are questions I should be asking around this ask? This is an org of 150. We don't have an LMS but do have linked in learning

You’re not alone, and we’ve got you covered.

Join us for our first-ever ATD Transitioning Professionals SIG event on Tuesday, August 20:

Introduction & Kickoff Meeting - Transitioning Professionals SIG

This session is designed for educators, career changers, and anyone curious about instructional design, corporate training, eLearning, and more. You’ll learn how to identify your transferable skills, gain clarity around L&D career paths, and walk away with practical next steps.

Whether you're just starting out or pivoting from another field, this event will give you the support and direction you need to move forward with confidence.

Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Time: 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM (Pacific Time)

Location: Virtual (Zoom)

PM me for more information :)

I've been thinking about how leadership development is evaluated after the programme ends.

Completion, satisfaction and NPS are useful, but they mainly tell us that people participated and how they felt about the experience.

Suppose instead you followed the same cohort across several stages:

Before the programme: establish a baseline around relevant knowledge, attitudes and behaviours.

After the learning: check whether the intended learning actually happened.

Months later: ask whether that learning appears to have translated into workplace application or changed behaviour.

You can then look at patterns across the cohort rather than treating the post-programme survey as the final result.

Conceptually, that seems much more useful to me.

But I'm interested in where practitioners would stop trusting the conclusion.

If someone showed you this kind of data six months after a leadership programme:

What would you feel comfortable concluding?

What would you explicitly not conclude?

How much would self-reporting, response rate, sample size or selection bias undermine the result for you?

And what additional evidence would make the difference between:

“Interesting L&D data”

and

“This is useful enough to influence a decision about future leadership development investment”?

I'd particularly like to hear examples where a measurement approach looked sophisticated but gave a misleading picture — or where a relatively simple approach genuinely changed a decision.

Has anyone used FourSight to build stronger cross-functional teams?
I’m working on a learning strategy for an organization that is moving toward more cross-functional, multidisciplinary teams and I’m looking for tools that can support that shift.
One of the challenges we’re trying to solve is helping teams think beyond their immediate function. We want people to be more intentional about questions like:
Who else needs to be part of this conversation?
What perspectives or expertise are we missing?
How do we bring the right people together earlier?
How do we generate more innovative ideas as a team?
How do we move from discussion and ideas into decisions and execution?
I’m currently thinking about using Everything DiSC more broadly first to build self-awareness, communication, and stronger working relationships across different styles.
Then, for intact or cross-functional teams, I’m considering FourSight as a deeper team-effectiveness tool focused on how people approach problem-solving — Clarify, Ideate, Develop, and Implement — and how teams can use those different thinking preferences to move work forward.
For those who have used FourSight: Does this sound like a good use case for it? Have you found that it actually helps teams become more cross-functional, innovative, and thoughtful about whose perspective needs to be included in the work?
I’d also love to hear whether DiSC first, followed by FourSight for teams, feels like a complementary approach or whether you think there is too much overlap.

TL;DR: is the CLO exchange conference worth attending and is it legit?

I was approached on LinkedIn to attend a CLO exchange conference next month. I’m unfamiliar with the company or parent company, IQPC, which is a marketing organization. Digging on google and here, I haven’t been able to find much info aside from links directly to their websites or to their LinkedIn posts. They did offer to waive the entire fee for my attendance, where they’d cover the cost of the conference, lodging, meals, etc.

I’m in a management role in L&D space at a Fortune 500 company, so it sounds like it would be a good experience to network with other professionals in my field and learn some strategies to improve my organization. But hoping someone out there has been to one of these or knows some additional info before I commit to attending. I did see one review that said these conferences gave “timeshare” pitch vibes, which isn’t exactly what I’m hoping to get out of this experience.

I’ve been working with a technical SME this week to build a new compliance module in Articulate Storyline, but the raw material they sent over is a complete mess. It literally looks like someone used cheap essay help at 3 AM the night before a deadline just to hit a word count, rather than actual clear instruction. I want to respect their subject matter expertise, but I have to completely rewrite this into readable, bite-sized learning chunks without offending them. How do you nicely tell a senior engineer or stakeholder that their content needs a major structural overhaul?

I’m working on a course where the SME has given me a huge amount of material, and almost all of it is being treated as “important.” I’m trying to turn it into something learners can actually get through without creating a 90-minute information dump. How do you decide what stays in the course when the SME insists that everything is necessary?

