- meetings with the HR department to share any concerns about the profile and specific areas to be explored;

- online apt test, administered by psychologists (enrolled in the Register of Psychologists) expert in organizational     processes;

- interview (in Italian or English) with candidate to explore soft skills deemed "core" for the position, and to analyze resilience, personal balance and ability in managing uncertainty;

- reports on candidate profiles highlighting strengths, attention points, and managerial inputs;

- brief to the client (HR dept. or hiring manager / GM / CEO).

A STRATEGIC APPROACH FOR INTEGRATION AND IMPROVEMENT

The Client Request

The Client, a brand leader in the design sector, required a support for integration of Administration and Front-Office structures – considering an increasing need for closer cooperation – through a reengineering of workflow and identification of improvement actions, shared by both structures with a common commitment.  

The request, expressed after other similar successful projects for the same company, explicitly foresaw the involvement of Administration and Front-Office staff, to facilitate a real implementation of “bottom-up” solutions.  

The objectives were three:

1. improve the process “from the acquisition of the client to the collection of income” through a workflow analysis and finding bottlenecks;

2. solve specific criticisms linked to routines no longer effective or work methods not uniform or integrated;   

3. identify the owners of the different workflow phases and define mutual obligations, with monitoring and controlling actions to guarantee a good governance of the process.

The Trilix Approach

The project strategy – designed in close cooperation with both structure managers and with the sponsorship of the CFO, that allowed the involvement of other stakeholders relevant to find solutions (for example IT) – was focused on workshops, interspersed with remote activities in subgroups supervised by the consultancy, and fine-tuning sessions. This project plan guaranteed the optimization of time and the finalization of the effort.

The workshops involved a sample of Administration and Front-Office staff, representative of every part of the process, and the fine-tuning sessions were managed by a consultancy with the heads of the structures.   

The first and most important step was to design a schematic view of the process “as is”, the subprocesses, the activities and criticisms, with evidence of necessary links between the two structures.

Subsequently a series of actions, which the later workshops were focused on, followed, and in particular:

- the redesign of the workflow;

- the identification of specific improvement actions, also with the involvement of other structures (e.g. IT);

- a map of interaction system and shared rules to facilitate the workflow.    

The Results

The results, reached in a month and a half and through a few sessions, have been:

- a new workflow leaner and more effective, designed together and shared;

- the implementation of IT systems improvement, to support the new procedures;

- a handbook (realized by a group of staff from both structures) focused on key-issues and solutions to tackle them in a homogeneous way, also with the involvement of other stakeholders (for example Logistic or Store employees);

- the identification of owners of different process phases, with indications about the mutual obligations;

- actions to support the governance of the process and continuous improvement with KPI supervision (responsibility of structure managers).

For more information, please write to:
info@trilix.biz

A PROJECT IN A REMOTE MANNER FOR WOMEN IN THE ORGANIZATION

The Request

A call from a customer in the lockdown period, in March.
The triggering event: the task forces with a prevalence of men.
The consequent request:
“We have to do something concrete for women who would like to empower themselves in the organizations, and do it now, in a remote way.”

From this need the idea arose of a training path – that will be presented also in 2021, again remotely – with the involvement of women already in managerial roles or motivated to hold them.

The General Context and The Strategy

The general situation of women in the workplace is well known. The data are alarming – it is sufficient to read the last Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum, and the surveys about the pay-gap – and the forecasts speak of a worsening situation so that not wasting other competences is a priority.

The positive news regards the greater presence of women on the boards of state enterprises and listed companies, due to the Golfo-Mosca law. The same situation cannot be found in executive roles.

The actions implemented are several. Conciliation policies, more attention paid in recruitment, support for women on or returning from maternity leave, mentoring, role-models, etc.
About the training, the possible levels of intervention are several, and can involve the management or the different roles in the organization, promoting best practices and a culture focused on gender balance and respect.

In this case the choice was to work with women, thinking about less effective habits, the way to overcome and redefine them usefully, and the possible effective style in performing the role.

The Training Path Structure

The training path was completely in a remote way, and structured as follows:

• prework with suggested readings (for example interviews with women in leadership positions);
  

• active sessions in small groups (three sessions on three different days a week apart);
  

• exercises, reflections, focus and analysis of cases between each session (in subgroups or individually), and a related feedback by the trainer.
  

Every participant could have the possibility of sharing analysis with the trainer by mail.
This method ensured the debate inside the group and in the meantime the reflection on experience and in-depth analysis one-to-one.

The Key Success Factors

The Key Success Factors that granted the good results were essentially two:

a) the interactive dimension, facilitated by the small group (6-8 people), with the continuous participant involvement, so that the more active training activities were not sacrificed;
b) the effort in maintaining the dialogue between the different sessions. Due to the necessary path subdivision into three short sessions (three hours each), the importance of the support between each session became clear.   

This point in particular had been a key point already in the past due to the effort to make the training concrete beyond the formal space (classroom or other learning situation), building a relationship and a dialogue with the participants linked to the action plans and application of learning lessons on the job and in the specific context.  
The remote way brought up this need and underlined the characteristic of training as a process (with pre-work, formal sessions, exercises in autonomy or project work, etc.) and we think that we have to work a lot on this point in the future.

For more information, please write to
info@trilix.biz

TRAINING AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: HOW TO RESTART
THE FIRST EVIDENCES

In this period all of us have tried to “imagine” the future, even if in the uncertainty of the context, and the possible margins of maneuver.

As already stated, first of all as consultants we have decided to collect some reflections – from Business Partners, HR Managers, General Managers – paying particular attention to the role of training and organizational development in this moment and the next months.

The outputs (based on 30 interviews) depend on the company’s type of business and the point of view of the people interviewed and their role in the organization. Considering the qualitative characteristic of this survey, often conducted in a dialogic way, we prefer to illustrate the results in a discursive way rather than show the evidences through graphics searching for a baseless objectivity.

A general observation, shared also by top managers, regards the necessity to reconcile the seamless management solutions – where speed makes a difference – and the cash flow with a long term vision maintaining the strategic projects. Even if not always, but in some cases – we are witnesses to it – training projects are included, especially those connected to change processes already in place and accelerated by the emergency.

Also people strategy is connected to this first evidence, facing a double challenge, often reported: motivation and focusing.

• Motivation because the necessity – also after the lockdown – to manage people working remotely requires an ability to recognize the emotional needs, the climate, the weaknesses and to manage them. The focus on a management style based on trust and delegation is widely shared, also considering a larger diffusion, in the future too, of agile working practices structured and not so linked to the emergency. These include, as a fundamental condition, working by objectives and a strong accountability with the related consequences in the managerial culture and the leadership styles. Topics already considered in different companies, but in other cases still “under the radar” and now coming to light with evidence.

• Focus because stress is evident in remote working, especially in terms of inclusion. The feeling is that there was a strong accent on “what had to be done” in an emergency. Now it is necessary, starting from the best practices, to design new organizational settings able to go beyond the present situation and be effective over time.

This trend will regard also, for example, the layout, going beyond the presence / distance question, for a different use of common spaces – the office conceived more and more as a space of sharing – and a working style oriented to a greater flexibility (as the meaning of agile working suggests).

AND TRAINING?

The training practices we observed – or those we have had evidence of – were various, regardless of the market sector.

Considering in any case the relevance of the project, some companies decided to continue the planned learning actions remotely, others in blended mode, as soon as was possible, still others preferred to delay all the non-mandatory activities.
Regarding remote learning, our experience itself has made evident strengths and improvement points, in general shared by our customers:

    a) The strengths for training effectiveness have been two:

• A greater habit of training through the technologies (with different types of platform, such as MS Teams, Webex, Zoom, GoToMeeting, Skype, etc.), beyond e-learning but with the use of interaction instruments also in typical classroom situations transferred to remote;
• Then, the effort to continue the dialogue between one session and another. Due to splitting the training programs into short sessions (two or three hours), the support between the different sessions was very important, for examples through exercises done autonomously by the participants and then shared and discussed with the trainers (by mail, call or in the virtual classroom).

As far as this concerns us, this last point was even in the past a must, that is the effort to make the training “concrete” beyond the formal space (classroom or other training situation), establishing with the participants a relationship and exchange linked to the action plans, application on the job, the experimentation of lessons learned in the context. The remote mode reaffirmed this need and underlined the characteristic of training as a process (that is with pre-work, formal sessions, exercises in autonomy, project work, etc.) and we think that it is necessary to work on it also in the future.


     b) The critical points were especially related – except potential technical problems – to the inclusion of the participants, in particular when the number of them has been high (more than 8-10). An attention point is the effort to involve those who participate less and who in remote mode might lose focus because they are not called into question. In this sense the rooms and the activities in sub-groups work well, as the different distance learning systems allow.
Managing the distance learning projects is more complicated when the topics have been created within the team and are less structured, like those focused on process improvement or specific organizational projects.

Especially for the latter two types of projects, the activities on site have been restarted in the post lockdown, trying to work with small groups (in adapted spaces and paying all the necessary attention). In this case too, the choice of few participants was already in the past a guarantee of quality and high level of involvement, but this situation accelerated a trend.

TOPICS AND TARGETS

About the contents, it is clear that training which does not make a difference in real processes is going to disappear.

Regarding topics, the first and immediate actions – excluded those already planned – were focused on the remote interaction methods and the right use of related instruments.
A deeply felt question – as we have said – is motivation, because of the unavoidable “unravelling” of the relationships and the difficulties at emotional, as well as practical, level, faced by people in this period.

Prospectively, it will be mandatory to link the training to a structured work strictly by objective and with a high level of autonomy, first of all supporting a different managerial culture, through training not only oriented to developing distance coordination abilities, but especially – and regardless of that – to managing people who are more autonomous and incentivized to be so.
In this sense blended programs in different declinations (also through interaction between different seniorities, such as types of role model inside the organization) were already implemented, to support management styles more oriented to delegation and trust than control.

Regarding the targets, strong attention is paid to middle management – both at the level of managerial skills development, and because it is seen as an important junction in facilitating change processes.
Another target in the spotlight is the salesforce, in particular where the proposal has been reoriented considering the new requirements that have emerged in this period.

Considering training as an engine of development and strictly connected to work processes and their evolution, projects will be preferred (and in our experience they already are) which link the training to the change management processes necessary to face adequately and in a strategic way a scenario that is critical or in any case characterized by great changes.
This may occur both by establishing an important role of training projects – of consultancy as well as training – in reengineering some processes and designing evaluation systems (more linked to achieving objectives and targets), and by implementing strategies and changes. A role certainly more complex, that requires a 360° view and a strict relationship with the decisionmakers – such as Management, HR, and everyone who can be involved in supporting change projects.

