What does it really take to build a learning culture that the rest of the business actually feels?
At Learning Technologies UK, Sandrine Leligois from Essendi sat down with André Scholtz from CrossKnowledge to share the story behind two years of transformation. Their conversation explored how Essendi has embedded learning more deeply into its people strategy, earned greater executive support, and built a culture where learning is closely connected to future business needs.
Embedding learning across HR
Rather than treating learning as a standalone function, Essendi chose to integrate it with the broader people agenda. Strategic workforce planning, talent management, change management, and employee engagement all sit alongside learning under one roof, creating a more connected approach to developing people and capabilities.
Everything is linked. It’s not just layers we’re putting aside, it’s helped us put learning in the middle of all our HR processes, not as a separate HR activity.
Sandrine Leligois, Essendi
Treating these functions as connected rather than siloed has been one of the most powerful shifts in how the company approaches people development. It’s a clear example of what a genuinely integrated learning culture looks like in practice.
From content provider to curated experience
As access to information becomes easier than ever, Essendi believes the role of learning has changed.
With endless content already available on YouTube, LinkedIn, and AI tools, Essendi L&D’s strategy deliberately avoids becoming “the Google of training.” As Sandrine Leligois explained, employees can find information almost instantly. The real challenge is helping them focus on what matters most.
Essendi’s approach is to curate learning experiences that align with business priorities and future workforce needs. The focus is not only on helping employees perform in their current roles, but also on preparing them for the capabilities they will need in one, two, or even five years.
Empowering people to own their development
The impact of this approach can also be seen within Essendi’s own learning team.
Sandrine shared the story of a team member who joined the company straight out of school . Through regular collaboration with CrossKnowledge experts, she developed new skills, gained confidence, and took on increasingly strategic responsibilities over time.
Today, she’s leading the design of HR Elevate, a brand-new development path for the HR function, working closely with the CrossKnowledge team to figure out what’s most relevant for Essendi’s sector.
Earning executive confidence
One of the clearest signs that learning has become a strategic priority at Essendi is the level of investment it receives.
Even during a period of significant financial discipline, Essendi’s corporate learning budget has tripled over the past few years.
“In three years, I have tripled my budget at a time when we’re under financial discipline. That says something.”
Sandrine Leligois, Essendi
The growth in investment reflects the confidence that L&D has earned within the organization and the role it now plays in supporting broader business objectives.
A partnership built on trust
Supporting this transformation is a long-standing relationship with CrossKnowledge.
The partnership survived a stalled negotiation and a company reorganization before finally taking shape. Today, business reviews go beyond training metrics. Essendi shares its roadmap, budget realities, and operational challenges, creating opportunities to design solutions together rather than simply deliver training programs.
That level of trust has become an important enabler of Essendi’s learning strategy. During a confidential brand relaunch, only a handful of people inside Essendi knew the new name and colors in advance. But the Values for Impact Challenge program needed to launch alongside the new identity. So CrossKnowledge was let in on the secret early, before most of the company itself.
The future of learning is partnership
As AI accelerates change and organizations face growing uncertainty, learning leaders are under pressure to deliver measurable business value.
Technology remains important. Content remains important. Yet one lesson from Essendi’s experience stands out above all others:
Learning impact grows when organizations build strong partnerships around a shared vision. Partnerships create the trust needed to discuss challenges openly, adapt to changing business realities, and focus on the capabilities employees will need next.
For Essendi and CrossKnowledge, the relationship has never been limited to learning content or platform management. It has been a collaborative effort to build a stronger learning culture, develop future-ready capabilities, and connect learning more closely to business success.
The result is a learning culture that is not separate from the business, but increasingly woven into how the business grows, adapts, and prepares for the future.
If you’re ready to explore what a closer relationship with CrossKnowledge could look like for your organization, get in touch with our team.