Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube

In this episode of Learning Matters, we sit down with Bette Kidane, Senior Director of Learning and Development at Intermountain Health, to explore how she and her team reimagined learning to drive measurable, meaningful results.

From rethinking onboarding strategies to leading one of the largest Epic system rollouts in healthcare, Bette shares actionable insights for L&D professionals navigating change and scaling learning across complex organizations.

Building a Culture of Learning: Not Just Completing Courses 

For Bette, effective learning is less about systems and more about people. Her philosophy centers on cultivating a culture of continuous learning, where employees feel empowered to grow, contribute, and collaborate.

“Learning isn’t something to get through—it’s something to get excited about,” she shares. By creating spaces where learners can engage in dialogue, reflect on their work, and share their knowledge with peers, organizations can shift from compliance-driven training to truly transformational development.

Bette emphasizes that adult learning thrives on social interaction. When people feel included and connected during the learning process, they’re more likely to retain information, apply it in context, and pass it along to others. That mindset became the foundation for one of Intermountain’s most successful learning initiatives to date.

From Underperforming Training to a 747% ROI

In 2019, Bette and her team were facing a familiar challenge—traditional training methods were no longer cutting it. Their revenue cycle leaders expressed dissatisfaction with onboarding outcomes, particularly in how quickly new hires reached proficiency.

Rather than make incremental adjustments, the team made a bold decision: rebuild the entire program from the ground up.

This overhaul focused on:

• Replacing full-day sessions with half-day classroom instruction paired with peer mentoring
• Embedding real-world workflows and practical skill checks
• Creating a structured on-the-job training (OJT) checklist to guide mentors and ensure consistency

The outcomes were staggering:

• A 41% reduction in time to independent performance
• An estimated $1.9 million in annual savings
• A 747% return on investment

But beyond the metrics, the feedback told an even richer story. Mentors reported newfound confidence and leadership skills—many even earned promotions. Mentees felt welcomed, supported, and more capable in their roles. Team leaders saw a boost in morale, engagement, and cohesion across their teams.

Peer Learning Rooted in Learning Science

The success of this program wasn’t by chance—it was grounded in solid learning science. Bette leveraged cognitive behavioral theory, which supports the idea that people are more likely to adopt behaviors modeled by peers. Coupled with structured OJT, this created a dual impact: technical skill building and human connection.

“Mentoring adds a psychosocial layer to learning,” Bette explains. “It’s not just about the task—it’s about belonging, trust, and mutual growth.”

This people-first design also helped bridge the gap between new hires and seasoned team members, fostering a sense of inclusion and camaraderie from day one. And by formalizing the mentoring role with development programs, mentors were equipped with the tools and confidence to teach effectively—without needing to be professional trainers.

Preparing for a 45,000-User Epic Rollout

Bette’s latest initiative is one of the most ambitious projects in her career: helping Intermountain Health migrate multiple regions to a unified Epic electronic health record (EHR) system, impacting 45,000 employees across the organization.

Unlike staggered rollouts, this project is what Bette calls a “big bang go-live,” where all users transition on the same day. That requires meticulous coordination across clinical, revenue cycle, and health informatics teams—not to mention scheduling, credentialing, communications, and role mapping.

Her team has spent over a year planning, developing curriculum, credentialing instructors (including vendor and contract trainers), and aligning system access with role-based training needs. One of the biggest hurdles? Change management.

“There’s no soft launch,” Bette shares. “Everything needs to be perfect on day one.” Despite the scale and pressure, she credits the team’s collaboration and mindset shift—thinking in terms of tens of thousands, not hundreds—as the reason they’re set up for success.

AI in L&D: Proceeding with Purpose

Like many L&D leaders, Bette is exploring how AI can streamline and support learning initiatives—but she’s doing so with intention. In a heavily regulated industry like healthcare, AI adoption needs to be deliberate and compliant.

Her team is currently piloting tools like Microsoft Copilot to assist with time-consuming tasks like research, agenda planning, and note-taking. These automations can free up time for strategic work and reduce administrative burden, especially for smaller L&D teams.

That said, Bette remains thoughtful about the limitations of generative AI. “It’s efficient—but it’s also average,” she notes. AI can be a powerful partner for productivity, but it can’t yet replicate the nuance, creativity, and emotional intelligence that comes from human-centered design.

Coaching as a Catalyst for Leadership Growth

Another area of passion for Bette? Leadership coaching. She’s a certified coach herself and is part of Intermountain’s internal coaching program, which offers leaders a safe space to reflect, problem-solve, and grow with the guidance of a trained coach.

“Coaching gives leaders a sounding board—someone who listens without judgment and helps them uncover their own insights,” Bette explains. It’s not just about improving individual performance; coaching also boosts team engagement and contributes to stronger business outcomes.

She’s encouraged by the rise in formal coaching programs across industries and believes it will continue to play a key role in leadership development strategies.

A Journey Fueled by Curiosity and Courage

Bette’s path to L&D wasn’t a straight line. With a background in international business and a career that began in U.S. customs brokerage, she never imagined she’d end up leading award-winning learning teams in healthcare.

It wasn’t until a mentor encouraged her to step into a training manager role that she discovered her passion for learning and development. Despite being shy and uncomfortable speaking in public, Bette embraced the challenge—and eventually found her stride in instructional design, where she could blend her curiosity, creativity, and empathy to support learners behind the scenes.

Over the years, she’s trained across industries and continents, always driven by a desire to make learning meaningful. Her story is a powerful reminder that the most impactful learning leaders often start out as the most curious learners themselves.

Final Thoughts: Why Learning Matters

Whether she’s revamping training programs, guiding massive system implementations, or mentoring the next generation of learning professionals, Bette Kidane brings purpose, precision, and people-first thinking to everything she does.

Her story is a testament to what’s possible when we combine solid learning strategy with bold innovation—and when we never stop learning ourselves.

Connect with Bette Kidane on LinkedIn. She loves immersing herself in the L&D community and has an endless amount of great insights on the world of adult learning.