Custom Solution: Manager Simulation

Challenge

A national manufacturing company’s organizational assessment identified gaps in fundamental skills for new managers, validating in-store performance gaps. Findings also identified the need for managers to be better coaches to their teams and the ability to demonstrate greater business acumen. Increasing the managers’ capabilities in these areas was identified as critical to the company’s focus on customers to help drive repeat business and ensure a consistent customer base across locations.

Solution

PDG partnered with the company to develop an immersive learner experience for retail store managers with scenarios and discussions that reflect their daily work while building business acumen. PDG designed a one-day simulation experience where managers meet tangible objectives around:

1. Building leader, peer, and team member relationships
2. Understanding and modeling how to work together
3. Demonstrating behaviors and actions that positively impact the business

The experience mixes storytelling, networking, trust building, and communication-based techniques to help store managers work through each of the simulation’s activities. Simulation activities are primarily team-based and focus on key capabilities like critical thinking, decision making, and problem solving. The simulation’s design is grounded in business and performance goals such as impact to revenue generation.