About The Big Questions: A Capita Learning Podcast
Hello & welcome to The Big Questions: A Capita Learning Podcast! In this series of conversations, Capita Senior Learning Consultant James Eynon meets with a range of L&D practitioners across industries & sectors to discuss The Big Questions in learning.
In each episode, James and his guests explore how we can all learn & grow at work – and provide you with practical tips along the way.
What is the role of skills in an effective Employee Value Proposition?
Sian interviews Rob Foster, L&D Manager at LV, about the importance of skills development and continuous learning in creating a strong Employee Value Proposition to retain employees.
10 Jun 2025
The Big Questions: Monthly Round Up – June 2025
Host Justice Onwuka and fellow consultants analyze the impact of changes to level 7 apprenticeships and the reasons people are hesitant to become managers in this monthly roundup, which provides insights into current workplace trends and future events in an interview.
2 May 2025
The Big Questions: Monthly Round Up - May 2025
In our May edition, host Justice Onwuka is joined by his fellow consultants to discuss whether the education system is truly reflective of the world of work today. With the number of young people not in education, employment, or training (NEETS) increasing, what can we do to unlock this ’lost’ talent?
We also explore the LinkedIn ‘Skills on the Rise’ report with a game of country skills bingo! What skill rates on the USA’s list, but not on the UK’s?
Content referenced in this podcast:
LinkedIn Skills on the Rise 2025: The 15 fastest-growing skills in the US | LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-skills-rise-2025-15-fastest-growing-us-linkedin-news-hy0le/)Skills on the Rise in 2025 (https://www.linkedin.com/business/talent/blog/learning-and-development/skills-on-the-rise)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-statement-2025-document (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spring-statement-2025-document)
https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/library/lost-boys (https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/library/lost-boys)
2 May 2025
The Big Questions: Monthly Round Up - April 2025
In our April edition, host Justice Onwuka is joined by his fellow consultants to discuss the concept of task masking (not Taskmaster) and what it tells us about the way we measure workplace productivity.
Plus, with TV show Adolescence making a huge splash worldwide, the group explore masculinity and mental health, and the need for better support systems in the workplace.
Finally, there’s a sneak peak of our upcoming content, including our webinar on AI’s impact on the future of L&D, coming on Thursday 1st May at 11am – sign up here (https://content.capita.com/AI_Webinar_Register)!
Content referenced in this podcast:
The Task Masking Trend: How To Stop Your Team From Faking Productivity (https://www.forbes.com/sites/jodiecook/2025/03/12/the-task-masking-trend-how-to-stop-your-team-from-faking-productivity/)
Netflix series 'Adolescence': Teen masculinity in crisis – DW – 04/02/2025 (https://www.dw.com/en/netflix-series-adolescence-teen-masculinity-in-crisis/a-72100820)
14 Mar 2025
The Big Questions: How do we drive the adoption of AI and other new technologies?
In this episode of The Big Questions, host James Eynon is joined by guests from both Capita & the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to discuss ways to drive the successful adoption of generative AI tools.
Together they explore the challenges and opportunities presented by generative AI, the importance of human-centric skills, and strategies for effective adoption and training within organisations.
From the need for continuous experimentation, understanding workforce readiness, and the role of leadership in fostering a culture of innovation and learning; this podcast gives you the building blocks for successful AI adoption.
12 Mar 2025
The Big Questions: Monthly Round Up - March 2025
In our March edition, host James Eynon is joined by fellow consultant Justice Onwuka to discuss a recent report on the importance of ‘hope’ in leadership; what does it mean and what should leaders be doing differently?
They also explore the latest research on the long-running saga of remote working vs productivity, and James explains why ‘quiet vacationing’ is not all it seems…
Plus, a sneak peak of our webinar on AI’s impact on the future of L&D, coming on Thursday 1st May at 11am!
