When a business asks for training, is training actually what it needs?
In this episode of The Voices of The Learning Network, Bill Banham speaks with Trish Hewitt, HR leader and speaker, about the relationship between HR and Learning & Development, connecting learning to business outcomes, developing better managers, and the opportunities and limitations of AI in HR and L&D.
A Fellow of the CIPD with almost two decades of experience across multiple sectors, Trish founded Halo HR to give organisations flexible access to experienced HR and Learning & Development professionals. Her approach combines practical people expertise with a strong commercial focus and an interest in how new technologies can improve the way organisations support and develop their people.
The conversation begins with the relationship between HR and L&D. Both functions frequently describe themselves as strategic partners, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're approaching organisational challenges from the same perspective or speaking the same language.
Trish argues for seeing HR and L&D as part of the same team, even if they sometimes operate across different time horizons. Instead of working in parallel, both need to understand the business problem they're trying to solve and the outcome the organisation expects.
That becomes particularly important when somebody asks for training.
A request for a course doesn't automatically mean there's a skills or knowledge gap. The underlying issue could be a broken process, unclear responsibilities, poor communication, weak management or something else entirely. Asking "why?" and continuing to investigate the problem can prevent organisations from spending money on learning interventions that were never going to solve the issue.
Bill and Trish also discuss management and leadership development, including the familiar problem of promoting excellent individual contributors into management roles without properly preparing them to lead people. Organisations can then be surprised when engagement falls, performance suffers or talented employees leave.
The conversation turns to artificial intelligence and where AI can genuinely add value to HR and L&D. Trish sees useful applications in areas such as research, identifying trends and producing first drafts. But there are important limits. Complex people situations involving coaching, mediation, judgement and human relationships cannot simply be handed over to technology.
Finally, Bill and Trish examine why L&D budgets are often among the first to come under pressure when organisations need to reduce costs. Is the problem simply financial, or does it expose a deeper failure to demonstrate the connection between learning investment and business value?
Rather than defending L&D purely in terms of courses delivered or certificates achieved, the profession has an opportunity to demonstrate its contribution to retention, employer brand, talent attraction, management capability, employee performance and organisational growth.
In this episode, we explore:
• Why HR and L&D need to solve business problems together
• Whether HR and L&D really speak the same language
• Why a request for training doesn't necessarily mean training is the answer
• How asking "why?" can uncover the real performance problem
• Why organisations should define the expected outcome before investing in development
• The risks of promoting strong individual contributors into management without adequate support
• The difference between management capability and leadership capability
• Where AI can help HR and L&D with research, drafts and trend analysis
• Why human judgement remains essential in coaching, mediation and complex people issues
• The importance of on-the-job learning, buddying and practical development
• Why L&D budgets are vulnerable when organisations cut costs
• How L&D can better demonstrate ROI and business impact
• The relationship between learning, employer brand, retention and talent attraction
For HR leaders, L&D professionals, people managers and business leaders, this conversation offers a practical challenge: stop beginning with the learning solution and start by understanding the business problem.
Connect with Trish Hewitt
Voices of the Learning Network is the Learning Network podcast connecting the learning and development community. https://thelearning-network.org/
