To give their branch managers, product managers and country managers insight into the airport’s technological ecosystem, security company Securitas Aviation decided to offer them an adapted blended learning programme NEO Learning, Xylos’ e-learning brand, analysed this need and came up with a custom solution that led to the development of an extensive blended learning project: Securitas Aviation Solution Management Training (SASMT). “Thanks to this project, our managers have an improved sense of entrepreneurship, are more excited to sell solutions and have boosted their expertise”, says Sylvie Maes, Project Manager at Securitas Aviation.

From South America to Australia

South America, Europe, Australia: Securitas Aviation’s blended learning programme brings together experienced participants from offices all over the world. This makes the project complex, but it also offers participants a unique collaborating experience. “The programme requires a lot of organisation because employees from no less than 34 countries need to work together. Despite the different time zones, we try to involve every culture in the training. By letting people work in groups with colleagues from other countries, our managers get the opportunity to further develop their communication and leadership skills. We also pay a lot of attention to advancing their expertise in areas such as Aviation Technology, Finance and Sales”, Sylvie explains. “As an extra advantage, they learn how to think out of the box in aviation contexts.”

Business case as the finishing touch

Every training path starts with 12 employees who process a considerable amount of learning material and modules in the course of several inspiring online sessions. “Every module comes with a task that the participants need to complete. The online sessions teach them everything they need to know for it. The advantage of this pre-programme is that our colleagues can participate where they want, when they want to”, Sylvie continues. “After 10 weeks, they meet during a face-to-face session in Brussels. This is where we tackle specific subjects that are too complex to master via e-learning, such as finances. During the second part of the project, every participant works together with five team members to develop a complete business case, which is then evaluated by a panel of experts. If the team scores 70% or more, they pass the course and go home with their business case. Then, they will look for opportunities to implement that business case in their local region, working together with actual customers. In doing so, they will set the pace for innovative solutions, spreading the word and therefore making sure the whole organization is ready for the upcoming changes”, says Sylvie.

NEO listens

Securitas Aviation Solution Management Training (SASMT) is a resounding success. “We’ve got NEO Learning to thank for this. Their consultants understood our needs and catered to them perfectly. We restructured the content together, and NEO Learning always kept a watchful eye on the scope and didactic approach. Companies will often listen to your wishes during the first meeting, then walk away and return with a product that doesn’t meet your requirements at all. With NEO, this was everything but the case. Their expertise combined with ours was the basic ingredient of a very successful project”, Sylvie concludes.