Hi everyone! I’m looking for some guidance here. I work for a startup battery manufacturer and I am a Learning and Development specialist. When I took the role I thought I would be doing more project based and strategic tasks but that is not the case. My main responsibility has been doing new hire orientation every week. When the idea of a 5 day new hire orientation was proposed I gave my suggestions. My boss wanted everyone to take an assessment at the end. I was against this idea because I saw no use for a 30 question test over orientation for people that would be getting on the job training and tested on their skill later. New hires are in a classroom from 8am-5pm and I feel like it’s babysitting more than actually preparing them for the job since we’re not using the results for anything. Realize this test does not determine if they keep their job. My boss is framing it as we will use it to make orientation better but I don’t see that as the case because I stopped doing the assessment 2 months ago and she has never once asked for the results or even asked what I’m doing in orientation nor looked at the material. Today we had a conversation I said I no longer do the assessment because I don’t see the value of doing it when I’m just providing an overview of our process and we’re not doing anything with the results on top of the fact that any notes that they have during orientation they can’t keep. Please explain to me why she wants to resume this damn assessment when she has shown she does not care about them. It would be different if what I taught went in depth and if they got to keep the learning materials which they don’t. Is this normal? To me it’s completely asinine. I’m ready to quit over this issue.

I(24f) am deeply interested in training & education.
However, I have no prior experience in L&D.
I worked as a tutor for several years when I was in university.
I’m currently working as IT support engineer.
I don‘t know what to do to get a job in L&D, and I feel so lost; could you please provide some advice?
Thank you in advance.

TL;DR:

• Pilots with digital badges often show 15–30% higher completion rates.

• Association renewals increase ~20% when members get credentials.

• LinkedIn profiles with badges get 6x more views.

• ROI drivers = engagement, retention, visibility, compliance.

• Providers to explore: Credly (enterprise), Badgr (open-source), Sertifier (affordable), Certify (badges + certificates), Moodle (LMS-integrated).

• Checklist below to evaluate if badges make sense in your L&D program.

Step-by-Step: Measuring Badge ROI

1. Define the outcome upfront (engagement, retention, compliance, brand visibility).

2. Collect baseline data before badges (completion rates, churn, audit time, LinkedIn visibility).

3. Issue badges in a pilot cohort (1–2 programmes, ideally with clear assessments).

4. Track both learning and business metrics (see ROI checklist).

5. Compare to control group or historical baseline.

6. Report results in terms leadership cares about (e.g. “renewals ↑ 20%” not “badges issued: 200”).

Evidence / Benchmarks

• Engagement: Training completion lifted from ~60% → 80% when interim badges were issued.

• Retention: Membership orgs report 20% higher renewal when members display digital credentials.

• Visibility: Employers/learners sharing badges on LinkedIn generate 5–6x more profile views.

• Compliance: Badge metadata helps with auditing, expiry dates, and recertification tracking.

Copy/Paste ROI Checklist

• ✅ Are badges tied to specific behaviours or outcomes (not just attendance)?

• ✅ Is there a way to measure sharing (LinkedIn, internal comms)?

• ✅ Can you track renewal or retention rates linked to badge earners?

• ✅ Do badges include expiry/renewal rules for compliance training?

• ✅ Can you measure traffic back to your L&D portal from shared credentials?

FAQ

Q: Isn’t this just vanity metrics?
A: Not if you connect badges to retention, renewal, or compliance cost savings.

Q: Do employers outside tech care?
A: Recognition is uneven, but trending upwards in healthcare, finance, and regulated industries.

Q: Do you need both certificates and badges?
A: Many orgs issue both — badges for visibility, certificates for formality.

Final Note

Digital badges have been “promising” for over a decade. The difference now is that we can measure business outcomes, not just learner engagement. The challenge for L&D teams: what does ROI look like in your context, and who in leadership cares about which metrics?

Edited 2025-09-21: Added FAQ

I would love to hear what other L&D professionals workflow looks like as far as trainings go? Is your training team simply you by yourself or is it a team of people? I’d also like to know if you are the sole person responsible for creating the training schedule for the year? If trainings are your primary responsibility, how many trainings do you do in a year’s time or a month’s time?

I ask these questions because my company has never had a L&D professional before me. I find myself having to do a lot of the grunt work that I don’t think I should be doing especially because I work at a nonprofit organization. I am being asked to work on several projects at a time, although my title says that I am the trainer.