We think that – and our partner too – if training does not give up being at the center of these processes, this could be an opportunity to recover and underline its fundamental role.

The waves of    

…is a space dedicated to inputs, experiences, reflections linked to real projects
and to collaborations with our customers.
A unique way of interpreting learning, which we want to illustrate.
Like threads of tales!

For more information, please write to
info@trilix.biz

TRAINING-DEVELOPMENT AS AN “OPEN FIELD” - Case History

Why “opening the field”?

First of all, what does it mean “opening the field”? It concerns the necessity, in complex projects, to go beyond the rigid structure of training programs and “open up” to the participation of key-stakeholders (those who can make a difference in the development and change projects) – in addition to the main recipients of training, every time it is necessary.
This approach disrupts the classic training program, builds it step by step, adapts it to the organizational changes, involving in this path everyone who is decisive in realizing in work practices the gaps and the modifications in the routines, behaviors and approaches to the roles, that are the real objective of training.
We will try to give an example through a case-history, briefly described hereafter.

This is also a way to celebrate 10 years of activity, in which we have always been searching for the impact of training on work processes and culture of customer’s organizations.

The request of the client

The client, a company world leader in diagnostics services, required a support for some key-roles delegated to the control of the strategic projects in a recently designed department.
At the start, a classic project management training was hypothesized, oriented to develop the main techniques of project management (PM) and the management of the stakeholders involved in the projects.
The training strategy – designed in strict cooperation with the HR Business Partner and the department director, at once in the designing phase and later in workgroup sessions – was immediately focused on the involvement of the main recipients in the typical different phases of the department projects, in particular those considered strategic, so disrupting the rigidity of the program and making it “dynamic”.

- The first step of the training project was made up of a workshop with the department director, the PMs, other key-roles in the department and outside (including part of the field force), in order to activate a common analysis – starting from the identification of the fundamental phases of the strategic projects and related key-activities – of warnings and main areas to control in management of the projects. The objective was to identify the factors considered critical (in different points of view), in part the responsibility of the PMs – and so particularly linked to the training path – in part the target of improvement actions upstream. Every training content had to start from here: from work practices and critical elements, to “build” a consistent PM profile. Not regardless of, but linking the classical PM tools and methodologies with a specific project practice, with these characteristics and (last but not least) with these stakeholders.   
- The following training sessions were done with the PMs and their chief, and in some cases also with the department director to guarantee that the improvements produced in the project management practices were consistent with the guidelines, and to define every time with the director effective actions upstream or with other departments involved.
- In addition, an individual coaching program dedicated to the PMs was designed, focused on specific aspects in role playing about which it was worth working with each coachee.    

The outcomes

In terms of the immediate outputs, from the project the following results came to light:
- a project manager profile completely different from the past, richer in the role responsibilities, less operative and more oriented to the management of the different project phases and the key-stakeholders;
- a different definition of priorities in the project phases and, in addition, a re-focusing and redesign of temporal sequence of the key-activities under the control of the PMs, to avoid the accumulation of criticism in the final phases of the project;
- an individual development, linked to the characteristics of different PMs and specific improvements needs.

Last but not least, the training path was also an opportunity to implement more general improvement actions, taken charge of by the director, and to review the information flow between the PMs and the director, the connected decisional processes, and the tools to support them – for example the report system was better structured and a management dashboard was finally designed.

For more information, please write to
info@trilix.biz

PROJECT MANAGEMENT CULTURE AND ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

A learning need that always comes to light linked to project management concerns not only the tools and the techniques, but also the disposition to become “project oriented” moving from “task oriented”, and the awareness of the organizational impact of the project.
In this frame the main points are:
- On one hand the role of project manager, its competencies, technical, managerial and negotiating skills, the relationships with different stakeholders, in an inter-functional perspective;   
- On other hand the change processes, as some projects in particular solicit, which require a deep comprehension of the context and the expected dynamics.  
We followed many training, development and consultant projects consistent whit this setting, according to PMI methodologies and tools used by our different Customers.   

The focus

A cultural approach of project management places the stress on a method that links the main tools and techniques of PM to the socio-cultural aspects which characterize the life-cycle of a project and its application in the context.

In particular:
- the project strategy, the oversight of the objectives, the relationship with decisionmakers, the analysis of the stakeholders to achieve support and resources;    
- the logical phases  and the life-cycle of the project, the related KSFs, paying attention to the organizational impacts;  
- a “rich” role of project manager, the management of the project team and its dynamics, the tasks and responsibilities (as defined in the project plan), the information sharing and decisional processes;
- the use of feedback about the evolution and outcomes of the project, to support a continuous improvement and practices shared between project managers

The Trilix proposal

According to a pragmatic approach oriented to the application on the job, our projects combine one or more training/consultancy situations:

- Training sessions focused on:
• Main project management tools, useful for the types of project followed by participants;
• Integration Project Management / Organizational Development, paying particular attention to analysis of stakeholders and relationship system, building commitment around the projects, and management of project team.   
- Project work related to existing projects:
• Project design and planning, check on the progress of the work and analysis of the main problems (consultancy and distance support)
• Mentoring in project meetings and debriefing
• Support in analysis of feedbacks and in defining improvement actions

- Consultancy for the development of common project management approach and tools:
• Co-building of tools to share practices and lessons learned
• Defining shared action items to be applied on the job;
• Designing of framework concept – e.g. in the corporate intranet  (PM Community)

For more information, please write to
info@trilix.biz

REINFORCING AND APPLYING TRAINING
Agile one-to-one tools beyond the learning space

BEYOND THE LEARNING SPACE

One of the key-points in the learning processes is always connected to the question: “And afterwards, what happens?”
It is an important question, related to the effectiveness of training, the application of lessons learned on the job, and the necessary changes aimed at improving the work practices and fully empowering the competences.
The tools, widely known, are various: distance support, e-learning in its different typologies, on-the-job training face-to-face or by call, follow-up, etc.
However, it is crucial to activate in the individuals the motivation to learn continuously, experiment, reflect, guaranteeing at the same time in the context the right conditions.   
In this paper we focus on how, through agile and customized tools, we succeeded in cultivating the motivation to learn and the continuity beyond the training space, also working on building a positive context.     

THE INDIVIDUAL PILLS

One of the tools we use – also matched with others already available in the company, such as the Skill Library and all the on-line learning tools – are the “individual pills”, which are sent by mail to every participant to support the action plan, immediately after a classroom session or a workshop.

What are the “pills”?

• Supplementary worksheets or check lists for on-the-job observation
• Self-evaluation tests
• Short movies related to the key-points in the training
• Summaries or guides which recap some concepts or methods
• Case studies.

The characteristic of the pills concerns an “ex novo” creation to support a specific action plan: so they intercept individual needs, “answering” what the individuals require. They are not standard training supports.
An example of training project structure (to be customized considering the different requirements) using pills is the following:

Sharing the action plans with the bosses, after a first experimentation guided by one-to-one actions, “unhooks” the same action plans from the training path and gives them back to the individuals and the organization, which are required – through the managerial action - to support people by guaranteeing an autonomous continuation of the training.

THE OUTCOMES

We underlined the question of motivation to learn. On this point an important evidence is on one hand the possibility for the participants to have available, in those courses, a space in which to share criticalities and best practices with peers, on the other hand they feel supported in their specific needs. This is a strong engagement factor that also guarantees continuity over time (without excessive use of time and instruments), until the development project becomes autonomous.

The results with immediate evidence developed in projects founded on this approach were the following:

• a strong accountability of the participants due to the attention to individual needs;
• “situation” learning, linked to the practices, the action plans, supported by the “pills” and specific reference to the contents and to all the tools (coursebook, on-line contents, etc.)
• greater attention to the action plan, which is written, fixed and strictly related to practices and tools;
• an opportunity to grow in the managerial skills also for the participants’ bosses who, once involved (according to the commitment), are invited in turn to support and develop their staff.  

Azienda certificata ISO 9001:2015

For more information, please write to
info@trilix.biz

DOING ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
THROUGH LEARNING

Doing organizational development through learning is not a recent idea or an original ambition.
Instead, it means interpreting training in a strategic way, i.e. as an instrument able to impact and modify work practices.
In this wider objective many goals, variously connected to learning, are included: the development of competences (essentially “knowledge in practice” applied to the work processes and required for the playing of roles), the growth of the teams (that are micro-structures in interaction with the organizational and the external context, so always exposed to change processes), the support for individuals, especially those in key-roles (given that any role – in particular those characterized by a high level of responsibility – is “immersed” in a complex relationship system and in communication flows).
Also all the actions – considered more consultancy-oriented – in which, working with groups, there is an impact on the organizational processes, structures and roles, “border” the training path.
Organizational development includes all these instances and it is driven by training focused on the necessity to operate in a complex social system (such as an organization) and aimed at understanding the various changes and the way to support them continuously over time. By doing that, the training has to go beyond the separation between training projects and real work processes.

[image:image-1]

Therefore, to speak about organizational development means broadening the horizons, going beyond the methods and tools which characterize the typical training action – and sometimes restrict the boundary – to capture the wider context, understand the dynamics and the possible spaces in which to operate.
It means that the trainers too – i.e. the professionals who support the HR departments, and the HR people themselves – have in this perspective a richer role, not only technical but strategic, if they position themselves “alongside” decision makers and stakeholders who can implement the change, in a relationship distinguished by trust and strong agreement.
Now we will see the conditions necessary to do the organizational development and the training oriented to it.

The conditions for organizational development  

So, what are the conditions necessary to speak about organizational development?

a) Expand the perspective.
To support the organizational development, the trainers have to “come out of the technical lab” to capture different languages: understanding the business needs, the company history, the processes and deeply rooted routines, and therefore also which direction the change has to take, through which governance and which value systems. All of this requires the effort to “go beyond” the specialized boundaries and in particular to understand both the psycho-social and cultural aspects, and the structures and processes, as interrelated elements. Organizations change if the work processes and methods with which the individuals operate and interpret their roles change.

b) Ensure the sponsorship of decision makers.
Designing training oriented to the organizational development means, before defining contents and tools, defining a training strategy shared with those who govern a system – both the whole company and individual structures – already thinking about the application in the field. In this perspective the role of HR as business partner of organizational departments is fundamental to capture the internal needs (beyond the request) and build, guiding the different actors, the conditions that can influence the real application of the lessons learned.

c) Focus on application and monitoring.
Finally, it is essential to build tools to support the application and monitoring: an organizational development project, if it is that, does not end with the formal training (i.e. training following the usual paths), but becomes a change process, because the actors who have to manage it have reflected on how to do it, acquiring the tools to do it and, above all, being convinced of the possibility to do it.

