THE OPPORTUNITY
One of the UK’s largest and most successful automotive manufacturers was in the midst of an unprecedented period of change and growth, and needed to galvanise its senior leadership community. It was evident from recent internal survey results and 1:1 feedback that employees were looking for clear and consistent direction from line managers.
Our brief was simple – improve the impact, consistency and message cascade of the quarterly leadership event. Previous conferences consisted of presenters talking, heads of businesses listening, and then back to business as usual. This had to change.
The event had become content heavy with little audience participation or feedback opportunities. Key messages often looked different depending on where you sat in the business, and a lack of communication following the event was creating a negative impact, feeding a siloed culture.
WHAT WE DID
First up, we established common business themes enabling us to co-ordinate the speaker presentations to maximise the message impact that addressed both business and audience needs.
Next, we searched and found great examples of collaborative working from across the business, coaching speakers from all levels to tell their stories with pride and impact.
We designed a number of interactive session to help colleagues discover potential new and better ways of working and develop new relationships.
Finally, we created an environment and atmosphere designed to inspire. This involved developing the event theme, a new set design, a more inclusive seating layout and an AV production that enhanced both the speaker and audience experience.
THE RESULTS
The audience responded well to the interactive sessions, which helped to define multiple areas of collaboration between teams to drive simpler ways of working, with more efficient projects outcomes.
Presenters spoke to the conference, and not to their slides, about customer topics that related directly to the audience, and not just at a top level. The result left the audience with a clear understanding of business needs, together with a clear and consistent message to cascade to their teams.
Since the Senior Leadership Conference, Passion Inc has continued to work across the business: developing an engagement programme for Manufacturing; Leadership ADVANCE skills development programme for their top talent: Team Building and advanced storytelling for Overseas Region, HR, IT and Corporate Communications; Work Group Leader communication training and embedding company values.
