National Nail Corp

Kaleb Willis focuses on workforce development aligned with business priorities. He builds practical, engaging learning programs, incorporates microlearning approaches and works closely with leaders to ensure training delivers measurable results while supporting growth across a diverse workforce.

Aligning Learning and Development with Business Strategy and Culture

You have to meet the organization where they are regarding Learning & Development.  What I mean by that is you must fully understand the organization’s mission, vision, strategy, and culture.  To do this, you have to immerse yourself in the business.  Meet with key stakeholders, not just executive leadership, but leaders at all levels, as well as individual contributors and learn what they do and how their teams impact the business. 

Dig in to find out what they do well and where there are opportunities for improvement.  Don’t just focus on the areas for improvement.  You must exploit what they do well and continue to develop those positive behaviors in a positive way.  Learning & Development is not just for those who need help, but also for those who excel in organizations. 

Designing Engaging Learning Programs for Diverse Adult Learners

I have a few strategies that I prioritize when building effective and engaging learning programs:

a. Every adult learner learns differently. You have to consider all learning styles (auditory, kinesthetic, visual, read/write), commonly known as the VARK Model, when building training. This means having a combination of presentations, reading content aloud to a group, group discussions, and hands-on skill practice.

b. We are living in a very digital age where our thumbs do a lot of work with smartphones—developing micro learning that is easily accessible from a phone or tablet and providing learning in short, direct, and concise bites. This keeps the content easily digestible. Encourage leaders to have conversations with learners to discuss what they have learned and how they plan to incorporate those learnings into everyday practice.

c. Today, we have multiple generations in the workforce with a wide range of past experiences and prior knowledge. Engage all generations of employees as subject matter experts. Record their knowledge and teachings, have them facilitate in-person sessions, learners respond well to learning from their peers rather than a “trainer” or an executive.

Evolving Workforce Expectations Shaping Modern Learning Strategies

I feel that employees today are not just looking for training, they expect growth, flexibility, and significance – and they want all three of these things quickly. Learners don’t want a one-size-fits-all sophisticated curriculum; they want on-demand, bite-sized content. They want AI-driven recommendations (kind of like how your favorite streaming app suggests shows you may enjoy).

“Today, we have multiple generations in the workforce with a wide range of past experience and prior knowledge. Engage all generations of employees as subject matter experts.”

There is a desire for just-in-time learning that solves their problems immediately.  Employees, especially the younger generation, want meaningful work and alignment with company values.  They want to know that the company and the leader they work for really care about them and their development.  Finally, today’s workforce values development as a path to advancement.

Driving Continuous Learning through Leadership Accountability

The biggest challenge I face in driving continuous learning and measurable impact is not what happens in a training room or online curriculums in a Learning Management System, but getting leaders to understand the importance of reinforcing content once a learner has completed training.

It is not just a post-training conversation about key takeaways, but a conversation about what you learned, what you want to implement back in your daily work, and holding them accountable for those changes.  Change is hard and it becomes more difficult the older we get.  Adult learners need to be held accountable by leaders to take action once an investment in learning has taken place. 

Developing the Next Generation of L&D Professionals

I often see aspiring learning and development professionals assume they need to understand every aspect of the business before facilitating training.  In reality, the role is not about being the subject matter expert on everything, but about guiding the learning process.  I focus on facilitating meaningful experiences, relying on subject matter experts for business-specific knowledge, and creating environments that encourage engagement and active participation across formats. Act as a “guide on the side” rather than a lecturer.  You must be able to encourage engagement, discussion, and active participation regardless of the training format (in-person or self-paced). 

Even with self-paced learning, technology has come a long way towards developing learning content that enables interactive and effective learning.  Finally, I prioritize continuous self-development by reading books, engaging with other learning professionals, and seeking mentorship, while staying connected to an L&D community that is creative, energetic, and committed to developing others.