The Future of Talent and Learning

We were delighted to host a ChapmanCG Global HR Leaders Roundtable in Zurich in partnership with ABB. A select group of senior HR and Talent Leaders were invited to share insights and case studies on The Future of Talent and Learning. HR leaders from Google, Astra Zeneca, Adidas, Swiss Re, and Amcor were among the attendees who had the opportunity to learn from peers in the region.

Guillaume Delacour, VP, Global Head of People Development, and Dr. Julija Lavrac, VP, Global Leadership Learning Ecosystem Lead, shared how ABB leads the way in learning by constantly developing its ecosystem, including their recently launched 24-hour Learn, Connect, Grow Day. This talent initiative was introduced globally but autonomously executed locally to allow local leaders to take the reins. The organization focused on ensuring that the individual regions and countries were involved in the co-creation and facilitation of the event, enabling deep participation and engagement. 

The ABB leaders went on to explain that they focus on making learning fun and collaborative. They want their team to grow with them, emphasizing the need to understand the skills required for tomorrow. 

Davelene Marshall, Global Organizational Development and Leadership Consultant at Sonova Group, brought up the topic of psychological safety. How do you build psychological safety at scale?  

A suggestion was made that encouraging vulnerability at a leadership level, focusing on inclusion to help create belonging and making things fun and light are all important steps to psychological safety. People want to be part of a tribe and be valued, and leaders need to be brave enough to discuss mistakes openly.

The HR leaders in attendance shared their own pragmatic experiences and best practices for accelerating talent. One recommendation was related to nurturing a “culture of failure”. This company encouraged smart risk-taking by showing that failing is okay as long as we learn from it. 

We were pleased to see the inspiring exchange of ideas and knowledge sharing from the HR leaders in attendance. Everyone left with tangible tips to take back to their own workplace. Thank you to our hosts ABB and, in particular, Guillaume Delacour and Dr. Julija Lavrac for their insightful sharing of their work at ABB.

We look forward to hosting more networking opportunities for our HR community in Switzerland and Europe in the coming months.