An L&D conversation with… series will feature video interviews with leaders in Learning & Development, sharing insights, trends and challenges from some of the region’s leading organisations.

Stacey: Hi, I’m Stacey Goater, Portfolio Director at Ashton Media and organiser of the L&D + HR symposium, bringing together 150 l&d and HR leaders for two days in the beautiful Hunter Valley in August. We have such an amazing lineup of speakers joining us at the event this year, including none other than Sophia Bernard, Group HR Director at Volkswagen, who I have with me here today. Thanks so much for joining us, Sophia.

Sophia: Thank you so much for having me.

SG: What excites you most about your role as Group HR director of Volkswagen?

SB: Many things. But I think probably the most important is the opportunity to really shape the organisation. We recently merge with Audi Australia at the beginning of the year, and our first full year as an integrated company. Five brands across the group and just the opportunity to create a great employee experience for employees.

SG: The working world has obviously changed quite dramatically over the past few years. And the employee experience, as you just mentioned, is so important in terms of what we’re creating for our people and attracting and retaining talent. What do you think a good employee experience looks like in this new world of working?

SB: I think it’s definitely a combination of both ambition and compassion. So I think we really need to make sure we’ve got great goals and aspirations worth following and being a part of an employee experience, but also being a very compassionate employer and understanding what we’ve all been through in the last two years and how that’s different from anything we’ve experienced.

SG: What do you see as being your your priorities and your role, for the next two years?

SB: Definitely the priorities in making sure that our frontline leaders and our senior leaders really know what leadership looks like in a hybrid world. Some of our leadership capabilities are really going to turn on their heads, you know, higher levels of trust than we’ve ever seen before and and greater awareness around mental health, supporting the whole person.

SG: A lot of emphasis in the past couple of years has been put on supporting the mental health and well being of our employees. What role do you see HR having in supporting and recovering from that mental health crisis?

SB: I think probably a couple of things. I think definitely making sure our leadership population understands their role in being a great leader in a time where people probably have been through quite a lot. I think the other thing is just being completely aware of how your organisation is showing up knowing where people are in more need than others if that’s the case, and then really knowing how to balance life a lot better. We thought we knew what we were doing before the pandemic but it’s really show that we need to get much closer to our to our employees and know what’s really going on for them.

SG: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

SB: My favourite is don’t wait too long to be brave – applied in many, many parts of life.

SG: What are you most looking forward to at the l&d and HR symposium in two weeks?

SB: Well, definitely connection and collaboration, and really getting to spend some time listening and listening to everything that everyone’s got to contribute. It’s been such a while since we’ve had time together. So quite excited.

The L&D + HR Symposium 2022, 2-3 August, will bring together 150+ enterprise L&D Leaders in the beautiful Hunter Valley.