Jessica Guyon, VP People at iAdvize, shares her experience. The company deployed a training program to equip and support managers in a post-Covid period. What's at stake? Align managerial practices, engage teams and emerge with all the keys to anchoring these new methods in the long term. 

What was NUMA's mission?

Before working with NUMA, we were already offering a training program for our managers. However, we realized that it was poorly structured and lacked more in-depth follow-up to have a real long-term impact. The aim was therefore to create a continuous training and coaching program, adapted to both new and experienced managers, to align managerial practices and finally to anchor them in the long term.

In what context did you deploy this training?

We deployed this training in a particularly turbulent post-COVID context. We wanted to re-engage teams, reinforce their skills and create a real community of managers. Given the need for agility, we opted for a short, regular and actionable format. In fact, we were looking for a system that was adapted to an intense resumption of activity, where managers had little time to devote to training, and which would give them the keys to federating their teams in a context of change.

What criteria made the difference in choosing NUMA? 

At the time, your 100% remote approach caught our attention. Your mastery of distance learning convinced us. Secondly, the topics covered in the program, as well as the length of the modules, were particularly well suited to our needs. The system of modular courses offers great flexibility, both for managers as consumers, and for us as customers. We were able to spread out the training over time and select modules according to the company's specific needs. 

What were the highlights of your experience with NUMA? 

2 points particularly marked our collaboration: 

• The impact of and commitment to the training sessions is particularly evident in the high attendance rate at each session, the relevance of the themes chosen, which aroused the interest of managers, and the quality of the facilitation: feedback on Aurélie Boukerche, with whom we've been working for some time now, has always been very positive.
• The quality of our interactions, whether with your Customer Success team, our sales point of contact, or our asynchronous collaboration via Airtable or participant feedback. 

What steps have you taken to involve your managers upstream? 

Over the past three years, we have implemented a progressive strategy. In the first year, we launched two career paths: one for experienced managers and one for new managers, involving all managers in the company. In the second year, we targeted only new managers, whether recently promoted or new to the company. And for the third year, with a majority of managers already trained and few newcomers, we opted for a more flexible approach. We proposed a course based on voluntary participation. This enabled managers to choose from several themes according to their specific needs and the modules they had not yet taken. This method enabled us to adapt content according to feedback and introduce new options. It also encouraged the commitment of managers, who saw the sessions as an advantage and a real opportunity for development. 

And what did they enjoy most about the various workshops?

The two most popular topics were managing difficult conversations and impactful communication. Difficult conversations, although often dreaded, can have a very positive impact when well managed. And at the end of this workshop, managers say they are more motivated and committed. The workshop on managing different styles, recently tested, was also very much appreciated. The sharing of experience between colleagues on day-to-day situations and content is highly valued. Finally, the tools provided are appreciated, as managers like to leave with practical, actionable tools rather than just theory.

Has this training program helped you achieve your goal? What are your next steps? 

We have achieved our objective, with positive feedback from managers who express a constant need and desire for further training and support. To meet this demand, we have set up "lunch and learn" and co-development sessions to enable managers to get together, share their experiences and discuss the application of concepts learned in workshops.

Additional sessions are also planned. The aim is to continue to identify topics on which managers have not yet been trained and which could be useful to them. At the same time, we aim to detect managers who still need to make progress on certain subjects, and direct them towards the appropriate modules.