Imperial Tobacco Italia
Management Development
Imperial Tobacco is a leading international tobacco company. They operate in more than 160 countries and employ around 38,000 people.
Overview
Working within the challenges of the Italian market, Imperial Tobacco Italia (ITI) wanted a powerful change in their organisational approach to sales. ITI recognised that the role of their Area Sales Managers (ASM) was key to the success of driving this change. They saw a need to develop an entrepreneurial approach, based on leadership, innovation, strategic thinking, flexibility and a stronger cohesion between the managers.
Objective
ITI chose to work in partnership with Impact Italia because of their significant experience and success in creating skills development programmes for sales forces. ITI seconded a senior consultant from Impact to work with them at their offices for three days a week, to research, analyse, design and implement a bespoke learning and development programme. This in-depth approach guaranteed a deeper understanding of the company and close cooperation and support.
Solution
Phase one – research and analysis
Impact’s Consultant spent two months interviewing key stakeholders within ITI. This pre-project research gave her a comprehensive overview of ITI’s company vision, organisational structure and leadership style from the perspective of the General Manager, Sales Manager, ASM and HR Manager. It allowed her to understand the General Manager’s expectations of the sales force and the ASM perception of the role, their strengths and areas of improvement. Along with input from HR and the Sales Managers this analysis defined a model of competencies for ASM, based on those of the ITI Group.
Phase two – training and development plan
Impact’s Consultant worked in close partnership with the ITI Directors to design a learning journey for the 11 ASM that would develop them and also their teams of sales representatives.
A skills development plan was created, with key objectives:
- To align role expectations
- To develop managerial and technical skills
- To build the Area Managers’ team.
Phase three – implementation
Over an 18-month period, their development programme included bespoke indoor and outdoor experiential learning projects and business meetings.
The ASM began their learning journey with a three-day programme focusing on ‘Role Alignment’. Impact facilitated an event with structured dialogue and feedback sessions that allowed the managers time to reflect on their role and key competencies and to share their thoughts with the Sales Manager. These sessions resulted in a number of business process improvements that were introduced immediately. The programme also included some outdoor projects that highlighted the importance of team skills.
The second step of the implementation phase was a three-day programme on ‘Business Analysis and Planning’. The event aimed to improve strategic thinking and planning using real business cases as working examples. At the end of this first part of the development plan the ASM felt positive that they had increased their managerial skills and built a stronger cohesion.
The implementation phase is continuing with an emphasis on people management and coaching.
Result
‘This was the first time ITI has used temporary management as a tool to train and develop our people. Thanks to the capability of Impact’s consultant to create relationships with people, she quickly understood the strengths and areas to be developed in Field Management and in line with company requirements, prepared a tailored development plan.
The plan was articulated in different areas, according to all development needs. Feedback from the ASM was very positive, both in terms of team building and capabilities development. As Sales Manager I can add that I clearly see evidence of their development: the comprehension and the alignment to company objectives improved, together with their capability to effectively deliver the role the company is giving them.’
Massimiliano Guarneri
Sales Manager
