Instructor-led Training for Energy Company's Business Consultants

The Challenge: Developing a defined process

The energy company uses a sales team of business consultants to support site owners and operators in their efforts to effectively run and grow their convenience stores and gas stations across the U.S. Each consultant handles approximately 30-40 stores. After determining there were no set guidelines for its business consultants to work with site owners and operators to grow their stores, the company recognized the need for a defined process. After defining the new process internally, the company determined that a face-to-face workshop should be developed to teach the new process to the consultants.

The Solution: Develop interactive training with managerial support

The company partnered with Judge Learning Solutions (JLS), a division of The Judge Group, to develop and deliver an immersive workshop for the consultants, complete with coaching tools to be used in the field, as well as a series of reinforcement training calls to support the program once it was fully implemented. JLS developed a 2.5-day workshop covering the new process, an annual business planning process, and tips for collaborative working, effective planning, and performance management.

The workshop was aimed to educate the company’s business consultants and provide them with the knowledge and tools necessary to work with franchisees to manage and grow their convenience store and gas station businesses. JLS also recognized the need to train management in the process so they would be invested in supporting their consultants in the field.

The Result: Successful process implementation via training program and management engagement

The company’s business consultants attended the workshop where the new process was presented through a case-study approach to increase critical thinking and analysis skills. Role-playing was a key element of the workshop, allowing consultants to practice the learned skills while transferring their knowledge to the field. Support and buy-in from management are key to the success of all learning programs, so JLS engaged the company’s managers in support of the new initiative and provided them with the confidence, skills, and tools to successfully manage the efforts of their consultants.