“I’ve always enjoyed helping and supporting others, but I didn’t know I could make a career out of it”
Elvira Ampt

Interviewer: Amira Haytham

Brief Biography about the Interviewee:

Elvira is a certified Master Performance Consultant who delivers learning experiences that drive high impact business results, by focusing on desired outcomes. Her approach never assumes that learning is the only or right answer; instead she starts with a diagnosis of performance which results in a holistic set of solutions.

As a leader, she believes in supporting those around her by building long-term relationships and bringing her true self to work every day. Elvira’s biggest reward is seeing people around her grow and develop, by coaching them to unlock their inner strength, and by giving people room to fail and learn from those experiences. She considers herself a continuous learner and teacher. Elvira leads a global learning team at Expedia Group and has been supporting the company’s transformation from event-based training to a blended and outcome-based learning culture.

1- HR Revolution Middle East:  During your 7 years in Expedia group you have been in several positions developing from a Market associate to the manager of learning delivery, tell us about your experience, learning journey and how you overcame any struggles?

Elvira Ampt:

For my first role at Expedia Group, I moved from Paris to Brussels. I started working in the Account Management team, where I supported hotel partners to maximize their partnership. I loved the combination of relationship-building and revenue analytics, as well as learning more about the different markets in Belgium and The Netherlands. After 3 years, I moved to the Learning & Development team and focused on training our Account Managers across Europe, Middle East and Africa. I truly enjoyed helping others succeed, and meeting many of the amazing Expedians around the world. When our team went through a reorganization, a manager position opened up. At first, I didn’t think I would be considered for the role, but I decided to go for it and at least learn from the experience. I had just read an article that stated women apply for a role when they meet 100% of the qualifications, while men do so when they only meet 60% – and I didn’t want to be that statistic! I went into the interviews with an open mind, was honest and vulnerable, and got the job. My next challenge was to grow into my leadership role while supporting an experienced team of remarkable learning facilitators. Oh and doing so while we were transitioning from event-based face-to-face training, into a blended and virtual learning culture. No big deal.

2- HR Revolution Middle East: In the years you have spent being a trainer, how has that developed your skills and personality to aid into further being a manager and leader?

Elvira Ampt:

Becoming a trainer was a lateral move; but it pushed me out of my comfort zone, more than any job I’d ever had at that point. I learned to listen (truly listen), got comfortable with silence and not knowing all the answers, and taught myself by teaching others. Many things I hadn’t expected, but really enjoyed. Other skills that helped me as I became a leader: asking great questions, putting myself in someone else’s shoes, and communicating openly and honestly. 

3- HR Revolution Middle East:  As a young woman in the Hotel School University, have you always imagined embarking into the fields of marketing, training and learning?

Elvira Ampt:

No, I started studying at Hotel School The Hague because I didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do in life (and truthfully, I still can’t answer the question “where do you want to be 5 years from now?”). I’ve always enjoyed helping and supporting others, but I didn’t know I could make a career out of it. Part of the curriculum was to get practical experience in hospitality outlets – both in operations and in leadership. As I was completing the leadership module, one of my teachers said I was really good at it, and asked if I had considered working there part-time so I could keep developing my skills. I hadn’t thought of it, but the work felt so rewarding that I took her suggestion. So it was Marina Brinkman-Staneva who got me into this field, and there have been many other leaders in my career who have helped me find the confidence or clarity I needed to keep developing myself. That has meant the world to me.

4- HR Revolution Middle East:  Spending 7 years at Expedia group has definitely given you an opportunity to develop a comfortable and creative workspace and community. What do you think is essential to be present for employees to feel belonging to their current entity?

Elvira Ampt:

I think the feeling of belonging looks different for all of us. The first thing you need to do is to find out what ‘belonging’ means for you. Right before I applied for the role as a trainer, I hired a job coach to help me understand what mattered to me in my career. She helped me reflect on my values, interests and strengths. As I started the interview process for the trainer role, I knew what questions to ask, to understand if this job was going to be right fit for me. For me, this meant having the ability to be creative, and a healthy work-life balance while traveling the world. It has been really valuable for me to take a step back and reflect every now and then, because the things that matter to us can change as we continue to develop as human beings.

