Meet the ai Team: Sajith Muhandiramge

We shine the spotlight on members of Team ai to learn more about their roles, what it’s like being part of the team, and what training and development opportunities ai offers. This month, we sat down with Learning & Development Specialist, Sajith Muhandiramge.

When did you start at ai and what made you choose the company?

Start Date: 01/09/2022. The values of the business which aligned with mine. This was a niche role which required strategic thinking to set goals to create a positive learning culture within the business. This role is brand new to ai, it gives me an opportunity to create training solutions which can lead to improving overall learner experience within the business. I bring my previous L&D experience to create a collaborative and agile ai culture within the business.

What does a typical day look like for you?

Attending scoping and project update meetings, replying to training needs declared by the learners and the managers, approaching the subject matter experts to create course content, using the ADDIE model to create content within 360 Learning LMS (Learning management system). I will also focus on deadlines set in my L&D road map for 2023. Everyday is a new challenge and my role is to find the common ground in which I can align my vision with the overall vision of the business and the individual learners.

What is your team like?

It is a small team but we have a lot of positivity to create an impact, and to improve the quality of the employee experience. I am well supported by our Head of HR, Natasha Rubin and our HR Assistant, Helana Alwan. They both work on different initiatives to focus on wellbeing and cooperate social responsibility along with the main HR workload. I am happy to work with them both. Also, we have an amazing GIF tradition in our wider Corporate team which includes our Finance Director, Rebecca Gray and our Account Assistant, Lidiya Polatskaya. I can simply say “we work as individuals, but deliver as a team”.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

I have been involved in the biggest L&D intervention within the business recently – our very own Learning Management System (LMS) called 360 Learning. It went live on the 9^th January 2023.  

At ai, we have always had a strong culture of knowledge-sharing within the business, and our subject matter experts have been at the forefront of this. They are our greatest asset. We have implemented a strategy which delivers a blended learning experience by bringing our knowledge and subject matter experts together to create an evolving knowledge base. 360 learning provides a great platform to match our needs and I implemented the first phase by  creating content for our aiEazyFuel® product. The mobile app enables learners to provide feedback, raise a learning need, study for a course, checkout the leaderboard or even post a comment. This is going to lay a great foundation for our new starters throughout their onboarding process.

I am also planning to develop content for the movers within our wider ai team so that they can upskill and take on new roles within the business. We aim to nurture the leaders within the business and in the long run, 360 Learning will play a pivotal role in generating data which we can use to understand learners’ thinking patterns, demands and behavioral changes. It is simply an ecosystem with no limitations. If you have a great ‘big idea’, pitch in, design the course and share it with your team to level-up the knowledge.

What’s the best part about your job?

Reflecting on how my training solutions can help the learners to perform their roles better at ai is a huge motivation for me. Understanding their learning needs as and when they raise them within the LMS helps me to project and scope my plan of attack in the L&D roadmap for 2023 and beyond. Above all, at ai we believe people are our greatest strength. It is so good to speak to them when I am in the office and get their suggestions and input on niche subjects. Their singular ideas help me to construct a sustainable plural learning culture.

What’s your proudest moment at ai so far?

Launching the 360 Learning app for the wider ai team on the 09^th of Jan 2023.

How would you describe ai in 3 words?

Agile, Collaborative & Inclusive.

What do you enjoy most about working for ai?

I always believe in first impression. “You will not get a second chance to make a good first impression”. The open desk policy reflects that we are ready to listen, and ready to welcome change. I can proudly say that at ai, I can make a huge impact with L&D interventions, to create positive change.