HRD Service Provider Awards 2023: DLPA

Kylie Speer [00:00:07] Hello and Welcome to HRD TV. I'm Kylie Speer and joining me today is Karlie Cremin, Managing Director from Dynamic Leadership Programs Australia. DLPA received the Gold Medal in the Learning and Development category in the 2023 HRD Service Provider Awards. Welcome to you, Karlie. Congratulations. And thank you for joining us today. 

Karlie Cremin [00:00:31] Thank you. And thank you very much for having me. 

Kylie Speer [00:00:34]Well, firstly, Karlie DLPA won a silver medal in HRD'S 2022 Service Provider Awards for Learning and Development, and in the most recent report has risen to Gold. What was the driver behind the improvement in performance? 

Karlie Cremin [00:00:50] Yeah, I think that's potentially more of a question for the judging panel then, really, in in that I think that we're rolling out the same methodology just at a larger scale. 2023, for us, was a big year with some aggressive growth targets in particular. And we've really been looking at just doing what we do to a larger scale, really and improving over time. I think our clients have been really instrumental in that and giving us the freedom to try out some new things and embed some of the stuff that we know works really well. So I think those are all elements of it. 

Kylie Speer [00:01:31] DPLA provides firms with bespoke leadership and development programs, How challenging is it to craft such unique offerings? 

Karlie Cremin [00:01:40] Now, it depends on the circumstances, suppose to a certain extent, where organizations have a really good quality strat plan. It's super easy, really, because it just cascades from that, where there isn't a strong strategy yet, I suppose that's where it is a little more challenging and where we would be utilizing some of our proprietary frameworks and things of that nature to drive the content of the program. I think that whenever you talk about bespoke people you hear expensive, but it doesn't, it really doesn't mean need to be all that really means is that we look at the particular use case, look at the output that we're trying to get and then build backwards the program that will deliver those outcomes. And so for us, we wouldn't do in house programs, any of them. 

Kylie Speer [00:02:30] Kelly, what do you find are the most common barriers to success for your clients?  

Karlie Cremin [00:02:42] I think it's time. The one thing that we'd all like more of, other than that, I think that there can be barriers in understanding the order of things that will work that we're very big on designing programs around building momentum so that you get ROI more quickly. And I think understanding that instructional design, understanding that flow of programs, can be a bit of a bit of a challenge. And certainly our clients where people have a longer tenure, I think sometimes there's just a lack of that high level view, or you get so entrenched in the operational that you can't quite see it from a different perspective. So I think those are probably the key areas we see. 

Kylie Speer [00:03:33] In your view is good and effective leadership a natural ability, or can it be learned? 

Karlie Cremin [00:03:41] Well, both those things I suppose, in that even a naturally great leader, so someone who naturally has more aptitude, than other people need a framework to be effective. So we see great natural leaders who are not very effective. And we see leaders who have to work a little bit harder on those skills, who are very effective, and everyone in between those two things. So it's great to have more of a natural propensity for it. But it absolutely can be learned. And I think beyond that, we've kind of moved away a bit from like the single right answer in terms of leadership of saying this is what a leader looks like. That it's more how if you want to lead the play to your strengths, but more importantly, mobilize the strengths of your team in a dynamic way as your team is changing. And so I think that there is learning there is natural aptitude. And very importantly, there is the need for a framework regardless of where you are on that spectrum. 

Kylie Speer [00:04:49] Cultural sensitivity is an important issue in HR right now. How do your programs navigate this? 

Karlie Cremin [00:04:56] Yeah, a good question and a topical one. I think that I Cultural Competence, in a general sense is really coming front of mind for a lot of organizations now, in a way it hasn't really before. And so we make sure that we offer training specifically in that we make sure that our facilitators are well versed in and have a high level of cultural competency. We consult widely when we're working across borders. But equally, we're a very diverse country here. So just because it's not an international program, it's not to say that there's not obviously cultural forces at play. And so we really drink our own champagne as it were, and make sure that our internal capacity is building in that regard as well, so that we can recognize those needs early and be very agile in what we'll do so that we can customize to particular use case, and particular people in program also. 

Kylie Speer [00:05:54] DLPA also offers hybrid programs split between in house and public sessions, what is the most effective balance in these cases, and why not keep it all in house? 

Karlie Cremin [00:06:07] Yeah, we get asked that one that a lot. I'm a big advocate for the hybrid programs that I just see time and time again, that it is the most effective way in what we do to get real behavioral change. The reason for that is that with a dedicated in house program, you can focus on the organizational construct, you can do team building, you can link it specifically into your strategy, we can access confidential information. And we can make it really, really particular to your organization, which is fantastic. But what we want don't want to do is get into a situation where we have groupthink, where we don't challenge key assumptions, where we do things a certain way, because we've always done them that way. And we don't entertain that things could be different. And so the hybrid model is really great for building the skills in house that you need within that context. But then giving your participants the opportunity to go into a public what we term a public environment. So a mix of different organizations across industries, where you can really challenge those assumptions, understand how other industries work. And really then think about your industry a little bit a little bit differently. And so we find the mix of those two things is when you get the best uplift from program. 

Kylie Speer [00:07:25] And finally, Karlie as a successful firm in the HR sector, what do you see as the next targets and goals for DLPA? 

Karlie Cremin [00:07:35] We're very excited about where we're heading, we're continuing to have fairly aggressive growth targets. We'll be rolling out some more public programs as well to complement the in house bespoke programs that that we're running, in, particularly in 2024 will have a focus on women in leadership, which is really, really exciting. We haven't had those dedicated programs since pre COVID. And so we're in a position now to be rolling those back out at scale, which is really, really exciting. 

Kylie Speer [00:08:12] Well, congratulations on your well deserved accolade. And thank you so much once again for your time today, Karlie, it was lovely speaking with you. 

Karlie Cremin [00:08:21] Likewise, thank you so much. I really appreciate the opportunity. 

Kylie Speer [00:08:25] And thank you, of course to our viewers for watching the latest episode of HRD TV. We look forward to seeing you again soon.