Turning data into compelling stories at Pladis

Pladis partnered with DoThinkDo to help their finance team turn data into clear, confident stories. 

Pladis is a fast-moving consumer goods business that specialises in sweet biscuits and savoury snacks. Headquartered in London, it is home to many household names, including McVitie’s.

• 17,000+ employees
• Products sold in 110 countries

Pladis’ finance team are experts in the numbers, presenting them regularly to leaders across the business and to some of the UK’s biggest retailers. But turning that data into a clear, compelling story was a skills gap they needed to close, and since working with DoThinkDo, the change has been felt well beyond the workshop.

“I’m really pleased with the results that we’re seeing... not only from feedback directly from participants, but also from the finance leadership team who have confirmed that they’ve seen behavioural changes in their people.” - Kelly Green, Learning and Development Business Partner, UK and Ireland, Pladis

The Challenge 

Pladis’ finance team works across the supply chain, commercial and customer finance. Many of their team present regularly, to senior leaders inside the business and to some of the UK’s largest retailers outside it.

A capability gap analysis was conducted which highlighted the need for financial teams to improve on their commercial storytelling skills. The overall feedback was that stories didn’t always flow, and the message wasn’t always as clear as it could be.

“Our finance team is really comfortable with numbers and they’re comfortable with the level of data and detail. But sometimes it can be ‘head down’ and just sharing that, as opposed to really getting into the core of what’s the message that you’re trying to deliver.” - Kelly Green, Learning and Development Business Partner, UK and Ireland, Pladis

Pladis had initially tried to solve this problem with a traditional training programme, but it wasn’t bespoke enough for their teams, and the learning stopped when the day did. So this time around, Pladis wanted to invest in a specialist to create a programme built around storytelling with data, with learning and behavioural changes that carries on long after the workshop was over.

The Solution

Pladis was keen to try something different, and DoThinkDo’s approach was exactly that. The workshops were led by coaches and actors, with participants on their feet, practising, stretching and truly embedding the learning from the start.

Together DoThinkDo and Pladis designed Storytelling with Data, a bespoke programme for the targeted group of finance leaders:

• One-day face-to-face workshops 
• Half-day virtual follow-on sessions 

The programme set out to shift behaviours, including:

From detail overload to strategic storytelling
From numbers as the message to numbers supporting the message
From specialist jargon to accessible language
From reactive reporting to proactive influence

Participants were stretched well outside their comfort zones, practising the power of pausing, separating content from flavour and tailoring a message to a specific audience.

“It really pushed them out of their comfort zones, and for many it was more than they had anticipated... it was different, and that’s what really enticed them and engaged them throughout.” - Kelly Green, Learning and Development Business Partner, UK and Ireland, Pladis

The Results

Participants scored the one-day, face-to-face workshops highly, rating it 4.7/5 on average for satisfaction and 4.7/5 for triggering new thinking. When asked whether the programme would help them succeed in their career, they scored 4.4/5 on average. The half-day virtual follow-on sessions built on this, with participants rating the session 4.5/5 on average for improving their confidence and a perfect 5/5 for how likely they were to recommend the programme.

To further assess the impact of the programme, the finance leadership team gave every participant a chance to present in one of three ways: to the finance leadership team, to the whole finance function at its monthly Power Up, or one-to-one with their own leader. The results showed a clear positive change, with participants presenting with greater confidence and delivering clearer, better quality presentations.

“They’ve seen a shift in the clarity of the message coming through... all the way to some of the basic presentation skills that come with storytelling.” - Kelly Green, Learning and Development Business Partner, UK and Ireland, Pladis

“Incredibly useful to provide me with the tools and techniques to improve my presentation and storytelling skills.” - Participant feedback

On the strength of these results, Kelly has put forward a business case to take the programme to other commercial functions across Pladis.

The Verdict

“Both coaches and actors were just brilliant throughout... To see people engage with it and relax into it, I think it really changed people’s thought process around ‘oh, it’s another training programme to go on’. I would absolutely recommend DoThinkDo for any programme going forward.” - Kelly Green, Learning and Development Business Partner, UK and Ireland, Pladis