The Learning Xchange

How often do you explore ideas outside your learning community, your industry, or even your organization? There’s this notion that stepping out of these confines is unnecessary because what’s out there is too different. But as Matthew Brown, Chief People & Culture Officer at Schoox, points out in this episode of the Learning Xchange, a little diversity goes a long way.Tune in to hear why exploring new ideas is necessary for the L&D community. Matthew also discusses ways to embrace different thought processes while staying true to what makes your industry unique.Listen to this episode to find out:How different perspectives further developmentWhy it’s vital to embrace different thoughts and ideasThe part diversity plays in the learning process How diversity affects the way we embrace changeIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

How equipped is your general employee population to navigate and handle trauma in the workplace? Now, that’s a question that’s getting increasingly impossible to overlook in modern workplaces.The impact of unresolved workplace trauma can lead productivity to take a hit and, ultimately, employee retention. While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, Matthew Brown (Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer) explores six ways to effectively tackle trauma in the workplace.Tune in to The Learning Xchange to hear more.Listen to this episode to find out:Why it’s vital to address trauma in the workplaceImpacts of trauma in the workplaceThe importance of considering mental safety alongside physical safetyHow transparency at work fosters a better environmentHow collaboration and shared experiences make for a better workplaceThe role of education in healing workplace traumaResources:Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration: https://www.samhsa.gov/Mental Health First Aid: https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/The National Alliance on Mental Illness: https://nami.org/Workplace Strategies for Mental Health: https://www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.com/If you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

The L&D landscape is constantly changing.The pandemic caused a drastic shift in the way many of us work. For that reason, we can’t carry on adhering to the same principles and ideas we’ve always believed to be true.Body language is a huge part of our in-person interactions. But how does it work when we are working remotely?In this episode of The Learning Xchange, Matthew Brown (Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer) shares his tips on how to think about digital body language in 2022.Listen to this episode to find out:How the pandemic changed L&D for goodWhy body language is just as important in remote workingSeven dated ideas that should be challengedHow mood affects digital body languageKey differences between in-person and digital body languageIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

We all let things get on top of us once in a while. But how do we know when our struggles become genuine mental health concerns? And how can we build effective support systems for this in our workplaces?In this episode of The Learning Xchange, Matthew Brown (Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer) highlights the importance of mental health awareness in the workplace.He explores five ways to create a more accepting and supportive work environment.Listen to this episode to find out:How speaking up to your manager can help them learnWhy introducing mindfulness to your day could be beneficialWhy seeking help isn’t a sign of weaknessHow to delegate to mental health first aidersIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

Guess what? The world is still changing and at this pace, it’s pretty clear that there are more sudden changes we need to embrace. But to bring things better into focus in the workplace, there’s been a pressing need to redefine roles to accommodate all the change going around. That’s where Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer, Matthew Brown, kicks off this episode of The Learning Xchange. He set the scene by telling us the present state of things across all industries in terms of employee and customer expectations.Matthew also delves into the pertinent role of the L&D community in ensuring that organizations embrace these changes seamlessly.Listen to this episode to find out: What the current landscape is and how that feeds into the rescoping of rolesHow to respond to the changing demands of employees and customersWhat part Learning & Development plays in restructuring rolesHow L&D professionals can help their organizations embrace the ongoing changeThe benefits of broadening your contentWhy repeated content isn’t necessarily redundantThe importance of delivering training on how to navigate the hybrid work environmentIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

What’s your intent when creating content for your learners? Is it to tick off a few learning objectives or to ensure your learners really understand, comprehend, and apply that knowledge to the job? To improve knowledge transfer and create positive learning experiences, we need to eliminate cognitive bias in training. On this episode of The Learning Xchange, Matthew Brown (Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer) discusses three areas L&D professionals need to focus on to tackle cognitive biases — as delivered by David Dylan Thomas in a 2022 keynote speech. He also shares a few tips to guide you on your journey to creating more inclusive and bias-free training material.Listen to this episode to find out:Why intent is important when creating learning experiencesHow cognitive bias can affect the learning processWhy we should support content with clear and relevant informationThe importance of designing for cognitive biasTips to consider when designing content for cognitive biasIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

How often do you revisit business and learning systems to check if they still align with your organization’s goals?In most cases, not nearly as often as necessary.While that’s understandable, it could potentially cause a unique set of challenges down the line. Most times, when it comes to problems with tech, it all boils down to one culprit — neglecting to revisit the systems in place.In this episode of The Learning Xchange, Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer, Matthew Brown, stresses the importance of updating business and learning systems to match your organization’s present and future goals. Matthew explains why it’s only logical considering that the basic needs in an organization grow and change as the scope of work expands. He also segues into a discussion about the learning teams’ potential to influence organizations by modeling beneficial behaviors.Listen to this episode to find out: What system implementation entailsWhy we overlook the need to re-evaluate implementationWhy business systems need to be updated periodicallyTips on how to evaluate business systemsHow to leverage the training team as a strategic business partnerIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

