Samenvatting

In today’s competitive business environment, companies acknowledge the critical role that efficient sales management plays in driving revenue growth and sustaining a market position.
The problem definition on which this research is based emerged from the increase of complaints related to the Sales Excellence Program onboarding considered not interactive, theoretical and dense. The goal of this research carried out from February 2023 to the end of May 2023, was to find out how Air France KLM Martinair Cargo can improve the onboarding process by making it more engaging, meaning interactive and motivating for sales managers and inside sales. Based on this, the following main question was created:
“What actions can Air France KLM Martinair Cargo take to create an engaging onboarding process for the Sales Excellence Program to enhance its impact?”
To answer this question, qualitative research methods were used, including a literature review and semi structured interviews. Since the onboarding primarily targets sales and inside sales managers, their opinions and experiences were crucial, and these were gathered through the interviews. The literature review served to identify concepts, approaches, and tactics for creating an engaging and effective onboarding process.

The research presented the following main results:
• The research reveals the need for improvements in practicality and clear communication. Participants described the onboarding as theoretical, professional, motivating and challenging. The eNPS score at the end of March 2023 was -11.11, indicating room for improvement in employee engagement during the onboarding process.
• Regarding successful teaching methods in the workplace, a blended learning approach combining online and live sessions is preferred for onboarding new SMs and ISMs. E-learning combined with live sessions was considered the most effective method by 50% of respondents. Experienced professionals sharing best practices and examples were identified as valuable resources during the onboarding process. The majority of respondents suggested a maximum of 8 participants per session, with sessions lasting between 1 and 2 hours.
• Before the onboarding, it is important to update and efficiently organise the list of SMs and ISMs who require training. Furthermore, more than half of the respondents had a clear understanding of why they needed to be onboarded, emphasizing the importance of communicating the purpose of the onboarding. During the onboarding, using several tools can enhance employee engagement.
After the onboarding, gathering feedback through surveys and conducting follow-up sessions are crucial steps for continuous improvement and knowledge retention.
Based on these results, recommendations have been formulated to address the main question and engage sales and inside sales managers during the onboarding of the Sales Excellence Program.

The recommendations include:
• Adopting a blended learning approach that combines interactive e-learning modules for the theoretical part with live sessions featuring experienced sales managers, key account managers, and market managers.
• Demonstrating the importance of sales and inside sales managers' opinions by implementing a feedback form to track their feedback on the onboarding process and identify areas for improvement.
• Shifting the onboarding approach from theoretical to practical by sharing best practices throughout the entire course of the onboarding, both in the e-learning modules and live sessions. This will encourage interesting discussions on several topics and make the process more engaging compared to the current approach.