Welcome to this bonus episode of Punk Rock HR! For this episode, I’m joined by my good friend, bestselling author and founder of Amplify, Lars Schmidt. Lars is here to celebrate the launch of his new initiative, Amplify Academy, which is officially live.
We explore what Amplify Academy is, how this initiative supports professionals in the HR field and what he hopes and expects for the future of Amplify Academy. We also discuss who this platform is intended for and what’s so special about the user experience.
Punk Rock HR is proudly underwritten by The Starr Conspiracy. The Starr Conspiracy is a B2B marketing agency for innovative brands creating the future of workplace solutions. For more information, head over to thestarrconspiracy.com.
What Is Amplify Academy?
Lars is known to amplify the voices and stories of professionals and leaders in the HR and the people world. From his bestselling book to his weekly podcast, both named Redefining HR, Lars has taken a deeper dive into new and different strategies and approaches to processes at work for over a decade.
The Amplify Academy is a culmination of everything that Lars has worked on for the past decade. This new platform also builds on the Amplify Accelerator platform he launched last year. “I got a lot of feedback from readers in my book, ‘Redefining HR,’ who wanted to go deeper and learning about progressive HR and people practices. And I didn’t have anywhere that I felt comfortable pointing them towards. So I decided I should build that,” Lars shared.
Amplify Accelerator had four-week peer-learning programs, a community and other courses. Amplify Academy brings many changes and updates beyond the new name. One of those is the addition of an artificial intelligence learning platform called the Amplify Learning Lab, which was built with a tool called Sana Labs.
Lars explains, “It’s a machine-learning platform out of Stockholm. … Think kind of Netflix for HR and people learning. They use machine learning to customize course recommendations and learning behaviors to each individual user of the platform.”
Is This Platform for You?
You might be an HR practitioner or leader who’s intrigued, but you should know that it’s not yet another platform with standard HR templates and certification credits. Amplify Academy is designed “for architects of the new world of work.”
“It’s the people who are building new practices, flexible, hybrid, inclusive, equitable,” Lars says. “All these things that we talk about and we read about, but too often, they’re written in a way that sounds great but isn’t necessarily practical from somebody with boots on the ground, in the HR seat, doing that work.”
This platform is for HR practitioners focused on taking a more modern approach to people practices, even if they work in a “legacy-oriented, transactional” environment.
What’s the Future of Amplify Academy?
Lars has always seen his role as a person who supports practitioners in moments of need. And right now, people need real-time support to navigate challenging moments.
“There will be a SWAT element to the Learning Lab where, as we’re in those moments … I’ll be curating, creating and collaborating on content and resources to support practitioners in those moments as they happen,” Lars says.
Lars has also created other ways to interact with his community. Through Sana Labs, he can host live events with guests and community members while also creating forums and other ways for the community to discuss the topics they’re interested in.
“[T]he community is core to all of this,” Lars says. “When I frame the Learning Lab specifically, it’s creation, curation and community, and those are the three C’s that are going to guide this as it continues to scale and grow.”
[bctt tweet=”Amplify Academy ‘is really entirely focused, laser-focused, I would say, on modern and progressive people practices.’ – @Lars, author, podcaster and founder of Amplify. Tune in to the latest episode of #PunkRockHR to learn more!” via=”no”]
People in This Episode
- Lars Schmidt: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Amplify Talent website, Amplify Academy website
Full Transcript
Laurie Ruettimann:
This episode of Punk Rock HR is sponsored by The Starr Conspiracy. The Starr Conspiracy is the B2B marketing agency for innovative brands creating the future of workplace solutions. For more information, head on over to thestarrconspiracy.com.
Hey everybody. I’m Laurie Ruettimann. Welcome to a bonus episode of Punk Rock HR. I’m here with my good friend, Lars Schmidt, and I’m not sure why. So Lars, welcome to the show. Let’s get right into it. Why are we here today?
Lars Schmidt:
Yeah, we’re here because A, you’re an awesome friend, and B, you are helping me celebrate the launch of the new Amplify Academy that is officially live today.
Laurie Ruettimann:
Oh my gosh. Well, congratulations. You know, you are Amplify everything. So what’s Amplify Academy. What is this all about?
Lars Schmidt:
Yeah, It is kind of the culmination of everything I’ve been working on for about a decade now, really. That’s pretty meta, so I’ll try to get more specific. The Amplify Academy is the evolution of a platform I launched last year called the Amplify Accelerator. And it was, essentially, I got a lot of feedback from readers in my book, Redefining HR, who wanted to go deeper and learning about progressive HR and people practices. And I didn’t have anywhere that I felt comfortable pointing them towards. So I decided I should build that. And so that’s kind of how the academy got started. Originally, there were cohort programs, which are four-week peer-learning programs. There’s a community. And there were courses. The big evolution that is now taking place is the courses element is now expanded into a AI learning platform called the Amplify Learning Lab, which is built on a tool called Sana Labs.
