
Museums Unlock Their Greatest Asset (Hint: Not Objects)
From Museum Buzz by Emily Kotecki
September 22, 2025 · 31 min · Season 4 · Episode 5
About this episode
Tamsin Russell discusses the importance of workforce development in museums and shares her approach to creating relevant programs.
Museums don't run without people. Yet workforce development remains underfunded and undervalued despite being critical to everything museums do. It cultivates community, increases retention, leads to employee happiness, and it's a way to future-proof the sector. Tamsin Russell, Workforce Development Lead at the Museums Association, creates multiple opportunities for its 13,000 members to grow. In this episode she shares her overall approach to developing these programs - ensuring they are relevant and even slightly provocative - while diving deep into their online learning offering. Plus, a game that ties together hot dog vendors, nuclear engineers on a submarine, wedding DJs and museum staff.
People in this episode
Guest: Tamsin Russell
Topics covered
- workforce development
- museum sector
- employee happiness
- community engagement
Keywords
- museums
- learning
- employee retention
- future-proofing
Mentioned in this episode
Products: online learning programs
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- Small Teams, Big Digital Dreams · March 30, 2026 · 17 min
- The Future of Digital Learning Starts With Trust · March 23, 2026 · 20 min
- AI, Audio, and Accessibility: Personalizing Museum Learning at Scale · March 16, 2026 · 19 min
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