A passion for learning and growth
Jamie Littin is passionate about learning, and Gallagher's Better Ways of Working programme is helping him – and his squad – to invest in their growth and development.
Jamie’s always been interested in learning: “It keeps your mind active, you find new and interesting things to do, and it makes you happier in life.”
After working in other companies where the annual focus on learning and development always seemed to fizzle out a few months after launching, Jamie vowed if he ever had the opportunity to do things differently, he would.
That opportunity came in November 2021, when he was appointed People Leader in the Smart Building Integrations squad.
“If we invest in our people to help them develop, learn and grow, they expand their knowledge and become better at their jobs, which benefits both the person and the company.
“When I started in my role I decided that if the squad are keen to do the learning, I’m going to help them. I want this to be a thing.”
And it most definitely is a thing. Using a Growth and Development Plan template, Jamie held development conversations with each member of his squad to help them identify their learning goals.
“Each member of the squad has different goals – from working towards a promotion to becoming a better mentor – and different timelines to achieve them. What’s great is that they all want to do it and they can do it at whatever pace they like.”
Using the Growth and Development Plan template, Jamie and his squad members created actions to achieve their goals using the 70:20:10 model: 70% learning on the job; 20% through coaching, mentoring and networking; and 10% through formal training.
For one of the squad, the on-the-job learning looks like taking on additional tasks to stretch his technical capability, and formally seeking feedback from senior squad members on how he’s doing. He’s asked a more experienced team member to mentor him; and he’s completing some online tutorials to build his knowledge. He is also aiming for external certification, and has committed to share his progress with the testers community of practice.
Jamie says Better Ways of Working has helped the squad members to make the time for learning.
“Before, we’d take on a project that would take three months and wonder when we’d find time for training. Now, by breaking the project down into two-weekly sprint sized chunks, we think about how much work we can fit into those chunks and what else we can do in that time. If we want to spend time on learning, that just means the sprint-sized piece of work is a couple of hours smaller, which is fine.”
And what about Jamie’s own Growth and Development Plan? After struggling to think about his own learning goals, Jamie realised that supporting and coaching his squad through their learning, was in fact what he wanted to develop in too. So, he’s focused on coaching his squad, doing as much reading as he can, and attending the Gallagher coaching foundations course next month.
“It’s a thing I can do that helps me – if my team is growing and improving, and going from strength to strength because I am helping them, it helps me. It’s not a chore, it’s motivating.”
The work Jamie and the Smart Building Integrations squad are doing is a shining example of our value we help each other to grow.