After having trained its managers and employees, La Belle Iloise decided to involve its Executive Committee in the managerial dynamic underway. The challenge? To create a common language, strengthen alignment between the organization's "layers", and collectively develop practices to support the company's transformation. Here's a closer look at the experience of Claudie Jan, Human Resources Director.

What was NUMA's mission?

We called on NUMA to design a concise yet precise training course for the Executive Committee, based on the main themes already covered with our management staff.

The aim was twofold:

• enable the CODIR to adopt the same managerial tools and attitudes as their teams,
• and promote a global alignment of practices, in line with the culture we wish to embody at all levels of the company.

In what context did you deploy this training?

Usually, we train the Executive Committee first, to give them a head start on the managerial content before rolling it out to the teams. But this time, we chose to reverse this logic: the management staff were trained first, then the CODIR followed a more synthetic course. This proved very interesting: the trainer, who was the same for all the courses, was able to share with the CODIR the feedback from the field, the sticking points and the expectations expressed by the teams. This led to very concrete, down-to-earth discussions.

This alignment process is part of a broader managerial transformation we have been carrying out for several years, with the aim of harmonizing practices, decompartmentalizing businesses and changing our culture.

What criteria made the difference in choosing NUMA? 

We were looking for a partner capable of adapting to the diversity of our businesses and the realities of the field. With NUMA, what made the difference was :

• the variety of formats on offer : face-to-face, distance learning, short workshop-type formats... designed to fit into what are often very busy schedules,
• content in tune with societal changes and new relationships at work,
• and above all, the ability to combine a structured offering with a genuine ability to listen and adapt.

This agility enabled us to co-construct a program that was truly aligned with our needs.

What were the highlights of your experience with NUMA? 

We really appreciated your ability to listen and adapt. You start from an existing base but know how to adjust it to the company's specific needs.

The fact that we could challenge the formats, choose the themes, co-construct certain sessions... This is what enabled us to really make the program our own, while remaining within a clear, structuring framework.

What steps have you taken to involve all members of the management committee upstream?

I didn't try to impose an approach. The idea was rather to bring out expectations from the field, and then pass them on to the CODIR. This really raised awareness.

Some members have begun to change their practices, sometimes in very concrete ways - such as simply sharing their Outlook calendar. Open exchanges, clarifying expectations and sharing best practices have helped to remove obstacles.

And what did they enjoy most about the various workshops?

Feedback is still in progress, but several points are already clear:

• clear tools,
• A tone that's both educational and accessible,
• the quality of exchanges,
• and consistency with the expectations expressed by their teams.

The short format, centered on concrete cases, reinforced the impact and facilitated appropriation.

Was your objective achieved through this training program? 

The CODIR is now aligned, aware of expectations, and certain behaviors and practices have already evolved.

But beyond this stage, the program also gave rise to new ideas:

• enrich our management rituals,
• adjust certain content,
• and nurture an internal managerial community that we've just launched.

It's a new dynamic that we're testing out, and that we'll continue to develop and evolve over the coming months.