The waves of Trilix

…is a space dedicated to inputs, experiences, reflections linked to real projects
and to collaborations with our customers.
A unique way of interpreting learning, which we want to illustrate.
Like threads of tales!

[image:image-2]

For more information, please write to
info@trilix.biz

IL VALORE DELLA LEARNING STRATEGY - CASE HISTORY

La Questione  Strategica

Si dice spesso che la formazione “è una leva strategica”. Affermazione quanto mai condivisibile, ma in che senso si intende “strategica”? Solo nel significato di “rilevante”, oppure – come noi riteniamo – perché si pensa sia uno strumento fondamentale per l’implementazione delle strategie?
Se è così, quali sono le condizioni organizzative perché questo avvenga? Cosa “bisogna fare”, nel disegnare un percorso formativo, affinché la parola “implementazione” assuma concretezza? Che significa, in sostanza, “implementare una strategia” e come può la formazione contribuire davvero?
Illustreremo attraverso un caso dal mondo della produzione – si tratta del ramo biomedicale – quale contributo e valore aggiunto possa dare la formazione nel supportare il cambiamento nel processo produttivo, a partire dai ruoli di coordinamento negli stabilimenti.   


Il Contesto

L’Azienda, leader mondiale nella  produzione di soluzioni terapeutiche di avanguardia, aveva adottato da qualche anno in uno dei siti italiani una logica “total lean transformation” con l’obiettivo di incrementare l’efficienza dello stabilimento, ridurre drasticamente gli scarti e migliorare i tempi di risposta, orientando contemporaneamente tutta l’azienda – dai reparti produttivi al commerciale fino alla ricerca e sviluppo – e diverse aziende fornitrici al “lean thinking”. A fronte dei positivi risultati il modello era stato esteso alle altre BU in Europa e nel mondo.
In questo contesto la formazione poteva giocare un ruolo centrale, non solo sul piano delle tecniche a supporto della logica lean, ma “culturale”: si trattava, in generale, di rompere i silos, passare da un’organizzazione verticale a una orizzontale, sviluppare team cross-functional e potenziare nei livelli di coordinamento le necessarie competenze manageriali.
Negli stabilimenti, in particolare, diventava centrale la figura del Capo Turno non solo come snodo fondamentale tra la linea e il resto dell’azienda, ma anche come punto di riferimento per la messa in atto della nuova logica produttiva, a partire dall’accento sul “miglioramento continuo” (kaizen) e sulla centralità del coinvolgimento (dalle 5S, al Total Productive Maintenance, alla raccolta dei suggerimenti, allo sviluppo delle persone, etc.).     
Il nostro intervento – che seguiva ad altri, per altre funzioni – era mirato in particolare a sviluppare questo ruolo (Capo Turno), le capacità di coordinamento e coinvolgimento e quelle di interfaccia con i Capi Reparto e la direzione di produzione.  


La Soluzione e i Risultati

La strategia di intervento – definita in stretta collaborazione con le HR – ha previsto un percorso in cui si alternavano sessioni di formazione in aula, incontri in sottogruppi su opportunità/difficoltà emerse dal contesto e supporto individuale (“pillole personalizzate”) per ciascun Capo Turno, supporto strettamente legato ai singoli piani d’azione.
Inoltre, nel corso del progetto sono stati anche coinvolti i Capi Reparto, con la finalità di continuare a supportare i Capi Turno nell’implementazione di azioni di miglioramento e nel loro sviluppo di ruolo.

I risultati immediatamente riscontrabili del processo formativo sono stati:

• in coerenza con la logica “lean”, una maggiore consapevolezza di ruolo dei Capi Turno e delle potenzialità offerte da modalità gestionali più attente e da una cooperazione diffusa;
  

• un contributo attivo al miglioramento dell’efficienza, attraverso il presidio delle corrette condizioni di clima e di partecipazione, sostenuto anche da una forte collaborazione tra Capi Turno e Capi Reparto su aspetti gestionali e organizzativi;
  

• cambiamenti in operativo: nella scelta dei livelli di coordinamento intermedio (Team Leader: snodo tra operai e Capi Turno), nella gestione dei nuovi ingressi e dei feedback, nelle modalità di valutazione delle prestazioni e supporto allo sviluppo, nei momenti di confronto collettivo e loro funzionamento (tenendo anche qui presenti gli strumenti del “lean thinking”), etc.
  

Le ragioni del successo del progetto sono state:

• il forte commitment del Direttore di produzione – che ha sottolineato la rilevanza del progetto nel supportare la filosofia lean, cui nel percorso (esercitazioni comprese) è sempre stato fatto esplicito riferimento – e il continuo confronto con le HR;
  

• la strutturazione di un percorso modulare, flessibile, con un training mix orientato al trasferimento sul campo e fatto di strumenti costruiti “cammin facendo”, ascoltando i problemi emergenti in un logica bottom-up;
  

• la “personalizzazione” del percorso formativo, che ha consentito a ciascuno di poter fruire di strumenti specifici per il proprio piano d’azione e di un confronto one-to-one;
  

• il coinvolgimento dei Capi Reparto nel consolidare – come capi-coach – l’agire dei Capi Turno costruendo insieme una diversa cultura gestionale e di coordinamento e coinvolgimento del personale operativo.
  

Il progetto proseguirà con azioni specifiche di “training on the job”.

Per informazioni
info@trilix.biz

AN INTEGRATED MODEL OF COACHING

The request of the Client

The Client, a company world leader in tourism services, required a support to the management team of a department recently created after a new organizational design which direclty impacted on this structure, defining new goals and a wider role.
The team – the director of the department and six managers, who lead groups of 10-15 people each - was characterized by a mix of different professionalisms, included two managers recently appointed, that had to get on well. Furthermore, it was necessary to implement a new mission and new processes, building an identity for the group shared and recognizable inside and outside the organization.

At the beginning, team coaching should be the best solution, but the risk of this action was to pay less attention to the individual needs of the single managers and their staff.
In addition, the priority was to conciliate the team building and the sense of the group with shared work practices related to new processes, and to create also a habit of collaboration and improvement.

The solution

The development strategy - designed in strict collaboration with HR and the director of the department (involved in the starting phase and then in the whole team building process) - was founded on different, parallel, actions:
- with the management team of the department, through team coaching sessions scheduled every two weeks;
- with the single managers through an individual coaching path, to reinforce the management skills.

From the other point of view, three topics were considered:
- the symbolic level and the identity of the team (perception of the group, metaphors, mission);
- the functioning of the management team of the department and the related different teams led by single managers (decisional processes, responsibilities, managerial guidelines and rules in interactions between the teams);
- the key-processes and the operative practices in the main relationships with other departments (activities, guidelines, comparisons of work practices, improvement actions, etc.).

To guarantee the result, we based our solution on an integrated model, distinctive in our approach, through which we are able to work on different levels.  
    

The results

As immediate results, the path produced the following:
- a clear mission of the team, the objectives, the main activities and the Key Success Factors (KSF);
- the shared guidelines - with examples of application - to respect in the interactions with main contacts and with other departments: the guidelines were tested on the job and re-written and improved considering the experience and the key actors in the organization;
- agreed rules on the functioning of the management team of the department and on leading the single teams, paying attention to overlapping, needs of cooperation, responsibilities;
- critical points "open" on which to work (also in the future);
- improvement and simplification of some processes: methodological recommendations and application of cooperative strategies (group activities in autonomy between the coaching sessions);      
- on the level of single managers, improvement (linked to the objectives defined at the start of the path) in leading role and in people management.   

As wider outcomes:
- a stronger cohesion and identity of the group, and an awareness of potentials when the group activates cooperative and shared practices instead of individual and less coordinated actions;
- a challenging motivation to collaborate, considering the diversities of personalities and styles, and the commitment to continue beyond the space of the project to share work-practices and to do improvement actions, also with staff;
- the reinforcement of the leadership of the group head and a different and more consistent recognition of roles in the group.          
 

For more information, please write to
info@trilix.biz

STRESS MANAGEMENT: OUR APPROACH

THE REQUEST OF COMPANIES

We come back to stress management, once again the focus of attention: the need to deal with this topic, expressed by many companies, is connected to the more and more frequent changes that organizations have to face and to the evolution of the context – competitive and frenzied – which requires appropriate resources.

There are two main topics:

• for the organizations attention to the psycho-social impact and to well-being as a component of people strategy and performance improvement;
  

• for the subjects the ability of responsible management of stress and for development of resilient behaviors, even in contexts in rapid change or in case of roles under pressure.
  

The Italian legislation on safety – Legislative Decree 81/2008 – increased the attention to work-related stress (as part of the evaluation of psycho-social risks), but the awareness that the particular moment in a company’s life requires new attention to these issues was decisive.

Trilix supports its customers in the design of analysis, training and consulting projects, aimed at developing a culture of well-being and improving the personal efficacy.  

OUR TEAM

Our experts – senior trainers and consultants from different fields – have a wide range of experience in stress management, well-being and organizational welfare.
Professionals certified in using the Persolog® stress profile work with us.

Trilix is a company certified ISO 9001: 2008 for training projects design and implementation (EA 37).

THE RECIPIENTS

Some of the recipients of our training and consulting projects – always customized according to the characteristics of the context – are as follows:

• People who perceive themselves under stress
  

• Stress-exposed people or employees in roles in transition
  

• Management: First and Second lines of Management, Middle Management, Professionals with assigned staff, etc.
  

THE METHODOLOGY

Through an integrated model, we operate in an interdisciplinary way at the level of subjects and cultures.
According to an experiential approach and to training oriented to application in the field:

• We analyze the context and the perceptions of the subjects about the stress factors;
  

• We design ad hoc projects and personalized actions;
  

• We share with the customer the strategy in managing the projects and their evaluation.
  

EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS AND TRAINING PATHS

ANALYSIS

• Company climate surveys – through interviews, focus groups, observation in the field – aimed at understanding the aspects that can influence the stress level and finding the possible action items;
  

• Tests administered by qualified and certified professionals to measure the level of stress in the company population;
  

• Design of actions to reduce stress in key activities or roles.
  

TRAINING ACTIONS

Health and Well-being as part of development strategy

• Workshop for Management and People Managers (legislation about work-related stress, building well-being, new welfare systems);
  

• Seminars on change management, psycho-social impact and risks areas.
  

Stress management and self-efficacy (resilience)

• Projects focused on management of stress in situations of change and turbulence;
  

• Resilience improvement as a strategy of self-development and organizational integration (action items).
  

