A SALES Kick Off with a “lasting” effect for the entire DACH region

A SALES Kick Off with a “lasting” effect for the entire DACH region

Sustainability – a word that we have been encountering more and more frequently in almost all areas of our lives in recent years. But what exactly does sustainability mean? While in everyday language we associate the term with longevity and environmental protection, among other things, sustainability refers to much more. With the event format of the sustainability mission, we try to bring this topic closer to employees and to sow a basic understanding and sustainable development in the company.
The areas that can be associated with sustainability are diverse. One of the central assumptions is that sustainability can only be realized through the simultaneous consideration of economy, ecology and social aspects. These three dimensions form the three-pillar model. The model includes all human needs and naturally also relates to the actions of corporations and organizations. Our sustainability mission therefore focuses precisely on these dimensions in order to further develop the green skills of our employees and set independent growth in motion.

Our mission

Schneider Electric approached us to organize a special sales kick-off event: The topic of sustainability was to be made tangible as part of the corporate philosophy and the challenge character was to be given special emphasis. The event was to take place in Germany, Austria and Switzerland at different times with a total of around 640 participants. At the same time, the event was to function as a DACH-wide event for the company’s sales division. The desire for an individual sustainability challenge quickly arose, in which company-specific visions and requirements on the topic of sustainability were to be communicated to the participants in cooperation with the respective sustainability managers of Austria, Switzerland and Germany.

Implementation

The BITOU sustainability mission was recommended as an event module and adapted to the company requirements in cooperation with Schneider Electric. In terms of content, the event addresses the three pillars of sustainability, which are worked on by different characters through info, questions and small challenges. The event encourages collaboration and gets things moving in a day that involves a lot of listening and sitting. The employees have two hours to focus on the topic of sustainability, to keep their eyes open and, just as in their working lives, to look to the left and to the right and to get involved in things beyond the familiar. The participants walk through different floors, look for the portrait pictures and have to master creative tasks together, such as building a plastic sculpture or a self-visualized vision of the future.

An individualization for Germany, Austria and Switzerland

In addition to the existing characters, we created an individual character for Schneider Electric. This was represented by the CEO Christophe de Maistre and the content was developed by the Sustainability Managers of Austria, Switzerland and Germany together with the BITOU project manager Rieke Hundertmark. Especially the portrait of Christophe caused wide eyes here and there during the introduction and created a connection. The close cooperation during the event between the different locations was noticeable. Attention was paid to a constant exchange and coordination of the sites accordingly. Despite adapted versions for the locations, a comparison of the teams that had participated in the sustainability mission in the DACH region was possible.

Making the corporate philosophy a sustainable experience

By individualizing the sustainability mission, we anchored part of the corporate philosophy in a playful way and created a company-specific experience that was remembered by participants across countries. Through an evaluation afterwards, there was an opportunity to get an insight into the employees’ current level of knowledge and an assessment for further input. We also received some feedback on the event directly afterwards, which centered around a great experience and the contribution of individual strengths to the team.

Customer testimonials

When asked what he would take away from the event, Stephan replied: “The team spirit! Just getting to know colleagues from other divisions at Schneider Electric. How they operate. That was the highlight for me today.” Jens added to this in conversation: “At the beginning, the inhibition threshold was still very high, but in the end we were a community!” André also commented in this regard: “I found it exciting that in the course of completing the tasks, the character traits of the individual team members crystallized more and more.” Victor replied, “So in general, sustainability is pretty damn important. Damn important for us, but also for the next generation! What I liked about today is that we looked at the topic of recycling a bit more closely and there were a few challenges built around it.” And Christopher answered the question what he takes away: “Great colleagues and cohesion. Just being able to greet and meet everyone again. It all went well, but the human interaction is just so much better!”
We also received positive feedback on our activation of participants. The interaction with work colleagues from the various departments, which otherwise rarely takes place, was described as sustainability for body and soul.
After being asked how the sustainability mission was received, participant Henry gave the following feedback: “The event as a whole is super. The team spirit, was directly noticeable. And also the team tasks were really well designed. I will take the networking within the circle of colleagues with me. So a very successful event, I had a lot of fun.”

In conclusion, we can say that the cooperation was successful and the organizational team of Schneider Electric, the participants and we from BITOU look back on the event with satisfaction. The topic of sustainability was made tangible as part of the corporate philosophy and the challenge character lightened up the entire kick-off event and sustainably developed the green skills of the employees.

A big thank you goes to the organization team of Schneider Electric for the great cooperation!