We are in an era of multigenerational workforces, rapidly changing infrastructures, and evolving pedagogical educational models driven by disruptive forces that are transforming the requirements for corporate learning and providing opportunities for innovation excellence. Innovation takes us out of the garage of invention and applies process and discipline to take what we have and make it better. We can apply innovation to every aspect of the development process and even the learning itself. During this session, hear how Abbvie Corporation of Canada has introduced AI as an application to impact the learning journeys across the entire organization. We will introduce participants to:

• Innovation is a team sport
• “Tools-in-a-Box” or how to share your toys on the playground of learning
• Aligning strategies with IT, Communications, Talent Management, and other kids on the playground
• Coloring without the lines – how diversity and inclusion make the best innovation

Iain Boomer

Head of Learning & Development
Abbvie Corporation Canada

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If your sales representatives think they know everything, they’ve got a lot to learn. These days, doing a good job — and advancing in a career — isn’t about mastering a predetermined set of skills and knowledge. By the time a sales representative has checked that box, the necessary skills will have changed and the required knowledge has evolved in ways they couldn’t have imagined.

When it comes to learning, sales representatives can be their own worst enemies. They fall back on traditional approaches and expect change to simply happen. When it doesn’t, it’s disappointing for them — and frustrating, time-consuming, and costly for your organization.

To help them keep up and get ahead, you have to show them how to embrace change and drive personal accountability: building new skills, letting go of old assumptions, and mastering the art of lifelong learning. This session will:

• Explain in clear terms the mindset that’s essential for survival in today’s business environment
• Simplification of processes
• Offer practical tools you can use to help employees reframe priorities
• Understand the powerful influence of human nature on performance

Gia Ness

Global Vice President, SAP Franchise Learning
SAP

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We are in a different state of work and need to harness the power of our learning ecosystems for people development. These ecosystems are complex combinations of people, process and technology and visualizing the future is hard. In this session you will learn design thinking tools to model the complexity of your learning ecosystem and explore innovation opportunities to move towards empowering your adaptive learning organization.

Key Takeaways:

·        The Adaptive Learning Organization Principle and benchmarking tool

·        The Learning Ecosystem Canvas and how to use it

·        The Learning Ecosystem Innovation Building Blocks tool and how to use it

In this session, we will learn how SMEs, L&D, and learning technology came together to improve salesforce effectiveness. Sales Force Effectiveness takes process, people and systems into consideration for a fully empowered and powerful sales force.

ConvaTec sales force found they were consistently missing their goals and business was suffering. We did not have a clear go to market strategy in any areas of sales effectiveness such as targets, selling process, new product launches, competencies for sales, leadership accountability, and we needed to create an entire ecosystem for sales.

Underpinning all of this was a lack of strategic training approach to be able to build sales capabilities, product knowledge and CRM systems knowledge. There was also a lack of accountability for line managers to hold their sales teams accountable for their goals.

L&D worked with SFE SMEs to understand the revised process and systems strategy for Sales force effectiveness. We revised the entire curriculum, creating a learning journey over time, rather than just one time learning, and used learning technologies such as virtual coaching, gamification and self-directed learning to reinforce and apply learning on the job.

Today's workforce is more global than ever before. This is not just a trend, and will continue to increase as more companies expand into new markets and establish a global presence. This comes with many proven advantages for a company, though several disadvantages become a stark reality when your workforce is not co-located. 

In this session, Casey will address the advantages and disadvantages of a global workforce with respect to learning, education and development and the lessons learned in driving accountability across the organization. He will share how he specifically leveraged the use of video and technology to engage and deliver education, while simultaneously developing people in over 20 countries. 

Casey Denby

Vice President, Professional Development & Engagement
Re/Max HQ

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A cornerstone of genuine cultural change is that it must be grounded on values relevant to business success and role modelled by senior executives who “walk the talk” in ways directly observable by employees at all levels. The most successful companies are on a journey to define and drive cultural values and leadership behaviors aligned with exceptional customer service. In this session, attendees will:  

• Receive practical methods and tools that support effective culture change
• Learn how to avoid some of the common pitfalls of cultural change initiatives
• Discuss ways to ensure sustainability after the initial sessions
• Involve line leaders in the delivery of the initiative so it is not viewed as an “HR” program

Carlos Velazquez

Global Learning Solutions Leader
Caterpillar

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In a widely publicized initiative a few years ago, eBay embarked on a journey to bring more women into its top ranks. Senior executives at the firm discovered the investment yielded substantial bottom-line and cultural benefits. Despite these findings there are still far too few women gaining entry into the C-suite. It appears a contributing factor to this reality is that women are not receiving enough opportunities to gain the key work experiences viewed as necessary to gain entry into the C-suite. During this panel discussion attendees will : 

• Learn about the unique cultures from some of the world’s most innovative companies
• Hear how they are pushing the boundaries on advancing female leadership 

Pamay Bassey

Chief Learning Officer
The Kraft Heinz Company

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Dessalen Wood

Chief People Officer
Thoughtexchange

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Gia Ness

Global Vice President, SAP Franchise Learning
SAP

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Meredith Ian

Global Head Of Sales Training
Spotify

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As more companies look to build leadership capacity and better engage their people, coaching cultures are becoming a hot topic of conversation. And with good reason—companies with coaching cultures are more than twice as likely to be classified as high-performing organizations and outperform their peers in internal mobility, bench strength and retention. But even though research shows how crucial employee engagement is to the success of a business, many companies still struggle with how to make it happen. To truly leverage the power of coaching within your organization, it must become an integral part of your company’s DNA—moving beyond something your people do to become something that defines who your leaders are. 

During this session attendees will: 

• Review a process to build a scalable and sustainable coaching culture 
• Drive long-term engagement and deliver extraordinary results
• Make coaching an integral part of your company’s DNA

Meredith Ian

Global Head Of Sales Training
Spotify

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