CONSULTING

• Coaching to support people with high risk of stress;
  

• Workshop aimed at developing best practices to create organizational well-being and reduce the level of stress and psycho-social risk (link to the company welfare policies).
  

For more information, please write to
info@trilix.biz

AGE MANAGEMENT: ESPERIENZE E BISOGNI EMERGENTI

Evoluzione  dell’Age  Management

Fino a  qualche tempo fa, le esperienze di age management - all’interno del più ampio campo del diversity - facevano riferimento soprattutto alla gestione ed engagement delle risorse over 55.

In questa accezione il tema è stato affrontato - oltre che nelle imprese - anche nell’agenda politica della Ue (compresa la Strategia Europa 2020) attirando l’attenzione delle istituzioni e del mondo accademico, che vi ha dedicato diverse ricerche.
Numerose sono state le aziende che hanno messo in atto progetti - di formazione, di tutela della salute, di collaborazione tra generazioni, di percorsi di carriera, etc. - per favorire un active ageing, facendo emergere buone prassi delle quali abbiamo avuto modo come consulenti, in più occasioni, di occuparci.

Da qualche tempo age management significa però qualcosa di ancora più ampio, che prevede proprio la gestione e la valorizzazione delle diverse generazioni tenendo conto delle “caratteristiche generali” di ciascuna e dell’impatto che possono avere su motivazioni, modi di interazione e collaborazione, stili di leadership, cultura del lavoro, uso delle informazioni, approccio alle tecnologie, etc.
Particolare attenzione viene posta anche all’inserimento e sviluppo dei “Millennials” (o “Generazione Y”, per distinguerla dalla “Generazione X”, immediatamente precedente, e da quella dei “Baby Boomers”), cioè dei giovani  nati indicativamente tra il 1980 e il 1990. Recenti studi hanno messo in luce alcune costanti nei loro comportamenti e nelle aspettative che, se ben gestite - in un corretta consapevolezza anche degli aspetti critici - possono divenire rilevanti opportunità, in termini di spinta all’innovazione e a nuove modalità di comunicazione e partecipazione al lavoro.    
Come sempre, le tendenze generali vanno collocate nei contesti specifici, nella cultura e nei processi di cambiamento che investono ogni singola organizzazione. Ed è questo il compito della consulenza e della formazione che oggi si interrogano su un più ricco significato di age management.


Cosa facciamo

Trilix, sempre nell’ambito di una visione che integra formazione e sviluppo organizzativo, interviene in particolare con alcune azioni, di seguito sintetizzate.

1. Formazione mirata a sensibilizzare il management e tutti i ruoli di coordinamento sulle differenze generazionali, le loro origini socio-economiche, i frame sottesi e le possibili strategie di risposta costruttiva:
- con riferimento a case-history e prassi aziendali di successo;
- facendo leva sulle azioni gestionali che favoriscono la work ability e l’engagement delle differenti generazioni.

2. Ricerca-intervento: rilevazione aspettative e habits dei diversi gruppi generazionali - focus su alcuni processi e comportamenti-chiave -, nodi critici, buone pratiche già diffuse di valorizzazione delle diversità e aree di sviluppo.

3. Disegno dei processi di selezione e assessment in coerenza con le policy aziendali sulla inclusione generazionale e sostegno alle diversità.

4. Consulenza per l’inserimento e definizione di piani di sviluppo per i più giovani.

5. Supporto alla definizione di progetti mirati:
- per i senior: piani di training inclusivo, sviluppo e reemployment basato sulle competenze;  
- percorsi di sviluppo mirati, di tutoring e mentoring per nuovi assunti - formazione per i tutor;  conduzione, o facilitazione, di gruppi interfunzionali con il coinvolgimento dei nuovi talenti su processi di innovazione;
-  costruzione di situazioni di collaborazione intergenerazionale (ed esperienze di successo).

I nostri interventi sono seguiti da team di professionisti - in un’ottica di integrazione delle diverse specificità - con documentate esperienze di consulenza e organizzative.

Per informazioni rivolgersi a:
info@trilix.biz
Tel. e Fax 02/66710064
www.trilix.biz

For English version: Age Management   

TRAINING FOR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE
The Key Success Factors

Training is generally considered an important instrument, especially when it is linked to change projects, whether related to whole organizations - e.g. in mergers and acquisitions -, specific processes or roles, or connected to a necessary review of the consolidated work practices and their development according to the business needs.

This is not simply an announcement. Our experience proves that a good training project can support and transmit new cultural models and values, more effective work practices and different and richer interpretations of the roles. But only if - in the real activities and beyond the announcements - some conditions are respected.

In this "weave" we would like to examine in depth this aspect and the Key Success Factors which make the difference between learning as a "routine" and learning as a key element in the implementation of strategies and in change management.

Preliminary statement

Before speaking about the success factors, it is necessary - as a basic condition - to overcome the distinction between learning and working situations. This is a risk easy to come up again, potentially weakening the learning actions.

But what does it mean, in practice, to recreate these different levels? On which do we need to insist?

- Focus on Experiential learning
The "recovery of the experience" - both smart lessons and complex projects - is not simply an "active learning" (exercises, role-plays, gamification method, more or less sophisticated tools, etc.), but it means recovering what people do in the real work processes, as an essential part of learning program and the main subject of the reflection, analysis and discussion.

- Focus on a project design oriented to the application    
Designing, before defining the contents and tools, means specifying a strategy of the project, shared with the HR, to transfer to the job the learning experience. Therefore understanding who the stakeholders are (and who we have to engage in the different steps of a learning project), capturing the different characteristics of the context, culture, actors, and factors critical to the real application of lessons learned.
In this phase too many actions are not necessary, but they must be focused: an in-depth interview with key-people, or a well structured focus group, can clarify fundamental aspects.

- Focus on application and supervision
It is important to build instruments supporting the application and supervision: the tools in use are various, but the key point is the engagement of participants in defining specific objectives and action items deliverable and measurable - in some cases including also other subjects - and the connected action plan. For example, a good practice is to pay great attention to the action plans, so that they are strictly linked to the supporting actions.

The Key Success factors

That being stated, which are then the Key Success Factors? We observed and verified in our experience the following.

1. A strong commitment of the Management to the learning processes and their strategic objectives, and the involvement of Managers in key-phases.

2. A strong link to the people strategy and the performance system.

3. A "situated" analysis of the training needs, not only related to the "competence gap", but  also to the ways in which the competences can be developed in the organizational contexts.

4. A "flexible" project management, adaptable to the organizational changes, to the needs and  warnings coming to light from the field, and able to consider and intercept the difficulties of the implementation. A logic of "listening and action", without rigidities and with an openness to redesigning the project plan step by step.  

5. An evaluation of the training path based on quantitative and qualitative methods. Also in this case too many tools are not necessary, but it is important to identify the criteria and the key- aspects which draw attention to the learning ROI.  

THE WAVES of Trilix

… is a space dedicated to inputs, experiences, reflections linked to real projects and to collaborations with our Customers. A particular way of interpreting the learning, which we want to illustrate.

Like threads of tales!


www.trilix.biz

For more information, please write to
info@trilix.biz





Company certified ISO 9001:2008, EA37  

ORGANIZATIONAL INTEGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT: OUR APPROACH

Cultural differences: a resource and an opportunity

In our activity, in very close contact with managers who lead organizations and complex structures, the request to facilitate "the culture mix" - not only referring to cultural diversity in the strict sense, but also to the different frames about work, business, organizational life - is very frequent. It is, in effect, an important element of diversity management policies.
Speaking about the integration (and, before that, the comprehension) of cultures means to touch on a characteristic of modernity, a "feature" in which almost all organizations are involved, in the customer relationship processes, in the management of the different country offices, and in the internal relationships more and more characterized by multiculturalism even if the dimension is local.  
At the center there are the values, the identities, the histories of the individuals, woven together with different organizational and professional visions and reflected in work practices and everyday behaviors.
For this reason it is important to understand the differences: in fact, the "cultures" are not something "intangible", "untouchable", or a concept located beyond the processes, but they are the way the subjects (clients, employees, managers, suppliers) interpret and express their expectations, their engagement in the organization, and the sense of professional action.
It becomes necessary to capture the languages, the interaction styles, and understand how people interpret responsibilities, rules and values, the belonging to the organization, what facilitates or obstructs comprehension and collaboration, and what people desire as client, supplier, manager, staff, to support mutual empowerment.        


The frequent situations

The contexts in which there is a strong request to work on cultural integration are various.
The following are just some of them:

- the management of customers very different from each other in the cultural identity;
- the situations in which different work practices and organizational histories come together:

. multinational companies or companies where a strong integration is expected between people and groups from different countries, who have to collaborate closely, also remotely;
. investments in new countries: in particular support in the recruitment and people development processes;
. organizational changes due to processes of merger and acquisition, in which it is necessary to promote the combination of different practices and visions.

- Occurrences in which the relationship with users from different cultural backgrounds is highly critical (e.g. in social and health).

In these and other cases the function of training and consultancy is to support the Client, as interpreters and "facilitators", through different instruments - organizational analysis, training strategies, ethnographic approach - following an integrated method.       


Our methodology: an integrated approach

Trilix is focused on an integrated approach, which combines the usual methods of organizational analysis and training design with the ethnographic surveys aimed at capturing the culturally significant elements. The actions are as follows:
- analysis of the relevant organizational documents, to understand the characteristics of the business, the customers, the context and the evolution of company;
- focus group and interviews (about the integration processes, the critical points in the internal and external relationships, the development expectations, sharing practices, etc.);  
- observation "on the job" of the events and the critical incidents in a fieldwork perspective.

The solutions are linked to the necessary actions at different levels (support to organizational change, development of a shared vision and practices, reinforcement of specific professional family competences, individual and team coaching, etc.) emphasizing one of these levels according to the analysis of outcomes and needs.

Consultants and Trainers

The Trilix experts are Consultants and Senior Trainers distinguished by their different disciplinary knowledge. All of them have vast experience in the development of organizations and personal and professional skills, in customer relationship management, and in diversity management. They work on processes and cultures as well as people empowerment.
In our cultural integration and development projects, as the distinctive element there are always anthropologists and experts in organizational culture.  

For more information, please write to
info@trilix.biz

Company certified ISO 9001:2008, EA37  

FROM COMPETENCES TO TRAINING

The request of the Client

The need of the Client, a Local Health Authority, was to redefine the training strategy, through the design of specific paths for the different types of roles, considering the growing complexity and the changes in the context.
The request followed the implementation of a Company Academy: now a development was necessary starting from simple learning objects and "titles" - in particular on managerial and behavioral themes and other "transversal" contents - to the possible training paths focused on the key-competences and their development to guarantee the best performances.
The project represented an important step in nurturing a responsible training culture and its importance in the evolution of the people strategy.  
  

