Transforming Onboarding and Upskilling at Johnson Controls with Lizzy Kizer

Today on the Talent Development Hot Seat Podcast, I’m joined by Lizzy Kizer, Director of Learning and Development at Johnson Controls, seasoned educator, and champion of building learning cultures for technical organizations. With a background spanning corporate, government, higher education, and K-12, Lizzy brings a unique blend of expertise in adult learning, instructional design, and science education to her work leading learning initiatives for JCI’s 30,000-strong technical labor force.

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Connect with Lizzy Kizer here: LinkedIn

In this candid and practical conversation, Lizzy and I dive deep into the real-world challenges and solutions for onboarding, upskilling, and fostering continuous growth in large, complex organizations. Drawing on her career journey from zoology major and science teacher to L&D leader, Lizzy shares insights into what it takes to create relevant, impactful learning programs that drive both employee retention and business results.

In this episode, Lizzy discusses:

• Her unconventional path from science education to learning and development and why so many effective L&D professionals have roots in K-12 teaching.
• The critical importance of making learning immediately applicable and relevant, with adult learners motivated by real job needs and future career goals.
• How Johnson Controls transformed technical onboarding from a fragmented, manager-driven process to a scalable, centralized program with over 80% coverage and measurable ROI.
• The structure of their onboarding approach, including phased learning, strong “human touch” welcome, role-specific cohorts, and a blend of virtual and in-person components tailored to regional needs.
• Eye-popping results: 300% ROI, 5–7x improved retention, 36% increase in role performance, and huge manager time savings.
• Key strategies for upskilling and reskilling a frontline technical workforce—moving beyond product training to leveled, scaffolded learning pathways for foundational, intermediate, and advanced skills.
• How to pinpoint future skills needs (and stay agile as technology evolves), create responsive L&D solutions, and benchmark learning impact with real business KPIs.
• Practical approaches to evaluating learning ROI including measuring performance impact, retention, and even manager and employee Net Promoter Scores.
• Johnson Controls’ evolving journey in career development, job architecture, and leadership pipelines, making it easier for employees to find new roles, grow their skills, and advance.
• Why passion for learning (and for your learners) drives innovation and impact in talent development work.

Whether you design onboarding, lead L&D in a technical setting, or want ideas to boost learning culture and ROI at scale, Lizzy’s real-life strategies and insights will help you elevate your programs and sharpen your business impact.

Thanks for listening! Connect with Lizzy Kizer on LinkedIn to learn more about her journey and the groundbreaking work at Johnson Controls. If you found this episode valuable, share it with your learning team and keep building a culture where learning drives real business value.