waning crescent · 41% illum
two client builds at a time · discovery & sparring open now · last update 03.11
Midnight Labs

midnight labs · capability and AI for teams and organisations

Help your people get better at real work, including how they use AI in it.

You are spending real money on learning and on AI, and capability is still not moving. We find out what your organisation is actually teaching people, then change the conditions so the work itself does the teaching. You get evidence your executive team will accept, and a system your own people run.

book a 30-minute call -> see how we work

You would be talking to Tom (Melbourne) or Janna (Athens). There is no sales team between you and us.

why people call us

Three conversations we keep having.

Different titles, the same three problems. If one of these was your meeting this week, a call is probably worth your time.

CHRO · Chief People Officer

"The board wants proof of capability. I do not trust the numbers I would show them."

Completion rates and self-assessed skills cannot answer the questions you are getting: who can do this work, where the gaps are, and how fast they are closing. You need measures the executive team will accept, and an L&D operating model that produces them.

CTO · CIO · Chief Digital

"People are using AI faster than we can govern it, and I cannot tell if the work is getting better."

Every team uses the models differently, to different standards. Nobody can say whether that is building knowledge or hollowing it out. You need governance and capability raised together, with a clear line between what AI does and what stays human.

Senior L&D leader

"My team runs good programmes. Capability is still not the thing that moves."

You already know learning happens in the work, not in the catalogue. You need a method that goes beyond more programmes, less admin on your team, and language that holds when leadership asks what it bought.

how we work with you

Start with a conversation. Then, if it fits, one of three engagements.

Every paid engagement begins with a short, fixed discovery. By the end of it we both know whether to continue. If we are not the right practice for what you want to change, we say so in writing.

first, and free

A 30-minute call with Tom or Janna

Bring the problem as you see it. We bring questions, not slides. You leave knowing whether we can help and what the next step would be, even if that step is not with us.

book a slot ->
┌┐└┘
FILE / 01 · CAPABILITY-DIAGNOSTIC // SIX WEEKS

Capability diagnostic

Six weeks to find out why the investment is not paying off, and what to change first.

for
CHRO or head of L&D
takes
Six weeks, about ten hours of your leadership team's time
you get
A plain-language report, one recommendation, and a stop list
Discovery first. If we are not the fit, you hear it in writing. see the detail →
┌┐└┘
FILE / 02 · STRATEGY-BUILD // SIX MONTHS

Capability strategy and build

About six months from the first conversation to a capability system your own people are running.

for
CHRO and CTO or CIO, together
takes
Around six months to the first hand-off
you get
Diagnosis, strategy, design, and the first working build
We do not start without both sponsors. see the detail →
┌┐└┘
FILE / 03 · TEAM-AI-CAPABILITY // ONE TEAM

Team AI capability

Turn private AI use into shared standards, inside the team's real work, in about six weeks.

for
One team or function lead
takes
About six weeks, in the work rather than in workshops
you get
Shared team rules and a review rhythm that outlasts us
Needs real work the team owns, and a sponsor on the inside. see the detail →
┌┐└┘
FILE / 00 · SHORT-BRIEF // IF UNSURE

Not sure which fits?

Two or three sentences on what you are trying to change is enough. Tom or Janna replies by hand.

for
Anyone who would rather write it down before talking
takes
Five minutes. We reply within a few working days
you get
A clear yes and a next step, or a clear no and a recommendation
We do not run automated follow-up sequences. write the brief →

Two more focused engagements usually come after the build: workforce data strategy, for when leadership has stopped trusting the dashboards, and AI for L&D operations, for taking routine work off your L&D team safely. Both are on the services page.

how the practice runs

Small on purpose.

  • Two principals. One of us runs your engagement from the first call to the hand-off.
  • Two client builds at a time. More than that and the judgement gets thin.
  • Every paid engagement starts with a short, fixed discovery. The larger commitment comes after, and only if it makes sense.
  • If we are not the right practice for what you want to change, we tell you in writing and, where we can, name who is.
  • Replies come from Tom or Janna. We do not run automated sequences.
probably not us

If you want a single course made more engaging, a capability scorecard for compliance, or a vendor to roll out a platform, we are the wrong call. We will say so in the first conversation.

who you would work with

Two of us, in two timezones.

One of us is usually awake when you are.

co-founder · melbourne

Tom Barker

Based in Melbourne. The 30-minute call books into his calendar. tom@midnightlabs.com.au · LinkedIn

co-founder · athens

Janna Admiraal

Based in Athens, so European and UK working hours are covered. janna@midnightlabs.com.au · LinkedIn

next step

Start with the call.

Thirty minutes, no slides. Or write a short brief if you would rather think on paper first.

book a 30-minute call -> write a short brief