Competences: our approach

In our vision, strictly linked to work processes, we define competence as

a "knowledge in action" achievable in a specific context, a "baggage" of theories, characteristics, personal resources with which to face specific professional situations and reach the expected performances.
 
It is not, merely, a generic set of knowledge and skills useful for all the situations and professional profiles, but something interwoven with the role performed or to be performed in the specific context that we refer to.

In this project the first milestone - according to the Training and Development Structure - was centered on an activity of competence mapping, on which the new training purpose should be focused. For consistency with an idea of competence as "knowledge in action", this map should not arise from standard repertories but has to be strictly linked to the context and work processes.   

The key-questions were:
What is necessary for people to perform certain roles, and to best express their professionalism? What kind of competences should not be missing? What are the individuals able to do, considering the growing complexity? And therefore, how can the training be linked to the development of competences? And so on.

The mapping actions
    
In line with the necessary relevance to the roles and the link with the work processes, the actions were as follows:

Preliminary actions
- Building, with Training and Development Office, a "general dictionary" understandable and usable in the context.
- Finding profiles sufficiently representative of the activities among the Executives, Middle Managers (with staff), Professionals, and operational roles.
- Choosing the sample group in different types of roles, according to the "competence champion" method, i.e. involving the best performers, to highlight the competences and behaviors expected.

Mapping
- Analysis in subgroups - with the sample for each type of role - of key activities, related actions and skills. For this purpose, we produced an analysis of cases or critical incidents, from which to deduce "the knowledge in action".
- Creation of role-cards with indications of general knowledge and relevant skills for a suitable performance in the role.     


Outcomes

- The first outcome - immediately expected - was the implementation of a richer "Library" with training and development paths differentiated by level ad related to each role.
- In addition, the project facilitated the growth of a competence system (which was also included in the evaluation system) - supported with a software for the skill inventory - and a clear map of different types of role with examples of "knowledge in action" (usable in the different training contexts or for assessment).
- Finally, the analysis produced an awareness of know-how and techniques widespread and practiced in the organization, to be developed by involving the expert employees and through knowledge sharing strategies on which a new project is focused.  

THE CULTURAL APPROACH TO ORGANIZATIONS

When we speak about organizational cultures and the cultural approach to organizations, in general we refer to a series of methodologies and to an interpretation model, focused on the observation of behaviors, espoused values and rituals, from which we gather the "shared basic assumptions", to reinforce or modify them.
In these approaches, the premise is the existence of common and uniform assumptions, a sort of "collective capital" of the organization. However, we can observe that in organizations there are many and multifaceted differences - at the level of values and practices too - which characterize the professional groups and structures (or "tribes", as anthropologists call them).
In addition, the culture is always interpreted as deeply "modifiable", if the basic assumptions are modified, because these assumptions produce the practices.      
In reality, "the culture" is not something separate, but is connected with work processes, the professional and managerial practices, the behaviors and languages, the organizational histories and the sense which individuals give to them: so, it is necessary that the actions are focused on these elements.
Fundamental in every change project, the cultural question is a sensitive point. The risk is not to produce a real change, but an apparent and not really shared alignment to the values, with many difficulties in everyday activities.

So what kind of approach and which strategies can support a change management process with an effective impact on the cultures?
 

Understanding organizational cultures

To understand organizational cultures, at the start it is necessary not to separate these from the organizations, i.e. from strategies, governance model, role-system and the related work processes.

We have to recover information and documents linked to the organizational changes - at both the strategic and structural level - and the form that the organization has at the time of the change project. In this context, an organizational culture expert is first of all an organization analyst.

At this stage we can concentrate on practices and on the sense given to them: how the organization is managed and with which logics, how decisions are made, how people face criticism and mistakes, how the roles are played in the real processes (not only formally) and what the value is for the individuals and the groups, what the relationship system is, the origin of conflicts, the perception of the external context and the people's idea about how to "exist" in the organization and the congruency with espoused values.
The objective is to reflect on behaviors, languages, consolidated habits - if you will "automatic" - and call them into question, "open" new ways of work, and different, possible, senses which individuals can acquire.
The analysis tools are the same as for ethnographic surveys: in-depth interviews with main stakeholders, focus groups, observation of significant events - such as meetings, or situations in which people are engaged and participate in organizational life (e.g. kick-offs).
Another important element is the perception at the symbolic level: the role of imagination (drawings, paintings, image sequences, etc.) could be relevant, as well as the interpretations which the individuals and groups give to the relationship system (or how the roles are played), and, in general, to the life in the organization. At this point, we are already at the development project.     

The management of a cultural change process

Cultures do not exist "once and for all", but, by definition, they change: they "blend together", reinforcing some elements, and redefining others. Therefore, we have to "orient" and accelerate the change process according to the strategies and governance system.
To do this, it is necessary - when having understood the dynamics - to "go into" them, and propose, bringing to light the different interpretations of organizational behavior, provoking a quantum leap.

The best strategy to reach this is action learning, in its classic meaning: working on experience and starting from it to produce a reflection and, then, new and more effective practices and habits.
The supporting actions can be different (working in small groups, individual and team coaching), as well as tools (imagination, case-analysis, relationship maps, etc.): the precondition in designing a really effective project is the relationship and collaboration with the client and decision makers.
In fact, the changes at the cultural level cannot be separated from the strategies, the governance model which the management wants to build, the role system and the decisional and operative processes connected to them. So, these two levels must always be "in dialogue", to understand the opportunities, the threats and the hypothetical resistances to change, the critical points linked to the individuals and group frames, their history, the way to interpret roles and professions, and the sense of organizational loyalties. In particular, it is important to find the gaps, the possible alternatives compared to behavior and deep-rooted practices, through the reflection method and the comparison with colleagues and decision makers, filtered and reworked by consultancy, and in particular "translated" into action items to apply on the job.

In our experience, the cultural work is - in every change process (involving both the whole organization and some structures only) -  fundamental to produce a real transformation not only at the formal level, but also with an impact on habits, values, shared practices.
In this difficult path, the expert in organizational cultures is a sort of "interpreter", able to establish a dialogue and a connection between different ways of existing in an organization, and to support the behaviors, both more coherent with strategies and more significant for individuals.   

TRAME    
 

IL RUOLO DELLA FORMAZIONE: INNOVARE OLTRE LE “NOVITÀ”

L’offerta formativa nel campo dello sviluppo delle organizzazioni e delle Risorse umane si è fatta negli anni molto variegata, arricchendosi di molteplici suggestioni e tecniques, in risposta all’esigenza di trovare sempre nuovi e più efficaci approcci e strumenti di intervento.
Oggi possiamo disporre di un’ampia varietà di situazioni formative - dall’aula “classica”, a incontri one to one o in piccoli gruppi, alle esperienze di outdoor training, ad ambienti a supporto dell’apprendimento a distanza o della costruzione collaborativa e condivisa di esperienze e saperi -, e possiamo far riferimento a una vasta gamma di metodologie orientate al miglioramento dei processi piuttosto che alla mappatura e sviluppo delle competenze o al supporto alle persone nel loro agire di ruolo.

Questa importante produzione, in qualche caso legata a vere e proprie “scuole”, se da una parte ha contribuito a fornire tools e metodi per un effettivo miglioramento organizzativo e per il potenziamento delle risorse, ha però anche rischiato di concentrare l’attenzione sugli “strumenti” più che sul contesto e sui reali bisogni dell’Azienda cliente, e di “isolare” alcuni aspetti - le persone, le competenze, i processi, le strutture, le culture…. - a scapito  di una visione integrata dell’organizzazione.   
Anche i “domini tematici” che hanno occupato di volta in volta la scena hanno sì ampliato il campo di intervento e intercettato reali bisogni, ma hanno anche rischiato di crearli in modo artificioso, e, soprattutto, di spostare l’attenzione esclusivamente su ciò che “si deve fare” o di cui “si deve parlare”, perché appartiene al campo delle ultime novità.    

Facciamo un esempio

Spesso parliamo di strumenti o tecniche per il potenziamento di competenze gestionali:  possiamo farlo in modo davvero efficace se prescindiamo dai processi di cambiamento che coinvolgono l’azienda, dalle sue caratteristiche, dalla cultura manageriale, dal modello di governo, dal sistema di ruoli e di relazioni …?
Allo stesso modo, è possibile modificare davvero un’organizzazione nella struttura e nei suoi processi senza tenere conto dei comportamenti diffusi, delle prassi di lavoro effettive che in quei processi si “riversano”, o a prescindere da come le persone reali hanno fino a quel momento interpretato il loro ruolo e dalla conseguente necessità di arricchirne prerogative e competenze "In azione"?

Dunque cosa vuol dire davvero “innovazione”? Perché è  necessario innovare?
E su cosa allora dobbiamo puntare l’attenzione?

Le parole-chiave, che sono sviluppo e cambiamento, sfuggono alla rigidità troppo specialistiche e ci chiamano a capire i bisogni a tutti i livelli, a costruire ogni volta una soluzione differente, usando la tavolozza degli strumenti che la storia della formazione ci ha consegnato, ma in modo finalizzato, contestuale, senza farsi trascinare dalle “specialità” o dalla tentazione di “offrire” una proposta originale che sia valida in ogni caso e in tutti i contesti.  
In questa (difficile) strada, in cui prima si comprendono i diversi piani di intervento e poi si costruisce la strategia formativa e il training and consultant mix, crediamo consista la vera innovazione, quella che si misura con i processi di cambiamento reali e li sostiene effettivamente nelle prassi di lavoro, nei comportamenti quotidiani, nell’esercizio pratico delle competenze.  
Cercheremo allora, oltre la tentazione della novità, di capire che cosa può davvero essere utile alle aziende, oggi, e su quali livelli intervenire in particolare con questo approccio.  

Livelli di intervento e processi di cambiamento

Prendendo come “chiave” i processi di cambiamento, possiamo considerare alcuni “livelli” in cui oggi la formazione e la consulenza sono chiamate ad intervenire.

• Il cambiamento sul piano dei ruoli, che si stanno facendo sempre più complessi, “rotondi”, e quindi necessitano di essere riconfigurati e di arricchirsi di competenze che devono essere sviluppate in modo  coerente con l’evoluzione del contesto  e delle strategie.
  

