5cast

In this episode, Corey Mitchell is joined by Philip Huthwaite to step slightly away from product and process, and focus on something just as important: community.Throughout this season, we have talked about the cost of getting L&D wrong, the pressure to prove behavioural change, and the need to move beyond activity metrics. Now we turn the spotlight outward with L&D Voices, a community-led list celebrating the people who are genuinely moving the industry forward.L&D Voices is built on a simple principle: you cannot nominate yourself. Every featured individual is recommended by a peer. It is not a popularity contest. It is not pay to play. It is about surfacing credible voices, fresh perspectives and practitioners who are helping others grow, even if they are not the loudest voices on LinkedIn.In this episode, you will hear:Why a peer recommended list matters in a fast moving and noisy industryHow L&D Voices helps buyers and partners discover trusted, credible professionalsWhy variety of backgrounds and perspectives strengthens the entire communityWho should be nominated, from in-house L&D leaders and designers to coaches and learning technology professionalsWhat happens behind the scenes once someone is submittedWhy quarterly editions keep the list relevant and reflective of emerging voicesPhilip explains how L&D Voices acts as a community layer around the wider challenges discussed this season. If impact is hard to prove, then learning from those who are doing it well becomes even more important.If you know someone who is helping make learning more practical, more credible and more connected to real business impact, nominate them. Let’s shine a light on the people who are genuinely raising the standard across the industry.Listen now, and be part of the conversation.

In this episode, Corey sits down with 5App CEO Philip Huthwaite to answer the most practical question yet: if Helix sounds interesting, how do you actually get started?After exploring the challenges facing L&D, who Helix is for, and how learning partners use skills intelligence to differentiate, this conversation focuses on implementation. What does a pilot look like? How quickly do you see value? And what do you actually get at the end of it?Helix is 5App’s AI Skills Intelligence platform. It measures how skills show up in real workplace conversations, giving organisations visibility beyond completions and surveys. Instead of asking whether people enjoyed a course, Helix shows whether behaviours are changing in day to day work.In this episode, you will learn:Why almost every organisation starts with a focused pilotHow direct customers test Helix against their own competency frameworks, such as first-time manager programmesHow learning partners pilot Helix around their own methodologies and use it to evidence behaviour change between sessionsWhat kind of data and dashboards you receive at the end of a pilotHow quickly individuals begin to see value, often from the very first meetingPhilip explains how Helix establishes a baseline, tracks growth over weeks rather than months, and provides tangible proof of skill development. Whether you are an HR leader looking to justify L&D spend or a learning partner wanting data-driven differentiation, the pilot is designed to prove impact quickly and with minimal risk.If you are wondering whether skills intelligence could work in your world, this episode shows you exactly what the first step looks like.

In this episode of 5cast, Corey Mitchell is joined by Philip Huthwaite to answer a simple but important question: what is Helix, and who is it really for?Helix is 5App’s AI Skills Intelligence platform. It sits above learning and measures how skills show up in real work. Instead of focusing on course completions, satisfaction scores or post-event surveys, Helix analyses real workplace communication to provide visibility into behavioural change and skill development over time. It is designed to answer the question organisations keep asking: is our learning investment actually improving performance?Building on recent episodes about wasted L&D spend and the pressure on learning partners to prove impact, Philip explains the two routes into Helix:The direct route, where HR and L&D leaders work with 5App to embed their own competency frameworks into Helix and gain organisation-wide visibility of skill growth.The partner route, where coaches, training providers, content companies and learning technology providers use Helix as an AI skills intelligence layer within their own ecosystem to evidence impact and differentiate in the market.You will hear how the technology is the same in both cases, but the relationship and go to market model differ. You will also hear why Helix is not built for organisations that only care about content consumption, but for those serious about understanding what is changing in day to day work.If you are trying to move from activity metrics to real impact, or you want to make your learning offer stand out in a crowded market, this episode makes it clear where Helix fits and how it works.

In this episode of 5cast, we explore the growing pressure on learning partners to prove real impact.Organisations are investing heavily in L&D, but buyers are no longer satisfied with courses, content, or completion rates alone. They want evidence that behaviour is actually changing back in the workplace.So where does that leave training providers, coaching businesses, and platform vendors?Corey and Philip unpack why differentiation is becoming harder in a crowded market, the missing data layer between the classroom and real work, and why traditional LMS and LXP models were never designed to measure behavioural change.They also introduce Helix, 5App’s AI skills intelligence layer, and explain how it helps learning partners connect programmes to real-world capability. By analysing how skills show up in day-to-day conversations and work, Helix provides the visibility that buyers are now demanding.In this episode, you will learn how AI skills intelligence can help partners:Demonstrate how skills are being applied in real workStrengthen client relationships and increase retentionImprove win rates in competitive proposalsCreate new recurring revenue streamsExtend value beyond one-off programmesIf you are a learning partner looking to move from delivering programmes to proving measurable capability, this episode is for you.

