How can a management culture in a large retail group be transformed in a sustainably way? How can managers' practices be changed to combine performance, recognition, and collective commitment?
At Galeries Lafayette, this ambition was translated into a structural project: the redesign of the Competence framework and the creation of a new management training course, at the heart of a broader cultural transformation.
In this interview, Marie-Laure Tsimbidima, Director of HR Development & Engagement, recalls the genesis of the program Managerial Excellence, Its challenges (performance, managerial courage, talent development) and the key factors for the success of a system that is now highly praised by managers.
A concrete experience for all organizations that want to make the training of managers a real lever for transformation!
Conduct of the interview
In what context did you initiate a transformation of the management culture?
Why did you rethink your management training path?
What were the main challenges of this new management role?
To whom is this management training course addressed?
How did you design and implement this management path?
Have you worked on clarifying the managerial role?
How did you onboard the managers from the very beginning of the program?
Has the course evolved over time?
What are the strong themes covered in this management training course?
Why did you choose talenco to accompany you?
What results are you seeing today?
Management path: practical advice
In what context did you initiate a transformation of the management culture?
We were engaged in a a vast project of cultural transformation.
We had established a new competency framework, which was the cornerstone of a profound evolution aimed at developing a culture of performance and recognition.
In keeping with this tradition, we felt it essential to evolve our managerial style and deploy one New program for managers' training, in line with this framework and our business plan.
Why did you rethink your management training path?
We already had a management training program that had been with us for almost 10 years. The challenge was therefore to take over the reins, with the same level of demand and success, but by integrating new topics directly related to our cultural transformation.
The goal was clear: to continue training our managers so that they can fully assume their role as leaders. manager and developer manager, dedicated to the performance and commitment of their teams.
What were the main challenges of this new management role?
There was a double stake involved.
- On the one hand, working on the performance : how the manager supports his teams in achieving their goals, how he helps them to develop their skills speed up the execution, at challenge the practices and to stay very aligned with the results. We are in retail, so the result is obviously central.
- On the other hand, there was a strong stake involved in the recognition.
We have a very collective culture, but we also wanted to develop individual and informal recognition further: knowing how to celebrate victories, valuing achievements, embarking the teams with motivating challenges. This was fully part of the evolution of our management style.
To whom is this training course for managers addressed?
It is exclusively a Management program, intended for all the company’s managers.
We have built a partnership with talenco structured management path in 2 levels :
- a first level for the New managers, in order to accompany them upon their taking up their duties,
- a second level for more experienced managers, allowing them to continue developing their managerial skills and to enrich their practices with more experience and field knowledge.
How did you design and implement this management path?
From the very beginning of the design phase, we made the choice of a The co-construction approach. The course, which we have called «Excellent Management», is the result of both talenco’s work and ours.
This co-construction, inspired by agile methods, allowed us to move quickly and build a system perfectly adapted to our needs, involving both the training teams, the HR teams, and operational managers.
Management & Leadership Development
Discover our career paths
Have you worked on clarifying the role of managers?
Yes, and that is a key point of the device.
We have worked with talenco on the Definition of managerial roles, in direct connection with our cultural transformation program and our competency framework.
These roles help clarify a management mission that is often perceived as vague or interpreted differently depending on the people involved.
Today, these roles give a lot of meaning to the job of a manager: the expectations are clear and shared, and they form a solid foundation for developing managerial skills over the long term.
How did you onboard the managers from the very beginning of the program?
We took advantage of an seminar bringing together our top management to organize a half-day of workshops around the program.
This session enabled the momentum to be launched by actually involving the most senior managers.
They played a role of beta testers, And this half-day now forms an integral part of the launch program for all managers who complete the course. This has been a real key factor in its success.
Has the training course evolved over time?
Yes, we worked very hard iterative.
From the very first sessions, we collected feedback and made adjustments when necessary, in order to achieve a Very smooth and homogeneous course, which works well with all our managers.
What are the key topics covered in this management training course?
I would cite 3 major elements.
- First of all, a module dedicated to managed courage, This module corresponds to a key competency in our framework and to a strong expectation from our managers. This module is currently experiencing real success.
- Then, a module focused on Management and talent development. We wanted to place this topic at the heart of the management journey, because the role of the manager in identifying and supporting talent is absolutely central.
- Finally, the course concludes with a serious game, TalenCity, This marks the end of the second level. It is a very engaging, creative and fun day, which allows us to consolidate the knowledge acquired during the eight months of training while creating a real collective energy.
Why did you choose talenco to help you?
What made the difference was first and foremost their the ability to support us quickly and effectively in the design of the program.
Thanks to their agile methods, we managed to build two complete courses — one initial level an increasingly Experienced level — within very tight deadlines, while maintaining a high level of quality.
There was also a human and cultural matching. Beyond the expertise, it is the relationship of trust and partnership that we have built with the talenco teams that made the difference. Today, it is truly a joint project.
What results are you seeing today among managers?
The first indicator is the Return of the participants.
We receive many messages of thanks, spontaneous testimonials, including on LinkedIn. The satisfaction rates are 100% (satisfied and very satisfied), which is far from being common.
We are also seeing the emergence of initiatives such as the creation of a network of former participants, launched by a manager who followed the process to extend the collective momentum and energy created during the training. For us, this is a very good sign of success.
Interviews conducted by Cyrille Chaudoit, Co-founder of talenco. Many thanks to Marie-Laure for her enlightening testimony!
Practical advice for building a management career and supporting cultural transformation
- Building in co-construction with the stakeholders (HR, training, managers).
- Defining clear management roles in a Referential Framework to align expectations and facilitate pedagogical design.
- Involving top managers From the launch phase to obtain membership and test the content.
- Adopting an iterative approach to improve the continuous tracking based on field feedback.
- Combining performance and recognition in content to meet business objectives while valuing people.
- Ending with an immersive experience (Serious Game, hackathon, creative workshop) to anchor the learning process and create a collective spirit.