• Il cambiamento nei processi di business e nella relazione con i clienti che sollecita nuovi approcci (dalla ridefinizione dei ruoli sales in una direzione sempre più di vendita consulenziale, allo sviluppo dei Customer care, alla revisione dei processi di comunicazione, etc.).
  

• Il cambiamento nei sistemi di governance delle organizzazioni, anche a seguito di mutamenti strutturali  - fusioni, acquisizioni, sviluppo di nuove divisioni, accentramenti di funzioni, etc. - con impatto sui processi, sui ruoli e sulla cultura gestionale.
  

• Il cambiamento nel mercato del lavoro (con ricadute sui sistemi di assessment e, più in generale, di orientamento e riorientamento) e nelle aspettative e caratteristiche dei soggetti (in dipendenza da cultura, età, genere, continuità o discontinuità professionale,  etc.)
  

I diversi piani - è superfluo, ma lo sottolineiamo - si intrecciano, e proprio per questo la costruzione di un intervento formativo o di consulenza davvero efficace deve saperli intercettare tutti, individuando, insieme al Cliente, una precisa strategia e, solo successivamente, gli strumenti a supporto più idonei. Affrontando anche i cambiamenti che nel frattempo intervengono , per includerli in modo non rigido e flessibile nello sviluppo di un progetto.

In questo riteniamo consista una reale innovazione: nel rispondere ai bisogni emergenti, in modo integrato, assumendo una visone ampia, attraverso una gestione flessibile, insieme al Cliente e con gli strumenti maggiormente adatti al caso.
E portandoci dietro l’ “ossessione” di una formazione che, andando oltre lo spazio dell’intervento, davvero sappia incidere nei processi di lavoro e “produca” uno scarto effettivo, quello che il Cliente ci chiede.

Trame    di    

… è uno spazio dedicato a spunti, esperienze, riflessioni legati a progetti sul campo, a incontri con i nostri Interlocutori, a un modo particolare di intendere la formazione, che ci piace raccontare.

Come se fossero trame di storie.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES, INTEGRATION AND CHANGE MANAGEMENT

Talking about integration of different organizational cultures means talking about organizational change, and, in general, about corporate governance, in which strategies, structures and processes  - and so, cultures – are always strictly connected.     
It is a conceptual and ineffective activity to redesign the roles, the competences, or  the structures, if we limit ourselves to pre-engineering action, without a serious consideration of the organizational stories and their particular sense, the values and the habits, evident in the daily work practices.   
This is the meaning of “culture”: not something untouchable, unintelligible, or a concept beyond the processes. The culture is properly a woven together with the processes: it is the way in which the employees, groups, or other subjects live – starting from their history and professional paths – their organizational experience. For this reason it is essential to understand their language, how they communicate, interpret the management practices, the decision-making processes, the responsibilities of the roles, the sense of belonging – and the associated images –, and what values and assumptions their behavior is connected to.
In essence, we have to understand how subjects and groups give life, sense and concrete substance to the processes, roles, structures otherwise simply “designed” (and consequentially, re-designable), formal, and so theoretical.   

WHEN ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURES COME TOGETHER

Today in particular different context are characterized by some processes of cultural integration. Here, we make a list of those we have met in our projects:

. Inter-organizational level: integration processes that involve different organizations, e.g. in case of merger or acquisition of Companies or lines of business. In this case it is necessary to facilitate the matching between different work practices and company histories. Our contribution was supporting the Client in this transition with customized consulting and training actions, starting from the Management up to the roles strictly involved in the change processes.   
. Governance level: strong changes in the strategy and governance, in which different management practices and styles meet consolidated habits in organizational belonging, in working, in playing roles, and in interpreting the values.  In this case our contribution was focused on  the change management project and supporting the Management and key-roles in redesigning the processes consistent with the mission, the values and the work practices and behavior desired.
. Intra-organizational level: redesign or integration of the new roles, or changes in some processes, or in general all cases in which it is very important to work on integrating different practices and professionalisms. For example, it was the case of a project for development of “turning roles” linked to Research and Development and to Sales (both), and hard to place – at the risk of not being recognizable – because referring to different professional cultures.
. Global level: integration between different people from all over the world, who have to collaborate strictly, also remotely. We did projects in which the use of web systems for distance working must be supported by a strategy of management of cultural differences.

CASE HISTORY

The context

The case is related to a project for an Italian ICT company – part of an Italian financial holding growing strongly in European markets – after a merger with others ICT companies of the group in Europe. The mission was to lead the integration processes of all the ICT services of the group.
This company, always operating in a “captive” market, was historically linked to the Holding and the Italian context. The merger processes took it from the original small-medium dimension to the multinational structure with 5.000 employees, 20 location in 6 different countries.       
The start-up of the integration project with the European companies  - spurred by the strong commitment of the holding – included also the necessary tuning of the people strategy and the linked management processes, and, in general, the “alignment” of managerial behaviors to build a common culture between different visions.
For this reason the Italian CEO required a project aimed at analysis, development and integration of some local management practices with those of one the most important European companies acquired, located in Austria. The project target was the management of these two companies, Italian and Austrian.


Analysis actions

The analysis was focused on some specific actions, according to the learning methods in project design and the ethnographic approach useful in understanding the cultural paths. We proceeded as follows:
. Analysis of relevant organizational documents, to understand the values and the management model: Vision, Business Ethics and Conduct Guidelines, Values and Behaviors, People Strategy;
. Interviews with CEO and HR Managers, Italian and Austrian, focused on the main integration processes under way and the critical points, and the expectations of the management practices to share;
. “On the job observation of a Management Team Group meeting and Executives’ meetings with their Staff in Italy and Austria to observe the practices in use.
 
From analysis it emerged that there were very different managerial behaviors between the two European companies, with cultural differences linked to different organizational histories and professional habits. In particular, it appeared most of all absolutely necessary to work on integration inside the management group in Italy. In fact it was largely composed of members of the original group, linked to a structure already “hand-crafted”, and operative, in which were introduced, with difficult, some new managers, more focused on management processes (delegation and support of the decisional processes).    


The learning strategy

In the first step of the project we worked with the Italian management, designing and developing a team coaching path, with the participation of the CEO too. In the second step, after preliminary actions with the Austrian management group, we did action-learning sessions with mixed subgroups (Italian and Austrian), to discuss and share the main points about the managerial behaviors and actions.

We proceeded as follows:
. Focus on  and sharing of values and the related behaviors
. Key success factors in the role and in the managerial practices (in interaction with the staff, the other members of the management team, with other European managers, with the clients, etc.)
. Comparison of the managerial practices (support to CEO, team building, work organization, evaluation of performances, delegation, etc.) and check of effectiveness, common habits and development areas
. Development of communication processes in the different departments, in the Management Group and with the CEO
. Analysis of decisional processes and ways of supporting strategic projects and decisions.

One outcome was a shared document with guidelines and action items to support the integration processes and the interaction between different managers and countries.
This document was a starting point to design other follow-up sessions and executive coaching actions.   

THE CUSTOMER REQUEST AND THE CONTEXT

“There is a problem with the method. In fact, the employees are competent: however, some of them, recently hired, were not involved in the last training sessions, so the problem is that the techniques learned are not applied in a methodological and widespread manner.  
The knowledge gained is considered a kind of precious personal stock, but is not applied, so does not become a professional habit.
In general, people have no method of problem setting and solving and of making a proposal.
Similarly, at Management level, for example, the meetings are not very productive: in this case not all the necessary decisions are made and some people do not contribute to making decisions”.

These are the words of the CEO and Country Manager Italy  of a market leading German Service Company, in a particular, complex moment due to the presence of new, important competitors.

The original request was: create a training project to enforce the techniques related to problem solving and decision-making and support their extended application, and provide a rigorous method for Executive and Middle Management.     
In fact, at the start the problem seemed to be that employees in general did not have enough ability to transfer the techniques, partly already learned, into practices – in a widespread way – and to transform these into professional habits. Their employment was interpreted as an exercise, in a different dimension as opposed to the normal activities. In professional interactions, the use of techniques has not yet become a new language to communicate and behave more effectively.           
But this request was too general and, on the surface, in contradiction to the organizational culture. In the first interview with the HR Manager and the CEO, in fact, the culture and the organization should encourage – not block – the transformation of the techniques into professional practices. Indeed, the CEO, when he arrived 10 years ago, had built a management team able to lead important economic growth and market share. In the last four years, the staff almost doubled from 60 to 110 units .  In addition, a corporate culture became apparent, focused on sense of loyalty and targets based on the vision, confident in the young employees’ potential and characterized by a shared attitude of challenging themselves (an attitude necessary for organizational learning). Furthermore, there was no evident tension in a hierarchical structure (as all the organizational culture features indicated) and the system of competence evaluation was well accepted .  

In this, substantially positive, context it was necessary to explore better the request and the insistence on the “method”.
The key questions were:
• How had the last training projects and related on-the-job application been structured and which tools have been acquired;
• What were, in the context, the strengths and the opportunities to transform the techniques into professional habits, widespread and well-established, beyond apparent learning;
• What was the meaning of “gain the method” in a problem setting/solving process and what were the expectations about the application of these techniques to real work processes (i.e. “No method of problem setting and solving and of making a proposal”);
• Which were the main critical points in a decision-making process to apply the techniques and make them more effective (“the meetings are not very productive: in this case not all the necessary decisions are made and some people do not contribute to making decisions”);
• In general, what kind of management culture was produced in organizational practices and how were the decision-making processes structured in the Executive Management and in the relationship between each Executive and his Department.

To understand all these points, it was necessary to introduce specific actions in the design phase and then define a well customized project to ensure that the learning of methods and techniques became “knowledge in action”, shared by the people and effective in the organization’s efficient working and so in the business.  


PROJECT DESIGN ACTIONS

The project design was strictly defined with the HR Manager and the CEO.

In a cultural analysis perspective, we proceeded as follows:

• Meetings with the HR Manager in which we analyzed in detail:
1. The History of the Company, and the Vision, with initial notes related to the organizational culture
2. The organizational structure and personnel management and development system (people strategy)
3. The professional characteristics of employees involved in the project
Main documents: Vision (last release), organizational chart, competences map for “Management” and “People”, last training projects, tools in use for problem analysis and decision-making;

• Interviews with the Executives to understand the real value assigned to possession of techniques in the context;
• Observation of a Executive Management Group (EMG) meeting and Executives’ meetings with their Staff, to identify methods in use for problem analysis and decision-making;
• Focus group with Middle Management representatives, to identify the expectations, experiences, key-processes and problem situations.

