Centre name: ICS Learn

Candidate name: Rohit Das

CIPD Membership 52881237 ICS student 21033165
Number: number:
Qualification title: Level 5 Intermediate Diploma in Learning and Development
Unit title(s): Developing Professional Unit code(s): 5LDP
Practice in Learning and
Development
Assessment number 1

*Online Class Date 10/06/2019 *Tutor Name Rachel

Cooper

1st Submission Date 27th June, 2019 Word Count 2973

2nd Submission Date 11th July, 2019 Word Count 3098

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I understand that the work/evidence submitted for assessment may not be returned to me and
that I have retained a copy for my records.

I understand that until such time as the assessment grade has been ratified by internal and
external quality assurance verifiers it is not final.

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 Developing Professional Practice in Learning and Development (L&D)

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 Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................... 5

Activity 1 ....................................................................................................................... 5

1.1 Write an evaluative summary which identifies at least three current practices, trends

and at least two emerging roles in L&D. ................................................................................... 5

Practices .................................................................................................................... 5

Google: G2G Training Program......................................................................... 5

Amazon: Pivot Program ...................................................................................... 5

Facebook: Engage Coaching Program............................................................... 5

Trends ....................................................................................................................... 5

Emerging Roles ........................................................................................................ 6

1.2 Identify some of the key knowledge, skills, and behaviours required by an L&D

professional, irrespective of role. ............................................................................................... 6

Activity 2 ....................................................................................................................... 8

2.1 Project and self-management techniques ................................................................. 8

2.2 Problem-solving techniques: .................................................................................... 8

3.3 Techniques of persuasion, influence, and negotiation: .......................................... 10

Activity 3 ....................................................................................................................... 9

3.1 The Concept of Group Dynamics ............................................................................ 9

3.2 Political Behaviour in the Organisation and its Impact on the Achievement of the

Organisation and its Objectives ............................................................................................... 10

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 3.3 Apply different methods for influencing, persuading and negotiating with others. 10

Activity 4 ..................................................................................................................... 12

4.1 Self-Assessment ..................................................................................................... 12

4.2 Development Options: ........................................................................................... 12

4.3 Professional Development Plan: ............................................................................ 13

References .................................................................................................................... 15

Appendix A: How Prepared Am I - My CIPD Self-Assessment………………………………………………..17

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Introduction

This paper constitutes a learning and development e-portfolio. It sheds light on how
professional practice is developed through project management, managing self, working in
groups, navigating politics, influencing stakeholders and developing the knowledge, skills
and behaviours required of a L&D professional. CPD techniques are used to apply and assess
the personal development plan.

Activity 1

1.1 Write an evaluative summary which identifies at least three current practices, trends and

at least two emerging roles in L&D.

Practices

Google: G2G Training Program

Google has developed a Googler to Googler program that is aimed at offering for different
fields, first-hand knowledge from workers to workers. Under this program, Google tends to
acknowledge its workers’ right to learn, it provides them with an opportunity for growth
through on-the-job-training and it allows its workers to give back to further other workers
through participating in the program (Vibons, 2018).
Amazon: Pivot Program

Amazon has developed a Pivot training program that is aimed at providing support and
guidance to the underperforming workers by pairing them with the ‘subject matter experts’
named as Career Ambassadors. Under this program, the workers are provided with options to
(1) voluntary leave the job with severance, (2) improve performance, or (3) request the
decision of the managers to position them into Pivot. The employees of Amazon look at Pivot
as a warning before they get fired (Lebowitz, 2018).
Facebook: Engage Coaching Program

Facebook has developed an Engage Coaching Program, under which, the new managers are
combined with executive coaches. The executive coaches assist new managers by providing
one-on-one sessions to make them adopt effective interpersonal skills (Wong, 2016).

Trends

1. The firms of today are getting away from the development frameworks which are driven

by top-down and are moving towards making the employees learn by leading their own

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 ways, such as by developing personalised paths of learning to help employees develop

skills for their current, next and future roles.

2. People are moving towards social learning by investing in tools such as social learning

tools which involve online collaboration, instant messaging, video conferencing and

social networking.

3. Another trend for learning is moving towards micro-learning, in which learning is being

made available in smaller content through mediums like blogs, podcasts, videos and

eLearning (Rebecca, 2019).

Emerging Roles

1. The role which is emerging is for the people who are responsible for setting an

organisational design and such people are increasing their emphasis on the using of

technology for developing digital solutions (Ryan, 2017).

