Change-makers in focus

Going 100% virtual with your language program

How we help:

During the pandemic, Zambon worked with Hult EF Corporate Education to reinvent the existing Hult EF Professional face-to-face program so as to support employee development. Zambon already used a blended and digital approach to deliver training, but the company needed support to quickly transition to a virtual classroom that was created for its specific learning platform.

Zambon is a multinational pharmaceutical company headquartered in northern Italy, which has been improving patients’ lives for more than 100 years.

The company is renowned for its innovative approach, strong sense of community, and a long-standing commitment to the development of its people.

“The results are great, and there is no discernible difference in our participants’ evaluations from before and after moving everything online. I’m very glad that we found great support from Hult EF; they understood our needs.”

Matteo Villa, Training at Global HR, Zambon

The Challenge

Zambon’s organizational values were put to the test during the pandemic, when their existing L&D programs were thrown into disarray as staff needed to swiftly shift from in-person classes to online learning. In keeping with their long history of innovation, Zambon needed support from an agile and flexible provider to customize their online programs to fit their specific organizational needs.

Some of the existing programs were incompatible with a purely digital environment and difficult to transition online, which meant losing valuable knowledge assets – something Zambon wanted to avoid. Another crucial requirement for the business was to ensure online training remained as accessible as possible for all learners to enable them to benefit from the change.

Driving personal development amidst a global pandemic

Our impact

Working closely with the teams at Zambon, we redesigned the customized language workshops to remove instructional components, encourage small group interaction, and cut session length to account for reduced attention span when working digitally. Participants appreciated the continuity that came with having the same teachers for online sessions as they did for face-to-face classes and found the online language classes encouraged them to further adapt their communication style – an essential part of communication in an ever-changing business landscape. Enabling learning to continue during the crisis has not only prevented a loss of knowledge and momentum in Zambon’s learning projects, but it has also helped to maintain a sense of community among employees. For Zambon, the transition online has been smooth, with results matching pre-pandemic levels. The company continues to analyze the effectiveness of online learning against a backdrop of traditional learning styles and preferences. Online learning will continue to play a major role in Zambon’s organizational strategy, inviting the possibility for previously local classes and workshops to be delivered globally.

Seamless online transition

Adapting face-to-face sessions for better digital delivery using agile working methods, meant Zambon could continue to drive change and business results at once.

Global knowledge sharing

Closing the delivery gap with online learning has made it possible for local workshops and classes to become available to a global audience, encouraging borderless knowledge sharing between Zambon colleagues.

Seamless online transition

Adapting face-to-face sessions for better digital delivery using agile working methods, meant Zambon could continue to drive change and business results at once.

Global knowledge sharing

See our work in action

We have helped more than 3,000 organizations, from large multinational companies, to governments, to public sector businesses, to charities. Our capacity to deliver customized programs at scale makes us the provider of choice for global businesses and governments.