Driving business growth through learning

Jen Westropp, Global Head of Talent and Community Enablement at Relativity, recently sat down with Jason Lavender of Electives for a People Developing People interview.

During their conversation, Jen shared her thoughts on:

• Giving people space and opportunity to drive the business forward
• How clarity, commitment and culture create growth
• The learning mindset
• Why everyone needs to be learning
• AI readiness
• Authenticity at work
• Helping people stretch themselves
• Modern L&D
• Getting buy-in

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Jason Lavender: Jen, welcome. Could you share your background and what led you to your current role at Relativity?

Jen Westropp: Thanks for having me.  

My journey has been a mixture of intentional choices and unexpected twists and turns that led me here today as Global Head of Talent and Community Enablement for Relativity, responsible for the talent development, performance, L&D and social impact teams.

I started as a recruiter, and I quickly became interested in the sweet spot between People Strategy and the impact they [people] can make. So, I begged to start our learning and development platform, which I  built from the ground up for our scaling organization. And now, I’m expanding our team’s learning and growth beyond our four walls to make an impact on our communities.

Jason: Amazing. Zooming out to the macro role of People leaders, HR leaders and Talent Development leaders in general, it feels like there's been an evolution in the last 5 to 10 years. We often hear that HR used to be compliance-focused, but now it’s very strategic. Have you felt that change within Relativity? And what predictions do you have for the next couple of years?

To drive business forward, people need space + opportunity

Jen: I always used to say, “I'm in HR.” Now I say, “I'm in People and Talent,” because that's who and what I care about and nurture.

People have started to understand that the Talent and the People component is so much a part of how we drive an organization and our success.

I am responsible for creating space and opportunity for the talent here to thrive and bring their whole selves to work — to unleash their potential.

Jason: I like that. There's this famous line, “Hire great people, and then get out of the way.” But to your point, getting out of the way isn't enough. 

You have to be intentional to make sure that you're still creating the space and the psychological safety and eliminating other barriers. It's not as easy as just getting out of the way. It is about nurturing space for them to do the things they were brought in to do.

Jen: Totally. Getting out of the way is easy.

But do you know what they need? And how do you know? That's the difference.

Every action you make is an intentional choice based on what that person needs at that very moment, and it changes from day to day.

Clarity, commitment + culture create growth

Jason: I'm going to ask this question, knowing not every company fits squarely in either one of these camps. If you think of some companies that struggle to develop their people and others that are successful at developing people, what differentiates them?

Jen: I've seen both [companies that struggle and companies that are successful in developing people] and I've been a part of both organizations. It comes down to three things: clarity, commitment and culture.

• Clarity: They understand that investing in their people is not a cost. It's truly an investment in the business, because the more you grow your people, the more you grow the business.
• Commitment: Once they see that parallel, they make the commitment. It's just not lip service. They then put in the necessary infrastructure to make that a reality. 
• Culture: The commitment then shapes the culture where people trust and believe it's a reciprocal relationship: “I'm going to give you everything I have, because I trust that I'm getting the same in return.”

Learning is a mindset

Jason: We often hear HR and People leaders saying things like, “I just don't have any new budget this year to invest in my people.” Why do you think investing in human capital sometimes doesn't seem as intuitive for some leaders as it feels for the People leaders?

Jen:  I could talk about this all day. One notion I always try to debunk is that learning is a single point in time or an isolated event, rather than a mindset. Once we understand that it can be both, it transforms how we view learning. It expands beyond traditional training to encompass experiences that provide targeted development and the exposure needed for growth and advancement. Learning becomes an ongoing journey — an integrated experience that fosters meaningful development.

If you’re not learning, you’re not keeping up

Jason: Can you help me finish this sentence? Building a learning culture at work would be easier if ____.

Jen: If people saw learning as a mindset and understood that we are now in a reality where learning is non-negotiable.

Things are being introduced and changing by the moment. If you're not learning, you're not keeping up, and you will be outpaced. 

It would be easier if people just understood that and had a growth mindset. And then that's what establishes a learning culture, because we're prioritizing it [learning]. And we're aware. And we're seeking it. Learning is embedded into your DNA.

AI readiness requires commitment

Jason: Experts say we will experience more change in the next 18 months than we have in the last 10 or 20 years. And AI is going to be causing so much of the change.

Most companies we talk to are very early in creating AI-first cultures. And I feel like Relativity is further along. Outside of using AI and your product for your customers, how have you started building an AI mindset across the culture, managers, executives and teams? Are there any lessons you can share for companies where you were a year or two ago?

Jen: It's been a really exciting part of my team's time this last year.

Going back to what I said earlier, we focused on clarity, commitment and culture.

• Clarity: We recognized that AI is materially changing our product line and how we all work.
• Commitment: We committed to upskilling the entire organization to create AI fluency.
• Culture: We made sure people understood the implications and had that mindset to shift how we work every day.

AI has been around for a long time. Generative AI is what changed the game and accelerated the pace of this change.

I had a conversation with execs earlier this year and said, “For us to be able to do this, it requires time and attention.”

