How can managers be sensitized to the fundamentals of management when they are spread throughout France, with very different local realities and strong local autonomy?
Chez Intersport, Therefore, this question was not theoretical in nature. To answer it, the Intersport Academy chose a device that would allow for a more effective interaction between the participants. Digital learning designed to inspire people to learn.
In motion, Juliette Durand, Chefe de Projet at the Academy, piloted a project with talenco 10-module web series dedicated to management techniques and tools.
The bet was clear: to offer short, playful, practical content that is rooted in reality and sufficiently engaging to capture the attention of often very busy managers. With a strong conviction, as Juliette very well puts it: “We like to work seriously without taking ourselves too seriously at the Academy.”
Here is his experience in video, and his transcription in the form of an interview.
10 questions to Juliette Durand
What was the context at the start of the project?
What are the objectives of the Digital Learning initiative?
How do humor and ludopædagogics engage managers?
What are the formats of digital learning that work?
What content should be developed to develop managerial skills?
Why situational coaching and storytelling improve managers’ learning?
Why did you choose talenco for this digital learning project for managers?
Why is co-construction key to successful digital training in management?
What are the feedback from the managers?
6 levers to encourage people to learn digital skills
Can you recall the starting context at Intersport?
It all starts from a very specific context. Today, Intersport is a cooperative. We therefore have a number of managers within the network, including operational managers in stores, and we wanted to be able to mentor them on a regular basis.
But it’s not just the store operational managers; there are also all the managers at the headquarters and, more broadly, at the network in general.
The challenge was therefore quite extensive: how to support a managerial population spread across the entire territory, with contexts that were sometimes very different, while maintaining consistency in the messages and the fundamentals?
What are the objectives of this digital learning program dedicated to managers?
The challenge was to create something that gives one the desire, because distance learning does not guarantee commitment. In a cooperative, autonomy is strong, and everyone has their own constraints.
We wanted, through the Academy of Management, to offer content that is both serious in its substance and playful in its form. We like to work seriously, but without taking ourselves too seriously.
This academy is present on our LMS platform, and we have turned to talenco to power it with content. rather playful, interactive videos, on quite varied topics. It ranges from feedback from the symmetry of the attentions to several other themes. Today, we have 10 of them.
The idea was to allow these managers to connect to the platform and to offer distance training, simply, regularly, and with a real pedagogical interest.
Customized digital learning
Discover our solutions
Why use playfulness and humor to engage digital-training managers?
Because at the Academy, we love learning in a fun way and the idea of being able to offer rather humorous videos on the topic of management.
This choice is important. Humor here is not a gimmick; it serves a very concrete objective: to create acceptance. When it comes to topics like feedback, management techniques, or tools for team building, it’s easy to end up with formats that are too derivative, too academic, and too cold. Yet managers need content that is not only useful but also enjoyable to consume.
The principle adopted was therefore to make it practical, educational and light, without ever losing the essence.
Which format of digital learning works best for operational managers? What do the modules actually look like?
Our capsules last between 10 and 15 minutes. It was also very important for us to offer short formats, with playful, educational videos, and with very practical things, tools to be used quickly and easily in the field.
The short format responds to a simple reality: managers do not have hours ahead of them. They need digestible, actionable sequences that they can easily integrate into their daily routine.
The web series thus rests on several pillars:
- 10 modules dedicated to management techniques and tools
- Practical and playful episodes to facilitate appropriation
- Characters embodied that make situations more vivid
- Educational supplements like quizzes, tool sheets and other content to go deeper
- A turnkey format integrable directly into the LMS
This logic of short capsules also allows for regularity to be established. There is no need for a large, one-time effort; rather, an learning habit is created.
Which training content should be prioritized to develop managerial skills?
The topics are very varied. It ranges from feedback to the symmetry of attention.
What also stands out is the desire to approach management through concrete situations and operational tools. In the sequences mentioned, we see, for example performances around an acronym, a method, or even a card game to discuss motivations at work.
