Fragrance & CosmeticsProduct Training Transforming global product training into a high-touch virtual experience.
In response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, we revamped the global training strategy of a luxury fragrance and cosmetics company to safeguard the integrity of hands-on product training, which is crucial for enabling animated interaction with consumers. The resulting high-touch virtual programme has empowered the company, as well as their staff and consultants, to proactively embrace the new virtual learning landscape.
The programme is structured in three phases:
- Rethink challenges as opportunities: Reframing mindsets, embracing technology, and achieving widespread digital learning.
- Enhance digital skills and programme delivery: Replicating practical fragrance training with samples and nature-based substitutes, while enabling mobile accessibility.
- Instil self-sufficiency: Empowering the company to develop and utilise their own digital-first programme.
Luxury FashionLeadership Training Creating sustainable retail excellence through a high-impact and high retention programme.
A prominent luxury fashion company sought to enhance the capabilities of their store managers worldwide, who play a significant role in shaping the brand’s retail experiences. Together, we co-created a comprehensive programme that combines internal skills and expert consultation to coach store managers in leading themselves, leading individuals, and leading teams.
This was achieved with:-
- A customisable leadership programme: Enhancing people and commercial capabilities, with the option of future self-delivery by the client.
- Virtual and in-person editions for global reach: Maintaining consistent content, interactivity, and relevance to commercial realities.
- Practical, on-the-floor coaching: Ensuring high engagement and retention.
- Peer coaching community and global team support: Ensuring continuity and self-sufficiency.
PharmaceuticalLeadership Training Reimagining leadership training: an award-winning digital transformation.
To address the challenge of scheduling and geographical limitations, we transformed the 25 full-day leadership programmes of a global pharmaceutical giant into a library of bite-sized virtual sessions. This allows for greater flexibility and accessibility, and consistency in programme rollout, resulting in an award-winning learning transformation and widespread adoption. This was achieved with:-
- A digital platform for intuitive virtual sessions: Maintaining the essence of the content while condensing the syllabus into bite-sized portions, ranging from time management, communication, coaching, feedback, creativity, innovation, to managing emotional intelligence.
- A classroom syllabus accessible anytime and anywhere: Offering equally effective sessions with the added benefits of efficiency and convenience, without the need for commuting.
- A longer self-learning journey: Fostering higher participants’ commitment.
Luxury GoodsLeadership Training Driving talent growth through a scalable leadership programme.
Addressing the need for a more inclusive approach, we assisted our client in transforming a once exclusive and infrequent leadership programme into a scalable solution, accessible to a wide range of executives. The resulting programme has become the driving force behind the talent development and recruitment of the global luxury goods conglomerate, delivering long-lasting people and business outcomes:-
- Blended virtual and physical learning: Catering to leaders of varying seniority.
- Customised programme: Retaining brand identity, heritage, and quality, as well as the programme’s diversity and prestige.
- Global programme rollout: Commencing with a ‘train-the-facilitators’ session conducted by our consulting professionals for skill transfer, and eventually training 30,000 executives across Europe, Japan, APAC, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas.
- Refreshed programme in 2021: A testament to its continued efficacy.
Wines & SpiritsTransformation Programme Pioneering a consumer-centric paradigm in luxury wines and spirits.
Rethinking and reinventing their commercial strategy, a luxury wine and spirits house embarked on a transformative journey to shift from a product-driven (B2B) approach to a consumer-centred (B2C) focus for its 2,000 executives and 300 managers worldwide. Our recommendation for this ongoing transformation unfolds in four phases, positioning the brands for continued success in a highly competitive market:-
- Revamping the training hub: Educating and enabling salespeople to understand customer needs and wants beyond products.
- Test & Learn methodology: Piloting strategies in diverse markets of varying nature and maturity for effective implementation.
- Frame & Freedom customisation: Empowering markets to choose suitable strategies while maintaining mandated initiatives, thus creating a framework that allows markets the freedom to customise and adapt.
- Empowering managers as accelerators: Coaching and mentoring sales executives for growth.
Public UniversityProfessional Education Bridging theory and practice: Singapore Management University’s growth mindset programme.
SMU, a premier business university in Singapore, partnered with TAO to create a Growth Mindset leadership programme that integrates academic depth, real-world business cases, and interdisciplinary learning. Graduates testify to its lasting impact on their mindsets, and the blended programme (virtual and physical learning) has achieved full enrolment since its launch in 2016. It consists of three modules:-
- Knowing – “Individual Mindset For Change”, explaining the principles of Growth Mindset principles through two full days of in-person sessions.
- Doing – “Group Action Learning Project”, with participants working collaboratively to solve a real-world business case in a 10-week business challenge.
- Being – “Leading and Sustaining Growth Mindset in Organisations”, an in-person presentation of growth values learned and applied to solve their assigned cases.