Content referenced in this podcast:
https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1908527/trust-gap-half-employees-question-colleagues-remote-productivity-survey-finds (https://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/article/1908527/trust-gap-half-employees-question-colleagues-remote-productivity-survey-finds)
https://www.gallup.com/analytics/656315/leadership-needs-of-followers.aspx (https://www.gallup.com/analytics/656315/leadership-needs-of-followers.aspx)
https://www.capita.com/videos/big-questions-effective-hybrid-leader (https://www.capita.com/videos/big-questions-effective-hybrid-leader)
17 Feb 2025
The Big Questions: Monthly Round Up - Feb 2025
We’re back! And we’ve got a brand-new series of monthly podcasts for you, sharing all the latest Workforce Development news & trends, alongside sneak peaks at what other things we’ve got coming up (from podcasts to events).
In our February edition, host James Eynon is joined by fellow consultants Becca Hitchman, Ashleigh Rhymer & Justice Onwuka. Together they discuss the reported death of DEI initiatives, the changing face of remote work on its impact on working mothers, and the growing concern of loneliness in the workplace.
They also explore the challenges of navigating change and uncertainty, particularly in relation to AI adoption and its implications for organisations. How do we bridge the gap between a desire to innovate, and the confidence & competence of people to deliver it?
21 Oct 2024
How can learning technologies help us develop skills-based organisations?
In the final conversation in the series on skills-based organisations, James speaks to Marc Zao-Sanders, CEO of Filtered Technologies, about the practical implementation of skills mapping and content tagging in learning and development.
They discuss the challenges of creating a skills taxonomy framework, mapping skills to learning content, and the pros and cons of having a large content library.
Marc emphasizes the importance of using technology and human expertise to effectively map content to skills, and highlights the interconnectedness of tags, skills, discovery, data, and content in the skills process.
Check out the blog referenced in the conversation here: https://shorturl.at/N3zuQ (https://shorturl.at/N3zuQ)
16 Oct 2024
How can we harness hormonal cycles to deliver greater performance?
The number of women in work across all sectors in the UK has increased by two million since 2010, but are we supporting them to unlock their true potential? Award-winning learning professional Jenny Muhlwa is leading the charge to understand the impact of women’s hormonal cycle on performance, and what you can do to harness it.
How can your levels of Oestrogen and Progesterone help you organise your workload effectively? How do we start the conversation and break the taboo around women’s health? What can L&D do to help?
Join us in starting the conversation around hormonal cycles and get some practical tips on how to make changes in your organisation.
15 Oct 2024
How do we create an effective skills framework?
In this episode we’re getting practical, because it’s one thing to identify the skills you need in your teams & organisation, it’s another to actually map those skills into a framework and implement it.
Where do you even start with mapping skills / creating a framework? How do you future proof the framework? How can you measure against it?
Helping to answer those questions are Principal Learning Consultant and accredited coach; Becca Hitchman, and a Group Performance and Development manager with a focus on career frameworks; Zia Aftab.
Together, they explore how you break down the stages to creating a framework, the important role of line managers in embedding it, and how to measure success.
And, of course, there’s the latest trip to Learning Room 101 where Zia don’t need Maslow, and Becca hasn’t got time for mandatory learning…
23 Sept 2024
How do we remain inclusive when developing skills-based organisations?
Effective skills-focussed organisations can create a workforce with strong, multi-faceted capabilities, but this can all be undermined if we don’t use inclusive processes along the way.
It’s one thing to work out the skills your organisation needs, but how do you inclusively develop them, supporting minority groups to progress & create a truly resilient workforce
In this episode, James is joined by fellow Capita consultant Justice Onwuka and Amp Up Your Voice Flounder & CEO Johanne Penny to discuss this.
They explore how creating a psychologically safe environment fosters adaptability and greater performance, the importance of cultural competence, and the need for effective feedback loops.
The conversation also highlights the distinction between mentorship and sponsorship in talent development, emphasizing the necessity of investing in diversity and inclusion to retain and attract talent.
22 Sept 2024
What is personal resilience and how do we develop it?
