PROJECT OVERVIEW & OUTCOMES
PROJECT SCOPE
CLIENT: SEEQUENT
PROJECT LOCATIONS: Delivered to leaders in Australia, New Zealand, Russia, UK, South Africa, Canada, Mexico, USA, Brazil, Peru and Chile.
PROJECT OWNER: Chief People Officer – based in Calgary, Canada.
PROJECT PERIOD: January 2019 – March 2020.
BACKGROUND AND GOALS
For more than 10 years, Seequent has been leading the world in the visualisation of complex data to make meaningful differences to people, companies and the environment.
In 2019, Seequent identified a need to provide leadership and management development to their globally distributed leadership team.
The goal of the leadership development was to elevate leadership capability, improve communication and to provide a common language and increased collaboration between leaders, ultimately leading to them forging a “Seequent Way” to inspire and motivate their teams using a common language and toolkit.
THE CHALLENGE
Seequent is an incredibly globally distributed organisation – as an example, the Chief People Officer is based in Calgary, Canada, while the global Head Office is in Christchurch, New Zealand. The leaders identified for training were from 15 cities, across 7 time zones in 11 countries (Australia, New Zealand, Russia, UK, South Africa, Canada, Mexico, USA, Brazil, Peru and Chile).
The program was designed to develop the leadership and communication skills of 70 leaders and provide them with an opportunity to connect and collaborate with peers and to improve knowledge sharing.
THE SOLUTION
After reviewing a range of options, consideration of costs, logistics and forecasted outcomes, it was decided to deliver instructor-led webinars using Zoom, an online video conferencing tool. In some locations where there were multiple program participants, they joined the webinars as a group, simulating a classroom environment.
The approach incorporated advanced collaboration features such as whiteboarding and focused on activities and collaboration to achieve an engaging learning experience.
In line with 70:20:10 model, a number of tools and activities were used to keep the learning alive and support the learners to implement the content back into the workplace. These included pre and post webinar activities, Pearls of Wisdom Micro Learning videos, team-based tasks and action learning Exploration and goal setting:
Content was developed through a collaborative and iterative needs analysis and instructional design process with PD Training (PDT).
The final version included REACH Leadership and Communication (psychometric) profiles, “real world” scenarios and case studies based on Seequent’s business and the content was designed for interactive online delivery supported with pre-and post-activities to extend the learning, engagement and retention.
After initial pilots and some iteration, the final format of 2-hour sessions, spread over 3-weeks apart, was agreed for the roll out.
EXPLORATION AND GOAL SETTING
Content was developed through a collaborative and iterative needs analysis and instructional design process with PD Training (PDT).
The final version included REACH Leadership and Communication (psychometric) profiles, “real world” scenarios and case studies based on Seequent’s business and the content was designed for interactive online delivery supported with pre-and post-activities to extend the learning, engagement and retention.
After initial pilots and some iteration, the final format of 2-hour sessions, spread over 3-weeks apart, was agreed for the roll out.
THE OUTCOMES
ABOUT THE PARTICIPANT LEARNING EXPERIENCE
81% The Content was Relevant to My Needs
90% Overall Trainer Rating
88% Delivery was Adapted to me Personally
75% I Would Recommend this Course to Someone Else
FORECASTED OUTCOMES FROM PARTICIPANTS
64% Increase in Employee Satisfaction
70% Increase in Productivity
98% Improvement in Leadership Performance
73% Recommendation or High Recommendation of Training to Others
FEEDBACK
A mixture of high quality, well considered, constructive feedback.
The theme was that the learning was beneficial, there were some technology and bandwidth issues that generally improved as the program continued.
A consensus that in person facilitation would have been preferred, with acknowledgement that it was impractical to achieve.
A general sense that the sessions were spread further apart than was preferable, once again balanced by the reality that by the end of a two-hour session it was long enough, and that the competing operational demands were a significant challenge for them personally.
Validating the structure of the short sessions being the best option, however consistent feedback that running them closer together would have been preferred.
KEY RESOURCES PROVIDED TO THE CLIENT
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING
- Operations Team Support
- Client Relationship Team Support
- Instructional Design and Support
- Orgmenta Participant App
- Customised Training Materials
- Pre-Work Reading and Prep Activities
- Post-Work Activities
- Post-Course Reinforcement Emails
Quality of Outcome: Some early learnings in operational complexity and systems, and some feedback about ‘over communication’ to participants; overall excellent.
PEARLS OF WISDOM
- Pearls of Wisdom Micro-Learning
- 3-5 Minute Short Dynamic Videos
- Pre-work and Learning Reinforcement
Quality of Outcome: Excellent.
ZOOM
- Online Video Collaboration Environment
- Screen Sharing and Virtual Whiteboards
- Live conferencing or record sessions
Quality of Outcome: Good but inconsistent.
REACH PROFILES
- Psychometric Profiles that Highlight Leadership
- Strengths and Communication Styles
- Integration into the Learning Journey