It’s a machine learning platform out of Stockholm and, essentially, think kind of Netflix for HR and people learning. They use machine learning to customize course recommendations and learning behaviors to each individual user of the platform. And so the academy today, at launch, has over 350 courses, resources, templates — clips from the Redefining HR Podcast, which I’m calling Redefining HR Leadership Bytes. So think, kind of, MasterClass meets HR learning — and so much more. So as people use it, the system will begin to personalize and recommend courses. So it helps you connect with the resources that you know you need. And in some cases, the resources that maybe weren’t on your radar, but based on the things that you’re into, it knows that you’ll like this type of content.
Laurie Ruettimann:
So Lars, this is like an ecosystem. Might be slightly cultish, right? It’s all Amplify. I love it. You got to be into HR, but how do I know this is right for me? I work in human resources, I’m a people leader, an emerging people leader, why am I going to spend my money here and not somewhere else?
Lars Schmidt:
That’s a great question. The academy is really entirely focused on, laser-focused, I would say, on modern and progressive people practices. So if you are in an environment that is still very kind of legacy-oriented, transactional, you’ll find things that will certainly pique your curiosity and maybe inspire you, but it’s not going to be more of traditional HR templates and resources and tools. There’s lots of platforms out there that cater to practitioners who are looking for those types of tools. This is different. This is something that’s really oriented around — the tagline for the platform is “for the architects of the new world of work.” It’s the people who are building new practices, flexible, hybrid, inclusive, equitable. All these things that we talk about and we read about, but too often, they’re written in a way that sounds great but isn’t necessarily practical from somebody with boots on the ground, in the HR seat, doing that work.
And so part of my goal is to try to create resources to help those practitioners in that situation and also cater them towards the things that we don’t typically get trained on as HR practitioners. So the first long-form course I’ve developed is a guide for first-time heads of people. And it gets into everything from how to develop business acumen, to how to build executive relationships and rapport, how to manage relationships across the C-suite, how to deal with executive communications and crisis communications, and just all these things that are very much in the now for HR leaders navigating this world of work that we’re in today. This platform is for them. So I would say that’s how it’s different from some of the existing resources out there.
Laurie Ruettimann:
Well, Lars, when I think about HR training and people leader training back in the day and even today, so much of it looks like it’s been recorded on a VHS camcorder and uploaded onto the internet, and it’s real complex to use it. And I know you’ve got some really cool tools driving the interactivity around it, but how was it produced? What was that experience like? Because you had to make this look good because those are your standards.
Lars Schmidt:
Those are my standards, yeah. It’s interesting. This was the first time that I’ve worked with the video production team in creating content, which was amazing. And so I think when you look across the content right now, some of its content that I’ve designed, and my depth of skills go so far on the creative side.
Laurie Ruettimann:
Well, they’re better than the VHS and Beta generation that we grew up in.
Lars Schmidt:
Yes, they’re better than that. So when you look at the video content, for example, some of it are guest instructor presentations from the cohorts. So people like Katie Burke, Pat Wadors, Claude Silver, et cetera, who’ve come in and taught the cohort students. Some of them are clips from the Redefining HR Podcast. So those are two- to three-minute clips where chief people officers from Coca-Cola and the Lego Group and Microsoft are talking about their people practices and how they think about things. And then some are the content that I’m working with, again, video production, that this is — what I kind of say MasterClass meets HR, I’m talking about this part, where I’m working with external video production teams to actually produce highly polished interviews with CPOs who are sharing their wisdom around specific areas of need like I mentioned.
Lars Schmidt:
Like things in the first-time-head-of-people course from developing business acumen to embedding equity throughout and inclusive practices throughout your people systems, those sorts of things. And so I’m excited that this will give me an opportunity to indulge that wannabe filmmaker side of me and do more produce videos and content like this.
Laurie Ruettimann:
I love it. I watched this show called “Hacks,” and the lead character is played by an actress named Jean Smart. And she’s a comedian who sells stuff on QVC, and she always has a partner next to her. And the partner’s like, “And how much is this going to cost?” So I feel like I’m that QVC partner today, but I really want to know, learning and development comes at a lot of different price points. So what’s the price point for this?
Lars Schmidt:
Yeah. So all the pricing is fully transparent on the website. There’s a couple different products. There’s essentially three products. The first one is Learn, and Learn is a bundled subscription to the Learning Lab and the community. So I’m a firm believer learning and community go hand in hand. So those two things are connected together. That’s a thousand dollars U.S. per year, or $120 per month. Then the next level up from that is the Grow product. And so, essentially, that is an annual subscription to the Learning Lab and the community, and then also a cohort seat. So you also go through that four-week learning program
And then there’s Scale, which is a third product, and Scale is custom pricing. And that’s for teams where basically, if those first two tiers are far more oriented towards individuals, there will be teams and CPOs who say, “you know what? I want to get X amount of licenses for my teams.” And obviously that’ll be at a discount than if they bought them all individually, but that will be all custom based off the pricing models for Learn and Grow.
Laurie Ruettimann:
Lars, I have one important question. How many SHRM recertification credits do I get?
Lars Schmidt:
Zero. You get zero. Yes. There’s a lot of places you can get those, this will not be one of them.