2. Another emerging role is of the L&D business partner, who is responsible for

understanding the business’ needs and interacting with the stakeholders (Hemsley,

2010).

1.2 Identify some of the key knowledge, skills, and behaviours required by an L&D

professional, irrespective of role.

The CIPD HR Profession Map (2013) serves the purpose of defining the building blocks of
effective practices to manage people across ten professional specialties (CIPD 2013, p1). It
also highlights eight essential behaviours that support good practice irrespective of the
specialization. In the light of this framework, I have identified the following Knowledge,
Skills and Behaviours that is expected of L&D professional irrespective of the role.

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Source. CIPD Profession Map (CIPD 2013, p4)

Key Knowledge (What You Need To Know):

1. Data Collection and Evaluation: Important to evaluate learning impact by collecting
and collating data. (ROI analysis, Kirkpatrick etc)
2. Facilitation models and Styles: To manage and optimize a learning event (Seating
arrangements and logistics)
3. Adult Learning Theories: Important to understand how adults learn (Kolb’s and
Andragogy Theory)

Key Skills (What You Need To Do):

1. Learning Strategy and Planning – Important as one needs to apply critical
thinking to spot trends and report insights to stakeholders.
2. Solution Design - Important to design and deploy relevant solutions to address the
performance gap/s.
3. Evaluating Learning Impact- Important to capture and analyse data to support
evaluation of initiatives.

Key Behaviours:
1. Collaborative – A key soft skill, imperative as they need to work with different
people across all levels.
2. Courage To Challenge – Important, as they need to break complacency, challenge
status quo, thereby breaking new ground in the process.
3. Skilled Influencer – Important as this is needed to get organizational buy-in for L&D
interventions.

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Activity 2

2.1 Project and self-management techniques

The learning and development project involved holding an educational seminar. In order to
manage the project, I used critical path project method which relied solely on setting
durations for completion of tasks by prioritising the most important tasks to be completed
first and as per the deadline of the project. The critical path method was used to create a work
breakdown structure of all tasks which were inter-connected with each other based on the
order of completion and prioritisation. I started with an initial task then identified the tasks
which required the completion of the initial task. The task which is the longest is the
following task over the critical path. Therefore, the tasks which required the longest time
were considered as the critical path tasks. This helped me in project completion by the
expected time by carrying out the calculation on the tasks that make up the critical path,
assigning more time to them and less on others. Therefore, this increased my effectiveness
and of my team members in managing the projects. Following the establishment of task
duration, I collaborated with my team members and determined the costs of the project,
created a budget plan, determined the resources required, determined the scope of the project,
and allocated tasks to the members of the team. The project management technique also
involved the development of an evaluation plan to assess the improvements needed as the
tasks are processed (Vibons, 2018).

The self-management techniques which I adopted for the project are:

Organisational Skills: Using a To-Do- List to identify my tasks.
Time Management: I have found Steven Covey’s Time Management Matrix (Covey, 1989)
to be a useful model.
Emotional Intelligence: Practicing empathy, increasing self-awareness etc.
Stress Management: Eating a balanced diet, exercising, yoga etc.
Demonstrating resilience: Developing methods of overcoming the hurdles and failures of
the tasks and developing the methods of overcoming demotivation, managing changes
required, and handling undesired outcomes (Wong, 2016).
Development of self-confidence: Developing trust on my own ability to manage the project
well, trust my plans and decisions, and instantly overcoming self-doubts during project
hurdles and failures.

2.2 Problem-solving techniques:

I prefer to use the DMAIC methodology to solve a problem when the root cause is not
known. DMAIC is a data-driven quality strategy used to improve processes. It is an integral
part of a Six Sigma initiative, but in general can be implemented as a quality improvement
procedure or as part of other process improvement initiatives such as lean. for improving,
optimizing and stabilizing business processes and designs. The key stages of this
methodology are as follows:

