"Final sprint" for the Renault Trucks training program
Published on 2023.04.27
Faced with an uncertain and highly competitive environment, developing an organization's agility is now a key factor in performance. In this regard, Renault Trucks has implemented a custom training program for its marketing teams for the second consecutive year. The highlight of this program was the Design Sprint, which took place from March 9th to 11th, 2020 at the makers' lab on the Ecully campus
As part of a customized training program designed with and for Renault Trucks, the Design Sprint employs a “maker's booster” approach, enabling approximately twenty executives from Renault Trucks to use agile methods to generate solutions in response to strategic questions concerning their company.
"These three days are the culmination of the program we designed for Renault Trucks; the participants experience in a short period of time what they have learned over a six-month period and contribute to the company's project", says Laurent Poiret, Client Project Manager for customized training programs at emlyon business school.
Infusing the maker philosophy at the heart of the company
Four teams of 20 participants had the opportunity to discover entrepreneurial project management through design thinking. Over the course of three days, they were accompanied by different experts (web developers, UX designers, data scientists) and were able to test their work with users on site. Feedback from the users will allow them to improve their projects for implementation within Renault Trucks.
Very concrete topics were addressed, including an application that allows for 3D customization of trucks, and the implementation of a system to improve the offer of used vehicles for customers.
Today, innovation is no longer limited to the design office, R&D or marketing departements of a company. The "maker movement" has proven that innovation thrives in creative and collaborative spaces, such as makers' labs, where digital manufacturing technologies and the emergence of 3D printing enable "out of the box" thinking.
Breaking down silos to promote collective intelligence
"Our goal was to bring all of our employees to the same level in terms of marketing skills so that they could speak the same language", said Valérie Reynaud, Director of Talent Development at Renault Trucks. The need for this development project is explained by the great diversity of profiles within the Group, coming from various backgrounds (business or engineering schools, learning on the job, etc.).
Other objectives included promoting cross-functional work by breaking down departmental silos and modernizing marketing by leveraging digital tools. This is now essential to obtain a comprehensive analysis of commercial interactions with their target audience. "We needed to get out of our comfort zone," continues Valérie Reynaud, "and to achieve this, the professors at emlyon business school supported us at every decisive step.
Co-construction for success
In a co-construction logic and to better understand the company's challenges, the teaching team at emlyon business school worked upstream with Renault Trucks to define the objectives and themes of the program. The professors were then able to steer the pedagogical journey, recognizing the need to incorporate more digital aspects into project management. "Having professors who are also entrepreneurs has a real added-value, both in terms of listening and understanding the needs of the trainees.” The customization of the program is a key factor in its success as it addresses the unique challenges of each organization, such as managerial culture, strategic priorities, market size, and industry, etc. "This approach is powerful and works because it can be tailored to meet specific the needs of each organization. It addresses the performance challenges of a company in a spirit of co-construction with the client", said Laurent Poiret.
This article was published on April 7, 2020 and updated on April 3, 2023.