"We have been doing our work in the same way for a long time, and as the market changes, we have to change. We came to a situation where we had to step on the gas pedal, and the team had to be involved in this acceleration", described Mikael Ruhala, CMA CGM's General Director for Finland and Baltics.
In recent years, the freight business industry has turned almost on its head – in previous years, it was a seller's market when the world had too little container capacity. This led industry players to invest heavily in increasing container capacity, and now the market has turned upside down – there are more containers available than there ais cargo to be transported. Previously, orders were accepted, now you have to work hard for sales.
CMA CGM found the need to develop its own operations in accordance with the changed market situation. In addition to the need to raise the level of activity in sales and customer service, the goal was also to increase customer satisfaction. They started looking for a partner for this need, and More Than Training Company was selected, with the trainers Janne Kolehmainen and Johanna Vilkuna.
"We were interested in coaching that combines different methods," says CMA CGM's Head of HR and Communications for Finland and Baltics, Jaana Kinnunen about the selection criteria. "In the method proposed by MTTC, a core team was assembled to lead the change, and coaches were trained from them, who train their own teams with the help of the material library in use. The growth of internal coaching skills is a big deal, and the this continuous coaching and the library that supports it will remain our standard operating method."
In the program, MTTC trained country team leaders for internal coaching of sales and customer service teams, and in the beginning also directly trained all sales and customer service employees. The internal coaches were supported by a coach's manual and an extensive online coaching package, with which they can coach their own teams with an agreed schedule and rhythm. In addition, the steering groups continue to ensure that the management also remains accountable for the implementation of the change.
"The difficulty of management is that this is one issue among many others, and keeping it on the agenda requires work," laughs Jaana. "However, something is slowly happening. Everyone got something to think about and inspiration to do from MTTC's coaching. Now it is up to the internal coaches how to continue the training. We will continue to invest in this. That's why it's good that Janne and Johanna actively keep in touch with us and support us in management. They really work to keep in touch, and it can be seen from them that their goal is to make the lessons of this already completed coaching really apply to everyday life and make the results visible."
The cooperation between MTTC and CMA CGM is only at the beginning, but there is already something to praise at this stage.
"Sales and customer service have found each other. Of course, other things also affect it, such as the fact that we have integrated our processes. However, this coaching has also played its part in that new togetherness", sums up Mikael.
Jaana, on the other hand, highlights MTTC's unique style: "Your style doesn't suit everyone, but its absolute advantage is your versatility. The coaches also have different styles, which is good because everyone got something for themselves. It was a wealth that also brought energy to training days, when, for example, the rhythm changed during the day when the coach changed."
