The Credit Agricole Group’s University (IFCAM) hosts the stakeholders for the group Crédit Agricole’s’ training through Encounters twice a year. This year, they were held between June 25th and July 2nd. Their particularity? These were the first Encounters organized and held 100% remotely!
An excellent opportunity for the teams and responsible for training (Caisses régionales et filiales) to assist to interactive plenary sessions and brainstorming workshops to (re)think the future of training.
The Training Encounters allowed participants to choose to work on one of the workshops organized on 3 themes:
- The course plan
- The learning experiences
- The management role and modalities (including remote management)
The approach in a few key figures
Three ambitious goals for these Encounters
In the context of the health crisis, the IFCAM wished to go forward with the Encounters event digitizing the entire system and collaborative sessions.
This crisis provided an important transformation opportunity for IFCAM and allowed the opportunity to experiment/try out a new format for the 100% Connected Encounters. These Encounters, which are usually organized over two days were spread out over the course of a week in order to respond to the needs and constraints of the organization and participants.
This ambitious project was articulated through the three following pillars:
- MAINTAINING the link in the current context with a convivial and pedagogical spirit
- LIVE TOGETHER a remote experience which would allow to develop skills by mobilizing all pedagogical capacities
- CO-CREATE tomorrow’s programs within the framework of the Group Project
The challenges in the organization and carrying out of these Encounters
Since the beginning of the project, the entire team was conscious of the challenges which would follow all along. Challenges of different nature which were all faced collectively! In short, here are the three main challenges we faced:
- MAKE these first 100% connected Encounters teaching experiences for all parties involved (ex: training in the use of new tools, concrete application of new innovation methods)
- INVOLVE numerous parties, with different roles and implications, before, during and after the Encounters (speakers, moderators, facilitators, presenters and reporters)
- CONCEIVE a participative mechanism in a very short time (3 weeks of framing for 6 sessions gathering about 110 collaborators over 1 week).
Our methodology for these Encounters
These encounters started on June 25th, 2020 with an interactive introductory plenary session to launch the event. Between June 26th and 29th, six segments were launched around three themes: the learning experience, the course plan and the management’s role and missions. On July 1st, the workshop facilitators in support of the rapporteurs of each workshop summarized the exchanges and work of the week. The Encounters were rounded off on July 2nd with a last interactive concluding plenary session which also opened up on the 2021 perspectives, giving a collective perspective for the future.
The coordination and remote implementation of such Encounters required rapid resource and skills mobilization to co-construct the entire project and make these Encounters a real cooperative « experiment ».
The methodology, co-constructed with the project team was organized around several key mechanisms: the deployment of several new digital tools to support remote collaboration (Webex, Klaxoon, Assembl platforms), the launch of a consultation device (with a survey format) “on the fly” after each of the collaborative sessions, and the sensitization of participants and the training of facilitators to new tools, methods of innovation and collaboration.
The collaborators’ consultation: feedback and learnings
During these training Encounters, all the participants were mobilized and several mechanisms were put in place to consult them:
- During the sequences of interactive plenaries, each participant had the opportunity to share their questions, remarks and ideas by sending an SMS to the moderator.
- During the workshops, everyone was invited to participate, answer the questions and project themselves through the tool Klaxoon.
- Finally, everybody had the opportunity to share elements of response to the 4 questionnaires put in place at the end of the 4 sequences.
“I was bluffed by the capacity to construct quick and dense answers on such profound subjects! I would like to have a time 2 in order to continue and construct answers together”
In synthesis, these Encounters were a success! Here are their essential learnings:
We elaborated a new model of organization of 100% connected collaborative sessions. Furthermore, a great number of participants were initiated to new tools and methods and, finally, 30 golden rules came out for the coordination of distance-led collaborative sessions (around three domains: participation, animation and collaboration).
The next Encounters will occur on November 3rd and 4th. They might be able to combine face-to-face and remote!
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