IoR Podcasts, Improved Listening Experience

Meg Matthews, Head of Development and Effectiveness at Office for Students writes about IoR's podcasts and improving the listening experience. 

I’ve always been passionate about learning and development in all its forms. Often we only take the time to reflect on our formal learning, but there is so much development to be had in having professional discussions, and particularly, taking the opportunity to say to each other “what do you think?”, and even the – sometimes scary to admit - “I’m not sure, can you help me understand?”.

When I started my role at the Office for Students in 2023, I was delighted to find dedication to continual learning for all our colleagues. We have a programme of regulatory theory training, we use team coaching to help colleagues reflect, and teams host regular L&D sessions on a wide range of subjects. Keen to contribute, I decided to extend our learning by making use of the excellent podcast series hosted by the Institute for Regulation. Every month, all staff are invited to join a ‘podcast listening party’ for an hour over lunchtime. They can bring a sandwich, or dial-in from home. The atmosphere is informal, some colleagues will have ample regulatory experience, while others will be new to the organisation, or may work in professional services and want to better understand how we carry out our regulatory work. Most importantly, it is a space where there are no silly questions, an opportunity to explore regulation in its widest sense.

Together, we listen to the latest podcast in the series, and then discuss our reflections on what we’ve heard. This has led to some interesting discussions about the similarities and differences between UK regulators. The regulatory landscape is broad, and we can learn much from each other, considering what works for our sector and others. Through these discussions we have considered regulatory theory, and the models used in different environments. We have considered the ways in which our networks can help us to reduce regulatory burden and improve outcomes – in our case for students.

This is just one of the ways we ensure that all our colleagues, whatever their roles, are able to engage in conversations about our purpose as a regulator. In doing so, we can achieve our mission that that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers.

If you’d like to host podcast listening parties in your organisation, all you need to do is schedule an hour’s meeting, invite your colleagues, play one of the podcasts and open up the discussion. You might be surprised at the richness of learning that emerges.