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How Crédit Agricole Italia trained 30 senior leaders with outside executives who had already faced the same kind of situations

HR Contact at Crédit Agricole Italia

HR team, Leadership programme

Crédit Agricole Italia, a bank with around 12,000 employees and part of the multinational Crédit Agricole group, worked with Wibo on a tailored leadership programme for 30 senior leaders. The programme had three interventions, two in person and one online, with outside executives who shared situations they had lived through, plus practical simulations such as the manager and team member conversation. Participants rated the programme 8.6 out of 10 for usefulness, with an NPS of 60 on a scale from -100 to +100.

The client

Who Crédit Agricole Italia is, the bank of around 12,000 employees that chose a tailored leadership programme

Crédit Agricole Italia is the Italian bank of the multinational Crédit Agricole group, with around 12,000 employees. It is present in almost every region of Italy, with a stronger concentration in the centre and north.

Crédit Agricole Italia offers current accounts, insurance products, investment solutions, consumer loans and mortgages. The HR Contact of Crédit Agricole Italia, who asked not to be named, spoke about the programme with Wibo.

The challenge

Why Crédit Agricole Italia needed leadership training for 30 senior leaders that went beyond technical banking courses

Crédit Agricole Italia needed to strengthen the management skills of 30 senior leaders who run strategic teams inside the bank. These leaders carry a lot of decision-making weight, and they needed a programme that went beyond traditional technical banking training.

The HR Contact at Crédit Agricole Italia named four pillars to work on: putting the customer at the centre, building relationships with stakeholders, coaching skills to help people in their teams to flourish, and leading change.

Volevamo lavorare sulle competenze di leadership: l’obiettivo e la sfida generale era quello di dare degli strumenti di lavoro su varie tematiche per dare una vista trasversale a queste persone. Consolidare tutto quello che è il set di competenze che serve per irrobustire e supportare i manager, concentrandoci su quelle che per noi sono dei pillar fondamentali: la centralità del cliente, l’importanza della relazione con gli stakeholder, dare gli elementi di coaching per lavorare sulle persone dei loro team per farli in qualche modo fiorire, gestire gli stakeholder e guidare il cambiamento. La sfida è cercare di trasformare la visione in risultati.

[We wanted to work on leadership skills: the overall goal and challenge was to give working tools on a range of topics, to give these people a cross-cutting view. To consolidate the whole set of skills needed to strengthen and support managers, focusing on what we see as the fundamental pillars: putting the customer at the centre, the importance of the relationship with stakeholders, giving coaching tools to work with the people in their teams so they can flourish in some way, managing stakeholders and leading change. The challenge is to turn vision into results.]

HR Contact, Crédit Agricole Italia

È diverso da sentirsi raccontare: ‘Io l’ho vissuta prima di te’.

[It’s different from being told about it: ‘I lived through it before you did’.]

HR team, Crédit Agricole Italia

The programme

How Wibo put outside executives in front of 30 Crédit Agricole Italia leaders in three interventions

Wibo built a tailored programme for Crédit Agricole Italia with three interventions, two in person and one online, in which outside executives talked about situations they had lived through and how they had resolved them. The executives came from different companies, so the 30 senior leaders heard complementary management perspectives.

Instead of a lecture, Wibo gave Crédit Agricole Italia an active conversation with people who had faced similar situations. The senior leaders also ran simulations on real cases, such as the conversation between manager and team member, and practised feedback techniques. The programme also created opportunities for managers from different parts of the bank to build relationships.

La cosa che ha fatto la differenza è stato il punto di contatto tra un executive esterno e il nostro target di popolazione. A questo livello è importante fare benchmark e vedere all’esterno cosa si fa. Le sfide che un manager è chiamato a gestire in quanto manager di persone è la gestione del capitale umano, indipendentemente da dove lavori. Cercavamo un qualcosa di diverso che andasse a proporre degli elementi disruptive rispetto alla classica aula di formazione dove c’è un formatore che parla e le persone che ascoltano.

[What made the difference was the point of contact between an outside executive and our target population. At this level it matters to benchmark and to see what is being done outside. The challenges a manager has to handle as a manager of people are about managing human capital, wherever you work. We were looking for something different, something that brought in disruptive elements compared with the classic training room where a trainer talks and people listen.]

HR Contact, Crédit Agricole Italia

The impact

What changed for Crédit Agricole Italia’s 30 senior leaders after the programme, with an NPS of 60

The 30 senior leaders at Crédit Agricole Italia rated the programme with Wibo 8.9 out of 10 for expectations met and 8.6 out of 10 for usefulness, with an NPS of 60 on a scale from -100 to +100. The score for recommending it to a colleague was 8.7 out of 10.

The HR Contact at Crédit Agricole Italia pointed to the executives’ personal experience as what managers liked most. The contact also mentioned the simulation of the manager and team member conversation, where leaders practised how to ask questions and how to give feedback.

Sicuramente l’esperienza personale. Di solito abbiamo tutti piacere di imparare da chi c’è già passato, da chi si è già trovato precedentemente in una certa situazione da gestire prima di me.

[Definitely the personal experience. We all tend to enjoy learning from someone who has already been through it, who has already found themselves in a certain situation to handle before me.]

HR Contact, Crédit Agricole Italia

È stato molto utile, per esempio, la simulazione del colloquio responsabile e collaboratore in cui si chiedeva di dare un feedback al collaboratore. Lì si sono allenate delle tecniche su come porre le domande, quale fare, quale non fare. Sono cose che ognuno prende, la cassetta degli attrezzi, e cerca di arricchirla.

[It was very useful, for example, the simulation of the manager and team member conversation, where people were asked to give feedback to the team member. There they practised techniques on how to ask questions, which ones to ask, which ones not to. These are things everyone takes away, the toolbox, and tries to enrich it.]

HR Contact, Crédit Agricole Italia

Participants who answered the feedback question mentioned active listening, relationships with stakeholders and the outside speaker.

Applicherò subito maggiore ascolto attivo, eliminando alcuni bias su alcuni colleghi

[I will start applying more active listening straight away, removing some biases about some colleagues.]

Participant in the programme, Crédit Agricole Italia

Mi è piaciuto molto l’intervento esterno, stimolante e coinvolgente

[I really liked the outside speaker, stimulating and engaging.]

Participant in the programme, Crédit Agricole Italia

If you are considering a similar programme

What can you offer senior leaders beyond traditional technical training?

At Crédit Agricole Italia, 30 senior leaders met outside executives who described situations they had lived through and how they had solved them. The programme had three interventions, two in person and one online, and included practical simulations such as the manager and team member conversation.

Why bring in executives from other companies for a senior management programme?

The HR Contact at Crédit Agricole Italia said the point of contact between an outside executive and the senior leaders was what made the difference. At that level, the contact explained, it matters to benchmark and to see what others do outside the company.

How do you know whether a leadership programme worked for the people who took it?

At Crédit Agricole Italia the 30 senior leaders gave 8.9 out of 10 for expectations met, 8.6 out of 10 for usefulness and 8.7 out of 10 for recommending the programme to a colleague. The NPS was 60, on a scale from -100 to +100.

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