Case Studies
Use of Voyage Mapping
Voyage Mapping: Using an Experiential Activity Remotely Invisio is a Learning & Development company based in Ireland that offers facilitation and learning solutions across all sectors. It had been arranged that a training exercise called Voyage Mapping would be used via video conference where the facilitator, Ann Alder from RSVP Design, would manage the session from her home in Cumbria for the Invisio team in their offices in Dublin. This is an unusual format as normally the facilitator would be in the same room supporting the participants as they use the experiential activity, and able to observe them. Louise from Invisio and Ann from RSVP Design both gave feedback on the experience of carrying out a training exercise remotely: What were Invisio looking for from the training exercise? Louise: We wanted to discuss changes to our consulting and our customers' needs. Ann: Invisio wanted an exercise that would help them explore changes to the financial sector and their clients' needs, and how well equipped they were to meet these changes. Prior to the meeting, I sent some articles to Louise about trends in the financial industry. Ann, why did you suggest Voyage Mapping? Ann: Voyage Mapping was ideal for the environment. It is a large roll up map and can be used with everyone in the same place. The tool was in place in advance of the meeting, although there was no previous experience of using Voyage Mapping. The imaging in Voyage Mapping is very useful as it helps people to understand the opportunities and risks in a safe and collaborative environment. Why did you decide to do the exercise remotely? Louise: We only had a short period of time - just over two hours - so it seemed a lot to ask Ann to come over to Ireland to facilitate. We had worked with Ann before and had a great bond, so the whole team were very comfortable with how she worked. Ann: There was a limited amount of time for this exercise. They felt that it was too long a distance to travel to the location, so it was agreed to do the facilitation by teleconference. What did the exercise involve? Ann: To run the exercise, we created a hypothetical client. During the exercise the team had to guess where the client's destination would be, what support they would need on their journey, and what pitfalls or opportunities could arise. We discussed the number of young people in their and their clients' organisations, and their wants and needs. We discussed their views on their own coaching and internal coaching by their clients. We created working prints and used these to extend the training. Did you enjoy the experience Louise? Louise: Yes, very much so. We quickly built a rapport as Ann is very articulate. The instructions were very clear and there were no real problems. Some in the group were leaving it to others, but we encouraged everyone to contribute to the exercise. Everyone ended up fully engaged. Did the remote facilitation work? Louise: We have used remote facilitation before, and we are used to it. Ann knows the Voyage Mapping exercise very well and although she could not see the map on the table, she was still able to guide us through the process. We lost our teleconference connection part of the way through the exercise, however with Ann's in-depth knowledge of Voyage Mapping she was able to keep us progressing. Ann: I found the remote facilitation and training process very easy. There were six in the group and by using a camera it worked very well. I didn't feel isolated in any way and enjoyed the session. Further Information To learn more about how we can help you to integrate or facilitate powerful, experiential learning activities in your training, please contact sales@rsvpdesign.co.uk or call +44 141 561 0387
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Use of Matrix Product
Matrix - breaking down 'silo working' by using an experiential learning activity to powerfully demonstrate the advantages of working collaboratively Outlined below is an overview of how and where an RSVP Design Consulting Client used Matrix to help provide a powerful emotional experience to help people engage with an abstract concept and relate it directly to their own organisation challenges. Background: Client Request In Oil & Gas Businesses a large number of different departments must work collaboratively to unlock value for the enterprise. However Operations Excellence, Geologists, Rig operators etc. tend to work in silos and escalate decisions / requests for information up the hierarchy. This results in slow decision making and a lot of re-work. The client wanted a means to demonstrate the value and benefits of collaboration experientially. Consultant Response Approach: We decided the best way to do this was to actually recreate the organization structure using Matrix cords. When the activity got underway the group began problem solving in silos. It took about 15 minutes before one group they realized that they didn't have any white clips in their department! That led to the group discovering that they only way to success was by sharing resources. Their starting assumption had been that they could solve it individually! Once they determined they needed to share resources, they embarked on a very painful process of sending all the information up the network, to the 'boss' who would speak to the other 'bosses' and then send other information down. After 30 minutes they concluded that this was very painful and almost impossible to achieve. I asked for an estimate, and they said it would take - '4 to 6 hours!". At this stage I offered them 4 additional cords which they willingly accepted and used to connect the teams at the lowest level in the organization. Once those connections were in place, information and resources started to move rapidly. Teams that had been a foot away from each other that hadn't talked in the preceding 45 minutes were now engaged in heated problem-solving debates. In 15 minutes the task had been successfully completed. Matrix Activity Debrief The de-brief brought out a number of wonderful realisations from the participants: When you escalate things to your boss, you actually make his / her life more complex A lot of communication lines exist and are easy to use, but the ones that are formally established are the 'safest' Listening for what other people need can help you get what you need! Even though you might have all the resources you need to complete your task, you can still be a critical cog in connecting other people who don't have the same comfort you have in terms of task completion There is real value to collaboration in terms of speed, trust and greater engagement Further Information To learn more about how we can help you to integrate or facilitate powerful, experiential learning activities in your training, please contact sales@rsvpdesign.co.uk or call +44 141 561 0387
