Having designed and run a successful Management Consultancy programme for several years, our client needed a quick solution for the next cohort of learners, to ensure their continued development was not disrupted.
Faced with the onset of a pandemic lockdown and consultants working from home, our client had to establish new ways of training, to make good use of time, resources and importantly, to make sure that their newly appointed consultants stayed on track to be fully operational, within the agreed time-frame.
With a large proportion of the learning focussing on behavioural skills, to enhance participants’ relationship building and communication techniques, it was essential for any online solutions to maintain a high level of interaction and the opportunity to practise.
Working closely with the government department, RoleplayUK researched and designed an effective learning management platform to allow easy access to content and learning resources, as well as a detailed programme of remote tutor led sessions.
We also effectively adapted the course content, to maintain the key learning objectives and ensure it would still be engaging, when accessed remotely.
An essential element of this learning was to incorporate a simulated case study, which runs through the whole four-week programme. The case study introduced essential interactive exercises to help participants test out core skills of fact-finding, negotiation, meeting facilitation and presentation, against professional actor skills coaches, to add realism and urgency to each exercise.
Learners quickly engaged with the programme, the simulated exercises, and their need to take ownership of their personal self-directed learning.
The opportunity to work collaboratively in smaller break out teams, developed an excellent support network and provided the opportunity to discuss, debate and agree appropriate actions, enhancing the overall learning of the whole group. It also minimised learner down time and made their time online far more productive.
All learners had the opportunity to put new learning into practice and test out behaviours in a safe environment; each receiving individual constructive feedback from their trainers and personal coach.
From a business perspective, the client benefited from significant logistical and costs savings with no accommodation, travel and sustenance to co-ordinate. Even before the conclusion of the whole programme, the client wanted to explore how the programme could be further adjusted to develop the skill set of a different team within the Department.
“The real-life consultancy scenarios helped me to put the tool sets and Consultancy Intervention Process into practice, a really good experience.”
“It was a great help that all sessions were recorded, so that I could go back and review at my own pace.”
“The case study simulation was just excellent – really useful and I enjoyed the challenges.”
Course participants
