Coca-Cola FEMSA's challenge
Coca-Cola FEMSA is based in Mexico, operates 64 plants in ten countries and turns over nearly 10 billion dollars a year. In recent years it had deeply reorganized its bottling plants: areas that used to work separately, such as production, maintenance and quality, became a single organizational unit.
A change like that doesn't stick unless leaders change with it. HR had to strengthen the leadership skills of 850 managers and team leaders across 21 plants, and do it with something that broke the monotony of classroom training and truly hooked people.
- Support the reorganization of departments and bottling plants
- Strengthen the leadership skills of 850 managers across 21 plants in Mexico
- Offer a different kind of training that attracts employees and boosts engagement
The solution
The centerpiece was Pacific, Game Strategies' serious game for leadership and team management. Each manager lands on a desert island and has to lead their team to build a hot-air balloon and escape alive. Along the way they learn to delegate, give feedback, motivate and run a high-performance team, practicing in a risk-free simulator.
Coca-Cola FEMSA didn't just hand out logins. It launched the program with kickoff sessions at every plant in groups of 20 or 30, delivered the materials in little treasure chests with messages in a bottle and gave out boarding passes with access details. There were rankings between and within plants, a 2-month deadline with weekly reminders and shared responsibility: every manager was also accountable for their team finishing.
Pacific was also the starting point of a blended program with classroom sessions and practical tasks. And the top ten players at each plant earned a pin and a medal.
The games they played
Coca-Cola FEMSA on video
In their own words
We've seen an impact on the way managers handle management, communication and collaboration, which ultimately is reflected in their everyday tasks and indicators.
You could see how much fun they had. They were so drawn in that they completed the game in no time at all while internalizing the tools, concepts and leadership skills.
Video games help you reach more people simultaneously and much more quickly than classroom-based master classes.
The results
Every participant completed Pacific, 99% would recommend it and 100% say the content applies to their daily work. But the biggest change showed up in the organization.
In work climate surveys, employees' rating of their direct managers rose from 78.5 in 2015 to 80.6 in 2017, and the organizational climate score went from 79.7 to 82.9. In the Organizational Health Index (OHI), leadership climbed from 80 in 2016 to 85 in 2017. Better leaders for a company in the middle of a transformation.
Every number
- 100%completion rate
- 99%would recommend it
- 100%find the content applicable to their daily work
- 80 → 85leadership score in the OHI (2016-2017)
- 78.5 → 80.6employee rating of direct managers (2015-2017)
- 79.7 → 82.9organizational climate rating
More retail & consumer goods case studies
100%recommend itApollo-Optik helps its managers put on their 'leader glasses' with Pacific, and 100% recommend it
98%find what they learned directly applicable day to dayDecathlon trains 250 store managers in France with video games, and 98% find it directly applicable
+69%team motivation and engagementJTI boosts employee engagement by 69% and productivity by 60% with game-based learning
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