The client
Who Epta is, the commercial refrigeration group with more than 8,000 employees and 11 plants
Epta is a global company that makes and sells commercial refrigeration systems, used in supermarkets, bars, airports and other retail spaces. It has more than 8,000 employees and 11 plants around the world, with its headquarters in Milan, Italy.
Epta invests in product development and in the training of its own people. Eleonora Gasca, Group HR Transformation, People Attraction & Development Director at Epta, spoke about the programme with Wibo.
The challenge
Why Epta, which already had a leadership academy for around 200 managers, wanted training that was continuous and close to daily work
Epta already ran a leadership academy, an annual programme that had trained around 200 managers, and it wanted a different approach that was continuous and built into daily work. That academy came before the programme with Wibo, and the figure of around 200 managers refers to the academy.
Epta wanted to avoid training that felt isolated and disconnected from real business challenges. It was looking for an approach that could build a learning organisation, where training is a spontaneous practice present in every part of the job. It also wanted to promote an internal entrepreneurial culture, in line with the company’s global strategy.
The programme
How Wibo built a tailored entrepreneurship programme for Epta with top executives, workouts and team coaching
Wibo brought Epta an experiential, hands-on training model that combines inspiration from top executives with practical activities and direct exercises. Managers took part in workout and team coaching sessions, which encouraged learning between colleagues with different experience.
Wibo tailored the content to Epta’s needs, covering inclusive leadership, ethical leadership and intrapreneurship. Eleonora Gasca, Group HR Transformation, People Attraction & Development Director at Epta, said it was important to find a partner able to turn training into a concrete, practical path that joins theory and practice.
Eleonora Gasca also highlighted how flexible Wibo was in tailoring the content to Epta’s specific needs.
The impact
What changed in Epta’s teams after the entrepreneurship programme, from Think Big in meetings to links between divisions
Epta’s managers took what they had learned back to their teams, for example by applying the idea of “Think Big” in meetings. The programme built connections between participants across geographic and functional barriers, and let them tackle shared challenges across different divisions.
The experiential method brought out new ideas and raised awareness of personal skills and room for improvement. Eleonora Gasca, Group HR Transformation, People Attraction & Development Director at Epta, stressed the importance of an approach that drives change in participants and in the organisation as a whole.
Participants rated the programme 8.8 out of 10 for expectations met and 8.8 out of 10 for usefulness, with an NPS of 63 on a scale from -100 to +100. The score for recommending it to a colleague was 8.9 out of 10. Asked what they found most useful, some participants answered in English.
Create a culture where mistakes are allowed and are a leverage for innovation
Sharing mistakes at work is important because it creates a culture of learning, transparency, and psychological safety
Highlight that failure is not the end of an activity, but the start of a new approach to the problem.
