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How this L&D team reclaimed 1000 hours to unleash real business value
Ross Stevenson
January 16th, 2024
Today’s Thoughts ☠️
Hey there 👋,
Today is all about acting on your feedback.
In the end-of-year readers survey, you told me you’d like to see more practical L&D case studies. Ask and you shall receive my friend.
Today we’ll unpack how one L&D team reclaimed 1000 hours from mundane tasks to deliver real impact.
Get your tea 🍵 or beverage of choice ready. We've got lots to discuss!
In today’s chat👇
Est reading time: 12 mins
THE BIG THOUGHT
How This L&D Team Reclaimed 1000 Hours To Unleash Real Business Value
You should take some too
Feel you're juggling too many tasks but not making enough impact?
You're not alone.
We’ve all been there as a solo L&D pro or team. You have the best intentions yet you can’t get away from the backlog of mundane tasks that hit you like a never-ending tsunami. So, what can you do?
One team decided to do something about this.
This is how Zapier's L&D team transformed their everyday grind into a strategic powerhouse by leveraging their own product.
If you’re not familiar with Zapier, let me enlighten you. Whilst the latest trend has been all-around generative AI. Automation tools like Zapier have been helping many to work smarter and faster with their easy-to-use integrations.
Think of them as the middle-man between tools that don’t normally talk to each other, but with the help of Zapier, they can work together to enhance your life as a user.
You can build zaps (their word, not mine) to do lots of stuff. For example:
Connect Excel documents to survey form responses
Automate emails to activities on your website
If you want a more detailed explainer on Zap, watch this ↓
Despite being known for saving time with their automation tools. Zapiers L&D team faced this exact challenge within its own walls. They were swamped with repetitive tasks, limiting their capacity for impactful work (preach!).
The challenge was simple.
Liberate themselves from the shackles of repetitive administrative tasks to do their best work.
A shared story
Much like me and you, Zapiers L&D teams are swamped.
Whirlwind days of scheduling workshops, managing emails, and the endless back-and-forth of attendee management. They were in a classic 'I really want to deliver impact, but I can’t escape these Slack messages about where to find x course’.
You know how that feels, right?
Now, here's the catch – Zapier is all about automation.
Yet, their L&D team was neck-deep in manual tasks. They knew something had to give. Lucky for them, they had the perfect product to make their dreams a reality.
The core issue was clear - the team's potential was being stifled by mundane administrative tasks. They were spending more time managing logistics than focusing on developing impactful learning experiences.
I want to break free
So, what did they do?
They looked inwards. They asked, "Hey, why don't we use our own tools to cut through this clutter?" And that, my friends, was the catalyst.
The golden 'aha' moment, realising they had the solution all along.
What a beautiful feeling!
Reclaiming time to deliver impact
Armed with this insight, the team set off on their automation journey.
The mission?
Turn routine tasks from time-consuming to time-saving.
What they achieved:
Fast forward, and the results were nothing short of spectacular:
1,000 hours saved annually
Their focus shifted from mundane tasks to creating killer L&D programs that really hit the mark.
Improved accuracy in workshop management – no more 'whoops, we missed an email' moments.
Now, that might sound small but it’s huge if you consider how these little things can stack up.
Let’s unpack how they did this.
How they made this happen
So, how did they do it?
The transformation involved a three-pronged approach:
Task Analysis: The team meticulously identified and mapped out all the tasks that were potential candidates for automation.
Tool Selection and Integration: Leveraging Zapier’s own automation tools, they created workflows that connected different applications used for managing workshops, and handling everything from registrations to feedback collection.
Iterative Improvement: The process was continuously refined, with feedback loops to ensure the automation met the dynamic needs of the team and the company.
How you can break free from mundane tasks with automation
You can apply the lessons learned from Zapier's L&D team by:
Identifying repetitive tasks
Identify tasks that are repetitive and time-consuming, yet essential for operations. These might include data entry, scheduling and email responsesEvaluate automation tools
Research and evaluate automation tools that can handle these tasks. The key is to find tools that integrate well with existing systems and are scalable. You might have a bunch in your company already.Iterate
Continuously monitor the effectiveness of your automation. Collect feedback and refine the processes as needed to ensure they remain efficient and relevant.Focus on the real work
Now your routine tasks are automated, redirect your focus towards more strategic activities. It’s time to do your best work, so make the most of it.
Final thoughts
This isn't just a story about saving time.
It's a lesson in working smarter, not harder. Zapier's L&D team didn't just improve their workflow. They transformed their entire approach to work.
It's a reminder for all of us in the L&D space – sometimes, the key to unlocking our potential is right under our noses.
In sum:
Think about the 'manual' daily tasks that could do with an automation makeover.
Explore your existing tools - what automation capabilities do they have?
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How I can help you👇
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DATA THOUGHT
What Employees Want From L&D in 2024: 3️⃣ Key Takeaways
Here’s a breakdown of Vyond’s latest L&D trends report. You can download a copy here. These are my personal takeaways.
1️⃣ We want it to be personal
Another report, another ‘we want personalised learning’.
The problem is no one can ever accurately define what that is. Of course, everyone has a different view on it and it’s no easy nut to crack. At this point, it is an obvious insight to glean in our industry.
Perhaps, the better question is how does your organisation define a personal learning experience?
That feels more tactical.
2️⃣ Give us the AI
You won’t be surprised by this.
It’s everything, everywhere all at once over and over again. It’s a confusing and odd landscape out there right now. Knowing more about AI tech and how to practically apply it in work is the way forward.
Ultimately, we want AI confidence.
Consider how you can educate your teams and enhance your work with this new wave of technology.
3️⃣ You’re human after all
Despite all the marvellous technology we have, people want people.
Outsourcing everything to tech is not the answer. Plus, what a boring life would that be, right? As humans are still numero uno on this planet, it makes sense to elevate your human skills
Consider how you can create a balance between human and digital experience in your work.
It’s never an either/or decision. Human and tech together is the way.
SMART THOUGHTS
Content that will make you smarter.
🤔 Bezos bans PowerPoint in Amazon meetings
I’m on some weird Jeff Bezos kick at the moment.
The Youtube algo is doing a great job in surfacing short clips from his recent podcast interviews to me. This one about why he banned Powerpoint in Amazon meetings caught my eye.
In a world where it feels like you’ve committed high treason when not using slides in a meeting. I wanted to get the Amazon founders take on another way.
💡 AI needs context, lots of context
If you’ve seen me talking about Gen AI online, this shouldn’t come as a surprise to you.
Microsoft has released a short bit of research on why context in prompts with LLMs is essential. These tools aren’t mind readers.
🔥 Are you building a $100 million dollar skillset?
Well, are you?
This year, I’m on a journey of encouraging people to invest in the right skills, not more skills
You can see a visual view of this ↓
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