Laurie Ruettimann:
No, I love that, I love that for me is like the thing that seals the deal right there. Well, I wonder how this is going to evolve because we all start out with an idea of what we’re offering into the marketplace and you’ve done some really good work in developing this, but where do you think this is all going to go?
Lars Schmidt:
Yeah, what I’m excited about with this is the community and the content go hand in hand. And what I mean by that is one of my aims — and you know this is how I’ve always kind of operated — I see my role in this industry as somebody here to support practitioners in moments of times where we need it. So whether it’s COVID, whether it’s when the Supreme Court took away reproductive rights, whether it’s the conflict in Ukraine, there are certain moments — and I feel like there’s a lot of them for us over the last couple years — where we need real-time support in those moments to help us navigate those moments. And there will be a SWAT element to the Learning Lab where, as we’re in those moments — and again, this is where I’ll lean on my open-source background — I’ll be curating, creating, and collaborating on content and resources to support practitioners in those moments as they happen.
So I’m excited about that. So there’s that real-time element of it. And then from a content perspective, the tool that I’m using, Sana Labs, also has a really robust live platform, where you could do live events. They’re similar to the podcast, but where I can bring in people from my network and answer questions from the community members, engage with them and then even creating forums to bring the community members together, to talk about different topics. So again, the community is core to all of this. When I frame the Learning Lab specifically, it’s creation, curation and community, and those are the three C’s that are going to guide this as it continues to scale and grow.
Laurie Ruettimann:
Well, it’s really good stuff. So just to recap, I’m not going to learn how to submit a PTO form or to create PTO forms. I’m not going to get SHRM recertification credits, but I’m going to be involved in a community where I can learn and grow based on cool tech. And I could really develop forward-thinking progressive people practices. Did I get all that right?
Lars Schmidt:
Yeah, you did. And I think it’s also a place where you can learn from peers and grow your network. There’s a lot of practitioners I talked to who, maybe you’re an environment right now that isn’t the most progressive environment, and you’ve pitched ideas and you don’t have an advocate within the business and they don’t support your growth. And so there’s a limit to what you can do in that environment. What’s cool about this platform — and again, this is other platforms, as well, that are trying to pull together groups of innovative thinking and practices — is even if you’re in that environment, that doesn’t have to curtail your own personal growth and development.
You can still plug into other communities of like-minded practitioners who are pushing the boundaries. Maybe you’re not going to be able to implement those things in your company today, but you can still continue your own growth and advancement, and you’re not going to be in that company forever. And so, hopefully through those connections, you’ll continue learning. You’ll continue growing and who knows, maybe you’ll even find your next role that will get you out of that environment that’s holding you back and put you somewhere where you can really grow.
Laurie Ruettimann:
Well. Lars, one final thing. I know no person is an island, and I know you are the forward-facing visionary of the amplify ecosystem. But you’ve got a business partner who’s been supporting you for a while now. Do you want to give a little credit to the person who’s behind the curtain?
Lars Schmidt:
Oh yeah. This wouldn’t exist without business partner slash life partners. My wife is working with me, Amplify is now a two-person company. So, Janet, and she’s tremendous and she’s helped run the inception stage building and developing the content. As you know, when you’re creating platforms like this, there’s so much infrastructure, there’s so much behind the scenes that actually makes this thing run, that it wouldn’t exist without her. So it’s been tremendous to build this together with her and continue building this as we launch today and beyond.
Laurie Ruettimann:
I love it. Good old-fashioned American family-run business.
Lars Schmidt:
There you go, yeah.
Laurie Ruettimann:
That’s pretty amazing. Well, listen, I’m so thrilled for all your success. If people want more information, where are they going to go?
Lars Schmidt:
Yeah. So you can go to amplifytalent.com/academy and then all the details there around the cohort, the Learning Lab subscription, everything you need to know, you can find right there.
Laurie Ruettimann:
Well, I love you. I respect you. I’m so glad we’re friends, and I’m so proud of what you’ve accomplished, what you’ve done with Janet. It’s just a really amazing testament to the future of HR, the future of people management and the future of work. So thank you for doing it.
Lars Schmidt:
Yeah, well Laurie, thank you. You’ve been an inspiration for me, and a lot of this work, we’ve talked about this, going back to HR Open Source and beyond. So I admire your work, your role, your voice, and I’m just grateful for you giving me this platform to share the Academy with your viewers today.
Laurie Ruettimann:
Well, thanks, Lars, again. And everybody, for more information, head on over to amplifytalent.com/academy. And thanks again for checking out this bonus episode of Punk Rock HR.
Hey everybody. I hope you enjoyed this episode of Punk Rock HR. We are proudly underwritten by The Starr Conspiracy. The Starr Conspiracy is the B2B marketing agency for innovative brands creating the future of workplace solutions. For more information, head on over to thestarrconspiracy.com. Punk Rock HR is produced and edited by Rep Cap with special help from Michael Thibodeaux and Devin McGrath. For more information, show notes, links and resources, head on over to punkrockhr.com. Now that’s all for today, and I hope you enjoyed it. We’ll see you next time on Punk Rock HR.
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