The Learning Technologies Exhibition and Conference is one of the highlights of my year.

Sure, there’s the buzz of what’s new and what’s next. And yes, it’s an excuse to lose a couple of hours wandering the exhibition floor like a kid in a very niche sweetshop. But more than that, it’s about the people. Friends I only ever seem to see in the cavernous Excel space, or the marginally more sedate conference suite. Random, brilliant conversations over tea. The chance encounters that lead to unexpected ideas. And, occasionally, the session that leaves you thinking about your work in a completely new way.

This session might be one of those.

I’m chairing a panel this year on a topic that most of us, if we’re being honest, tend to file under “necessary but dull”: compliance. That word alone can trigger a collective internal groan. But believe me, this isn’t your standard “mandatory training” session.

I’ve written elsewhere about how the environment where the pressures on learning teams are increasing, and the expectations are shifting. It’s not enough to hit completion rates anymore. We’re being asked to show impact on behaviour culture, and business performance. And we have to do it across complex organisations, high turnover environments, and diverse learner needs.

Which is exactly what this panel are planning to do in ways that are smart, human, and deeply practical.

 

From mandatory to meaningful

Let’s be clear: this session is framed as a conversation about compliance. But what the panellists are really doing is something much more interesting — they’re using large-scale programmes as a vehicle for engagement, performance, and transformation.

Take Rachel George from Lloyds Banking Group. Her flagship “Data Summer School” didn’t just run a few sessions on how to use BI tools. It became a national-scale movement — 150+ classes, 43,000+ registrations, and (crucially) more than 88% of participants were from non-data roles. She didn’t just teach skills. She built confidence. Created community. Marketed “dry” subjects in a way that made people want to come back for more. Her “Break it to Build it” workshop? That’s learning culture in action. Giving people permission to fail in order to grow.

Then there’s Emma Kennedy from Domino’s Pizza UK and Ireland, who’s rethinking development at the sharp end of operations. Her Manager Academy Programme is nine months long, hybrid, and targeted at the three levels of store leadership. What started as a behavioural change programme is now improving compliance results and not just because it was designed that way, but because investing in managers has knock-on effects that ripple through the business. Engagement’s up. Retention’s improving. And, perhaps most importantly, managers are now seeing learning as part of their day-to-day leadership role, not a bolt-on.

 

The quiet revolution

Michael Fally joins us from SPAR in Austria, where he leads digital L&D across a highly distributed retail network. His challenge? Scale, consistency, and performance across stores with different needs, pressures, and access levels. What he brings to the panel is the question: how do you design digital learning that people want to do — especially when you’re not physically in the room? How do you blend compliance with culture when every click counts?

And rounding out the panel is Karen Burke from the London Stock Exchange Group. She’s approaching this from a strategic talent perspective, asking: what if compliance was a natural outcome of a learning culture, not its driver? In global, regulated environments the risks are real, but so are the opportunities to embed behavioural change at the heart of how we grow our people.

Each panellist brings a different context. But all of them are asking the same fundamental question: how do we make mandatory learning matter?

So, what will you get from this session?

Not just stories of things that worked (although you’ll hear plenty of those). Not just impressive stats (though there are some great ones). You’ll get:

• Practical examples of how to make compliance part of a broader performance narrative.
• Insights on marketing learning internally – and that means even the boring stuff.
• Lessons on failure, flexibility, and finding the right mix of digital and face-to-face.
• Tools for supporting learning across diverse, high-turnover or global workforces.
• Honest reflections on what didn’t work and what they changed.

This isn’t a panel about tools or systems. It’s a panel about people. About how we engage them, what motivates them, and how we create programmes that earn their attention, not just demand it.

Let’s stop designing for completion.

I’ve spent years in L&D — long enough to remember when compliance training was considered successful if people just clicked through to the end. But we’re not in that world anymore.

If you’re interested in designing learning that shifts behaviour, that connects with your business goals, and that meets standards without sacrificing humanity please do come and join us.

You’ll leave with ideas you can steal, mistakes you can avoid, and the energy that only comes from seeing what’s possible when we stop ticking boxes and start designing for change.

 

Andrew Jacobs 

Learning Strategist at Llarn Learning

 

Don't miss Andrew's session at the Learning Technologies 2025 Conference, taking place on Thursday, 24 April at 13:55-15:05 BST.