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Define: In this stage, the main objective is to get clarity around the problem and the process
that the team is looking to improve. The function of the Define phase is to understand who
will be involved in the project, to define the scope of the process being improved and to
consider those impacted and the level of effort required to generate engagement. Tools like
the 5 Whys and Fishbone Diagram is generally used in this stage.
Measure: The primary purpose of the Measure phase is to develop a baseline measure that
represents the current state of the process. Often the question posed in this phase is How Bad
Is It? This phase looks at ensuring that an issue exists and to understand what is happening.
Secondly it looks at channelizing the efforts and work so that the same is tracked and
compared against the measure in the Improve Phase to check for any improvement made.
Process Mapping, Data Collection Plan, and Histogram, are some of the tools used during
this phase.
Analyse: The purpose of the Analyse phase is to determine the root causes of the problem
and sources of waste. This phase is the key to focussing the solutioning efforts. There are
many reasons why an Analyse phase is needed. One focus is to brainstorm root causes prior
to coming up with solutions. A key element here is to investigate and prove potential root
causes before jumping the gun. Box Plot, Scatter Diagram are some of the tools used in this
phase.
Improve: There are three major areas of the Improve phase, these are, create flow, mistake-
proofing, visual management and 5S. We need to go through the Improve phase in order to
develop solutions that addresses the root causes, to find ways to streamline the process,
remove non- value adding steps in the process and to reach the goal outlined in the project
charter. The tools used in this phase are Brainstorming, Affinity Diagram, 5S to name a few.
Control: The last in the DMAIC methodology, this phase is characterized by creating
systems and processes to maintain and sustain the improvement. It is important as it ensures
sustainable process improvements, identifies a plan to maintain the new process and assigns
ownership to monitor and respond to changes that need attention. Without proper controls,
improvements decrease over time. Control charts and Visual Management are some of the
tools used in this phase.

Activity 3

3.1 The Concept of Group Dynamics

Group dynamics are the forces which shape the members of the group over a period of time.
These forces are considered as the product of the interactions of the members and the things
that they brought to the group. The group dynamics are found to deal with the behavioural
and attitudinal patterns of the group. Group dynamics stresses the ways in which the groups
are formed, their structures and the processes that are followed in their working. The group
dynamics have been related to both the formal and informal groups (Forsyth, 2018). The
concept of group dynamics falls into the five domains including social integration and
influence, interaction patterns and the communication processes, culture, interpersonal
interaction and cohesion, and power and control. This conceptual model of group dynamics is
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found to be a significant experimental device for the employees who are in the search of
assessing and understanding the ways in which a group works. For an effective practice in the
task and treatment of the group, the understanding of the group dynamics is considered as
significant (Oemig & l Gross, 2015). Not paying careful attention towards the group
dynamics can result in the dissatisfaction of the members and the unproductive meetings. It
has been found that in extreme cases, the group dynamics can have serious consequences for
the individual members or for the entire group. Groups that do not take ethnic, racial and
cultural variables into consideration, might cause adverse consequences for the ethnically and
racially diverse members (Pham, 2017).

3.2 Political Behaviour in the Organisation and its Impact on the Achievement of the

Organisation and its Objectives

Politics and games/tactics exist in every organization and this organization is no exception.
Some of these tactics are similar to the ‘Insurgency Games’, ‘Rival Camps Game’, ‘Line vs.
Staff’, ‘Expertise Game’, ‘ Counter insurgency Game’, and the ‘Alliance Game’ of
Mintzberg and ‘Reciprocity’, ‘Ingratiation’, ‘Attacking or blaming others’, ‘ Developing a
Base of Support’, and ‘ Impression Management’ of Allen and ‘Episodic Power’ of
Lawrence. It has been found that the employees mainly experience the political tactics of
‘Insurgency Game’ and ‘Rival camps Game’ of the Mintzberg and ‘Attacking or Blaming
Others’ of Allen. The politics in the organisation can be increased by the cultural
circumstances and the environment of the individual within the organisation. The structure of
the organisation can also be the cause of micro-political behaviour (Verba, 2015). The
employees also encounter political behaviour due to narcissism. It has been found that the
behaviour which is perceived as political might have a number of effects on the learning
practices of the organisation. Organisational politics can also be functional and might have no
effect or inhibitive effect on the organisational learning of the employees. However, some of
the researchers believe that organisational learning only happens when there is less political
behaviour in an organisation (Cacciattolo, 2015). It has been found that a thing that is
considered politically negative in one of the cultures might not be considered as similar in
another culture. There is a probability that two employees who experience similar political
behaviour might not perceive it in the same manner. These differences might not be because
of the variations in the culture but due to the identity, personality or the dispositional
differences to the learning at the individual level. It is not necessary that the employees
experience these political behaviours from their colleagues, they might experience from the
central administration (Landells & Albrecht, 2017).

