Regional Growth Academy in Central & Western Europe

In the past few years, regions and countries organise Growth Academy sessions on their own, knowing best what would boost employees in their work. In 2022, one of the key regional growth academy sessions in the Central & Western Europe region was organised in late autumn – the first live, face-to-face event after the pandemic, which brought people together the old-fashioned way. The last session was an online event that focused on the Country Management Teams and how they can benefit from cross-functional cooperation regarding the sales process and customer journey. This time, the focus was on developing the competencies of Key Account Managers. Bringing together various interest groups involved in Key Account Management (KAM), the event fostered and encouraged knowledge exchange between colleagues driving key account management activities in the region.  

In the true spirit of collaboration and sharing expertise, the event also saw participation from experts coming in from other regions and the head office bringing their experience from the field.  
 

Balázs Piniel, Managing Director Hungary, one of the main organisers of the learning and development event, shares, ”a prime goal was to establish alignment in the six countries under Central and Western Region in how they manage key accounts effectively, using CRM and other tools. We wanted to close this gap. The event brought together a network of people involved with our biggest customers and gave them a platform to share best practices, exchange latest learnings and trends as well as build internal connections. ”  

 
Sarah Marchant, leading the human resource function in Central & Western Europe, was also responsible for organising this successful event. Summing up the experience, Sarah shares, ”it was terrific to witness the high energy and enthusiasm of the participants. People especially engaged and interacted actively in workshops working in smaller groups. That’s something we shall note of when designing the programmes of the upcoming regional growth academies.” 

The programme of the two-day event was a blend of workshops and sessions by keynote speakers and external trainers on topics like multi-level relationship building, networking, social advocacy and leading customer experience. One of the participants shared, ”it was an excellent opportunity for peer learning, especially hearing out experiences of others in a similar role and how they solidify their position as a trusted resource and advisor for their clients was very interesting.”