Case Studies
WHO: Certified Facilitators integrate career conversations into strategic people initiatives
Key facts and figures
The experience I had with the programme is that it was very practical, very easy to use and to follow. The toolkit and the philosophy behind it make it flexible. It can be step-by-step, and it also offers the opportunity to flex depending on the situation. I particularly appreciated the fact that the programme is very interactive. There's very little theory and everything is based on practice. That's what makes the difference.
Business priorities:
Empowering individuals to take ownership of their career development
Sector:
International Affairs
Lead contact:
Team Lead, Career Management and Development
Employees:
8000+
Locations:
Global
6 Regions
150+ countries
Our client’s challenge
Like many UN organisations, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has a very hierarchical structure and people have to go through a competitive process when they want to move in their careers. They cannot promise people career development within the organisation. Career development is very much left to the individual to create the opportunities to move within the organisation. It’s not a flexible and easy environment to move in.
A staff survey showed that career development in the organisation was an area for concern. In response, they wanted to offer managers guidance on how to be better managers who care about their staff development. They wanted to help managers see development as a way to engage staff and to provide them with opportunities for their careers.
They wanted to have a way of scaling the initiative and to promote it to other HR colleagues who were not necessarily working in learning and development. The aim was for HR to have that developmental approach while they do their day-to-day work with their clients. Finally, they wanted a sound methodology to follow and a professional qualification that could be recognised. That was the trigger to run the Certified Facilitator Programme.
Our solution and results
We ran two Certified Facilitator programmes – one in Geneva and one in Egypt. In both cases, participants completed the Confident Career Conversations Programme and then the 3-module Certified Facilitator Programme. The Certified Facilitator Programme helps participants think about their strategy for launching Career Conversations as well as how to deliver the Programme. Since completing the Programme, the WHO initiative has gone from strength to strength.
Empowering their people through the Certified Facilitator programme they started small with a few groups. They used the positive feedback to garner support and investment for larger projects. The following year they expanded to the regions. Then they linked it to other programmes such as mentoring, coaching, performance management and development. By doing this they have ensured it’s not a stand-alone workshop, but a tool that enables the organisation to move forward.