3.3 Techniques of persuasion, influence, and negotiation:

Exercising Influence as an L&D professional, one needs to exercise influence to get buy-in
from your stakeholders, especially those over whom you don’t have any authority and I have
used the Cohen-Bradford Influence Model (Cohen and Bradford, 2005) owing to its
practical nature of reciprocity and exchange trading. One way reciprocity can be seen at
work is, “ I scratch your back and you scratch mine”. Although the concept of exchange in
many ways is simple and straightforward, the process of exchange can be positive or

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negative, depending on the form it takes. The Influence model as it is called has six steps,
which are:
1.Assume all are potential allies: Assuming the other person will be an adversary rather
than an ally prevents accurate understanding, leading to misperceptions, stereotypes, and
miscommunication.
2.Clarify your goals and priorities: Knowing what you want from the potential ally isn’t
always easy. One need to think hard about your core objectives, so that one doesn’t get side
tracked into pursuing secondary goals.
3.Diagnose the world of the other person: The challenge here is to determine the
organizational situation of the potential ally that drives much of what he or she cares about.
For example, how a person is measured and rewarded, the manager’s and peer’s expectations,
where the person is in his or her career, and so on.
4.Identify relevant "currencies"; theirs and yours: Most people care about more than one
thing (e.g., prestige, money, being liked). Identifying several applicable currencies will
enable one to offer a wider range of possibilities in exchange.
5.Deal with relationships: This has two aspects: 1) What is the nature of your relationship
with that person—positive, neutral, or negative? 2) How does that person want to be related
to?
6.Influence through give and take: Once you have determined what goods or services can
be exchanged, then you are ready to offer what you have in return for what you want. Your
approach will be shaped by 1) The attractiveness of your resources, 2) The ally’s needs for
what you have, 3) Your desire for what the ally has and 4) Your willingness to take chances
to pursue what you want.

Exercising Persuasion: In in every form of influence reciprocity is at work with something

being exchanged, and the Cohen- Bradford Influence Model is no exception. People can be
influenced by methods such as rational persuasion, inspirational appeal, consultation,
personal appeal; however, none of these tactics succeed, if the receiver does not perceive
benefit of some kind, a WIIFM (What’s In It For Me). As a L&D professional without
authority, what I have found is that, a mix of consultation (Problem Statement) together with
rational persuasion (Data) and inspirational appeal (success stories) generally makes the case
for business.

Negotiation Techniques: I favour the Thomas Kilmann’s Conflict Styles (Thomas And
Kilmann, 1974) with a view to find a solution that is beneficial to both the sides (Win/Win).
In case, the parties concerned are unable to arrive at a conclusion, I propose a Compromise
between the two parties which is signed off by mutual consensus. This is explained below as
follows:

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 1) Competing Approach: Characterized by High on Assertion and Low in Cooperation,
in this stage we’re competing with the supplier– i.e. we’re predominately thinking
about our assertiveness, and we’re low on cooperating.

2) Yielding Approach: In this stage, we’re High on Cooperation and Low on Assertion.
We’re yielding to the supplier’s interests. We’re largely cooperating with them, and
not asserting our interests.

3) Avoidance Approach: In this stage, we’re Low on Cooperating, and Low on

Assertion. We’re avoiding interaction.

4) Collaborative Approach: This stage is characterized by being High on Assertion and

High on Cooperation. we’re using what’s called a Collaborating approach where
we’re high on asserting our interests, but also concerned with an ongoing supplier
relationship.

5) Compromise Approach- Somewhere in the middle, we use a compromise approach.

A compromise is where we split the difference. (I win some, you win some, I lose
some, you lose some)

Activity 4

4.1 Self-Assessment

Band 2 of CIPD Profession Map represents the cusp of conducting operational activities and
that of managing them. As a L&D professional, I identify myself with Band 2 of the CIPD
Profession Map and this is evident from the self- assessment results. The basis of the
Professional Map is the foundation of capability of HR/ L&D profession.
At a professional level, I have found this self –assessment to be an eye opener and almost
spot on in terms of my transition to my new role. The summary of this is presented in How
Prepared Am I (Appendix A) This framework is very useful as far as development is
concerned, as it helps to provide insights to the professional.
The area of excellence that I want to develop and improve is Learning and Development. I
want to improve this area as I want not only to advise my stakeholders, but also to gain the
required knowledge, skills and experience to excel in my domain.
4.2 Development Options:

Based on the results of the self- assessment conducted, the following are the means by which
I wish to bridge the gaps as identified in 4.1 above.
1) Training: This would involve attending classroom-based training programs.
Instructor-led training programs would help me to learn from personal experiences as
well as learning from peers. An added benefit of attending classroom training
programs is that one gets to benefit from networking with likeminded professionals as
well.