What role does coaching have in your learning strategy today?In most cases, we get caught up in the intricacies of delivering training that coaching blends into the background. Or it’s simply mistaken for training.In this episode of The Learning Xchange, Matthew Brown, Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer, draws the line between coaching and training. He also revisits the competence cycle and explains how coaching helps move learners from one stage of the cycle to another.Listen to this episode to find out: Why learning and coaching are not the same thingHow to apply the competence cycle to the learning processThe responsibilities of a coachHow learning and coaching complement each otherHow to facilitate coaching in your organizationIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

How do you ensure that your workforce is ready for change?There’s often a lot of talk about how to navigate deploying new technology, introducing new talent, or other innovative ways to keep up with the times.But it’s important to consider the “people side of things.” By doing so, we can come up with different ways to support our employees while equipping them with the tools to adjust.In this episode of The Learning Xchange, Matthew Brown (Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer) shares a few ways you can help employees develop flexible and adaptable approaches to change.Listen to this episode to find out:How the roles of L&D, talent development, and HR have evolved Why it’s vital to have a more adaptable workforceHow COVID spurred the need for flexibilityThe limitations of upskilling and reskilling5 ways to encourage flexibility and adaptability If you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

What’s new in the world of learning and development? The space is changing. Learners now have different expectations about training content, so we must rethink how training is delivered.Matthew Brown, Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer, explores the top five trends in L&D that you should watch out for in 2022 and beyond. He discusses why flexibility, personalization, and health and wellness are big priorities for learners today.While these trends may not be new ideas, they are important to consider if you want to consistently meet your learners’ expectations of training. Listen to this episode to find out: The top five trends in L&D to watch out forWhy reskilling isn’t just about adapting to change Why people expect personalization in their trainingHow to be more flexible in trainingThe importance of health and wellness in the workplace If you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

How many times do you or your team face objections when attempting to change training and development? Perhaps you’ve been asked to design training that you know just won’t work.Often, customers or business partners bring requests to the Learning and Development team with preconceived ideas about what the content should be, how it should be formatted, or how it should be fulfilled. If you want to change those outdated methods and try out new learning styles, you’ll find that sometimes people just don’t like change – but why?In this episode of The Learning Xchange, Matthew Brown, Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer, shares personal scenarios where he has faced objections to changes in training. He shares invaluable insights and provides tips on how to counter these objections. Listen to this episode to find out: Some common reasons why you face objections to changes to trainingHow to handle requests that are about communication and not trainingHow generational codes could be influencing people’s reactions How to overcome people’s fears about changes to learning formatsIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

It’s fair to say that virtual training is here to stay.  Now that it’s become the new normal, it’s vital to learn how to manage participants while keeping them engaged.  One way to do that is to hone in on the different personas that turn up in virtual training sessions. That’ll make it much easier for them to get the most out of their learning experience. On this episode of The Learning Xchange, Matthew Brown, Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer, identifies eight specific personas you’ll typically find in the virtual training space. He also offers general tips and technical strategies for managing learner engagement.  Listen to this episode to find out:  How to manage different personas in a virtual training setting Why being prepared makes trainers more flexible How to boost learner engagement Why it’s beneficial to have a producer How to manage your use of the mute button Why it’s great to have break out rooms The importance of delivering clear instructions   If you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!  

How do you learn? You could ask a hundred people that question, and each one could give a totally different answer. Many wouldn’t even know what to say. The truth is that everyone learns in different ways, and yet schools and workplaces follow a very one-size-fits-all approach. Matthew Brown, Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer, explores this topic in this episode of The Learning Xchange.Matthew shares some food for thought and breaks down different ways we can improve our mindset around learning. Listen to this episode to find out: Why we should think carefully about how we learnHow to identify learning goals How to take specific action for your learningWhy learning should be a habitThe importance of planning and scheduling time for learningWhy mistakes are good learning opportunities Why your journey to improve learning shouldn’t be done alone If you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

Without a doubt, the nature of the workforce has changed drastically over the past couple of years. And with that has come an overhaul of ideas, concepts, and methodologies that simply don’t fit the bill anymore.At the top of that list is learning engagement. An increasingly remote and hybrid workforce has made the traditional methods of delivering training a bit more complicated. As Schoox’s Matthew Brown (Chief People & Culture Officer) explains, this change is an opportunity to revisit the very idea of learning engagement to find more fun, exciting and tailored ways to deliver knowledge.In this episode of The Learning Xchange podcast, he explores different ways the workforce has evolved and what needs to evolve with it. He also points out a few ways to inspire true learning.Listen to this episode to find out:How the pandemic has changed the workforceLessons the pandemic taught the L&D communityWhy learning engagement is so importantHow compliance and mandates affect learning engagementWays to make learning more fun and excitingIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

