Back In The Room: The Power Of In-Person Immersions

in person immersion

We created an unusual immersion for an esteemed client: an in-person finale to a completed virtual program. What were the benefits of bringing people together “in real life” at this stage?

The original immersion experience was a success. However, it was held in 2021, when face-to-face meetings weren’t possible. Our client proposed an additional in-person session in Silicon Valley to complete the program. We’ll take a closer look at how we built on the previous work to create an additional powerful (and celebratory) immersion.

The Client  – A Global Energy Company

Our client is a multinational energy corporation, headquartered in California. Their founding predecessor first struck oil in the 1870s, and since then, the company has grown to be a global giant in the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries. 

The Program

Aimed at future C-level employees, this in-house program supports potential leaders to develop their talents. It gives these individuals the space and opportunity to innovate while honing skills that will help the organization thrive in the future. Their three core themes? “We lead, we team, we win”.

The Immersion Lab’s role in the program was to bring in an external focus by leading immersion sessions with exemplar hosts. 

The Challenge

Our virtual immersion program had been a great success, and in mid-2022, the client approached us to create an additional in-person session that would complement the 2021 program. They wanted these to take place in Silicon Valley, where the participants could engage with the host leaders in their “native environments”.

The overall theme was fostering the growth mindset, and we chose the hosts based on their leadership skills in this field. The questions for the session were:

    • How best to create a culture and workplace for the future?

    • What does global talent mean?

    • Is learning amplified by the native work environment?

While we were celebrating holding in-person immersions again, the post-pandemic world brought its own challenges. The idea of in-person interactions after such a long time in isolation was a challenge in itself; injecting a sense of both excitement and nervousness into the group. Some participants were understandably reluctant to engage in person again, and we had to put a series of mitigating measures in place to help them feel at ease (participants had to bring vaccination certificates, for example).

What We Did

We designed a day of in-person immersion sessions that built on the previous theme of growth and success. The participants were split into four teams, and the day was divided into a morning meeting, a working lunch, and an afternoon reflection session. 

Organizations and exemplars were chosen because they are market frontrunners recognized for their focus on culture, agility, and innovation, leading to growth and success.

The specific theme for the day: Working differently to unlock growth and future success.

The Immersion Learning Experience

At the eleventh hour, we had to compress the group into three rather than four teams. Not letting the turn of events throw us off, we were still able to facilitate robust immersion experiences that provided great insights to support the thought processes of participants during the program. Here’s what the three teams focused on with their Silicon Valley hosts.

Team 1:

Building on the earlier virtual sessions, the first team addressed two large immersion topics: “continuous improvement” and “cracking the customer”. They gained great insights from the host leaders, furthering the original program’s focus on developing a growth mindset and the impact this has on the organization.

Team 2:

The discussion here about talent and disruption was robust. The takeaway questions were around how organizations should address post-pandemic changes. Participants came up with the idea of “radical transparency”, where they livestream their ELT meetings, giving all employees the opportunity to hear what’s being discussed.

Team 3:

These sessions were a hybrid of in-person and virtual attendance. The team discussed the difference between “hiring for skill” and “hiring for potential” and how this shift impacts organizational talent. Another important takeaway was how present their host organization’s vision was in everything they did: this vision drives every decision and thus every outcome. Again, the importance of transparency was discussed. 

The Impact – Welcome Back, In-Person Sessions

The power of in-person sessions was solidified as participants shared their thoughts in comparison to the previous virtual program. There was initial concern when Team 3 found out that their session would be hybrid, but it played out perfectly. The introduction of working lunches was especially successful, as conversions flowed with ease in a non-conventional setting. 

In terms of the impact, it was felt almost immediately as we saw our client looking to the future with a fresh perspective. Takeaways filtered down to each of the participants throughout the program, bringing inspiration into so many areas of focus, as well as some areas they hadn’t considered. 

For example, transparency proved to be an important factor that teams believed would help them retain talent and ensure trust in their leaders.This was expanded a step further with suggestions for “radical transparency” where ELT meetings could be live streamed for any employee wanting to see and hear what’s being discussed about the future of the company.

This openness was a common thread that pulled through into each of the discussions, helping participants realise how much could be accomplished with this slight shift in operation. A celebratory conclusion to the program had each of the participants looking at their roles through a fresh lens. New ways of working were inspired using the disruption of the pandemic as a tool that could help influence change and continuous improvement, instead of seeing it as something that had set everyone back.

The Immersion Lab team was so pleased to be able to build on the success of the original program and bring it to this fortuitous end. Though this is only the end of this series as the client is planning further in-person immersion opportunities for this program after realizing the benefits of our hybrid experience.

Working With The Immersion Lab

Here at The Immersion Lab, we can adapt experiences to suit your organization, your logistics, and your needs, as well as to fit in with disruptive global events. We can design in-person, virtual, and hybrid immersion sessions for your leaders and future frontrunners. 

To find out how The Immersion Lab can support your organization’s in-house program or design something unique from scratch, please get in touch with us.