Viaposte University: tailor-made training for managers

In recent years, France has witnessed profound changes in management methods, as a direct consequence of the changing expectations of employees, but also of contemporary entrepreneurial challenges. Today's modern manager has to be flexible and able to adapt easily.

According to the IFOP study, "The new central role of managers and the challenge of recognition at work", published in the last quarter of 2022, only 61% of managers said they had access to the training they need to learn how to manage their staff effectively.

Viaposte has designed in-house training courses in response to this new trend in leadership and to give managers all that they need to embrace this transformation in the relationship between managers and employees.

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Viaposte University as told by Thomas CARRE, HR Development Manager

The birth of a project

When he arrived at the company in July 2020, Thomas CARRE quickly grasped Viaposte's desire to develop and evolve the managerial culture at the heart of the industrial logistics and maintenance platforms and within the transport agencies, the company's main activities. He was thus able to contribute to the development and management of the entire system.

"The main challenge was to focus on the entire managerial line, reaching out to the collective to create a systematic solution. Faced with a dynamic and pragmatic sector, Viaposte University embodies an essential evolution in managerial practices, in harmony with its operational reality and current requirements".

Quite organically, 5 major themes emerged, each with a designated contact person: three priority areas were selected, management, interpersonal skills and communication, followed by customer relations and creativity.

"Once the foundations had been laid, it was time to get down to designing the training offer. We had to co-construct the programme based on the needs expressed by directors and managers", continues Thomas CARRE. The aim? To create a tailor-made offering, one by Viaposte, for Viaposte, to standardise managerial skills and improve relations between management and staff.

To achieve this, we drew on the expertise of a network of trainer-coaches, coordinated by Valérie MARTIGNAC for the construction, design and deployment phase of the methodology. Valérie and her professional network held a number of discussions with all the reference managers to develop the teaching content, while immersing themselves in our environments, contexts, situations and issues directly on the ground.

2021 saw the roll-out of the first training prototypes. "As part of our drive for continuous improvement, it was essential for us to obtain on-the-spot assessments and valuable feedback from our first trainee managers, so that we could readjust our strategy if necessary or reinforce it.

Viaposte University in practice

Before drawing up a training programme, you need to identify your needs, define them more precisely, tailor them to your individual requirements and, finally, draw up a list of objectives. The result is a pragmatic and precise vision of the actions required.

"Requests for training come from both employees and managers. Very often, the annual appraisal interview is a particularly good time to make this type of request.  As soon as Viaposte University training courses are requested, they are subject to managerial and HR arbitration so as not to exceed the allocated budget. If agreement is reached, the next stage is to plan the sessions and roll them out: coordinating the teams, scheduling, collecting registrations and finally sending out invitations and organising travel.

The final word from Thomas CARRE? "The scheme is a real success and we have already received more than 400 requests for training for 2024. This success is the result of a continuous collective effort, supported by general and operational management and coordinated by the HR department. I would particularly like to thank Zahra ZADDIM for orchestrating the day-to-day work with all the stakeholders.

The results have been excellent, and the Viaposte University project has rapidly gained momentum: 872 training courses have already been delivered since 2021, and 368 individual employees have been trained. All of which suggests that Viaposte University has excellent prospects for development in the years to come!

Brandon Raul: testimonial from a manager won over by Viaposte's training offer

Brandon Raul, a logistics platform manager, has taken part in a number of training sessions with Viaposte University.

"I was lucky enough to be part of the first training phase, the 'prototype', the test session. We were like pioneers at the time! I was then able to attend other training sessions and see the improvements, the fine tuning and the adjustments that had been made.

I wanted to develop my skills and move up the career ladder, and Viaposte University quickly proved to be the solution! The various workshops I took part in gave me a good overview, particularly of the different management issues I could sometimes come up against.

In particular, I liked the simplicity of the registration process: the HR department took care of everything, I didn't have to do a thing and that meant I had less stress to deal with! What made me want to do it again? The team spirit, the very rewarding exchanges, the 'small group' effect. The trainers are very approachable, the expertise they offer speaks for itself, and the sharing of experiences made it all the more worthwhile! 

I see this training scheme as a real chance and a great opportunity to get out of my comfort zone, to come face to face with managers from all walks of life, to discover other practices and make the most of them to open up the field of possibilities.

Viaposte University has given me the tools to excel and learn from myself and others to improve the way I manage my teams!"

Would you like to find out more about our training offer? Discover Viaposte University through the words of our employees and trainers!

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