Transformational Impact with emlyon

The goal is real transformation

"The aim of our customized programs is to help companies transform to meet multiple challenges," says Gilles Basset, Director of Customized Training Program Development at emlyon business school, a role that sees him delivering over 100 such programs each year with his international team in Paris and Lyon.

The common objective of all emlyon customized programs is to initiate deep and lasting change within each partner organization. To achieve this, it is necessary to consider with the partner three levels of impact.

The most global level affects the organization, which must therefore implement this training project in direct relation to the biggest challenges it faces today, from climate and sustainability, to the exploitation of AI and big data.

At level two, to enable a desirable change in organizational practices, i.e. to help maintain or develop agility for the company.

Finally, at the individual level, to develop new behaviors and skills for the organization's leaders and talents.

Ultimately, it is a transformation of the company's relationship with its ecosystem that could be the impact the organization is aiming for.

Intimate understanding of context

Achieving truly transformational impact at this level is far from easy. It all starts with the company's specific context, which the emlyon team needs to know in great detail. To do this, the emlyon team immerses itself in the context of each company it works with, in order to understand their strategic reality and design programs that achieve these transformational results. Without this level of analysis of the scenarios and trends surrounding a company, it's not possible to achieve these goals. "It requires intimacy and proximity with the business," says Basset.

Co-creation with the customer

Once the objectives have been clearly defined and the context understood, the emlyon team can begin to co-design with its customer, together creating a program tailored to meet precisely those needs. Each program has its own original architecture, specially designed to fit the customer's context.

Around this architecture, emlyon's instructional design experts - in close collaboration with their client - can choose from a wide variety of pedagogical methods and tools, from face-to-face to e-learning, synchronous to asynchronous training, conventions, case studies and experiential learning activities.

Action learning is another area of expertise from which emlyon can draw innovative solutions. Research shows that action learning is what enables real, deep and lasting change. emlyon uses peer group learning, project work, simulations and role-playing to ensure that participants apply what they learn close to the source where they learned it, creating maximum impact.

Strategy first

Large-scale transformation initiatives in any field, from diversity to culture to sustainability, require tactical skills such as communication, negotiation and finance - but for emlyon, it all starts with strategy and leadership. These are the fundamental focus areas for any solution, providing the foundation for achieving the kind of behavioral and mindset change at the individual level that emlyon seeks, leading to deep and lasting change at the organizational and eco-system level.

Guaranteeing impact

The design of customized programs at emlyon aims to guarantee impact. Each step and component is carefully selected to create a rich, coherent story - a powerful learning journey for each individual and, subsequently, for each organization as a whole.

To assess the effectiveness and impact of its learning solutions, the emlyon team uses the Kirkpatrick model, a measurement tool designed to support impact at all levels of an initiative - from reaction to learning, to behavior change and finally to impact. Whether the cohort of participants in question is a global community of managers, a group of high potentials or top-level executives - each program will be very different, but each will be designed with this commitment to ensuring impact.

The emlyon difference

emlyon specializes in, and has become synonymous with, several areas of customized program delivery. One is its extraordinary experiential programs, which take learners out of their comfort zones in innovative ways, in new, thought-provoking environments and scenarios. Another is strategy - helping their clients develop and implement strategy, thanks to their focus on leadership. Another advantage of emlyon is its flexibility to call on faculty members to adapt to the specific context of a company or challenge - drawing on a broad network of university professors, but also experts and consultants with in-depth, up-to-date sector knowledge.

A final advantage is emlyon's world-class commitment to taking the time and care to prepare each program down to the last detail. "Preparation is key to the success of a customized program, and there are no shortcuts," explains Basset, "gaining an intimate understanding of a company's context takes time and confidence. This level of attention and investment of time is perhaps something that other suppliers in the field tend not to offer."

Click here to learn more about emlyon’s customized programs for companies.