In this episode of 5cast, Corey Mitchell is joined by Philip Huthwaite, CEO of 5app, to kick off a new season exploring the real challenges holding organisations back when it comes to learning, leadership, and people performance.Drawing on conversations with over 100 learning leaders, business leaders, and partners, Philip shares what the data and the lived experience are really telling us. Organisations are investing heavily in people and L&D, but many still cannot see what is actually changing as a result.The conversation explores why this lack of visibility quietly erodes confidence in L&D, leads to wasted spend, and allows poor leadership behaviours to persist unchecked. The discussion dives into the rise of accidental managers, the link between leadership quality and retention, and why disengagement remains one of the biggest hidden costs for organisations today.You will hear why leadership development works, why organisations still feel frustrated, and how traditional L&D systems continue to measure activity instead of behaviour. The episode also looks at the vicious cycle created when organisations cannot see what is driving performance, leaving them stuck making decisions in the dark.This episode sets the scene for the season ahead, where we will explore how L&D leaders and learning partners are trying to prove impact, measure behaviour change, and close the gap between learning activity and real business outcomes.If you want to go deeper, make sure to download the accompanying learning guide.

In this episode of 5cast, Corey Mitchell and 5app CEO Philip Huthwaite bring everything together. Helix, VeeCoach, VeeCreate and the 5app Hub. One connected ecosystem and one continuous loop of measure, practise, create and deliver.Philip breaks down how each module fits into the cycle. Helix identifies real skill signals in everyday work. VeeCoach gives people a safe space to practise with AI role plays. VeeCreate fills content gaps fast. The Hub brings it all together in one personalised learning experience.You will hear how the 360 model creates targeted learning, reduces wasted content, supports better decision-making, and helps L&D step into a more strategic role. They also explore the role of AI versus the role of humans, and what is coming next on the 5app roadmap.A simple idea ties the conversation together. One platform, many tools, all working in harmony to drive real skill improvement.

In this episode of 5cast, Corey Mitchell sits down with 5app CEO Philip Huthwaite to tackle the question that comes up in almost every Helix conversation: is this Big Brother?They break down how Helix delivers meaningful skills insights while keeping privacy at the centre. Philip explains how meeting data is processed, how anonymisation works, why transcripts are deleted, and the different privacy modes organisations can configure based on their own policies.You will hear how Helix reinforces learning without monitoring, why trust and communication are key to rollout, and how employees stay in full control through opt in and opt out choices.A simple idea sits at the heart of this episode. Real skills insight without intrusion.

In this episode of 5cast, Corey Mitchell and Philip Huthwaite explore how Helix brings consistency, evidence and clarity to coaching and facilitation quality. Quality assurance in coaching has always been difficult to scale and often relies on subjective observation. Helix changes this by analysing real sessions, identifying the signals that matter and aligning them to each provider’s own standards.Philip explains how organisations can upload their competency frameworks and have Helix assess sessions directly against those criteria. Coaches and facilitators receive clear summaries of their practice, including patterns like open question use, reflection time and strengths to build on. Organisations gain aggregated insight into quality trends across teams, making targeted uplift and CPD planning far easier.This approach removes the need for sit-ins, delivers consistent evidence at scale and goes far beyond surveys alone. Most importantly, it is built around a developmental ethos with privacy options and anonymised rollups to support improvement, not policing.A practical look at how AI can bring objective, actionable insight to training quality.

In this episode of 5cast, Corey Mitchell introduces the next member of 5app’s AI family: VeeCreate, the AI authoring assistant designed to help L&D teams close skill gaps fast. If Helix identifies the gaps and VeeCoach helps people practise the right behaviours, VeeCreate is the agent that helps you produce the right learning content at speed.Philip Huthwaite explains how VeeCreate accelerates the journey from insight to intervention, tackles limited design capacity, and keeps content aligned to real business context. You’ll hear how it works behind the scenes, starting with Helix signals, searching existing catalogues first, and only creating new content when needed.We cover what VeeCreate can draft, including micro-courses, guides, scenarios and action plans. We also look at how humans stay firmly in the loop, and what this means for designers, partners and pathways across the 5app ecosystem.A practical look at how AI can make content creation faster, smarter and more connected to the skills that matter. Next time: raising the bar for coaching and facilitation quality.

In this episode of 5cast, Corey Mitchell sits down with 5app CEO Philip Huthwaite to discuss how organisations are moving beyond surveys and smile sheets to measure real behaviour change. Helix is 5app’s AI powered skills intelligence module that analyses authentic workplace communication to identify and track soft skill development over time.Corey and Philip explore how the Helix Learning Impact Agent helps companies understand whether training truly changed how people show up at work. They unpack how the agent analyses meeting transcripts with consent to spot signals of key behaviours such as communication, accountability and active listening. The results show where new habits are taking root and where reinforcement is still needed.Philip explains how this approach provides genuine Kirkpatrick Level 3 evidence by assessing behaviour in context, not perception at a single moment. The discussion also covers how the data is handled. No audio or video is used. Privacy is protected through anonymisation and aggregation, and individual performance data is never surfaced for review.Listeners will hear how L&D teams use these insights to target interventions, adjust programmes and make smarter investment decisions. They also touch on how Helix connects seamlessly with the wider 5app platform, linking signals from Helix to coaching moments in VeeCoach and content in the Hub and VeeCreate to create a true 360 degree learning loop.A must listen for L&D and coaching leaders who want to see the real impact of learning, not just the feedback forms.