When was the last time you really stopped to think about the concept of trust in your workplace?If you think about it, on one side, the workplace is where it all starts. It’s your home base. When seeds of distrust are scattered, it’s bound to cause a bit of unwanted friction internally. On the other side, your general efforts around trust often feed into most, if not all, interactions with learners and customers alike.To get ahead of this, it’s become increasingly vital to take a more hands-on approach toward trust-building, and that’s what Matthew Brown (Schoox’s Chief People & Culture Officer) delves into on this episode of The Learning Xchange podcast. He discusses the role of trust in the workplace as well as its unique place in the training process. Matthew also shares four ways to incorporate the trust-building process into your training.Listen to this episode to find out:Why trust is vital in the workplace and the training processThe effect of a lack of trust can impact organizationsHow the notion of trust in L&D has evolvedHow to build trust with both your employees and learnersFour ways to address the trust conversationIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

What can employers do to improve the employee experience and create positive changes?  In the last couple of years, one thing has become crystal clear. Nothing stays still for very long. The speed of change we’ve all experienced over the past two years is not only here to stay, but also accelerating. As a result, learning and development professionals must understand that learning has to change also. We must be willing to tackle new conversations and consider how we can use our tools and talents to help improve the broader employee experience. To start with, there are a few areas where L&D can really pitch in and help move things forward. Matthew Brown, Chief People & Culture Officer at Schoox, shares some ways L&D can lend a hand in this episode of The Learning Xchange. Listen to this episode to find out: How change is accelerating in the workplaceHow L&D professionals can help to improve the employee experienceWhy health and wellness should be a priority  Why it’s so important to consider employee needsWhy we should nurture the next generation of leadersIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

What are you doing to take control of your own career? How about your employees? How we navigate our career journey depends on many factors, but it all starts with how much control we believe we have over it.In this episode of The Learning Xchange, Schoox’s Matthew Brown (VP of Learning and Brand Success) talks about career mobility and the problem of conditioned paralysis. Sometimes the biggest roadblock in our careers is our own limiting beliefs, so Matthew explores a way to rethink career mobility.He explains the three biggest ways our conditioning and workplaces can get in the way of us sitting in the driver’s seat of our careers. Listen to this episode to find out: Why career conditioning can have both good and bad consequencesWhy we need to unlearn our conditioningHow learned helplessness can affect career mobilityWhy not all career paths are linear How to encourage employees to improve the skills they needIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

Far too often, people find themselves struggling to connect with other people in the workplace. Sometimes it’s a case of a personality mismatch. Other times it can be a difference in communication styles. Whatever the reason, this inability to connect with others in a meaningful or productive way can cause a blockage. It can affect productivity, collaboration, and even trust if everyone is struggling to connect.  As Schoox’s Matthew Brown (VP of Learning and Brand Success) explains, it all comes down to one key thing – self-awareness. In this episode of The Learning Xchange, Matthew discusses why self-awareness and adaptability are overlooked but critical skills for any workplace. Listen to this episode to find out: How difficulties connecting to others largely comes down to self-awarenessHow self-awareness can help us address unconscious biasWhy organizations should try to teach self-awarenessWhy organizations need to revisit and adapt processes in real-timeHow to create a safe space for all to understand each otherThe best ways to open up honest conversations in the workplace If you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

The learners’ needs are at the heart of any training program’s success. Part of the role of learning and development is to develop training that sticks and that learners can digest.However, not all learners are the same. Everyone has various needs, and this is especially true for neurodivergent people in the workplace. In this episode of The Learning Xchange, Schoox’s Matthew Brown (VP of Learning and Brand Success) explores the topic of neurodiversity and where it relates to learning and development. He explains that in order to make our training more accessible, we need to consider how different people think and behave.Listen to this episode to find out: What neurodiversity means Why businesses should be equipped to help neurodiverse peopleWhere neurodiversity fits into different learning stylesWhy you should consider the environment and tools you use in your trainingTips on how to make learning more inclusiveIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!

Vulnerability, authenticity, and a partnership mindset are crucial elements of the employee experience. Yet, many organizations overlook them. Showing vulnerability in the workplace is not a priority when other important things like profitability are on the line. However, if you want to develop a workplace culture that’s open, supportive, and trusting, you need to consider these elements.In the 50th episode of The Learning Xchange, Schoox’s Matthew Brown (VP of Learning and Brand Success), discusses how to develop a partnership mentality in your workplace. Listen to this episode to find out: Why showing vulnerability should be a two-way thing in workplacesWhy many employees don’t know how to ask for helpHow you can make your workforce feel more comfortable asking for helpWhat L&D teams can do to improve openness at workWhy you need to lead by exampleThe importance of meaningful interactions Why we should strive for a partnership mindset at workIf you enjoyed this episode, please share what you love about The Learning Xchange by leaving us a rating and review!