The mission of MarketSource’s Learning and Development team is to create, promote, and foster individual and organizational effectiveness by providing innovative and impactful learning experiences in support of B2B and retail business initiatives.
The L&D team strives to ensure all incoming and existing team members have equal access to learning and development resources, can see themselves reflected in the content, and can engage with the content the way they want. They also work hard to ensure the content, the approach, and the people depicted in training content both represent and meet the diverse needs of the MarketSource population.
For example, during COVID, the L&D team livestreamed an interactive forum on coping with mental health challenges. And in honor of Veterans Day, they collaborated with Peter Maxwell, vice president of client services, automotive, to produce podcasts featuring several veterans’ stories. They’ve also adapted new-hire training to deliver content in different media that accommodate a wide variety of needs and learning styles, such as videos, eLearning courses, articles, and interactive virtual sessions. They’ve also added closed captions to training videos.
Andrea Bader, director of organizational development, comments, “Ensuring our learners feel valued and respected and bring their whole selves to the training environment and eventually, their job, is our top priority. We do this by depicting a gender-, nationality-, and generationally diverse range of people in all our content, whether presentations, graphics, or videos. We work hard to avoid a one-size fits all approach, which is both exclusionary and limits learning.”
One way MarketSource caters to individual learners is through blended learning. This is a type of delivery method that combines traditional facilitator-led training formats with technology to offer a highly flexible program for learners.
Responding to a felt need she encountered when she joined a few years ago, Bader also piloted Leadership 101, a 10-week course for new managers, whether new to the company or are in their first managerial role at MarketSource. It delivers diverse content on developing key leadership skills, such as holding effective one-on-one meetings, creating a culture of feedback, and leading your team through change. She’s intentional about including a diverse mix of participants and guest speakers.
To foster diverse ongoing learning opportunities, full-time employees have access to a learning experience platform (LXP) that delivers curated, professional development content in formats that cater to all learning styles. The L&D team also uses the LXP to create custom learning pathways for teams looking to achieve specific client program goals.
Bader concluded, “Everyone brings their own ideas, background, and perspectives to training, so we need to ensure our content can meet them—no matter where they are. Our blended approach to learning gives us a flexible framework to do that.”
About MarketSource
MarketSource, an Allegis Group company, is a sales acceleration company focused on delivering better outcomes for many of the world’s most iconic brands. We design and operationalize managed sales and customer experience solutions in B2B and retail environments. Our solutions are purpose-built and tech-enabled to deliver measurable improvements in business outcomes.