Upskilling | Bonhams' CPO on why it wants to 'really invest in our people'

The coronavirus pandemic has put a stop to in-person meetings for more than a year now, which has meant that learning and development (L&D) opportunities have been halted among workplaces.

Based on observations from McKinsey, in Europe around 100% of in-person programmes from March to June 30, 2020, were postponed or cancelled, indicating that development opportunities have taken a backseat in light of the crisis.

Despite this, data has found that people still want to learn. A survey from Find Courses in March last year revealed that 49.23% of people (up from 45% pre-lockdown) said that they expected to learn more in the next three months due to COVID-19.

One business who is taking action when it comes to L&D is international auction house Bonhams. Speaking to the firm’s Chief People Officer Jennifer Buckley, she explained that the business is exploring mentorship with the help of Ok Mentor and is placing an increased focus on this method to upskill its staff members.