Level Up is an online management program for existing people managers at health/medical services company International SOS. It is designed to fast-forward their leadership skills to the next level.
Program Details
The skills covered throughout the blended program include:
- Understanding Self and Others
- Delegation Skills
- Coaching Skills
- Managing Difficult Conversations
- Balancing the Task and Person
- Change Management
Three accredited International SOS facilitators run the program twice a year, with multiple groups attending at once to reach as many managers globally as possible. All participants must complete pre- and post-work before and after each virtual session with the facilitators. The program also includes monthly e-mails to the attendees’ managers that describes what has been covered during the respective month and how they can assist in embedding the knowledge further.
The nominating manager identifies mentors who are briefed before the program. The mentors then accompany the attendees throughout their time spent in the program to ensure they are applying the knowledge gained and content covered to the management of their teams. Mentors are updated with the learner’s progress at the end of each topic covered.
Peer learning also is encouraged and built into the program’s structure. Accredited facilitators have one-on-one sessions with each of the participants at the end of the program and three months after the program to evaluate resulting behavior changes.
During the past financial year, International SOS further enhanced the blended format of the program and piloted a new way of delivering this long-term online management program. Instead of completing the program over six months, it now runs over three months. And instead of a two-hour virtual session once a month, there are one-hour sessions twice a month. Via a required recorded pre-work video, the facilitator explains the theoretical component of each topic. The one-hour virtual call now is spent entirely on practical application of the theory learned by role-playing, feedback looping, discussion, and best practice sharing among participants. The virtual sessions are recorded and all materials for the program are placed in shared folders where every participant can access them at any time.
Monthly learning bites are sent to all graduates of this program. These share tips on people management in alignment with the content covered during the program. Quarterly Level Up Alumni Virtual Reunion sessions are set up for all graduates of this program to help them connect with each other globally, exchange best practices implemented and achieved post-program completion, and learn from each other.
Results
Upon assessing participants’ confidence in relation to the content covered in the program before vs. after attending, International SOS measured an increased level of confidence at 39 percent compared to 33 percent the previous year.
The training represented a positive ROI in terms of observable change in behavior and/or performance on a 5-point scale:
- Manager average scoring: 4.17
- Participant average scoring: 3.89
Noticeable and measurable change in job performance:
- Manager average scoring: 4.23
- Participant average scoring: 3.85
This program has produced 220 graduates with a promotion rate of 44 percent. The Net Promotor score is 70 percent.
