Top picks for the CIPD L&D show - main programme

Team GP are looking forward to heading down to Olympia for the CIPD L&D show on 25th and 26th April. Are you coming to the conference? If so, drop by and see us on Stand 432, we’ve got lots going on!

You can:

• See a demo of our award-winning performance support toolkit.
• Check out our bespoke and off-the-shelf e-learning options. 
• Enter our competition and an Amazon Echo.
• Pick up a copy of Learning Technologies: What Managers Really Think - our latest L&D research report.
• Come along to The Good Practice Podcast - live! on 25/4 after Day 1 of the conference.

With over 50 speakers and 30 conference sessions taking place over two days, there’s a lot to see at the CIPD L&D show. To help with your conference planning we’re sharing our recommendations in a two-part blog. This blog who we’d like to see from the main conference programme. Coming later this week we’ll bring you our top picks from the free learning programme.

Day 1 picks

9:30 – 10:45, A1 | L&D talk Neuroscience for learning – improving performance through memorable content
Dr Daniel Glaser, Neuroscientist & Director, The Science Gallery, King’s College London

As learning practitioners, our aim is to create learning experiences which change the way people think, behave and ultimately, perform at work. Neuroscience holds the key to understanding how our brains react and process new information, and the conditions under which we best acquire and retain knowledge. We’re looking forward to Dr Glaser’s session, and discovering how learning can be influenced by memorable content and experiences. - Follow Daniel Glaser on Twitter @bnglaser

11:15 - 12:30, B3 | How to How to future-proof your L&D team-leading L&D into the future  
Angela Cahill, Learning Manager, Barclaycard

The skills and capabilities of L&D remain a topic of considerable interest, with both the CIPD and Towards Maturity publishing research on the core skills needed to succeed both now and in the future. No L&D team can afford to stand still. We’re looking forward to hearing from Angela at Barclaycard about how L&D teams can evaluate where they are now, and harness the principles of continuous improvement to improve their performance.

13:45 - 15:00, C4 | Discussion panel Identifying the most appropriate learning technologies to support business performance
David James, Digital Learning Specialist, Looop.co, Barbara Thompson, Learning Innovation Consultant, PA Consulting Group and Adam Harwood, Development Partner - Digital, ASOS

As an industry, L&D certainly has no shortage of technologies available to help support and extend learning. Although this makes things exciting, having so much choice can also be a barrier to success. Identifying the right technologies for your organisation and your learners, and implementing them successfully is a challenge for even the most seasoned of tech-savvy L&D practitioners. David, Barbara and Adam bring a wealth of experience in navigating the L&D tech landscape, and we’re looking forward to their views on which technologies are worth investing in.
Follow David on Twitter @DavidInLearning
Follow Barbara on Twitter @CaribThompson
Follow Adam on Twitter @adamharwood26

15:30 - 16:45, D2 | Case study Developing as a learning organisation that meets organisational demands
Laura Overton, Founder, Towards Maturity, David Spencer, CEO, Police Now , Lisa Johnson, Head of Learning and Communication, Barnardos

The term ‘learning organisation’ has been around for some time now, but what does it actually look like in practice? We hope to find out in this session, as Lisa from Barnardos and David from Police Now share their experiences about how they’ve raised their L&D strategy to drive business performance. What’s more, Laura from Towards Maturity will be on hand to share their latest research on this topic with lots of practical advice you can use to dial up your L&D efforts.
Follow Laura on Twitter @lauraoverton
Find out more about Police Now - we recommend watching the short explainer video, it is just brilliant!
Follow Lisa on Twitter @TuppyMagic

15:30 - 16:45 D3 | How to How to curate learning for performance support
Martin Couzins, Itsdevelopmental Ltd

Performance support is something we've been talking about in L&D for some time now, but how can it be effectively woven into the overall mix of L&D activities without overwhelming people with too much content? As Director of content agency Itsdevelopmental, Martin is a content curation guru, so we are looking forward to some practical tips on how to streamline learning content so that it provides targeted support at the learner's point of need. Follow Martin on Twitter @martincouzins

Day 2 picks

09:30 – 10:45, E2 | Case study Developing coaching and mentoring skills in managers to support people performance
Mike Mair, Head of Learning & Development, Bard Pharmaceuticals, Emma Smythe, Head of Learning, BAE Systems

Coaching and mentoring skill for managers are an essential component of the overall mix of L&D initiatives and are critically important to get right. We think it’s well worth attending this session to hear what other organisation are doing in this space. BAE Systems and Bard Pharmaceuticals are two quite different companies, and we are interested to see how they’ve tackled this and what elements of their approach were most successful.

13.45 - 15:00, G2 | Case study Developing a cost-effective L&D strategy from scratch
Neil Brown, CEO, Inclusion Housing, Michelle Parry-Slater, Lead Volunteer for L&D Girl Guiding

Designing and delivering an effective L&D strategy on a budget is a challenge faced by many L&D professionals. In this case study session, we’ll be hearing from two organisations who have tackled this challenge head-on, with plenty of inspiring tips and advice on how to boost productivity and growth in a cost-effective, responsive way.
Follow Michelle on Twitter @MiPS1608
Find out more about Inclusion Housing

15:30 - 16:45, H4 | Ignites and discussion Developing your own performance as an effective L&D professional
Julian Stodd, Captain, SeaSalt Learning, Fiona McBride, Freelance L&D Consultant, Fiona McBride Consulting, Gary Cookson, HR and OD Consultant

The GP team are big fans of the fast-moving Ignite presentation format, so we’re looking forward to this session which features some of L&D’s brightest thinkers. With a focus on using social media and communities of practice as personal development tools, this session will give you plenty of ideas you can take away and build into your own development plans. 
Follow Julian on Twitter @julianstodd
Follow Fiona on Twitter @fionamcbride 
Follow Gary on Twitter @Gary_Cookson