In the latest instalment of our series exploring organisational resilience through skills, we turn our focus to a different form of resilience. Because, when we think about the word ‘resilience’, our first thought is not typically about how well an organisational has multi-skilled its workforce. You’re more likely to associate the word with personal resilience, and it’s important in order to move through the periods of change & uncertainty that organisations experience.
Together with fellow Learning Consultant Sian Parr, James
talks to a leading mind in mental health, Michael Matania. They discuss Michael’s powerful personal experience of resilience, the pitfalls of current ‘bring your whole self to work’ ethos’s, the four pillars of resilience, and common mistakes organisations make in developing these skills.
11 Sept 2024
What is organisational resilience, and what do ‘T-shaped’ skills have to do with it?
It’s time for a new series, and this time we’re looking at skills based organisations and their ability to create resilience.
The UK Government’s latest Employer Skills Survey has found that 36% of job vacancies are down to a lack of skills in the organisation. The Open University estimate that this skills gap costs organisations £4.4 billion (in recruitment fees, increased salaries, hiring at a lower level then bringing employees up to speed, etc.).
In the first of 5 episodes on this topic, James shares insights into how skills-based organisations (and in particular a focus on ‘T-shaped’ skills) can not only reduce that economic burden, but also benefit our company cultures & individual motivation.
27 Jun 2024
The Big Questions: what is WCAG and how do we create truly accesible learning content?
As the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) have recently updated from version 2.1 to version 2.2, today James is exploring what the WCAG are and their implications for how we make learning content truly accessible. To do that, he's joined by experts from Capita’s Learning Experience team; Learning Experience Manager Marius Holtan, and Quality Manager Simon Hollobon.
Together, they discuss the need to design to edge cases, the importance of user research and diverse perspectives in the design process, and how to create structure around content design. Also, most importantly, they answer the big question once and for all: is ‘WuhCag’ is an acceptable pronunciation?
There’s also the latest trip down to Learning Room 101, where Marius is joining the dots and Simon isn’t ticking a box...
00:19 - Introduction to WCAG & guests
01:30 - Learning Room 101 - what aspects of L&D will our guests throw away today?
03:15 - What is the WGAC and what are the updates from 2.1 to 2.2?
08:00 - What is best practice for creating accesible learning content?
13:18 - How can you implement an effective structure for creating accesible & effective learning content?
18:04 – What is your top tip for making learning accesible?
31 May 2024
The Big Questions: How do we create effective blended learning?
In this episode, James is going back to basics to answer the question: 'what does it take to create & deliver effective blended learning?' To do that, he's joined by Organisational Psychologist & Capita Senior Learning Consultant; Steph Bright, and a passionate purposeful tech advocate & Capita's Head of Learning Experience & Content; Caroline Freeman.
Together, they explore what learning blends practically mean for L&D professionals, whether physical classrooms should be a thing of the past & what 'learning in the flow of work' should really mean.
Plus, there's also time for a quick trip to Learning Room 101, where Steph has got generational differences on the mind, and Caroline does away with the 'Clockwork Orange' of L&D...
00:30 - Why are we discussing blended learning?
01:37 - Learning Room 101 - what aspects of L&D will our guests throw away today?
05:06 - Is F2F a dying delivery method?
12:03 - How do we tackle a 'lack of training time'?
16:57 - What really is 'learning in the flow of work'?
21:30 - Is 70:20:10 relevant?
24:00 - What are the top skills L&D practitioners need to successfully deliver blended learning?
10 May 2024
Ep4: The Big Questions: How can we lead across borders?
In the final episode of the Hybrid Leadership series, James speaks to Kailash Jalan, Global Head of Performance & Development for Capita Experience. Kailash is an Organisational Psychologist and leads a team that spans across 8 countries, and so leading hybrid teams is something that spans far beyond the pandemic.
In this episode, we explore the importance of understanding cultural differences, the impact of cross-cultural project teams on connection & productivity and how skills labs are changing the way leaders develop.
Plus, a previous item rears its ugly head in Learning Room 101…
01:33 - Learning Room 101 - what aspect of L&D will Kailash throw away?
