Tarun Saund: An Exemplary Leader Engaged In Creating, Learning & Development Strategies
Tarun Saund
Head of Learning Diagnal Technologies
In an in-depth conversation with CEO Insights magazine, Tarun shares with us his professional journey and the various lessons he has gathered along the way. Here are some excerpts from the conversation.
Give us a brief account about your professional background and experience and what inspired you to join Diagnal Technologies?
I started my journey in 2007 as a CSR and cruised through various sectors, ranging from Media and Communications to Fintech and in 2009 reached career crossroads and chose Training and Quality, which set me on the path to understand the dynamics of an employee journey and the crux of the Learning and Development domain. I was fortunate enough to set up Training and Learning and Development departments for a large Media and Communications Global giant in a new city and 3 startups in Fintech and Financial services verticals.
Diagnal has helped numerous premium video streaming providers to grow their business with next
generation apps, metadata management and marketing automation solutions. We have an excellent team of experts that creates impactful products and solutions in the Media tech industry.
You possess 15+ years of experience, how has been your path to success and what is your success mantra?
Constant updates and learning are essential in today’s world, as it’s evolving and growing, to keep up with current trends. I was fortunate enough to learn from some of the brightest minds in the country and was able to turn my setbacks as comebacks by working on alternatives. While I started my career in this industry early, it kept evolving which led to opportunities and learnings. My success mantra is simple, Learning is a life skill that nobody can take away from you.
According to you, what are the trends in L&D vital to cultivate a workforce to be ready to meet the needs of their employers?
Organizations, careers and jobs have changed and continue to change at a rapid pace and are having a profound impact on the way we work, where we work and with whom we work. Today, while universities look to improve their practices, organizations struggle with getting the workforce job-ready creating a financial strain. This is where Learning and Development comes into play, it is capable of filling the gap between the competencies applicants have and those that are needed to be effective.
As a CLO, how do you drive organizational change through people and prioritize employee skills development?
Change is inevitable and it starts with the mind of the people. The
Today, while universities look to improve their practices, organizations struggle with getting the workforce job-ready, creating a financial strain
You possess 15+ years of experience, how has been your path to success and what is your success mantra?
Constant updates and learning are essential in today’s world, as it’s evolving and growing, to keep up with current trends. I was fortunate enough to learn from some of the brightest minds in the country and was able to turn my setbacks as comebacks by working on alternatives. While I started my career in this industry early, it kept evolving which led to opportunities and learnings. My success mantra is simple, Learning is a life skill that nobody can take away from you.
According to you, what are the trends in L&D vital to cultivate a workforce to be ready to meet the needs of their employers?
Organizations, careers and jobs have changed and continue to change at a rapid pace and are having a profound impact on the way we work, where we work and with whom we work. Today, while universities look to improve their practices, organizations struggle with getting the workforce job-ready creating a financial strain. This is where Learning and Development comes into play, it is capable of filling the gap between the competencies applicants have and those that are needed to be effective.
As a CLO, how do you drive organizational change through people and prioritize employee skills development?
Change is inevitable and it starts with the mind of the people. The
The business strategy comes to life, when people are ready to accept change and learn from it. A leader has to be both open minded and inclusive to new ideas and not just rational to be able to drive change. “Learning is agile, hence situational leadership works for short-term goals.”
Remote-working has become a norm especially during the pandemic, how is the value of Learning Management System (LMS) changing? Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
Remote-working has revolutionized how organizations design, deliver and evaluate learning activities and experiences and has accelerated the need of an LMS. From 2018-2023, the LMS market grew to $22.4bn at a CAGR of 19.6 percent. Creating learning journeys in LMS that have an impact not only unites and engages teams, but also reinforces the value of L&D. In the future, I can see organizations focusing on making technical, domain and behavioral trainings mandatory for their workforce as the fear of redundancy is very high due to technological advancements.
Tarun Saund Head of Learning Diagnal Technologies
Tarun Saund is the Head of Learning at Diagnal Technologies. He is a pundit at setting up Training and L&D departments from scratch and has coached numerous batches to help them build a strong foundation. Tarun envisions to create meaningful learning journeys that not only unites and engages teams, but also reinforces the value of Learning and Development.
•Hobbies: Discovering music from across the world.
•Favorite Cuisine: Thai, but anything Asian.
•Favorite Book: Leading with Heart.
•Favorite Travel Destination: Vietnam.
Remote-working has become a norm especially during the pandemic, how is the value of Learning Management System (LMS) changing? Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
Remote-working has revolutionized how organizations design, deliver and evaluate learning activities and experiences and has accelerated the need of an LMS. From 2018-2023, the LMS market grew to $22.4bn at a CAGR of 19.6 percent. Creating learning journeys in LMS that have an impact not only unites and engages teams, but also reinforces the value of L&D. In the future, I can see organizations focusing on making technical, domain and behavioral trainings mandatory for their workforce as the fear of redundancy is very high due to technological advancements.
Tarun Saund Head of Learning Diagnal Technologies
Tarun Saund is the Head of Learning at Diagnal Technologies. He is a pundit at setting up Training and L&D departments from scratch and has coached numerous batches to help them build a strong foundation. Tarun envisions to create meaningful learning journeys that not only unites and engages teams, but also reinforces the value of Learning and Development.
•Hobbies: Discovering music from across the world.
•Favorite Cuisine: Thai, but anything Asian.
•Favorite Book: Leading with Heart.
•Favorite Travel Destination: Vietnam.