About Crédit Agricole

Crédit Agricole Italia is one of the leading banking institutions operating in Italy, part of the multinational Crédit Agricole group. With approximately 12,000 employees, the company has a presence in nearly all Italian regions, with particular concentration in central and northern Italy. Crédit Agricole Italia offers a complete range of financial services including current accounts, insurance products, investment solutions, consumer loans, and mortgages. As part of one of the world's most important banking groups, the company stands out for its stability and ability to respond to the challenges of the contemporary financial sector.

The Challenge

Focus on the problem

Crédit Agricole Italia faced the need to consolidate the managerial skills of a select group of 30 senior leaders, responsible for guiding strategic teams within the organization. These managers hold positions with strong decision-making impact and required a training path that went beyond traditional banking technical training.

The main challenge consisted of providing concrete tools to:

• Effectively manage relationships with stakeholders at all levels
• Develop coaching skills to help collaborators "flourish"
• Transform strategic vision into tangible results
• Embody corporate values through example and attitude

HR Representative: We wanted to work on leadership skills: the general objective and challenge was to provide working tools on various topics to give these people a cross-functional view. Consolidating the entire skill set needed to strengthen and support managers, focusing on what we consider fundamental pillars: customer centrality, the importance of stakeholder relationships, providing coaching elements to work with team members to help them flourish, managing stakeholders, and leading change. The challenge is trying to transform vision into results.

The Solution

Focus on practical implementation

Wibo distinguished itself through an innovative approach that combined direct testimony from external top executives with immediately applicable practical tools, with two in-person sessions and one online.

The methodology included:

• External benchmarking: involvement of executives from different companies to offer complementary managerial perspectives
• Direct experience vs theory: sharing concrete situations experienced by top executives, with solution strategies already field-tested
• Disruptive approach: moving beyond the classic frontal training model in favor of active and engaging dialogue
• Practical simulations: exercises on real situations, such as managing manager-employee meetings and feedback techniques
• Strategic networking: creating opportunities for dialogue and relationship-building among managers from different business areas

HR Representative: What made the difference was the point of contact between an external executive and our target population. At this level, it's important to benchmark and see what's being done externally. The challenges a manager is called to handle as a people manager involve human capital management, regardless of where you work. We were looking for something different that would propose disruptive elements compared to the classic training classroom where there's a trainer who speaks and people who listen. Something different was created, where there's a dialogue with someone who teaches you something, not like a professor and his theory, but look what happened and I solved it this way: this part is what made the difference, also working on the inspiring element.

The Impact

Testimonials on program effectiveness

The program generated a high level of satisfaction among participants, with particularly significant impact on:

• Learning from experience: managers appreciated the opportunity to learn from those who had already faced similar situations, receiving practical advice based on real experiences
• Immediately applicable tools: the simulations, particularly the manager-employee meeting one, provided concrete techniques on how to ask effective questions and provide constructive feedback
• Enriching the "toolbox": each participant was able to select and personalize the tools most suited to their own context and managerial style
• Internal and external networking: facilitating relationships among managers from different business areas and creating contacts with external executives

HR Representative: Certainly the personal experience. Usually we all appreciate learning from those who have been there before, from those who have already found themselves in a certain situation to manage before me. This aspect is different from being told something in theory versus saying: "look, I lived through this before you and I got through it this way" (...) people were very satisfied. The intent was to provide a working tool. It was very useful, for example, the simulation of the manager-employee meeting where they were asked to give feedback to the employee. There they practiced techniques on how to ask questions, which to ask, which not to ask. These are things that everyone takes, the toolbox, and tries to enrich.

Conclusion

The training project implemented by Wibo for Crédit Agricole Italia represents a significant example of how methodological innovation can make a difference in high-level managerial training.

The distinctive element of the program was the ability to combine the concrete experience of external top executives with practical tools immediately usable in daily work. This combination made it possible to overcome the limitations of traditional training, offering the 30 senior managers involved not only theoretical content, but above all authentic testimonials from those who have already faced and resolved complex managerial challenges. The program results confirm the value of what was created.

Key Metrics

1. How much did the program meet your expectations?Average: 8.9 / 10

2. How useful was the program for you?Average: 8.6 / 10

3. How much would you recommend the program to a colleague?Average score: 8.7 / 10 (arithmetic average of all scores from 0 to 10)

NPS: 60

What Participants Say

"Important to establish communication themes in different directions. Especially to think strategically about relationship management based on objectives."

"Topics covered and personal experience of executives with important insights to apply in daily management of various stakeholders."

"I really enjoyed the external intervention, stimulating and engaging"

"I will immediately apply more active listening, eliminating some biases about some colleagues"

"I will try not to hide, but to build relationships even with people I have more difficulty with as they have high impact on achieving my objectives."

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