Convergys managers build platform for success: Outdoor training helps to create a shared sense of purpose

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe how 19 managers from the European and Middle Eastern divisions of multinational business consultancy Convergys built a badger‐watching platform during a training weekend, to assess and improve skills in leadership, motivation and performance management.

Design/methodology/approach

Details how the training was commissioned and delivered, and the benefits it brought.

Findings

Explains that the managers were split into four teams, responsible for catering, public relations, resourcing and entertainment. Each team had a functional responsibility, but the group as a whole was in charge of planning, designing and building the badger‐watching platform within 24 hours.

Practical implications

Claims that, overall, the managers were helped to see the company's key business objectives more clearly, and how their individual performance relates to these objectives.

Originality/value

Reveals that asking team members as a group to plot the way forward and set some rules for themselves was an effective way of fostering a common understanding and shared goals.

Citation

(2007), "Convergys managers build platform for success: Outdoor training helps to create a shared sense of purpose", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 15 No. 7, pp. 25-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/09670730710830450