This series of articles provides a comprehensive look at the LIFT certification process from two critical perspectives: the peer reviewers who evaluate and endorse the certification and the company that has successfully achieved it. Through first-hand insights, we will uncover how LIFT-certified learning functions embedded impactful learning into their organisational framework and the benefits that ensued.

In August of 2023, JLL Academy in France received the Learning Impact Certification (LIFT) after conducting a self-assessment to evaluate its impact on the organisation, learners, and society. A virtual discussion with stakeholders and an EFMD peer review team, including experts from HEC business school, Baloise Group, and EFMD, examined how the Academy delivered value through key learning solutions. The review team provided a benchmarking report that recognised the Academy’s strengths and offered recommendations for further improvement.

JLL Academy, the learning and development function of JLL, plays a pivotal role in advancing the company’s mission to “Shape the future of Real Estate for a better world.”  It focuses on developing the skills and competencies of JLL employees, fostering a strong organisational culture, and enhancing the company’s core competencies in areas like sustainability, technology, and innovation. Through its technical skills programmes tailored for all JLL business lines in France, the Academy facilitates knowledge transfer and strengthens JLL’s organisational performance. Pursuing the LIFT certification allowed the Academy to reflect on its impact, engage key stakeholders, and formalise its guiding principles into actionable frameworks, ensuring measurable and aligned outcomes for the company.

Achim Wolter, who acts as Circle Lead Transformation at Baloise Group and is a member of the peer review team, provides insights into his organisation’s approach to impact and the LIFT process for JLL Academy:

How does your organisation (Baloise Group) ensure learning delivers impact?

At Baloise Group, we ensure that learning delivers impact through a decentralised, needs-based approach. Our employees take ownership of their learning in a self-directed manner, with strong support from their leaders and HR business partners. Each business unit is empowered to design and manage its own learning curricula, ensuring relevance and alignment with their specific needs.

The role of the group is not to implement a one-size-fits-all curriculum but to cultivate a learning culture across the company. We define overarching frameworks, e.g. for strategic skilling, mandatory development dialogues, learning time allocation, and talent development / career tracks. Additionally, we provide a shared learning infrastructure – with elements such as LinkedIn Learning, our joint Learning Management System, or Easygenerator – and support our community of Baloise learning ‘Catalysts.’ Through innovative formats like social learning and cutting-edge digital technologies like AI, we aim to foster overarching competencies, including leadership, across the organisation.

Baloise Group is a Swiss insurance company founded in Basel in 1863 that operates in four countries and employs approximately 9,000 people across Europe. As the third-largest Swiss all-industry insurance service provider for individuals and businesses, the company is focused on sustainable growth. This approach emphasises the company’s commitment to its employees, customers, and shareholders, with the goal of maintaining a positive impact on all stakeholders.

What does learning impact mean for you?

For us, learning impact means ensuring that our employees continue to have and deploy the required skills to successfully execute our business strategy in a rapidly changing business environment. This encompasses a wide range of learning approaches – whether it’s traditional formal training or self-paced, on-the-job learning, technical upskilling or personal development, individual or social learning within communities, classroom or digital experiences.

What strengths did you find JLL Academy has in the way it approached learning?

JLL Academy has demonstrated significant strengths in its approach to learning. Notably, it has ensured strong stakeholder involvement, particularly with the backing of its regional CEO. The Academy learning team has shown remarkable dedication, focusing on initiatives that are tightly aligned with the company’s strategic goals, such as upskilling in sustainability. Additionally, its commitment to robust impact measurement highlights its disciplined approach.

In comparison to our learning strategy, where we have embraced an ecosystem approach to leverage diverse resources and maximise impact, JLL has taken a different path. They have concentrated their efforts on a few key initiatives and executed them rigorously.

For further insights into the LIFT certification process and how JLL Academy is using it, stay tuned for an upcoming interview with Margaux Filori, Lead for L&D France at JLL.

About LIFT

To learn more about how EFMD’s Learning Impact Certification (LIFT) can help your learning function benchmark its approach to delivering impact and receive insights into how it can further mature, check out the LIFT website or contact Shanshan Ge.

For additional insights, announcements, and perspectives about LIFT, visit the conversation here.