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 2) E-Learning: This could either be self-paced or instructor led, synchronous or
asynchronous. I have already embarked on this journey, with my CIPD Level 5 course
being a step in that direction.

3) Professional Memberships/Conferences/ Webinars: Membership of professional

bodies such as The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD),
Association For Talent Development (ATD) and the like is a worthwhile investment
as they conduct conferences through local and international chapters and host
webinars or podcasts. I would enrol for short term courses to upgrade my knowledge
in the required areas.

4) Reading: Reading books /journals/reports relevant to address the gaps identified in

the self-assessment would help me to stay updated about the trends in my domain.
These would be either self-help/management/academic in nature.

4.3 Professional Development Plan:

Development Plan

Name: Rohit Das Membership 52881237

Number:

COVERING THE 6 Months To: 31st December, 2019

PERIOD FROM:

What do I want/need to What will I do to What resources What will my Target dates
learn? achieve this? or support will I success criteria for review
need? be? and
completion

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 Training Needs Analysis Work closely with Time Ability to design 6 months
(TNA) across all levels. the employees and conduct a
and become training needs
evaluative in analysis.
terms of
measuring their
performance.
Listen to the
employees when
they say they are
unable to perform
some tasks.

Learning theories Understand Time and Internet Ability to apply 3 months

different learning the learning
theories through theories into
researches and developing a
articles.(Reading) training program

Delivery Channels Identify different Time and Internet Ability to utilise 3 months
channels for the channels of
delivering delivery for
learning learning

Measure outcomes of Calculation of Time to collate Proof that the 3 months

TNA based L&D relevant L&D various forms, business
interventions, evaluating metrics, along including meeting requirements has
results and showcasing with collating with the been met or
tangible/intangible surveys and stakeholders exceeded as the
benefits. feedback as concerned. case might be.
applicable. Proof of
Success stories improvement in
may also be metrics
factored if concerned, for
received. example,
customer
experience,
employee
engagement etc

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 References

Cacciattolo, K., 2015. Organisational politics: The positive & negative sides.. European
Scientific Journal, ESJ, 11(1).

Forsyth, D.R., 2018. Group dynamics.. Cengage Learning.

Hemsley, S., 2010. How does the business partner model work for learning and
development professionals? (Accessed 17/06/2019) https://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/article-
details/how-does-the-business-partner-model-work-for-learning-and-development-
professionals

Landells, E.M. & Albrecht, S.L., 2017. The positives and negatives of organizational
politics: A qualitative study.. Journal of business and psychology, 32(1), pp.41-58.

Lebowitz, S., 2018. Amazon's program for underperforming employees includes a

courtroom-style videoconference with a jury of peers — and while experts agree it's innovative,
they're split on whether it works. (Accessed 17/06/19)
https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-pivot-program-expert-reactions-2018-6

Oemig, C. & lGross, T., 2015. Shifts in significance: how group dynamics improves
group awareness.. Mensch & Computer Interaktion 2007: Interaktion im Plural, p.109.

Pham, H.P.Q., 2017. Group Dynamics: Building a Sense of Belonging in the EFL
Classroom. In English Teaching Forum (Vol. 55, No. 1, pp. 14-21)...US Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Office of English Language Programs, 5(2).

Rebecca, 2019. Top 11 learning trends for 2019. (Accessed 17/06/19)

https://www.pageuppeople.com/resource/top-11-learning-trends-for-2019/

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 Ryan, S., 2017. Current practices, trends and emerging roles in learning and
development. (Accessed 17/06/2019) https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/current-practices-
trends-emerging-roles-learning-development-ryan.

Verba, S.., 2015. Small groups and political behavior: A study of leadership (Vol.
1289).. Princeton University Press.

