Case Objective

To analyze how Sonepar Italia approached the rollout of a new global leadership model, involving approximately 400 managers distributed across the entire national territory, through an innovative training solution developed in partnership with Wibo.

Core HR Challenge

How to ensure a training experience of high quality, consistent and scalable, for a broad and geographically distributed audience, within tight timeframes and with materials still being finalized.

Company Overview

Sonepar Italia is the Italian subsidiary of Sonepar S.A., a French multinational and global leader in the distribution of electrical materials, industrial automation solutions, and renewable energy products. Present in over 40 countries with more than 45,000 employees worldwide, the Group operates through an extensive network of branches and specialized points of sale. In Italy, Sonepar operates across 17 regions with approximately 170 branches and counts around 2,300 employees, serving clients in the electrical installation, industrial, and tertiary sectors with a portfolio of thousands of product references. The Italian structure includes sales and commercial teams, logistics, central services, and top management. Building on its well-established presence in the Italian market, Sonepar Italia was selected by the Group as the pilot country for the introduction of the new global leadership model, a recognition that reflects the organizational maturity and innovation capacity of the subsidiary.

The Challenge

Sonepar Italia faced an organizational challenge of significant scope: being selected by the Group as the pilot country, alongside Canada, for the introduction of a new global leadership model. The target audience consisted of approximately 400 managers, belonging to different professional families (logistics, commercial network, central services, and top management), distributed across the entire national territory.

The pressure was twofold: on one hand, the need to move quickly while respecting the deadlines set by the Group; on the other, the complexity of managing materials still undergoing translation and cultural adaptation, without being able to dilute the program over time. The risk was sacrificing training quality on the altar of scalability, or vice versa.

Added to this was the technical challenge of engaging up to 90 people per virtual session, while maintaining a high level of interaction and active learning. The question was: is it possible to train everyone with the same quality, within the same timeframe, without losing depth?

The solution

The answer to the challenge was a structured training solution built around Sonepar's "leadership model wheel": three pillars, each broken down into three dimensions, for a total of nine thematic areas ("slices") addressed progressively through the pitstops. The program was designed by strictly following the order of presentation of the slices, in line with the official launch of the model.

The methodological core was the combination of a high-profile executive speaker, carefully selected for each dimension, with the presence of a Wibo trainer who, within the same 2.5-hour session, introduced the topics, moderated the intervention, and guided hands-on exercises with pen and paper afterward. Four heterogeneous cohorts by composition (to encourage cross-functional exchange) plus a fifth dedicated specifically to top management.

The entire journey was supported by a platform with session recordings, making the lessons of the other executives accessible to participants as well, thus generating an unexpected cross-cutting curiosity. Moreover, the program was integrated into the company's performance review and talent review processes, linking the training pillars to the actual evaluations of managers.

The Impact

The impact of the program manifested itself on multiple levels. The first signal was quantitative: a live attendance rate consistently above 70%, despite participants having full access to on-demand recordings. A surprising figure for an audience of highly operational people, often on the move across the territory.

The second signal was qualitative: participants spontaneously began catching up on sessions led by other executives, not only the one assigned to their group, driven by curiosity and genuine interest. Many reported handwritten notes taken during the practical exercises, with concrete actions to implement starting the very next day with their teams.

The third level is relational: the perceived satisfaction of the HR lead, who found in the pen-and-paper method and the slide-free approach a positive cultural shift in the way training is experienced. The partnership with Wibo was experienced as a true co-design, with high flexibility and prompt problem-solving.

Conclusion

The Sonepar Italia case demonstrates that scalability and training quality are not contradictory objectives. With the right program architecture, a clear methodology, reliable partners, carefully selected executives, and simple yet effective tools such as pen and paper, it is possible to transform the managerial culture of an entire distributed organization, while respecting constraints of time, budget, and operations.

The success of the program is not measured only in satisfaction data or attendance rates, but in the quality of insights managers take home, in the curiosity generated around the speakers, and in the spontaneous willingness to dive deeper. The journey has laid the groundwork for an effectiveness assessment to be conducted in the following year, but the qualitative signals already collected speak clearly.

The Wibo-Sonepar partnership was experienced as a true co-design: fast, flexible, responsive. Not a vendor, but a partner who shared the risk and responsibility of the project from day one.

"I would recommend Wibo for the partnership that is built at the level of co-design and co-delivery. A truly excellent collaboration develops, a great way to get projects done."

— Nicoletta Chiggio, Learning and Development Manager, Sonepar Italia

One word to describe Wibo: "Surprising"

— Nicoletta Chiggio

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