“RPfT’s input in our courses has meant that the training has remained effective, and their component of the courses has consistently been rated as ‘excellent’ by our delegates.” – Lewis Lee, KPMG
RPfT have had the pleasure of developing a strong working relationship with KPMG, one of the Big Four professional service firms, for many years and across a wide variation of experiential learning programmes. In 2019, we were delighted to be approached to work with them on their LEAD workshop. As the name implies, the LEAD programme is centred around developing leadership skills. This session was designed specifically to support participants who had recently been promoted. We would therefore be supporting them to step into a people management role for the first time.
The learning goal for RPfT and KPMG, was to provide participants with the opportunity to explore the meaning of leadership. In addition, they were encouraged to identify their unique leadership style. Through drama based training, the participants were supported to develop tools to “flex” their preferred style and to move forward confidently in their new roles within the organisation.
During our session, the participants were separated into smaller breakout groups. This way our actor/facilitators were able to support them in a skills practice session entitled “Issue Resolution”. Four real-world scenarios had been written specifically for this purpose. They were devised to provide each participant with the opportunity to understand, practice, and resolve several different situations.
To deepen the impact of the training, the participants were also given the extra challenge of reflecting on the results of psychometric tests they’d taken earlier. They used this new understanding of their own individual communication preference to respond to the behavioural need of the character they were meeting. This is where the skill of the actor/facilitators is to called upon to present a suitable level of challenge when playing the various characters. Thus enabling the participant to practice and develop their skills in difficult situations.
In addition to facilitating a highly realistic experience for the participants to experience skills-training, the role of the actor/facilitators is to provide immediate feedback and constructive criticism. RPfT were also able to encourage the use of the feedback model and coaching approach that had been introduced in the main session.
RPfT have facilitated this course face to face for KPMG several times. Therefore we were delighted to be able to continue to do so following the pandemic by moving it into the virtual arena. We worked closely with KPMG to make the necessary changes to achieve this successfully. RPfT was already moving several programmes online, so we were able to offer significant value to the re-design of the training. As a result, our time with the participants remained the main focus, despite the fact that the programme overall was shortened to compensate for the extra intensity of being online.
The course was fully adapted for online delivery. In fact, the scenarios were rewritten to reflect the experience within a remote working environment. This brought a fresh layer of relevance to the case studies.
“The courses are shorter, more direct and have full learner engagement from the outset, something that RPfT has helped significantly with.” – Lewis Lee, KPMG
RPfT have always found it rewarding to work with KPMG. As an organisation it is truly committed to and engaged in drama based training as a means to provide superior training experiences. By fully embracing experiential learning, they provide their team with a practical opportunity to more effectively develop the way they handle conflict and to reach positive resolutions.
