Are you curious about our programs but not ready to pick up the phone yet?
This blog post is a little different from what we typically publish, but I wanted to take the opportunity to be transparent about our process and provide you with an idea of what to expect as a potential client. If you’ve never worked with Fierce, you may be wondering what the process typically looks like, from the first touch point all the way through program rollout.
We’re sought out by companies small and large with issues that we can solve for with training in skillful conversation. We teach what to talk about and how to talk about it in a way that positively impacts your bottom line.
Here are some examples we’ve heard of what companies are experiencing, straight from our potential clients:
“No one is being held accountable.”
“People are being too ‘nice.'”
“We’re having performance issues.”
“People are disengaged.”
“Leaders are struggling to manage change.”
“People don’t really know what they’re supposed to be doing.”
In our work, we’ve pinpointed some of the primary problems organizations face today. Can you identify with any of the following?
- Top talent leaving. You want to retain your top employees, but they don’t seem to stick around.
- Time and money is being lost. You’re not getting the return you want to see on your investments, and initiatives are stalled.
- Transparency is lacking. There’s not a lot of communication from the top, silos exist, and there really isn’t a “culture of trust.”
- There’s no sense of purpose. There isn’t a sense of a collective mission or a sense of being valued on an individual level.
- Stress levels are high. Employees are burnt out and absenteeism is high.
- Productivity is low. Meetings aren’t producing the right results, and capacity is exceeding actual production.
We’ve solved these problems and more for companies of different sizes and industries. To read in-depth about some of these problems and how we solved them, I recommend checking out our case studies.
If you’re in the early stages of considering a leadership training program or re-evaluating your current program, read on.
Your Journey Begins
Perhaps you’ve read Fierce Conversations or Fierce Leadership by Fierce founder Susan Scott, you found us through an online search, social media, a conference, or through word of mouth in your space. It’s also possible that you’ve read some of our case studies or attended one of our conference sessions and are ready to take the next step. We often hear stories from clients about how they heard of us through positive experiences their friends or colleagues had when Fierce was rolled out in their companies. And we love to hear that!
In our first call with you, our objective will be to learn about you and your organization, mine for deeper understanding of your current situation, and get a better idea of what some of your challenges and goals are for the coming year. We also answer any questions you have and fill you in on what Fierce is all about. This may evolve into a more thorough needs analysis call and a customized demo.
During this call, we also explore what your organization would look like in a perfect world so that we can get not just an idea, but a “feel” for your vision. We want to know what you want your culture to look like, and how our programs can potentially impact your business on a strategic level. This call helps us plot the best course of training so that you can produce the results you want to see.
Depending on where you are at this point in time, you may want to dive deeper and get a better “feel” of Fierce by attending a workshop, which will give you an opportunity to immerse yourself in the content.
This phase then moves into planning with the development of a customized training program that’s tailored specifically to your organization and problem areas. During this planning phase, we also consider:
- Who the audience will be.
- What programs will be the best fit.
- Whether training will be virtual, in-person, or some combination of the two.
- How to get the most from your budget.
- Your time table and the scope for accomplishing your goals.
This customized training program includes a recommended rollout strategy for implementation, including anticipated timeline and start dates, and how many people you want to train. During this stage, we also discuss your specific needs around measurement and sustainability—it’s important to have the measurement and sustainability conversation early, since the planning for results and learning retention require “before” measurement to determine the “after” impact of the program.
Once you’re on board, we offer continued support through rollout and assist with anything you need for continuing to train Fierce (including Fierce facilitator training).
Charting a Smooth Course
As with any journey, being prepared will prevent bumps along the way.
Here are some questions for you to consider beforehand that will help us best set you up for success:
1. What do you want to get out of it? It’s time to interrogate reality, get real, and through conversations with others inside your organization, determine your primary problems as well as what you want to achieve together.
2. Where do you think Fierce could impact the organization? Based on your vision, where do you see potential for change? What’s leading you to connect with someone at Fierce?
3. Who’s your audience? Who are you wanting to train, and why? What are your intended goals for them, both on an individual level and collectively as an organization?
4. What’s your budget and your timeline for your goal? What does your timeline look like over the next 3 months, 6, months, a year, and beyond?
5. Who else do you need to have on board to bring on a partner like us? Who do you need to invite to the table to get on board? Who are the stakeholders? What will you need for buy-in? What may need to change or be adjusted in order to roll out a potential plan?
6. What are your current methods of measurement? Do you currently have a measurement strategy in place, and do you need any outside support in this area?
Our goal is to make your journey to rolling out a successful training program simple and streamline, yet thorough and unique to your organization’s specific needs. We want to help you create your vision.
Ready to see what Fierce can do for your organization? We’re always ready to have the conversation.
Give us a call at 206-787-1100, chat with us, or check out our training page to learn more about our options and programs.
Tags: #Confused Priorities, #Cultural Change, #Inadequate Training
