Trainer’s review
Best practise in SMEs which attended the German pilot-project
[written by Traute Winzker, Soufflearning-training expert]
In the organic store Bergfeld’s Naturkost GmbH (Bonn/Germany) several Soufflearning trainings took place. More than 15 employees were trained in customer orientation and sales. By being accompanied at their workplaces they learned how to deal in a successful way with different customers and how to sell more additional products.
Basic questions of customer orientation as for example handling complaints and advertising language were training topics for short workshops of two to three hours.
In the pharmacy Alte Apotheke (Bonn/Germany) more than 20 employees got Soufflearning trainings in customer relations and team cooperation. They were accompanied in their everyday work, dealing with customers and working together as team. In short workshops of up to two hours the employees learned how to sell services as for example customer cards, how to do professional sales and advisory talks and how to give customers the feeling of being guests.
In both companies the branch managers and department heads were also trained in management and leadership skills in order to secure the achieved training goals. They took part in thematic workshops and were accompanied in their daily routine as supervisors.
Experiences of Trainers in Italy and France
(1)
Interview with Sonia Cesario, trainer,
expert for Soufflearning @ Euroform RFS
[?]: Dear Ms Cesario, you are in the pool of experts for the training method called Soufflearning and we would like to know what you think about this new experience.
So my first question to you is:
What is your personal affinity with learning and training in the workplace?
Why are you interested in this method?
Sonia Cesario [SC]: My personal access to workplace-based training is shaped by empathy, communication and expertise, which has allowed me to develop a really relaxed atmosphere in discussions with those involved. This also improved employee self-motivation, so I believe they really felt ‚involved‘ and ’supported‘ from the very moment that they started to want to improve their performance and their capabilities. These situations simply result in good learning results with a direct impact on working processes within the company.
The Soufflearning method grabbed my interest inasmuch as it is clearly different from traditional training formats, with which I am also involved, where employees take part in external seminars outside the company.
I find both observation in the field and the feedback discussion interesting, as they encourage self-training sequences within the workplace which are attuned to the specific needs and characteristics of the company and the employees and allow direct application of the skills acquired within an everyday working environment.
[?]: And which elements of Soufflearning were really new for you?
[SC]: There were two elements which were completely new to me:
Firstly, the observation in the „field“, i.e. directly in the workplace. This allowed me, for example, to perceive and evaluate how the employee interacts with various customers, to what extent he is able to cope in difficult situations and how well he works in a team. And I could then qualify the employees while they went about their everyday work.
Secondly, the dialogue meeting which took place with the employee straight after the observation period and focussed on direct personal feedback on his capabilities and potential for improvement.
[?]: Did you manage to achieve the flexibility needed for the training?
[SC]: Yes, I found it easy to meet the requirement for flexibility virtually within the training process. The employers in particular really appreciated this as it allowed company interests, workflows and any days off sick or on leave to be taken into consideration.
[?]: How did you gain the trust of the employer?
Did s/he support the training activities?
[SC]: I gained the employer’s trust through empathy, a great deal of communication and the skills learned over time. This generated a relaxed, cooperative atmosphere in all contact with the employer from the beginning on.
The employer immediately showed a positive attitude towards the training system, mainly because this method allows inhouse training to be adapted to the company’s actual needs.
At the end of the training sequence, the employer also expressed his satisfaction openly – with respect to the method and the way the training progressed, because the results achieved within just a short space of time had clearly improved the company’s impact, employee behaviour and customer satisfaction.
[?]: Did the employees achieve tangible results from the training? Were they able to gradually improve their skills as a result of the training and feedback or did participants have a tendency to slip back into their old habits?
[SC]: During the training sessions in the workplace and the self-teaching phases, the employees learned to reflect on themselves and concentrate on specific aspects of their work in order to improve their own skills and capabilities and thus become more professional.
Employees had the opportunity to correct behaviour patterns and change attitudes, some of which were not particularly professional, they had unconsciously adopted within their work. They found the conference phase involving feedback, suggestions and the working steps I had formulated particularly useful, as the problem often lay not in recognising and understanding, but in identifying a solution.