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Use of Dialoogle Product
DIALOOGLE – Dialoogle cards are a carefully created and selected set of abstract images, photos, and symbols to creatively kick-start, renew, diversify, and qualify group discussions and conversations to enable participants to ‘open up’ about their thoughts and ideas in a safe environment. Outlined below is a description of how this image-based experiential activity was used as part of an internal leadership programme during a session on high performing teams to allow groups to visually create a future vision of the team and a bold statement to capture it. This case study is provided City of Glasgow College and is based on an event organized for more than 100 college managers that came together. Subsequently several managers have now approached the Organisational Development function about using the cards with their teams. There were a number of newly appointed as well as some established managers from across the college representing not only the faculty areas but also the support directorate Here is the explanation of how Dialoogle activity was introduced: Team Vision Exercise For the purpose of this exercise you are part of a new management team. Imagine it is 5 years from now and the team is being recognised for making a game-changing contribution. Step One From the images on the table select one image to represent each of the following: The way the team works together What it feels like to work as part of this team What others e.g. senior management/students/stakeholders are saying about us Once everyone has selected an image to represent the points above each person is invited to share their chosen image and explain the reason for selection Step Two As a team distil the range selected down to one or two images for each point to create a collective representation of the team vision. Final Step Create a bold statement of the desired future e.g. “This team will be known for...” Feedback from Douglas Alexander, Organisational Development Manager “Dialoogle cards provided great feedback, but furthermore these image cards turned out to be a great tool that could also be used in the future. A week after the event there were managers asking for sets of Dialoogle cards to use in their team meeting. These provided an opportunity for everyone to speak up. Not only was the manager talking, but all the team is involved and everyone has a chance to express themselves. The engagement from everyone is the same. Of course, more vocal members speak up first, but passive ones also have the opportunity to talk.Images help, as a picture speaks a thousand words. This activity has also proved useful with multicultural teams where language may be a barrier and even when a translator is used, the images still provide the depth for the conversation. Images encourages sharing in an open and honest environment.” Further Information To learn more about how we can help you to integrate or facilitate powerful, experiential learning activities in your training, please contact sales@rsvpdesign.co.uk or call +44 141 561 0387
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Use of Minefield Product
MINEFIELD – An experiential capstone learning activity to provide opportunities to use the competences required of good managers Outlined below is a description of how to use an experiential learning activity to provide the kind of complex challenge that will provide a group with the opportunity to rehearse, practise or try to manage their contribution to a task. The task is consistent with earlier theoretical input and asks them to apply management competences in a realistic environment. They are under pressure from the task itself but also from working with others in an unfamiliar context. This case study is provided by Derek Fox from DF Leap in Ireland and describes his work with two different clients. Mostly I use Minefield at the end of a 2-day session to reinforce the learning from the sessions. It always works really well, participants really get the learning out of it and the debrief usually lasts 60-90 minutes. I run a 6 day ‘Stepping into Management’ course broken down into three 2-day sessions (over 3 months). Module 1 is ‘Personal Effectiveness – Managing Self’ it covers: Understanding your role and context Planning Problem Solving Decision Making Time Management Prioritisation Managing Personal Change Personal Brand In the afternoon of day 2 we run Minefield as it ‘tests’ most of the competences above. For example, during the course we help them understand they need to know ‘What Matters Most’ to the organisation (Top Priorities). Then what is the business criteria and weighting for Decision Making and Prioritising. They cover Planning and Problem Solving. In Time Management we help them understand they can NOT manage time (it is fixed) but they can manage where they SPEND their time, so actually it is about budgeting your time (making sure you are focusing on the most important things). So Minefield works well here as: At the start I set up a company called ‘Minefield Inc’ I am the CEO and I tell them my Top Priority is MONEY! Make me profits! (this should link back to the ‘What Matters Most’ part of the course and focus them on solutions that maximise profits) I assign an overall Co-ordinator and 4 team leaders (one for each sub team A.B,C,D). The role of the Co-ordinator is to look at the big picture and co-ordinate communications across the 4 teams. The role of the team leader is to manage their team’s activities, plan, and deliver results Ideally if they do it right they should work out the following: The goal is to FIND the mines (this is around Planning and What Matters Most) They need to do this in the most profitable way (What Matters Most) So if the goal is find the mines, than applying STEP 1 of Problem Solving (What is the problem) they should identify they need to lift the buttons to find the mines Now there are several strategies for this, if they are applying all the learning they should work together as one large team (this does not always happen due to the competitive nature) They should then PLAN out options, for example Option 1 – One team just lifts ALL the buttons Option 2 - Each team lifts buttons in their area of the mine and shares info with other teams Option 3 - Play strategically as Minesweeper and only lift the buttons they plan/pick to try to maximise profits Now selecting the strategy falls under Decision Making and Prioritising, so they have options, they need to pick one based on the criteria (Money, Time, Risk). Working across this criteria they SHOULD (but do not always) pick Strategy 1 or 3 (if they even decide to work together) If they are clever they realise: We have MORE money than needed to lift all buttons We have MORE people than needed (in Time Management we talk about resources being Time, People, Money) but we are limited in TIME, so Time is an