It’s no secret I’ve been out and about a lot this week. The Employee Engagement Taskforce Conference, the L&D Connect Unconference and the CIPD HRD Conference have all had to put up with me. I survived, and I hope that all the people I met, smiled at, and talked with did too.
Whilst at the L&D Connect event I heard lots of talk of how L&D practitioners dislike the idea of training being dished out ‘like Smarties‘. The implication was that organisations could hand out training and learning like brightly coloured little sugary treats. People were saying stuff like ‘There’s more to training and development than that’. And I’m inclined to agree.
The following day as I wander round the Olympia exhibition hall at the CIPD event I hear the same thing being discussed and at the same time I find myself almost overwhelmed with brightly coloured sugary treats. In disbelief I took stacks of pictures of the offending sweeties. They were everywhere, here are just a few of them (and to avoid embarrassment I’ve left all the promotional branded ones out).
Are you feeling sick yet? No – OK here’s more:
Enough already! Is the L&D product market place really so uninspiring that you need to lure someone to your stand with the promise of sweeties? It strikes me that L&D professionals and suppliers might want to get together and talk about this because from where I’m sitting – the Smarties conversation didn’t sit well among all the……Smarties (other sugary treats are available).
