People and L&D are the secret to success: How AND Digital uses LinkedIn Learning to empower employees and nurture a growth mindset
SUCCESS STORY
Placing professional and personal development front and centre
Digital technology continues to provide enhanced user experiences across all industries. AND Digital helps organisations build their digital ecosystems through the expertise of its employees, affectionately known as ANDis.
AND Digital is a leader in IT services and powers the products of respected businesses, such as British Airways, Gousto, The Telegraph, and TalkTalk. Its unique service model is called Guide, Build and Equip. A shared strategy is developed with the customer in the initial phase before AND builds the desired digital products in a blended teams structure with the customer. During this process, AND will upskill the customer's teams so they are equipped to manage their own digital services going forward.
In just nine years, AND Digital has grown. Revenue stands at £96 million, and it has more than 1,700 ANDis, including a core learning and development team of 15 people. Why? Because people are the company’s most important asset and the secret to its success. It aspires to attract and retain the best talent. Therefore, it must position itself as a progressive business, make learning accessible to all, and create a culture that places professional and personal development at the centre of its organisation.
THE CHALLENGE
Providing a thriving and ambitious workforce with additional learning resources
“People are core to AND's customer and employer proposition,” explained Bhavna Nair, Onboarding and Academy Lead at AND Digital. “Our ANDis represent our vision on a daily basis, helping our customers and partners close the digital skills gap.”
Bhavna described AND Digital as having a start-up culture with the guidance of a big organisation. But whilst the company is ambitious and creative, and has a fresh outlook, it required the expertise of an external platform and learning provider to facilitate the great work that AND Digital’s learning and development team had begun.
THE SOLUTION
Taking ownership of a learning journey
In October 2020, AND Digital engaged LinkedIn Learning; to empower its workforce to develop their skills and establish a growth mindset that would make the company stand out in a competitive marketplace.
“Culture is important, learning is important, and a growth mindset is important,” continued Bhavna. “At AND Digital, we own our learning journeys just like we own our careers.”
According to Bhavna, learning should never stop – it’s crucial to grow professionally and personally. Therefore, every ANDi is given 13 upskilling days a year and receives £400 a year to spend on learning and growth.
“We’re big on upskilling,” Bhavna added. “LinkedIn is a self-paced tool and it’s a key tool in terms of learning.”
Learning new skills and sharing knowledge = positive impact
AND Digital’s learning and development team - AND Academy - increases engagement through a number of activities, including regular internal communications, a monthly newsletter, and hosting a quarterly podcast. The 15-minute internal podcast, titled “If I could teach you one thing”, consists of a team member inviting their guest to share one skill or takeaway they believe is important. Podcast episodes are shared on AND Digital’s LinkedIn Learning page and Learning Pathways so that people can catch up at a time that suits their schedule. “Toolkit Tuesday” consists of a myriad of tools and resources that have been collated into one easy-to-digest document. These resources educate ANDis on specific topics and facilitate opportunities for further discussion and exploration of a subject. Furthermore, AND Digital has Upskilling Champions that promote learning within their individual business units, with top learners incentivised to learn. Every six months, awards are handed out to the most Curious Learner, Awesome Upskiller, and Shining Star. The recipients of these awards are highlighted through AND Digital’s various internal communication channels. Also, key team members lead by example and positively reinforce the importance of personal development and professional growth.
“Every ANDi follows the same three values – wonder, share, and delight,” said Bhavna. “These values are what drives ANDis – they share their skills with each other and the wider community. Our goals and values help us to take the right steps and make the right moves so that our clients can have the most remarkable impact on a global scale.”
Staying one step ahead of the curve
The #ANDAcademy is responsible for creating opportunities to learn. It also supports and encourages line management to nurture growth. ANDis must take ownership of their personal development, support the development of others, and above all else, ANDis must apply a growth mindset.
“The important thing about creating a culture is that people don’t just believe culture is simply words on an office wall,” Bhavna explained. “It’s important that we live by our culture and use learning to instil confidence, positivity, and self-esteem.”
AND Digital uses LinkedIn Learning to support ANDis with technical training. The learning and development team has carefully curated Learning Paths – featuring top courses from LinkedIn Learning’s tech library – and has big plans this autumn to create campaigns that encourage progression and promote specific skill sets and the benefits of learning.
In fact, AND Digital’s LinkedIn Learning engagement is incredible. It has an activation rate of 100 per cent, and additional LinkedIn Learning licenses have been purchased in anticipation for organisational growth.
Bhavna concluded: “We value the power of learning and strongly believe that you must learn new skills to stay one step ahead of the curve. We love the fact that our ANDis are enthusiastic and prolific learners that are constantly looking to learn new skills, both professionally and personally. Personal growth is as important as professional development. LinkedIn Learning provides our ANDis with access to a plethora of learning courses – technical and soft skills – that benefit our workforce, our business, and our clients.”
Main products used:
THE RESULTS
Exceptional activation rates
100% activation of LinkedIn Learning licenses since launch – with additional licenses purchased in anticipation of organisational growth
Consistent approach to learning and development
On average, more than 60 per cent of learners access content at least twice a month and have done consistently since launch*
An engaged workforce
195, 677 video views since launch and 9,288 hours watched since launch*
*Launched October 2020
In their own words
"AND Digital champions the power of a growth mindset and truly believes that learning never stops. LinkedIn Learning has been key in supporting our ANDis’ learning journeys, enabling them to grow professionally and personally."
“Partnering with LinkedIn Learning has helped learning and development at AND Digital to scale in parallel with our growth. The wide range of curated content meets the needs of our ANDis, working in diverse roles. We find the short videos make learning quick and accessible in a dynamic environment.”
What the learners say
“At AND, learning is at the core of our culture and we actively prioritise ANDis’ career development and training. We value the wealth of courses provided via LinkedIn Learning, and the flexibility to create our own tailored training programmes, or take advantage of training pathways curated by other ANDis. Flexible, modular training that we can pick up at our own pace is hugely beneficial.”
ABOUT AND Digital
AND Digital are on a mission to close the world’s digital skills gap. They believe in empowering people with the knowledge they need to unlock the full potential of technology. AND Digital accelerates the development of world-class digital capabilities, and powers the product development of ambitious companies - from British Airways and Conde Nast, to The Telegraph, Gousto and more.
The AND Digital team work with their clients’ people to build impactful products and high performing teams. They do that by blending technical craft and product expertise with an award-winning approach to talent growth and development.
INDUSTRY:
IT Services and IT Consulting
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES:
1,001-5,000
HEADQUARTERS:
London, UK