From the analysis, some critical points emerged:
1. At the level of Middle Management on one hand there was an insufficient sharing of techniques and methodologies of problem setting/solving processes, on the other hand the problem was the agreement with Executive Management in proposal and development of the projects which – by applying techniques – should promote real processes of organizational development. The problem of contents and methods was linked to some resistance by Executives (to accepting proposals from Staff) and Middle Management (in correctly promoting improvement proposals and projects).
2. At the level of Executive Management, it was necessary to review decision processes – starting from EMG meetings, frequently unproductive – and participation method in the business focused projects: in these cases, the EMG seemed ineffective in supporting strategic decisions and the CEO, viewed as a reference point but, sometimes, also as a man “to be feared”, from whom people expect operative orders more than a real involvement in decisional processes.

In an apparently collaborative and “no blame” culture, rigid hierarchy traits and a “soft” managerial role interpretation (in particular in some more recently appointed Executives) survived: the Executives showed a tendency to delegate their decisional competencies to the Top and, at the same time, to take power from their Direct Staff.
The CEO himself, demanding and meticulous, less emphatic and very distant but open to being immediately involved in the training process and in a clear relationship with the team, was perceived as authoritative, due to his history and ability to take the Company to success; however, for this reason, the Executives, especially the younger ones, had difficulty in having a more proactive relationship. The CEO was seen as a reference model, a kind of “founding father” who people had to treat with respect and wait for his instructions.
Instead the Company’s growth required more participation by the EMG and more acceptance of responsibility by each Executive.   

The training project strategy should consider all these points and – going beyond the techniques – focus on the cultural frames and the critical behaviors in change processes.


SOLUTIONS AND OUTCOMES

In summary, the proposals were:             

a) Middle Management
• Training sessions focused on technique reinforcement (team problem solving, process improvement, project management);
• Project Work with small groups (including some Employees]), supported by Consultants, aimed at problem finding in work processes and improvement project development (through learned tools): the groups had to acquire the correct information and make an appropriate report, assessment and presentation of purpose to the Executives.
Fundamental to the success of the Project Work were the constant relationship with the HR Manager, in particular in defining groups and areas of interest, and the presentation of analyses and purposes to the Executives, immediately involved in possible project definition as sponsors.          

The project outcomes were:
- a definition and implementation of real improvement projects (some relevant to the Organization) supported by the Executives;
- a revision of the communication process between Executives and Staff, to develop more participation by all people (with “the method”, thus using the analysis and development tools) considering the opportunities and the constraints in the Organization and the responsibility of the roles.

b) Executives
• Customized seminars focused on decision-making and organization of staff meetings and EMG meetings;
• Workshop with EMG (with the participation of the CEO), aimed at the analysis of decisional processes and their shared review.

An important outcome consisted of a kind of “Manual”, defined and shared by the EMG, with action items as follows:
- meeting participation and conduct (shared meeting management model);
- strategic project participation method (for example, in some cases, the EMG has a Steering Committee role and the responsibility – in unexpected situations or risks – for the most important decisions to realize a project; or the EMG supports organizational learning processes, etc.);   
- corporate governance review (for example the responsibility of the EMG, as a group; the role of the EMG in connecting and directing (finalizing) the support processes and business innovation processes).  

For us Consultants another action was: support the Management team in the learning process and on-the-job applications, providing team coaching sessions and, subsequently, giving feedback about the EMG meeting conduct.    
In some cases, individual Executive coaching sessions focused on management skills and listening and feedback abilities were developed.
A further outcome was a website (in the Intranet) with learning contents and a guide for use of techniques and tools: some of them were enriched by learners with examples of applications in the context.   


THE REASON OF SUCCESS AND PROJECT DEVELOPMENTS

The success depended on the real and cultural importance attributed by the CEO to the techniques and the tools proposed: the use of these techniques was considered a clear feature of a culture centered on performance improvement. Furthermore, during the project a real need – at all levels, including the Executive Management – came to light: real participation in the organizational development processes and, at the same time, reflection about the correct method of this participation.

Subsequently, the challenge was that people become independently able to transform the learning experience into working practices in the organization, paying real, and not ritualistic, attention to learned techniques and to the system of relationships and to respect of responsibility roles.
At the level of Executive Management, the target set was to continue – also in this case independently – to reflect on decisional processes and strategic project participation, involving all Executives (as individuals and group) in thinking about work practices and possible developments.    
At the same time, at the level of individuals, a development of specific managerial abilities was improved through Executive coaching.

The opportunity of parallel learning and consultancy actions for both the Middle Management and the EMG (in decision-making practices) was seen as an important starting point to build a real learning organization, able to think about its culture and practices.    

Quando incontriamo per la prima volta i potenziali Clienti, è frequente una  domanda: “Qual è la vostra specificità?”
Domanda naturale quando non ci si conosce. La strada più semplice per rispondere e definire la propria “specificità” sarebbe connotarsi con una serie di “titoli”. Oppure, ed è la via che noi abbiamo scelto, tracciare un quadro d’insieme all’interno del quale, mettendo insieme differenti competenze ed esperienze, rispondere in modo integrato a problemi emergenti e aiutare così i Clienti a cogliere e sviluppare opportunità.

Di cosa ci occupiamo quindi?

Da Consulenti-Formatori, ci occupiamo di sviluppo organizzativo, processi di cambiamento, potenziamento delle competenze, intese come “saperi in azione”, declinabili sempre diversamente in considerazione dell’Azienda, degli obiettivi di business, della cultura organizzativa, dei sistemi di relazione, della storia che ogni realtà si porta dietro.
Con questo “bagaglio” cerchiamo, oltre la domanda iniziale, di comprendere, insieme ai nostri Interlocutori, i bisogni e, soltanto dopo, trovare possibili risposte. Anche quando si tratta di interventi brevi o di proposte replicabili, pensiamo debbano essere al centro il contesto specifico, le caratteristiche del cliente, la comprensione dei problemi nella loro diversità e complessità.   

Proviamo a raccontare il nostro approccio con un breve esempio

In un primo incontro, l’AD di una sede italiana di una multinazionale ci ha chiesto di “trasferire un metodo” a Professional, Quadri e Dirigenti attraverso l’apprendimento di tecniche di problem setting/solving e decision making. Noi abbiamo cercato di capire quale fosse il bisogno effettivo, il contesto in cui le “tecniche” andavano calate. E abbiamo scoperto aspetti interessanti. Da un lato c’era un problema di comunicazione, per cui, nel quadro di una cultura aperta al cambiamento ma ancora segnata da rigidità gerarchica, la segnalazione di criticità e le proposte faticavano a “salire” dai livelli operativi ai quadri e quindi ai dirigenti. Era dunque necessario lavorare sulle tecniche di problem setting/solving, guardando ai processi reali, ma, contemporaneamente, costruire una cultura che facilitasse le comunicazioni nel rispetto dei ruoli, attraverso il coinvolgimento dei Responsabili diretti nel processo formativo.  Dall’altro lato, il gruppo di Management  era caratterizzato da diversità e necessitava di un percorso di “costruzione” del senso del gruppo all’interno del quale collocare anche i processi decisionali, in particolare quelli trasversali alle strutture, o di rilevanza strategica, che coinvolgevano l’intera Azienda. A partire da questi bisogni abbiamo costruito uno specifico intervento di Formazione-Laboratorio.      

Come lavoriamo?

Il caso descritto è solo una delle tante situazioni da “interpretare” che abbiamo affrontato. Lavoriamo così: fin dal primo incontro, ci piace scoprire il linguaggio, i tratti caratteristici di una cultura, le modalità con cui si fa business e organizzazione in un certo contesto. Il Committente diventa un “compagno di viaggio” insieme al quale definire e, se necessario, ridefinire il progetto, scoprire nuove vie, coinvolgere interlocutori-chiave intercettandone discorsività, stili ed esigenze, oltre gli aspetti puramente tecnici.  Si definisce così, insieme, la strategia (e di conseguenza gli strumenti) per far sì che gli interventi formativi o di consulenza producano un reale impatto per l’organizzazione e costruiscano davvero nuove prassi in uso o migliorino le esistenti.

Cosa abbiamo fatto?

È in questo modo che abbiamo formato Gruppi di management, implementato sistemi di valutazione delle performance supportati da percorsi di formazione d’aula e sul campo calati nel contesto, seguito complessi percorsi di change management a fianco dei Vertici aziendali e ascoltandone le esigenze, supportato le persone in percorsi di riqualificazione valorizzando l’esperienza in un’ottica di “allungamento della vita aziendale”, accompagnato processi di fusione di realtà diverse e su territori distanti cercando di armonizzare stili direzionali e prassi gestionali, lavorato con persone che operano in situazioni ad alto impatto emotivo e con un pubblico difficile, “costruito” nuovi ruoli tenendo conto del sistema di relazioni...

Pianificare, progettare, gestire interventi di formazione e consulenza

Progettiamo dunque tenendo conto delle specificità, quindi pianifichiamo gli interventi, sapendo bene che, nella variabilità sempre più marcata cui i contesti sono soggetti, le esigenze possono cambiare in corso d’opera, possono emergere nuove richieste, nuove specificità. Per questo è importante come professionisti saper gestire: in un progetto di formazione, di sviluppo, di cambiamento, il cammino spesso lo si definisce mentre lo si percorre, scegliendo le vie migliori per affrontare le situazioni, gli ostacoli, le resistenze che inevitabilmente si frappongono.
Cerchiamo di farlo sfruttando le opportunità di una visione ampia sull’organizzazione che ci viene da anni di esperienza e dai vissuti organizzativi che ci hanno regalato una consapevolezza delle difficoltà, delle dinamiche e delle opportunità del lavoro in contesti complessi: con queste “lenti” accompagniamo i Clienti nei processi di cambiamento e sviluppo.

Crediamo che la formazione possa assumere un valore davvero centrale, se sa incettare tali processi e calarsi nelle situazioni reali, nelle prassi di lavoro. Un impatto che cerchiamo sempre di valutare.
Ma ci fermiamo qui, per ora: a questo aspetto - il ritorno formativo - dedicheremo un altro “percorso”.            

IL NOSTRO APPROCCIO

Gestire processi di cambiamento organizzativo – che riguardino specifici ruoli, singole strutture o l’intera organizzazione – è un’operazione complessa e non può essere risolta solo attraverso l’applicazione di tecniche o seguendo modelli di intervento precostituiti. Qualsiasi strategia di Change Management richiede di indagare su possibili fattori facilitanti e resistenze per poi cercare appropriate strategie di risposta in un dato contesto.