Vibons, 2018. Learning & Development Best Practices from the Top Silicon Valley
Companies. (Accessed 17/06/19) https://medium.com/@vibons_video/learning-development-
best-practices-from-the-top-silicon-valley-companies-792a615220aa

Wong, K., 2016. How to Leverage Learning and Development to Improve Employee
Engagement. (Accessed 17/06/2019). https://www.achievers.com/blog/leverage-learning-
development-improve-employee-engagement/

Cohen, A.R. and Bradford, D.L., 2005: The Influence Model. Journal Of
Organizational Excellence, 25 (1), pp 57-80.
Stephen, Covey.1989: The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People: Habit 3: Put First
Things First. London : Simon & Schuster. pp 145-182.
CIPD. (2013). The CIPD profession map: Our professional standards. ( Accessed
11/07/2019) Available at: < https://www.cipd.co.uk/Images/the-cipd-profession-map-
standard-format_tcm18-9814.pdf>
University of Villanova Resources Six Sigma (14/3/2019) Six Sigma Methodology DMAIC.
Accessed (11/7/2019) https://www.villanovau.com/resources/six-sigma/six-sigma-methodology-
dmaic/

Heather Meeker Green, 2016. Understanding Negotiating Styles. (Accessed 11/07/2019)

https://trainingindustry.com/articles/leadership/understanding-negotiating-styles/

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 Appendix A- How Prepared Am I – My CIPD Self- Assessment (Learning &
Development)

When you work in Learning and Development, you’re creating a learning culture, ensuring
that learning opportunities are both relevant and effective, to increase the capability and
knowledge of people and of the organization as a whole. At your level you typically need to
advise, coach and motivate managers on the importance of learning at work. You’ll lead the
design of learning programmes and facilitate or deliver content at learning events. You’ll
manage learning programmes, support career management processes, and evaluate the
success of learning initiatives that are in place.

How prepared am I?
What you’ve told us indicates that your knowledge and skills in this area are developing. This
would be typical of someone with a solid base in HR, with limited exposure to Learning and
Development at this level.
Below, we show you the areas where you’re particularly strong, areas where you’re
competent and areas where you have skill and knowledge gaps. If you're keen to increase
your knowledge and improve your skills in Learning and Development, you should consider
the courses, reading materials and practical development actions that we've recommended for
you. These recommendations reflect your individual strengths and development areas based
on what you've told us in your assessment. As your score suggests you have some room to
develop at your current level, we think these recommendations will be of particular benefit to
you in building the skills and experience you’ll need to excel at your level.

What’s it like working within Learning and Development at a more senior level?

In order to be able to work at the next level up within Learning and Development, you
typically need to think about the future needs of the business and the people capability
required. You’ll work with senior managers to create L&D strategies that address key gaps in
capability, and you’ll lead the design of major programmes that form part of those strategies.
You’ll work on the development of current and potential leaders to help meet future business
needs and will build a learning culture by advocating the organisation’s Learning and
Development agenda.

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What are my strengths and gaps for my current level?
My Gaps
1. Working with managers to assess individual / team capability, and its impact on
individual / team performance
2. Designing learning programmes and initiatives, working with colleagues or third-
party suppliers as required
3. Facilitating and delivering learning interventions for employees, managers and
business leaders.
4. Managing third party suppliers in terms of quality and performance
5. Approaches, tools and thinking in the learning and development market
6. Training needs analysis for individuals and teams
7. Adult learning theories
8. Tools and techniques to show the business benefits of learning interventions (eg,
Return on Investment analysis)

Developmental Actions:
1. Initiate a skills and capability review for a department within your organisation and
compare this with future requirements (using training records, skills audits, performance
appraisals or succession plans, headcount data and workforce plans). Create a learning and
development plan based on your insights.
2. Compare your organisation’s learning and development approach with other
organisations in your sector, as well as organisations which are recognised as leaders in this
area (e.g. award winners). Identify best practice that could benefit your organisation.
3. Design quality and performance measures and criteria to manage third party suppliers
effectively. Research best practice on the procurement and management of external suppliers.
4. Identify sources of cutting edge thinking in L&D practice. Use your network to
benchmark your organisation's L&D practice against that of your colleagues. Put an hour
aside each week to update yourself on emerging theories and trends in learning.
5. Research the principles behind adult learning theories (such as behaviourism,
cognitivism and constructivism and Knowles adult learning theory). Build these principles
into the design and development of learning programmes and interventions in your
organisation.

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6. Conduct a full evaluation of a key learning and development programme or
intervention using a range of data and feedback. Take into account Kirkpatrick’s four levels
of evaluation and calculate return on investment.

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