The Customer
With 7 branch offices and 34 national distributors SANYO Airconditioners Europe S.r.l. distributes air conditioning systems for residential, commercial and industrial applications all over Europe.

In Italy SANYO has two different sales networks: the first one is oriented to the professional market including installers and resellers of heating, plumbing and electrical systems/materials; the second one focuses on shops specializing in household appliance. The entire organization is made up of more than 40 Sales Agencies and 200 Authorized Service Centers providing pre-sales and after-sales support.

The wide range of products and environment-friendly technologies can meet the requirements of any customer.

The Sales Head Office is in Milan and it is based on two production plants in Europe.

The challenge
To strengthen its competitiveness on the english market and optimize HR management processes, the General Management has involved the Support team with the aim of:

• working out a system to map and maintain the competencies needed to achieve the company objectives
• enhancing a shared culture of competency based management
• consolidating the team spirit

Out solution
To meet this need, the HR Consulting specialists have designed and implemented a project including the following five steps:

Definition of tools and formats
The first step was the ad hoc development of the job description format aiming at a formal definition of the responsibilities of the individuals and at identifying, in cooperation with the company management, the proper parameters for performance measurement. The Support team shared the format with all the involved people and provided managers with the necessary support for the correct filling in of their job descriptions as well as their employees'.  

Afterwards, the HR Consulting specialists worked out computer-based personnel files for each staff member with the aim of tracking their progress in terms of organization, development, performance, rewarding system and career promotions.

Definition and Mapping of Competencies
Together with the General Management, the HR Consulting team has designed the Sanyo model of distinctive competencies and identified the competency levels expected for each professional group.
The eight competencies identified have been analyzed through the Online Survey mapping process; the aim was to identify the strengths and improvement areas for both individuals and teams working for Sanyo, in order to subsequently define a development plan to fill any possible competency gaps.

The mapping process involved 31 employees and 5 members of the management team; it determined the competency level of the involved people by comparing the self-evaluation and the evaluation carried out by the line managers.

The results have been analyzed by the HR Consulting team and then shared with the General Management, the Management Team and all relevant people.
The different professional groups, with their respective managers and the company Management received some feedback about the global mapping results.
Single employees had the chance to share their questionnaire with their managers who had been purposely instructed by the HR Consulting team about how to properly manage this delicate step.

Development of Competencies
The results of the mapping process allowed the HR Consulting team and the Company Management to design three training schemes meeting the identified development needs on the one hand and supporting the implementation of the new company strategies on the other hand. The training sessions focused on the following topics:  

Team Management:

• integration
• communication
• people development

Key Account and Area Manager:

• management of sales activities
• selling value
• strategic sales

Sales support:

• achieve and maintain customer satisfaction
• internal/external customer orientation
• communication

Coaching
As a natural follow-up of the classroom activities, the Support team scheduled six coaching sessions for some of the key resources, with the aim of further developing their competencies and sharing structured working methods.

Results
The following results have been achieved:

• optimization of cross-functional processes and sharing of company objectives
• stronger awareness with respect to roles and responsibilities
• improvement of the communication process between line manager and employee
• enhancement of a culture based on feedback and on the sharing of information and objectives through periodic meetings
• stronger attention to internal customers' satisfaction

All staff members are still working hard to maintain and increase the benefits deriving from this initiative, thus enhancing the continuous improvement process.