important factor. If they go with Option 1 this is ZERO risk and VERY quick, but they do not make the MOST money If they go with option 3 this maximises the Money but there is a risk they get it wrong (this related to Risk Appetite , which is important in banking) Teams that do not work together typically run out of time and/or get it wrong (do not correctly identify all the mines) After the exercise I get the team leaders to debrief in their teams (what worked, did not work, do differently next time), then the Co-ordinator hosts a group debrief and they then need to report back to me as CEO. Case 2: Claims Handlers in an Insurance business. Here the course looks at key skills of: Observation Awareness Problem solving Identifying key information Big picture v details Asking Questions Again I run the exercise (but not as a large organisation) to test out their ability to look at the big picture, decide on a strategy and be aware of all the information/details to work out what is the key information. Further Information To learn more about how we can help you to integrate or facilitate powerful, experiential learning activities in your training, please contact sales@rsvpdesign.co.uk or call +44 141 561 0387
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BAE SYSTEMS: Surface Fleet Supervisors
This division of BAE Systems builds naval ships to supply MOD contracts. Several years ago they needed to train approximately 100 of their operational supervisors in supervisory leadership skills. Formal, accredited training with classroom style teaching and theoretical assignments had proved a disaster: the inappropriate learning style and the lack of content relevance to the supervisors had created a high drop-out rate and de-valued all training in the eyes of the participants. RSVP Design were commissioned to re-design the programme and to deliver a modular, 5-day programme to all new and recently appointed supervisors. This resulted in the delivery of 20 days of training (4 x intakes, each undertaking a 5-day modular programme over 2 months) and this programme continued into the future as new supervisors were recruited. Key elements of this programme are: A simple, pre-programme personal and line-manager assessment of confidence and competence against carefully selected and relevant competences, to give a ‘benchmark’ of starting performance Trainers spending a full day shadowing a participant to get a sense of the reality of the working environment and issues A highly practical and coherent workshop design, in which learners built skills in a step-by-step process, using activity based (experiential) learning that made no real demands upon ‘academic’ ability but recognised practical contribution, common sense, sensitivity and awareness of inter-personal issues and the need to change behaviour to accommodate different situations Flexibility on the part of the trainer to deal with issues of real concern …”So what do I do when this happens?” The creation of personal, individual action plans for continuation beyond the programme Follow-up interviews and observation by line managers, supported by HR specialists in the company. An initial needs assessment and observation of the first cohort in action identified the following key factors in the programme design. The supervisors needed an activity-based programme. The participants both enjoy and remember the learning derived from the activities. The process of activity, review and introduction of ‘comparative’ theory matches the learning style of the majority. The supervisors had, in general, a very low level of self-awareness and found it difficult to reflect on their own behaviour and preferences. The standard of observation and listening was not very high. They needed time and coaching to begin to notice the effects of their own, and other people’s, behaviour. There was a relatively low level of confidence in tackling new or unfamiliar problems. Technical problem solving (‘fixing’) was good: the ability to see a bigger picture and grasp the implications of the wider problem was more of a challenge. This translated into dealing with ‘people problems’ in which the impact of their choice of behaviour was difficult for them to assess, for example in dealing with conflict. Bearing these things in mind, we created a five-module programme. We saw the need to ‘lead’ the supervisors through a coherent and developmental process, allowing them opportunities to build upon their skills and to have multiple opportunities to practise new skills. Our structure Day 1: Induction. Emphasis on learning styles, the role of the supervisor, expectations of the leadership role. Introductory team work projects. Day 2: Basic teamworking skills. Working on a series of team tasks to explore issues around the achievement of tasks when working under constraints of time and resources. Basic task management, planning, problem-solving, some introductory time-management and delegation Day 3: Achieving results through others: a strong focus on communication skills as they supervise more complex, multi-task activities. Some introductory work around motivation and delegation in order to achieve high quality results through the management of people. Focus on observation and listening skills Day 4: Dealing with ‘difficult situations’: using influencing skills, motivational and conflict management skills to deal with situations which become more complex. This included negotiation skills, to address conflicts over resources, performance issues and inter-personal tensions. Day 5: Achieving excellence. Process and performance improvement, prioritisation, problem-solving. Influencing upwards, Self-development. Working with the supervisors to create an environment that supports learning. A practical opportunity to put into practice skills developed in other parts of the programme along with those from the previous modules. Outcomes Feedback from the programme was been universally and consistently positive. Line managers reported observable behavioural change. Approximately 80% of the supervisors completed all elements of the programme, including technical, IT, HR and Stress Management training conducted by other providers and received company certification. Those who did not complete had largely been limited by illness or other work demands: and planned to finish the programme with later cohorts. The Supervisor Improvement programme won the BAE Systems Chairman’s Bronze award in 2008. The Chairman’s Awards scheme recognises employees and industry partners for outstanding, new and innovative ways in which they shape BAE Systems and contribute towards its global success. Further Information To learn more about how we can help you to integrate or facilitate powerful, experiential learning activities in your training, please contact sales@rsvpdesign.co.uk or call +44 141 561 0387
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