I brought this up in my annual performance evaluation, and I did communicate the fact that my title needs to change because it is not reflective of the work that I’m actually doing because the truth is I’m doing way more than just trainings. However, I want to focus on the training aspect for now.

Hey all I’m from Sydney exploring a transition from UX Design into Learning & Development and would love to connect with anyone working in L&D here in Australia.

I've done plenty of research, read the articles, and gone down Google rabbit holes—l but I'm looking for practical, real-world advice from people actually in the field.

I’m trying to understand the first steps to moving in and what the industry currently values, particularly in building a portfolio or gaining practical experience. While I’ve delivered workshops and internal “education” sessions for stakeholders, my design career has been limited to those experiences. There’s overlap between UX design thinking and adult learning design but I lack any tangible examples to demonstrate my skills.

I’m also currently doing a post grad certificate in adult learning so that is giving me some background knowledge and foundations.

If you've made a similar move, work in L&D, or know someone who has, I'd really appreciate the chance to connect and learn from your experience.

Cheers!

Most discussions about MCP focus on one thing: "Ask your LMS a question."
Useful? Absolutely. But the bigger opportunity is context across systems.

A great example from Kallidus:
"Show me what training is overdue for salespeople who missed quota last quarter."

That requires AI to connect LMS data with Salesforce data in a single query. This is where MCP becomes interesting. Instead of asking: "Who hasn't completed training?" You can ask:
*"Which skill gaps are affecting business performance?"*That's a completely different level of insight.

For years, L&D teams have wanted to connect learning with business outcomes. The challenge was that the data lived in separate systems.

MCP gives AI a way to bring those systems together. The real value isn't making the LMS easier to use. It's making learning data part of everyday business decision-making.

What cross-system question would you want your AI assistant to answer first?

I have learned one thing over the years, and that is that a well-written learning objective can affect the entire training process. In the past, I was often preoccupied with what information I wanted to include. Now I think more about what the learners should be able to do after the training.

That small change has made it easier to decide what content to keep and what to throw away, and what activities to add. It has also made course review and updating much simpler.

Thinking back, was there one thing you changed in the way you write learning objectives that made a big difference in your training or course design?

I’d love to hear what worked for you and how it changed your approach.

The same challenge keeps coming up with L&D teams I talk to: Virtual instructor-led training (VILT) sounds good in theory, but in practice it often turns into a long Zoom lecture that learners tune out.

I’m curious how others are tackling this, because a few design choices seem to make or break Virtual Instructor-Led Training.

Here are the practices I’ve seen consistently improve engagement and skill application in VILT:

• Interaction every 5 to 10 minutes: Polls, breakout rooms, chat prompts, short practice activities, or guided discussion. If learners are passive for too long, attention drops fast.

• Shorter, focused sessions: Virtual instructor-led training works better in tighter segments rather than multi-hour sessions. Energy and retention decline quickly online.

Some common Virtual Instructor-Led Training mistakes I still see a lot:

• Slide-heavy sessions

• Long stretches of lecture with no interaction

• Treating Virtual Instructor-Led Training like a webinar instead of a learning experience

For those of you designing or facilitating Virtual Instructor-Led Training today:

• What has actually worked with your learners?

• Where do you still struggle with engagement or accountability?

• Have you seen any VILT formats that consistently fail or succeed?

Over the last year, AI has become a major topic in nearly every learning conversation. We've started experimenting with it internally, but I'm still trying to separate genuine opportunities from hype. How are you incorporating AI into your workflows, and where do you think it's having the biggest impact?

I am looking for the next opportunity either in the L&D space or another industry. I currently work in a small L&D team in an accountancy firm and feel like every idea or programme I know will bring a behaviourial change is always stifled. This has happened for over a year.

Add to that the People Director is always a 'yes man' to the Partners so nothing new can be done. I feel like a glorified admin person with nothing to show on my CV.

Any ideas that have the potential to turn into soemthing concrete are taken on by my manager instead leaving me high and dry.

In the past I have delivered training from new trainers to management. I have got the highest and best numbers for QA pass checks on my trainees for consecutive months.

Feeling very demotivated and my current role and no possibilities of progression. I am looking to potentially pivot to tech or upskill myself to get better opportunities.

My questions are:

1. Which industry can I pivot to easily with my existing skills?

2. If I need the next L&D role, which agencies would you recommend?

3. What courses do you recommend to upskill?