Sophie Pire, HRBP at Nodalview, takes part in a feedback exercise with NUMA. The company has deployed the New Managers program to develop the assertiveness of its junior managers and harmonize managerial practices within the group.

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

We wanted to offer training to our managers to standardize their skills and, above all, their management practices. Indeed, we had observed that each manager had his or her own management approaches and techniques, and we wanted to create coherence and harmony in these practices by aligning their skills.

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

Many managers have worked their way up within the company. And for some of them, it was their first experience of management, with no prior training. On the other hand, other managers had already taken external training courses, notably in the USA, but the management methods proposed did not fully meet our expectations. So our aim was to offer everyone the chance to follow the same training course, so as to align everyone with the same practices and thus (re)start from a common base.

What criteria made the difference in choosing NUMA? 

I had the opportunity to follow one of your training courses as a "tester" during a demonstration session, and I really appreciated your real-world approach.

The situations and practices covered were very concrete. In fact, they reminded me of some of the situations our managers may encounter in their day-to-day work. These case studies were perfectly suited to our context and to the challenges we face in a Tech company, particularly in the software sector. 

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

We particularly appreciated your ability to advise and challenge us, as well as your attentiveness. This came in very handy when we had to choose which workshops to attend. In fact, we had initially opted for certain workshops before changing our choices in the light of our discussions with your team and their sound advice. In the end, the course we had chosen was perfectly in line with our expectations. This ability to co-construct and adjust according to our needs was a real asset.

The participation rate was high (87%). What steps have you taken to involve your managers upstream? 

All were enthusiastic about the opportunity to benefit from personalized training. They saw it as a real opportunity to be seized. And to maximize impact, we decided to appoint two managers to lead each session. Their role was to take notes and summarize the key points at the end of each workshop. They each acted as ambassadors for the session. With this in mind, collecting feedback was also part of their responsibility, as was anchoring the practices learned in the participants' daily lives.

And what did they enjoy most about the various workshops?

Participants particularly appreciated the content and concrete practices, such as the COIN method, which they were able to apply immediately in their day-to-day work. They also greatly appreciated the role-playing exercises and the opportunity to exchange views with their peers on the different issues they may encounter.  

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

Our aim now is to anchor these practices over the long term. This is a slightly more complex phase, as it is now the responsibility of the managers themselves. 

Nonetheless, we would like to set up regular meetings between them, during which they could address issues linked to the themes discussed during the training courses. The aim is to create a genuine managerial community based on the sharing of best practices, and thus reinforce peer-to-peer exchanges .