One of the strengths of the device is precisely this immediate translation into real-world applications. Management is not treated as an abstract concept, but as a daily practice, with its imperfections, its good reflexes, and sometimes its misunderstandings, and its tools.
Why situational learning and storytelling improve managers’ learning?
We were lucky enough to film in a store and offered two colleagues the opportunity to take part in the acting role. I also participated in the filming of these videos.
It was absolutely the opportunity to put this collective intelligence to work in this capsule, and I had a lot of fun doing it. It was very, very funny.
This point is essential. By operating in a real store and involving local people, the project gains in credibility. The situations sound realistic. The interactions seem more natural. And most importantly, managers can more easily identify with the scenes presented.
Why did you choose talenco for this digital learning project for managers?
The cooperation was very simple. In this idea of practicality, in this idea of simplicity, in this idea of humor as well.
To put humor into it, you have to do it sparingly and with intelligence. And The ability that talenco had to offer us things allowed us to get back to the essentials.
Being able to fully participate in this, to co-create these videos, to co-write them, to add our own touches and humor as we wish, is really very pleasant.
I salute the talent of the teams involved in the production, especially Kenny and Cyrille (talenco), who also played the actors.
Why is co-construction key to successful digital training in management?
The ability to bring our own touch, our humor, as we wish. That is really important.
The project was not conceived as standard content imposed on a management population. It was shaped to the very specific needs, language, and culture of the company.
This is often what makes the difference between simply available digital training and truly adopted digital training: the feeling that the content was designed for oneself, with the right codes, the right situations, the right level of language, the right rhythm.
In this type of project, the quality of collaboration is as important as the quality of deliverables and is based on several very concrete elements:
- The simplicity of cooperation
- The ability to produce useful and concrete content
- Good control of the dosage of humor
- A true logic of co-writing
- Respect for the culture and tone of Intersport
What feedback have you received from the managers?
It’s great when our managers connect and discover these capsules. They are “Wow, but what is that? But I didn’t know that we had something like that for the Academy of Management.”.
We say that it’s a discovery for everyone every day, so that’s great.
This reaction is very revealing. It shows that surprise is part of the experience. Managers do not just discover more content in an LMS. They discover a different way of talking to them about management. A more embodied, lighter, more concrete way.
And in an environment where attention is rare, this positive surprise is a formidable lever of engagement.
In summary
The experience conducted at the Intersport Academy shows that a digital learning management system can be both serious, useful, and attractive.
The secret lies not only in the technology or in simply providing content on an LMS. It mainly comes down to a clear intention: talk about management in a way that inspires.
To capture the attention of managers and then engage them, the arrangements must be designed as a useful, quick and concrete experience, adapted to their operational reality.
By relying on short formats, playful capsules, practical tools, a real dose of co-creation and well-calibrated humor, Juliette Durand and the teams at Intersport succeeded in turning a distance constraint into an opportunity for engagement.
6 levers to encourage people to learn digital skills
Offer short and accessible formats
of capsules of 10 to 15 minutes make it easy to fit in with busy schedules
Rely on practical and actionable content
The managers are waiting tools that can be used directly in the field, Not just theoretical concepts
Treating the learning experience
one Your engaging, even playful, It facilitates adherence and memorization, provided that it remains relevant in its substance.
Creating identification
of situations close to everyday life (terrain, teams, specific cases) strengthen interest and credibility
Promote interactivity
quizzes, tool sheets or complementary resources They extend learning and encourage involvement
Involving teams in the design process
the co-construction allows the content to be adapted to the codes and real needs of managers
Ultimately, an effective digital learning system is not just about training: it inspires people to connect, learn, and above all to apply what they have learned immediately in the field.
Want to get started? Discover our interactive digital learning portfolio
Case study: Boosting management practices through tailored digital learning capsules
Case study: Boosting management practices through tailored digital learning capsules