Il modello integrato di intervento di Trilix considera tre aspetti sempre interconnessi:
1.strategie e contesto in cui l’azienda opera
2.strutture e processi
3.culture e comportamenti

Un progetto di change management va a modificare, in tutto o in parte, il modello di governo dell’organizzazione, gli approcci al business, le “culture”, le prassi gestionali e operative che le caratterizzano, i linguaggi. È importante fare la massima attenzione a:
• analisi di contesto, culturale e dei processi coinvolti
• definizione di possibili strategie di intervento mirate
• gestione del progetto e relazione con la Committenza

ESPERIENZE TRILIX

Trilix, sempre nell’ambito di una visione olistica e integrata, interviene in particolare con alcune azioni che elenchiamo.
• Consulenza direzionale mirata al cambiamento culturale e delle prassi collegate (focus su: sistema di valori, modelli gestionali, processi decisionali, prassi e stili di comunicazione, processi di innovazione, valorizzazione di saperi e pratiche non formalizzati, etc.)
• Consulenza per la progettazione e revisione di modelli di performance    management e valutazione delle competenze
• Formazione e supporto alla gestione di progetti complessi (project management       integrato al change management)
• Coaching ai Gruppi di Management per l’innovazione dei processi gestionali
• Executive coaching
• Supporto all’introduzione di nuovi ruoli con attenzione all’impatto sul sistema di    relazioni e organizzativo
• Revisione di ruoli a seguito di cambiamenti strategici e di processo, risocializzazione al ruolo e sviluppo di competenze chiave
• Sistemi di valutazione del potenziale fortemente contestualizzati (definizione di prove ad hoc)
• Supporto allo sviluppo di progetti a sostegno delle pari opportunità, per l’inserimento di nuovi assunti, di rimotivazione al ruolo, di gestione di fasi critiche nel più generale contesto di cambiamento

I nostri interventi sono seguiti da team di professionisti – in una logica di integrazione delle diverse specificità – con documentate esperienze di consulenza e organizzative.


Trilix è azienda certificata ISO 9001:2008, EA37

IL PUNTO SULLA VALUTAZIONE DELLE PERFORMANCE NELLE PUBBLICHE AMMINISTRAZIONI

Il tema della valutazione appare quanto mai centrale nel più ampio dibattito in merito ai processi di cambiamento e innovazione della PA, sia per la rilevanza sempre più forte assunta nel tempo dai criteri di efficacia ed efficienza come criteri ispiratori dell’attività della P.A., sia per l’attenzione alle ricadute dell’azione amministrativa, sia, infine, per l’affermarsi progressivo di una cultura del risultato e del merito, che trova un’ulteriore declinazione all’interno del recente D. Lgs. 27 Ottobre 2009, 150 di attuazione della Legge Brunetta di riforma della Pubblica Amministrazione (Legge n. 15 del 4 marzo 2009)

Ampie e diversificate sono state, in questi anni, le sperimentazioni che la PA ha vissuto intorno al nodo della valutazione. Ci appare quindi opportuna, prima di tutto, una riflessione sulle esperienze pregresse e prassi in uso che già connotano la gran parte delle Pubbliche Amministrazioni e sui fattori che hanno ostacolato e favorito l’introduzione di meccanismi di valutazione, collocando il tema della valutazione all’interno di un processo di apprendimento che recuperi l’esperienza come elemento di valore aggiunto finalizzandola secondo quanto previsto dall’attuale D. Lgs.

La validità infatti di un sistema di valutazione non risiede esclusivamente nell’applicazione di un modello, ma in misura essenziale nei modi di implementazione all’interno del contesto e della sua storia, tenuto conto della specificità dei singoli Enti: solo così esso può radicarsi, diventando a tutti gli effetti centrale nella definizione di un nuovo modello di governo (come indica il forte collegamento tra valutazione della performance e progressione di carriera).

Inoltre, il processo di valutazione, perché non risulti fine a se stesso, perdendo gran parte della sua efficacia, deve diventare occasione di apprendimento organizzativo, sposando la logica di finalizzazione del sistema e di allineamento con una di diagnosi sui fattori di successo della performance. È in tal senso opportuno che un’Amministrazione si interroghi sempre sugli obiettivi che vuole raggiungere, intendendo il sistema premiante come una leva per migliorare le performance delle strutture e innescare un processo di sviluppo che abbia un impatto a livello organizzativo e di territorio.

Su un piano diverso, e in considerazione delle linee-guida del D. Lgs. 150, l’ampia delega alle Dirigenze (intesi come datori di lavoro pubblico) nel processo di valutazione del personale – e più in generale nella gestione delle risorse umane e nella individuazione dei profili professionali necessari allo svolgimento dei compiti istituzionali e al raggiungimento degli obiettivi (Art. 6 Legge Delega 4 Marzo 2009, 15, Princìpi e criteri in materia di dirigenza pubblica)- richiede a sua volta che venga ripreso un percorso già iniziato con la dirigenza di molte PA in questi anni, su un duplice livello:
• lo sviluppo delle competenze (tecniche e manageriali) della dirigenza pubblica in termini di gestione delle risorse;
• il lavoro con i soggetti, chiamati a ripensare criticamente ai criteri anche “impliciti” di valutazione e più in generale di gestione  e sui presupposti che guidano l’agire manageriale, affinché possano, attraverso un processo di riflessione e confronto, arricchirli e condividerli, nell’ottica di veicolare un autentico cambiamento culturale.

Sul tema rimandiamo a una esperienza sul campo, condotta da Trilix srl in ASL di Milano e agli articoli relativi consultabili su:

http://www.dialoghi.org/files/Dialoghi_Sarati_1_2011_0wdxi70h.pdf
http://www.dialoghi.org/files/Dialoghi_Mattalucci_1_2011_4d8s0c35.pdf

FORMAZIONE FINANZIATA TRAMITE FONDI PARITETICI INTERPROFESSIONALI

Trilix fornisce consulenza e supporta i propri Clienti nella presentazione di progetti, finanziabili tramite i fondi paritetici interprofessionali, che verranno realizzati con i progettisti e i docenti Trilix.

I Fondi finanziano piani formativi aziendali, settoriali e territoriali, che le imprese in forma singola o associata decideranno di realizzare per i propri dipendenti.

Oltre a finanziare, in tutto o in parte, i piani formativi aziendali, settoriali e territoriali, con le modifiche introdotte dall’art. 48 della legge 289/02, i Fondi Interprofessionali potranno finanziare anche piani formativi individuali, nonché ulteriori attività propedeutiche o comunque connesse alle inziative formative.

Per maggiori informazioni: info@trilix.biz

* * ll Sistema Qualità Trilix è certificato ISO 9001:2008, per il settore EA37 (progettazione ed erogazione di attività formative)

Segnaliamo, sul tema della cultura della formazione, una iniziativa organizzata dalla rivista di studi Dialoghi il 1 Luglio a Milano.
Per maggiori dettagli consultare il sito

www.dialoghi.org

UNA CASE HISTORY

“Abbiamo da poco riorganizzato le funzioni centrali della nostra azienda e promosso a Manager alcuni nostri giovani collaboratori. Ci aspettavamo un rapido inserimento nel ruolo e una ventata di energia da parte di queste persone che avevamo valutato di alto potenziale. Tuttavia i risultati stentano ad arrivare, eppure i nuovi Manager hanno tutte le carte in regola…”

L’Azienda Cliente è una realtà industriale ad elevato contenuto tecnologico che ha sviluppato una nuova strategia di competizione sul mercato. Particolarmente sentita l’esigenza di fornire risposte più veloci ai clienti mantenendo le caratteristiche di alta qualità dell’offerta. Nell’ambito di un più ampio processo di riorganizzazione e riformulazione della people strategy, una delle azioni-chiave è stata la definizione di nuove figure manageriali. Si è puntato sulla crescita di personale giovane, dal profilo prevalentemente tecnico, con l’obiettivo di combinare specializzazione e maggiore efficienza.

AZIONI DI PROGETTAZIONE

L’esigenza espressa-lo sviluppo dei nuovi Manager e un migliore inserimento nel ruolo- richiedeva di essere compresa alla luce del contesto e del sistema di aspettative. Pertanto è risultato necessario procedere con le seguenti azioni di analisi e di intervento, concordate con la Committenza:
•primo confronto con la stessa Committenza e i Referenti HR, con la finalità di inquadrare i processi di cambiamento in atto e valutare il job system e l’insieme delle soluzioni messe in campo;
•raccolta delle aspettative specifiche di cambiamento, tramite interviste ai Responsabili gerarchici -coinvolti fin dall’inizio del progetto di sviluppo- dei nuovi Manager;
•revisione, in coerenza con i nuovi orientamenti e le attese espresse, del sistema di competenze dei giovani Manager, riconfigurato alla luce dei diversi obiettivi, con una maggiore attenzione alle capacità gestionali e di organizzazione del lavoro;
•ancoraggio del sistema di competenze alle schede di valutazione delle performance.

Successivamente, al fine di impostare un percorso di sviluppo che, partendo dalle esigenze aziendali, fosse al contempo centrato sulla persona, la fase di progettazione è stata  caratterizzata dalle seguenti, ulteriori, azioni:
•coinvolgimento dei Manager individuati in una giornata di valutazione delle proprie competenze
•elaborazione del profilo dei Coachee (Manager)
•restituzione del profilo ai Manager e ai referenti HR
•individuazione delle aree di sviluppo per ciascun Coachee

INTERVENTI

Una volta raccolta la disponibilità dei Coachee a intraprendere un percorso di crescita individuale i passi successivi sono stati:
•identificazione dei Coach più idonei al contesto e alle caratteristiche dei partecipanti;
•svolgimento di incontri di Coaching (normalmente dieci) di due ore ciascuno, con cadenza quindicinale, all’interno di un periodo di cinque/sei mesi;
•integrazione agli incontri di potenziamento con momenti di assistance on the job;
•condivisione del percorso con i Referenti HR e i Responsabili gerarchici dei Manager

RISULTATI

Durante il percorso i Responsabili dei Manager hanno potuto cogliere specifici cambiamenti nei comportamenti gestionali da parte dei loro Collaboratori, sostenuti anche da una nuova motivazione nell'agire di ruolo.

Da parte della Committenza e dei referenti HR è emersa, alla luce dei risultati verificati sul campo, la piena convinzione che il Coaching possa essere uno strumento valido per contribuire allo sviluppo e al cambiamento organizzativo in funzione dei risultati di business.

I Coachee hanno espresso interesse e disponibilità a continuare il percorso, avendo sperimentato on the job l'utilità di un intervento tagliato su misura.

Sono stati pianificati incontri di follow-up per ogni Coachee, con cadenza stabilita.