We created an AI fluency program. It's a three-part module to develop an understanding of the fundamentals, like large language models, hallucinations and the ethical responsibilities behind it.

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We took the whole organization through that upskilling together to create a common language and discuss it. We understood the implications of our roles and why this was so important to our customers. And then we talked about it in our product suite.

We just introduced CoPilot to the whole organization. By doing it together, we created this fun culture. People are nerding out and wanting to do it together. And it accelerated adoption and innovation. It pushed the envelope on what we could do, and that has been really fun,

Early on, we decided to get ahead of AI transformation. And we seized that opportunity. We created a cross-functional team that centralized information and made it uniform so we could do it all in lockstep together.

We removed fear with facts. The more we empower people to understand AI, the more we empower people to leverage it. 

People used to say things like, “AI is going to take over XYZ.” Now, people understand, and they say, “I want AI to take over XYZ, because then I can focus on reskilling, understanding and contributing in this new way.”

We changed the dynamic. This is a learning moment for everyone. We even made our executives participate in AI readiness training. We created a learning group across the whole organization. It's been a fun moment in my career — one I will probably look back on and be really proud of.

The more of ourselves we bring to work, the more we contribute

Jason: That's so great, and segues into my next questions: What are you most passionate about? What do you love about your role? And, as you look into the future, what are you most excited about? 

Jen: For a long time, I was very proud of the expertise I brought to the conversation. And then I realized that all of the parts of me, from my upbringing to the fact that I'm a working mom to all the things I do ancillary to my actual job, make me who I am.

The more I was able to bring and contribute all of those pieces of me, the better I got at work. I was allowed that opportunity because I had a team and a boss who cared to bring that out of me.

My passion is unlocking how to do that sustainably for everyone in the organization. That means hitting different pockets. It's the infrastructure and programming we put in place. It's how we're fueling that down to our people leaders. It’s unlocking all that potential and systematizing and expanding that impact beyond our four walls and into our communities.

We need to give people the freedom to go higher

Jason: There's a video one of our instructors shared in a class that is so powerful. A researcher puts a bunch of fleas in a closed glass jar, The fleas fly around in the jar for three days. And then, when the researcher takes the lid off the jar, none of the fleas try to fly out. They've been trained to stay in the jar. And when they have offspring, the offspring don't leave the jar either. It’s like the lid has been put on those fleas, too.

The question is, “How do you help people take the lid off?” 

Jen: Our job is to push, challenge and give our people the freedom to go higher.

Jason: It seems easy to visualize what old-school training looks and feels like — videos from the 1980s and quizzes that are more harmful than helpful. People often say, “We want to modernize our learning and development programs.” But defining “modern L&D” can be tricky. What comes to mind for you, Jen, when you think of modern L&D or modern talent development?

Modern L&D is experiential + meaningful

Jen: It's twofold.

One is how we're delivering that training. Sometimes, people feel like training is very point-in-time. While that will never go away, It’s shifting into cultivating experiences to create meaningful impact. 

You can't train somebody in public speaking if they aren't public speaking. So put them in an environment where it's low risk, and give them real-life coaching. Make it on the job and in the flow of what they're doing.

AI is going to change the game in terms of what's possible, and what we're training or upskilling on is going to change.

The competencies that are going to make someone successful in this new world include agility, resilience and adaptability. Those are not easy things unless you're squarely in it and feeling it — and given the permission to rustle through it.

Simplicity gets the buy-in

Jason: Last question: What advice do you want to give to people in your role at companies of similar size? What advice would you give to lean People teams trying to figure out how to prioritize?

Jen: It's difficult for me to say, “Here are the things you can prioritize…,” because it's all meaningful. 

My advice is to keep the engine room in the engine room. We always want to share all the details of what we do and why we do it. But the reality is that most employees don't speak Talent. We need to simplify how we deliver our message to help them understand what they need to know versus what we want to tell them. That helps in terms of getting their buy-in. 

About Jennifer Wenstropp

Jennifer Westropp is a dynamic leader spearheading Global Talent and Community Enablement at Relativity, a company that creates intuitive software that helps law firms, government agencies, financial institutions and other major corporations quickly find the truth in data.  With an unwavering commitment to fostering growth and inclusivity, Jen orchestrates transformative strategies and programs that elevate employees' potential, catalyze career trajectories and cultivate a vibrant, high-performance organizational ethos.

Jen is the driving force behind enterprise-wide initiatives, guiding her teams to design and deliver innovative solutions that unlock human potential. Her expertise spans diverse areas of Human Resources, from Talent Acquisition to Leadership Development, Inclusion, Diversity and Belonging. A certified Professional in Human Resources, Jen combines her passion for Design Thinking with a profound understanding of corporate dynamics, ensuring Relativity remains at the forefront of fostering talent and diversity.

Beyond corporate walls, Jen amplifies Relativity's impact globally. She scales community engagement and corporate social responsibility initiatives to address the unique needs of diverse communities worldwide. Under her leadership, programs like Relativity Fellows, Justice for Change and Relativity Gives thrive, shaping a future where technology intersects with compassion and justice.

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