One employee complained that he had made good progress on handling lots of difficult situations as a result of training, but still previously caught himself making the same old mistakes again.
[?]: Thank you very much, Ms Cesario, for talking to us!
[SC]: Don’t mention it! Any time!
[Thomas von der Fecht, netz NRW e.V. posed the questions]
(2) Interview with Katia Bruno ,
trainer, Soufflearning expert Euroform
[?]: Dear Ms Bruno, you are in the pool of experts for the Soufflearning method, too
and we would like to know what you think about this new experience.
So my first question to you is:
What is your personal affinity with learning and training in the workplace?
Why are you interested in this method?
Katia Bruno [KB]: Well, it is the application of a straightforward, empathetic relationship with the employees. Getting closer to the employees by means of research and access – autographical, experience-driven and cooperative.
My interest was really sparked by the innovative and experimental character of the method.
I am very much interested in applying new training methods and in the potential results that this Soufflearning offers compared to traditional training.
[?]: And which elements of Soufflearning were really new for you?
[KB]: Mmm, the reporting in the feedback meeting, one-to-one between the trainer and the employee. This gives the trainer the option of adapting various strategies, changing the scenario to suit the objectives, redesigning the training process based on feedback on the employee. Finally, the employer also has the opportunity to observe the process and monitor target achievement.
[?]: Did you manage to achieve the flexibility needed for the training?
[KB]: Yes, then it simply became a matter of adapting the training process to urgent requirements within the training process and within a company context.
[?]: How did you gain the trust of the employer?
[KB]: I gained the full trust of the employer by proving my professionalism and achieving initial results.
[?]: Did he support the training activities?
[KB]: In my case, the employer was involved in the information seminar and specifically gave his approval.
[?]: Did the employees achieve tangible results from the training? Were they able to gradually improve their skills as a result of the training and feedback or did participants have a tendency to slip back into their old habits?
[KB]: A series of tangible results were recorded when the training process was introduced, at both the discussion and evaluation stages by both the employer and the employee.
I managed to activate self-evaluation and self-reflection processes among the employees which helped them to change their own behaviours during the training period. I believe that the process needs to incorporate a follow-up element in the medium to long term to obtain a final assessment of the efficiency and influence of the method and to record whether the employee has fallen back into old habits once the training is complete.
[?]: Thank you for this interview, Ms Bruno!
[KB]: My pleasure!
[Thomas von der Fecht, netz NRW e.V. posed the questions]
(3) Interview with Blandine Turpin ,
Trainer and Soufflearning expert at Greta Est Bretagne
[?]: You have participated in the training and experimentation of the method Soufflearning in France. Could you at first, introduce yourself?
Blandine Turpin [BT]: I am Blandine Turpin.
I am a consultant and training expert in communication, management and sales techniques. And I actually agreed to participate in this experiment of the method for Soufflearning for Adexium society. (…)
[?]: Could you please tell us about the training you have done in Adexium company?
[BT]: Yes, it lasted a little more than two months.
Initially the objective was to improve the quality of telephone service in the company which is the heart of its business and therefore the two trainees during this experiment were two supervisors. There had been a change in their work which required an accompaniment on these new activities.
We therefore based the training on improving the call handling procedure and how to deliver this training to operators that allowed the supervisors to find the right posture toward their colleagues.
[?]: Could you tell us what you think of the Soufflearning method and its advantages?
[BT]: So the first advantage is that it takes place in the company, so it is adapted to the tools, the people have in hands; it also fits their schedule and then fits their application, so it is a tailor-made training at all the levels!
It is really a pure and simple individualized training.
When we organize traditional training within-enterprise or inter-enterprise, we usually come with our training content already prepared, while it is completely the opposite here, , we will first observe and adapt thecontents thereafter.
This requires adaptability, but as a trainer, it is really what is most interesting…
[?]: Thank you for your review and experimentation of Soufflearning.
[BT]: Thank you, you’re welcome…
[Bertrand Boudey, GIP-FAR posed the questions]