A passion for nurturing talentx
Exploring the strategy behind Learning & Development
Being a truly global business isn’t without its challenges. For instance, how do you ensure you deliver a consistent learning and development experience across several regions, each with their own cultures and languages?
It’s a challenge that Director of Learning & Development Kathryn Rousin is relishing. Since joining White & Case from Freshfields last October, she has focused on the role Learning and Development (L&D) plays in helping the Firm achieve its strategic goals.
She says: “Talent has now become one of the critical enablers for the Firm’s strategy, because our growth plans rely on our attracting, retaining and developing the right talent.
“To do that, we need to offer the best possible career experience and employee value proposition (EVP) – one that benefits people while they’re at the Firm and even if they move on. Great learning and development is a key part of that.”
Indeed, one of the things that attracted Kathryn to White & Case was our passion for nurturing talent.
“I was impressed by the overall growth strategy and global mindset, and that White & Case clearly recognizes that investment in people is a critical enabler of that strategy,” she says.
“The Firm’s genuine global mindset is also compelling. We already offer programs cross-regionally and globally and I think we’ve got a great technology platform in place, but I can also see scope to extract more.
“I’ve also been impressed by the support we’ve got from everybody in the Firm, especially partners, who show such a willingness to get involved with learning and development.
“If there is something to improve, it’s consistency across regions because, when you have such a genuinely global network as ours, it can be a challenge to make sure everyone has easy access to a consistent learning curriculum wherever they’re located.”
Another of Kathryn’s priorities is to make full use of technology to make learning and development more flexible and efficient.
She says: “I certainly think we can do more to get more from online learning, including bite-size modules that people can access on their mobile phones.
“We need a culture where people pull in the same direction and collaborate effectively, feeling part of one team.”
“I also want to raise awareness of the extensive library of assets available online. For instance, we record a lot of our sessions, so you can go back and review them at your leisure.”
Leadership training is another immediate priority. Kathryn says: “We appreciate that, because the business is growing so fast, there are greater demands on our leadership team, so it really is important to enable people to lead and manage more effectively.
“Promoting collaboration and cohesion is also vital. We need a culture where people pull in the same direction and collaborate effectively, feeling part of one team, and supporting the whole firm in delivering exceptional client service. This also extends to our Business Services teams.
“We want to increase focus on our Business Services professionals because, while we have a good offering of skills workshops, we don’t really have a consistent global curriculum, so that’s a very high priority for this year.”
Kathryn’s Learning &
Development priorities
for 2018 and beyond
Update all associate milestone learning programs
Design a new global business services curriculum
Collaborate with the leadership team to develop
a concept for partner development
Work with the Diversity team to pilot and
develop female lawyer coaching programs
Update our lawyer and business services
career frameworks
Develop best practices for coaching and
mentoring, including an executive coaching
faculty to work alongside internal coaches
Develop a cost effective e-learning approach,
incorporating greater virtual, mobile and
social learning
Another priority is making greater use of coaching and mentoring to supplement the formal training program that we offer but, as Kathryn explains, it’s important for individuals to drive their careers forward, which is made clear in our EVP.
“In order to attract, retain and develop the best talent we need to create opportunities for people, opening doors to experiences around the world and connecting people globally to their colleagues.”
She says: “The Firm’s position, crystallised in our EVP, is that people need to take responsibility for their learning and, while there are mandatory courses, we also encourage people to look for opportunities themselves. There are plenty of resources available if you want to check them out.”
Another part of Kathryn’s remit is to ensure learning and development aligns closely with the Firm’s wider EVP and recruitment brand, feeding into 2020. She explains: “These things are clearly closely linked and we have a responsibility to ensure White & Case lives up to the promises we make to our people.
“In order to attract, retain and develop the best talent we need to create opportunities for people, opening doors to experiences around the world and connecting people globally to their colleagues.
“There can be few employers better placed to deliver this and we’re already doing a great job, but there is always room to do even better.”
If you have any questions you should contact your regional learning and development team members for help.
