“They just nailed it, they absolutely nailed it.” – David Craven, VP Brand Marketing Qdoba

Qdoba wanted to inspire 1,200 employees to not only retain information about its new branding and messaging, but also to embrace and act on its ambitious new company goals.

Second City Works collaborated with the fast-growing North American Mexican eatery, turning the all-hands company meeting into an innovative, energizing, and inspiring series of events.

Watch the video below to find out how we put it all together.

When your membership comprises meeting and event planning leaders from Fortune 500 companies, it’s not always easy to impress them.

Such was the challenge for Meeting Professionals International: how do you create an entertaining and enriching event for a group who have seen almost everything?

Provide them an experience unlike any they’ve had before.

Second City Works gave MPI attendees a one-of-a-kind peak behind the curtain, letting them romp in Second City’s legendary theater and revealing some of the comedy theater’s creative secrets.

Along the way, our expert facilitators helped attendees discover new ways to improve attendee experience for their organizations and clients, all while sharing proprietary techniques for increasing messaging retention and creating greater impact.

Check out the video below to see what MPI members thought of the experience. (Hint: “I recommend it a million times over!”)

“This was CRAZY COOL!” Virtual session participant

For one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, taking long-planned and beloved live workshops online for the first time during a shelter-in-place order felt daunting. Would the experience translate virtually and would it guarantee a productive meeting or engaging learning experience as it always had in the past?

When this pharma giant had to pivot to virtual learning for a newly remote workforce, they knew that the engagement experts at Second City Works would be able to provide an innovative solution to this unexpected problem.

Drawing on years’ of experience producing fun, interactive, get-up-on-your-feet learning, Second City Works was quick to create and deliver a virtual learning session program like no other.

“Shifting Your Mindset Through Improvisation was designed to make distance feel less distant. Keeping people energized and ready is what we excel at and what we continue to do in this virtual environment” said Lead Designer and Facilitator Kate James.

The animated Second City Works facilitators provided participants with a human-centric experience. Key learning exercises were punctuated with live music and at least one energizing dance break.

“It felt like we were all in the same room. It was unbelievable!” Leadership Learning and Development Leader, Global Pharmaceutical Company

Behind the scenes, all technical aspects of the virtual sessions, from employee registration to virtual stage management to backend data delivery, were handled by the Second City Works producers which took the pressure off of the client so they could stay focused on learning objectives.

And how did the global pharma learning leader feel at the end of a full day of virtual sessions?

“The virtual engagement through this program made us feel like we were “in the room,” said the client. “The team at Second City Works kept us actively engaged, met our objectives for the session, and had us laughing during this new “normal” and difficult time.” The company is now looking to add more sessions to their learning curriculum.

If you want your team to feel more connected and give them the skills they need to thrive in this challenging new work environment, contact us.

As a sales learning partner in the global marketing and sales team of a major social media conglomerate, MT is responsible for enabling more than 800 sales professionals with the skills and knowledge needed to drive the success of advertisers on the platform. “It’s my job to understand the critical sales priorities and assess audience learning needs and performance gaps for our new & tenured employees,” says MT.

When a global pandemic changed customer behavior and how people conducted business, MT knew she had to equip her sales team with skills to increase empathy and creativity.

Solution

MT turned to Second City Works to design and deliver a custom virtual sales development program focused on skills to help sales teams better understand their clients, cultivate sensitivity to the impact of the pandemic on their businesses, and creatively adapt to their needs.

Second City Works’ designer and lead facilitator Tyler Dean Kempf worked closely with MT to create “Showing Up with Agility,” an engaging interactive session with sales simulations, classic Second City scenes, improv exercises, and live music.

“Virtual facilitation allows us to create an even more personalized program for our clients. We worked closely together to ensure our debriefs tied directly to the participant’s other training within the organization, which ensures a more cohesive learning experience. This program was built from the ground up. Macy and her team gave us a lot of creative freedom, but it was a truly collaborative process,” says Kempf.

“Virtual facilitation allows us to create an even more personalized program for our clients.” -Tyler Dean Kempf, Lead Designer and Facilitator

Transformation & Results

Program feedback for the multiple sessions from participants has been positive. Sales leaders report that sales meetings have turned from one-way presentations into two-way conversations that generate an abundance of solutions. The program has been so well-received that other parts of the company are now implementing the virtual workshop with their teams.

“Improv teaches us to truly be present and in the moment. Operating with resilience, agility and empathy helped our sales team develop new skills and overcome roadblocks. When salespeople exercise empathy, prospects and customers notice.” says MT.

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When salespeople exercise empathy, prospects and customers notice. – MT, Sales Learning Partner, Global Marketing and Sales Team

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To bring agility and resilience to your team virtually, contact us now to co-create custom programming to meet your organization’s needs.