Focus on the experience of Pauline Fouqué, HR & CSR Manager at Digitaleo. In 2023, the company deployed the "Nouvelle Vague" training program for a dozen managers scattered between Rennes and Marseille. The challenge? To create a common base of managerial skills and develop a genuine managerial community. 

Hello Pauline, could you describe NUMA's mission in a few words?

At Digitaleo, the majority of our leadership and management training courses have historically been delivered face-to-face. Then, following the acquisition of the Kamp'n company in Marseille, we sought to adjust this approach by integrating videoconferencing sessions so that all our managers could be trained at the same time, and by taking into account the multi-site nature of our business... That's why we called on NUMA to train our managers remotely in short two-hour sessions. 

In what context did you deploy this training? And what specific challenges did it address? 

This year, many new managers have joined our teams. As usual, for each new promotion, we have introduced a management training course designed to provide them with the essential resources for a successful start in the job, and to establish a common base of skills.

Existing managers also asked for a few managerial reminders.

Given that our teams are spread over two sites, in Rennes and Marseille, our main objective was to harmonize managerial practices to create a community where new and old managers can exchange and collaborate seamlessly.

What criteria made the difference in choosing NUMA? 

The short, distance learning format offered by NUMA met our requirements perfectly. A few years ago, one of our employees took part in the "Nouvelle Vague" program when it was still being run as an inter-company course. She has fond memories of it! When I learned of your transition to in-company training, I was convinced of the quality of the content and the expertise you could bring us.

As for the duration of each session, two hours proved to be perfectly suited to our situation. Given that our managers are heavily involved in operations and frequently called upon, it would have been difficult for them to commit to half-days. It was therefore essential to maintain their commitment throughout the training, and the two-hour format ideally matched their expectations.

What were the highlights of your experience with NUMA? What did you particularly appreciate?

We had meticulously elaborated and structured our brief in advance, which enabled us to design a rigorous organization ready for implementation. This preparatory phase played an essential role in enabling the various members of the project team to fully immerse themselves in our organizational culture.

Although we are aware that the workshops and themes proposed by NUMA have already been deployed in other companies, we were pleased to note that they were judiciously adapted to our context. We really sensed an expertise and precision in the "tailor-made" approach, which - in my opinion - reinforced the effectiveness and relevance of the content proposed.

The participation rate recorded was high (93%). What steps have you taken to involve your managers upstream? 

Indeed, the participation rate is significant. First of all, our company values apprenticeship and it's fully integrated into our culture. We're used to training our new managers, so it's very natural for them to go through this stage when they accept a position with managerial responsibilities, as it's part of the "package" when they take up the post. New managers were therefore naturally inclined to take it.
In addition, we did not impose this training and preferred to opt for a voluntary approach. Everyone chose to take part, not least because they saw the training as a real opportunity to be seized.

And what did they enjoy most about the various workshops?

They particularly appreciated the sharing of very concrete advice and practices that they could apply directly in their day-to-day professional lives. They also really appreciated the role-playing exercises during the virtual sub-salons, which enabled them to discuss the problems they encountered and find solutions together.   

In the end, was your objective achieved via this training program? ‍

Thanks to this training program, they developed all the skills they needed to succeed and were able to put them into practice quickly. What's more, during the last session, we initiated a co-development session where we revisited the key topics covered in the various training themes. Although we had already experimented with this approach at Digitaleo, we had not yet succeeded in ritualizing it, due to a lack of appropriate topics. However, during this latest session, we noted its marked effectiveness, generating solutions for every problem identified. As a result, we decided to set up monthly one-hour sessions for managers, the first of which took place recently with participants connected from Marseille and Rennes. This initiative has helped to strengthen our community of managers.