This week, we attended the Training and Development Summit, and it was a great opportunity for us to meet with potential clients. Ingrid, Tomos and Bruk were delighted to showcase Alchemist’s leadership and sales enablement training through our blended learning solutions. What’s more, we had the privilege of experiencing the buzz of networking and exhibiting, hearing what’s on the mind of the L&D professionals, not to mention the satisfaction of witnessing Bruk, one of our newest recruits, taking his own meetings by the second day of the summit.
39% of our meetings have already progressed to the next stage, with a further 33% requesting follow up information.
Trends we heard from Learning and Development professionals at the summit
- Even the best L&D professionals need support…
During the summit, we met with diverse Learning and Development (L&D) consultants, from a broad range of sectors, who were excited to hear about what Alchemist has to offer. One thing that stood out is that even companies that have robust training programs in place need to keep learners engaged. The market has evolved, and the traditional methods of training are becoming uninspiring for learners. That’s where Alchemist comes in!
- L&D + AI
As L&D becomes increasingly fascinated with the capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI), there’s still a sense of apprehension surrounding its usage. What came across at the summit is that L&D hasn’t fully figured out how to use it yet, leaving many people feeling uneasy about its potential impact. However, our recent delivery of a global online sales launch, using Virtual Interactive Q/A avatars offered a glimmer of hope and excitement for the future of AI. This innovative approach puts compelling pictures in people’s heads of how the technology can be used to connect with customers, gain insights from conversations, and even create virtual versions of senior leaders that employees can chat with during their coffee breaks.
- Tackling Talent
At the summit, there was no escaping the fact that talent is a hot topic across all sectors. Attracting and retaining the right people remains a challenge for even the most forward-thinking organisations. However, we also discussed the practical steps that businesses can take to make a difference. Giving people good quality learning, opportunities to grow, and a manager who can care for and encourage them is one of the most compelling things an organisation can do.
Alchemist Adding Value
We were delighted to demonstrate not only our highly successful deliveries to major UK employers but also what we do to bring our interactive, experiential, and immersive learning deliveries to life. Our approaches have seen our clients enjoy not only high engagement but also better learning outcomes that can be tracked and measured. During the summit, we showcased our success stories and how we can meet various L&D needs, from actor-led simulations and fully immersive learning exhibitions, to global rollouts, using a tech-only offering.
Tomos James reflected “The time flew by and every time I caught the eyes of my colleagues we were exhilarated. There was a great energy in all the discussions, and people really threw themselves into the conversations.”
During the day, the team kept some key questions front of mind:
- What is it like to be our customer?
- What would they like to see, hear, and understand about what we do?
- What insights can we share that may help them?
- Which questions can we ask that may help them clarify their thinking?
We learned a lot from our open approach and curious nature with the meetings we had and in return, the summit provided a great platform for follow-up conversations with interested clients. We are excited about the huge percentage of potential clients that booked follow-up discussions and the potential for even more once everyone gets back to their day jobs and reconnects with us. Our customised approach to training is a much-needed solution in the dynamic Learning and Development market, and it’s exciting to see that more people are slowly realising it.
Early Career Alchemists already off to a great start
What was even more fulfilling is that Bruk Ali attended the summit with us and got up to speed with our scoping and briefing client conversations. By the second day, Bruk was confident enough to hold his own meetings, a testament to our coaching and onboarding processes. This is part of our commitment to investing in our team, strengthening their skills, and giving them opportunities to grow with the company.
Bruk commented: “I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of this event and working alongside Ingrid and Tomos. Being able to see how they both approach client interactions face to face, how they introduce Alchemist’s offerings and the type of questions they asked during specific stages of the conversation allowed me to fast track some of my progress. The conference allowed me to put some of the theory I’ve learnt from the past few weeks into practice as well as what I was learning during the two days, giving me all the confidence to effectively contribute to clients and their needs.”
What did we learn?
In a nutshell, the Training and Development Summit was an excellent experience for the Alchemist team, and we certainly made the most of it. We had a chance to showcase our unique approach to L&D services, and from the feedback we received, it is clear that we’re on the right track. We are pleased to have given Bruk an opportunity to learn, grow and demonstrate our company values while at the summit. We can’t wait to follow up with the potential clients who showed interest in our services and demonstrate to them how we can partner to achieve their learning and development goals.