5- HR Revolution Middle East:  In your point of view, what is the role of being a leader with being a trainer? And how did you personally develop your leadership skills?

Elvira Ampt:

Trial and error! Luckily, I already knew my team, so they provided me with honest feedback from day one (and still do). Continuing to build those relationships with them helped me understand how I could be a better leader. And after being in the role for a year, I asked my team and peers to describe my leadership style to me. This reflection helped me to understand where I was; and where I wanted to go from there. Being in Learning & Development, and being a leader at the same time, really demands a lot of self-reflection and growth, which is why I enjoy it so much. I’m never done learning myself.

6- HR Revolution Middle East:  In this generation, it is normal to switch careers more often, how do you see that this affects the fields you work in, does it have a positive or negative impact?

Elvira Ampt:

This is the first time I’ve ever been at a company for this long, partly because of the culture and people at Expedia Group, and partly because I’ve been able to develop myself in different roles. As a continuous learner, I think career changes are positively impacting the L&D space. There are many changes happening right now: people are switching careers more often, the jobs itself changes and the skills needed evolve. My mum started her first job at a bank, and still works in the financial industry today. But people entering the workforce today, won’t follow that same path. This has pushed L&D teams to adjust and move away from the rigid and slow solutions that were good enough in the past. We have to make sure that employees are building the skills that will help them be successful today and in the future.

7- HR Revolution Middle East:  As a manager, how can you identify and test your employees’ ability to learn and have a flexible attitude in their work-space? And why is it important to have such qualities?

Elvira Ampt:

There are a lot of different reasons why it’s important to continuously learn and develop. They can be put into 2 different categories: when you choose to change, and when the change is imposed. Even when you choose to change, it can still be difficult and require the need to up-skill yourself; like when you get that new job. An imposed change can be a reorganization within the company you work for, or COVID-19. Many companies have now found the need to shift priorities during the outbreak. This means that someone in marketing might need to work in customer care right now. That will require skills that need to be acquired quickly. Of course, this is an extreme situation, but before COVID-19 we were already in the fourth industrial revolution. This means that one third of the skills you use today will be obsolete in 2022. That isn’t even two years from now. L&D has to create a learning culture, focused on building resilience and a growth mindset. This learning eco-system should be aligned with measurable business goals that support the company’s strategy.

8- HR Revolution Middle East: How was your experience with ATD European summit past October 19 in Brussels? Will you attend the ATD European Summit this year?

Elvira Ampt:

It was great to meet so many L&D professionals. I’ve made a lot of connections, people that I am still in touch with today. We’ve shared best practices, problems, feedback and much more, to practice what we preach: continuous learning.

Depending on COVID-19, I hope to be able to attend this year’s summit too.

9-HR Revolution Middle East: What final advice would you give to Companies to pass this delicate period of the precautionary measures taken to limit the spread of COVID19, How did Expedia Group reacted to this?

Elvira Ampt:

Personally, I feel really proud of how Expedia Group is handling the COVID-19 crisis, ensuring that employees have the tools to stay healthy and working to prevent the spread of the virus. We were given the opportunity to work from home before this was mandated by different governments. Parents are allowed to work flexible hours, and leadership acknowledges that people are parents first, and employees second. We also have many different resources to take care of mental health and anxiety.

As an L&D professional, I am very proud of how my team has supported our business. COVID-19 has created a pressing need to be flexible and support our partners and customers in a very different way. In a matter of days, our team scoped the new and urgent needs, and delivered solutions that were delivered quickly and accurately. In times like these, it’s not important that our learning solutions are perfect and pretty – they need to be timely and helpful in the current context.

And as a leader, I try to lead my team through this situation as best as I can. Being open about what helps me (baking, sunshine and yoga), encouraging them to take care of themselves, apologizing when I drop the ball, and celebrating what we do well as a team.

THANK YOU