02:52 - How does hybrid working affect Capita Experience?
04:57 - How can hybrid leaders balance the needs of distributed teams?
07:07 - How do you bond & connect distributed teams?
11:06 - How were Capita Experience contact centres affected by hybrid working?
18:28 - What are the core skills of an effective hybrid leader? Some thoughts on cultural
competence
23:41 - What technology can enable a hybrid leader?
26:38 - How can L&D support people to be successful hybrid leaders?
2 May 2024
Ep3: The Big Questions: What is the true meaning of ‘work’?
James is back for more hybrid leadership discovery, answering the question: 'what makes an effective hybrid leader?' Today, he’s looking at the wider context of hybrid working & what research can tell us about leading hybrid teams.
Helping him do that are Professor of Work and Organisation at Cranfield School of Management; Clare Kelliher, and a fellow Senior Learning Consultant at Capita with a focus on inclusive practices and maximising employee engagement; Justice Onwuka.
In this fascinating discussion, we delve into the importance of ‘informal choice’, the challenge with the ‘door’ always being open & why we shouldn’t reduce work to a ‘set of tasks’.
And, as we were passing by anyway, we pop in to Learning Room 101, where Justice feels like he’s in Groundhog Day with learning objectives and Clare wants us to get specific…
00:49 – Learning Room 101 - what aspects of L&D will our guests throw away today?
03:45 – What is the context in which hybrid working exists?
17:45 – How can hybrid leaders balance the needs of distributed teams?
27:25 – What are the core skills of an effective hybrid leader?
22 Apr 2024
Ep2: Hybrid Leadership: what can we learn from legacy remote teams?
It’s episode 2 of James’ journey into hybrid leadership, and answering the question: 'what makes an effective hybrid leader?'
Today, he’s looking at what we can learn from industries who’ve done hybrid working for decades, and to do that he’s joined by Organisational Psychologist & a Head of Development and Engagement at Openreach; Michaela Beauchamp, and a fellow Senior Learning Consultant at Capita with a focus on health & wellbeing; Sian Parr.
Together, we explore why you need to ‘make it personal’, what we can learn from engineering teams who’ve been working remotely for decades, and how AI is helping Openreach identify leadership talent more efficiently than ever.
Plus, we’re back to Learning Room 101, where Michaela is getting bored of breakout rooms, and Sian is aiming higher…
00:34 – What is the hybrid landscape?
01:42 – Learning Room 101 - what aspects of L&D will our guests throw away today?
04:21 – What can we learn from Openreach?
12:22 – How can hybrid leaders balance the needs of distributed teams?
32:18 – What are the core skills of an effective hybrid leader?
42:56 – What technology can enable a hybrid leader?
46:46 – How can L&D support leaders to be successful in hybrid?
14 Mar 2024
Ep1: The Big Questions: what makes an effective hybrid leader?
In this episode, James is trying to answer the question: 'what makes an effective hybrid leader?'
To do that, he's joined by Organisational Psychologist & Capita Senior Learning Consultant; Steph Bright, and a passionate purposeful tech advocate & Capita's Head of Learning Experience & Content; Caroline Freeman.
Together, they explore why the word 'intentionality' is so important, how to be creative in virtual spaces, and a practical way to map out how & when to collaborate within distributed (hybrid) teams.
Plus, there is the first trip to Learning Room 101, where Steph plots the demise of learning styles, and Caroline has questions about the statistical significance of 70:20:10...
00:26 - Why are we still talking about hybrid leadership?
01:29 - Learning Room 101 - what aspects of L&D will our guests throw away today?
04:53 - How can hybrid leaders balance the needs of distributed teams?
10:55 - When should leaders bring their teams together?
15:16 - What are our practical tips for hybrid leaders?
19:16 - What are the core skills of an effective hybrid leader?
27:54 - What technology can enable a hybrid leader?
39:16 - How can L&D support leaders to be successful in hybrid?
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