Are you familiar with the CrossKnowledge L&D Impact Lab’?
It’s the first think tank dedicated to best practices in Learning & Development to make a greater impact on organizational transformation and strategy.
Established in 2021, L&D Impact Lab’ is a highly selective and strictly confidential think tank supported by CrossKnowledge. Bringing together decision-makers in the field of Learning & Development, its goal is to share best practices and strategies for mobilizing organizational transformation with real-world impact. The Lab’ relies on a Strategic Committee of industry professionals from major companies such as HSBC, Alstom, Geodis, and Lactalis, and these leaders use their expertise to pinpoint the major current issues and challenges facing L&D leaders.
Meetings focused on knowledge sharing and discussion
The L&D Impact Lab’ regularly gathers leaders from major French and international companies in various sectors to discuss L&D topics chosen by community members. In strict confidentiality, they share their inspiring projects and participate in group discussions and debates on critical issues for L&D departments, such as skill obsolescence and the transformation of the L&D field.
At the end of each meeting, a summary document in the form of a checklist or written recap is shared with the participants. This allows them to concretely review, optimize, and rework their learning approaches and practices to better support transformation at their organizations.
Last May, we closed the third season of this think tank dedicated to L&D leaders with even more inspiring testimonials from a community committed to knowledge sharing, with a clear focus on supporting organizational transformation.
The CARREFOUR example
During one of these meetings last March, Lucile Bert, Learning and Development Director, and Kenza Benomar, Learning & Development Manager of the Carrefour Group shared their experiences on the continuous adaptation of L&D at CARREFOUR and their unique approach to overcoming skill obsolescence.
Founded in 1960, CARREFOUR has 12,000 points of sale in nearly 40 countries and employs 360,000 people in over 300 different professions.
CARREFOUR is heavily invested in training its teams to support their digital transformation. This new strategic plan aims to train 300,000 employees in a wide range of skills, from digital retail and technology to data and digital acculturation. These key skills will enable all of the company’s business lines to evolve and adapt to digital challenges. This is a tall order for the CARREFOUR L&D team, who must drive and deploy this transformation quickly and on a large scale.
Key success factors
- Implementation of a multimodal training system (at both the group and local levels) within a decentralized structure, based on an initial diagnosis of the digital culture.
- The adoption of new teaching methods (partners, formats, etc.) and agile governance to mobilize all stakeholders.
- Prioritizing manager training to create a ripple effect.
- A strong commitment from the learners, who have been made aware of the importance of this transformation.
- Rapid deployment: an eight-month deadline for training all employees in each country.
CARREFOUR’s next steps
In their next phase, Lucile Bert and Kenza Benomar are planning a massive integration of new digital skills at all levels of the company, with redeployment planned for 2025. Their strategy will focus on encouraging lifelong learning, versatility, and soft skills development to prevent skill obsolescence.