LEARNING
Practical learning that supports real management.
Learning at Smart Solver is not a catalogue of standard courses and not training “for the sake of training”. We develop and deliver practical programmes for managers, HR teams, business owners and management teams, built around real work situations, management tasks and the company’s business context.
At the centre of our programmes are not only knowledge, but changes in management behavior, development of professional thinking, formation of new habits and application of tools in everyday work.
Three formats for developing people
Corporate training
Programmes for managers, HR teams and employees, adapted to the company’s objectives.
- For whom
- Managers, HR teams, management teams, specialists and line staff
- Format
- Face-to-face or online learning, trainings, practical workshops, business games, business simulations and modular programmes
- What you get
- Practical skills, working tools, a common management language and solutions that can be applied immediately after training
Individual mentoring
Individual support for business owners, CEOs, managers and HR leaders.
- For whom
- Business owners, CEOs, HR directors, functional leaders, HR specialists and managers
- Format
- Regular 1:1 meetings, expert review of situations, decision support and development of professional thinking
- What you get
- A thinking partner for real management and HR decisions, an external expert view and support in difficult situations
HR breakfasts
Live expert meetings for HR and managers on current people management topics.
- For whom
- HR specialists, HR directors, managers, business owners and everyone who works with people
- Format
- Live meetings, expert block, practical part, exchange of experience and professional networking
- What you get
- Fresh HR practices, tools, ideas, professional support and expansion of your network of useful contacts
Programs
Corporate training: areas and programmes
Smart Solver corporate training is built around real management and HR challenges. We can deliver a separate training, a short practical workshop, a business game, a business simulation, a series of modules or a comprehensive manager development programme.
Each programme can be adapted to the industry, participants’ level, the company’s internal processes, the management maturity of the team and specific business objectives.
People and team management
Basic management skills
Task setting, delegation, control, feedback, responsibility and day-to-day management practice.
Managing people: power, authority and influence
The role of the manager, sources of influence, leadership behavior, responsibility, trust and management maturity.
Emotional intelligence for managers
Understanding one’s own emotions and other people’s emotions, managing reactions, empathy and more mature behavior in difficult situations.
Feedback and 1:1 meetings
Regular management conversations, feedback, discussing results, employee development and working with expectations.
Conflict management and difficult conversations
Analysis of conflicts, negative emotions, team tension and the manager’s role in difficult communication.
Motivation, engagement and employee retention
Psychological contract, burnout prevention, working with demotivated employees, retention and development of loyalty.
Employee development and mentoring
Mentoring, development of successors, working with potential, individual development plans and performance improvement plans.
The 5 dysfunctions of a team
A practical programme about trust, responsibility, engagement, accountability and typical breakdowns in team interaction.
Initiative and responsibility in the team
How to build a culture of initiative, responsibility and mature behavior in the team.
Open mindset and cross-functional collaboration
How thinking, attitudes, communication and limiting beliefs influence collaboration between functions and teams.
Management tools and effectiveness
Delegation, task setting and execution control
How to choose the performer, formulate tasks, transfer responsibility and control execution without micromanagement.
Execution management and team performance
Team dynamics, execution control, rewards, sanctions, lessons learned and a culture of continuous improvement.
Development and implementation of KPI
A practical programme on developing, aligning and implementing KPI for roles, departments and managers.
Development and implementation of OKR
How to use OKR to focus the team, align goals and increase responsibility for results.
Performance Management
Goals, KPI, performance assessment, regular feedback, performance review and performance improvement plans.
Description, optimization and implementation of business processes
How to describe processes, identify bottlenecks, distribute responsibility and implement changes in work.
Change management for managers
Understanding change, resistance, communication, the manager’s role, change agents and supporting the team during transformation.
Strategic and systems thinking
SWOT / TOWS, PESTLE / STEEPLE, Porter’s five forces, scenario planning, systems thinking, BSC and strategy implementation.
Self-organization, planning and management resilience
Manager’s energy, habits, self-control, priorities, time planning and managing work capacity.
HR practice and professional HR programmes
HR Start
A basic programme for beginner HR specialists or HR specialists who need to systematize their practice.
Talent Acquisition Manager
The full recruitment cycle: recruitment request, candidate profile, sourcing channels, interview, assessment, communication with the business and recruitment analytics.
Competency-based interview
Preparation, structure, questions, behavioral indicators, assessment of answers and reduction of interview subjectivity.
HR process metrics
HR metrics, analytics, reporting, indicators of recruitment, onboarding, turnover, engagement and HR process effectiveness.
Total Rewards
Total rewards, fixed and variable pay, benefits, non-financial motivation and the logic of compensation & benefits.
Finance for HR
Financial thinking for HR: budget, payroll fund, cost of decisions, economic logic of HR initiatives.
Assessment Center
Methodology, exercises, cases, assessment scales, assessor roles and use of assessment results.
Employee assessment
Tools for assessing employees, competencies, potential, performance and readiness for development or promotion.
Job grading
Job evaluation, levels, grades, internal equity, logic of career and salary growth.
Train the trainer
Preparation of internal trainers: learning structure, facilitation, group work, exercises, materials and feedback.
Formats
Comprehensive programs and practical formats
Comprehensive one-year leadership training and development program
Smart Solver's flagship program for companies that need consistent development of their management team rather than one-off training.
The program is designed for long-term work with managers and aims to develop management competencies, change managerial behaviour, build new habits and influence the company's management culture.
The program includes plenty of practice, case studies, role-play exercises, discussions, feedback and work with real management situations. It is a learning cycle, not a one-day burst of activity.
The program can be taken in full or adapted to the company's needs by selecting the modules and topics most relevant to the specific management team.
For companies that want to change their management culture
One-off trainings can bring energy, new ideas and individual tools. But if a company truly wants to change managerial behaviour, build new habits, develop modern leadership attitudes and influence its management culture, it needs systematic long-term work.
The comprehensive one-year leadership training and development program was created exactly for this. It helps managers not just “learn about” new approaches, but gradually bring them into their practice, discuss difficult situations, receive feedback, try out tools and come back to them again.
What the program develops
Leading people
Power and authority, locus of control, leadership and influence, empathy, emotional intelligence, conflict management, feedback, employee development, motivation and retention.
Managing execution
Team formation, choosing the right person, task setting, delegation, execution control, rewarding, sanctioning, post-project analysis and a culture of improvement.
Self-organisation and planning
A manager's energy, useful habits, self-control, awareness, managing reactions, time planning, priorities and flexibility in planning.
Implementing change
Understanding change, resistance, change planning, communication during change, decision-making in times of change and leading a team through change.
Cross-functional collaboration
Open mindset, initiative and responsibility within the team, radical candor, trust, engagement, high standards and dealing with typical challenges of team collaboration.
Strategic thinking
The difference between operational and strategic thinking, analytical tools, systems thinking, innovation, scenario planning, BSC, risks and strategy execution.
How the program can be organised
The program can run as a full one-year cycle or as a series of selected modules. The format is tailored to the participants' management level, the company's real objectives, the number of managers, the training intensity and the team's readiness to work on changing management habits.
Business games and simulations
Practical formats for practising management decisions, teamwork, communication, negotiations, responsibility, priorities and behaviour in complex business situations.
We can use ready-made business games, adapt game formats to corporate objectives or develop a business simulation for the company's specific context.
Examples of game formats
Stocker
A business board game about business, resources, negotiations, influence and decision-making under uncertainty. Suitable for developing commercial thinking, negotiation skills, strategic vision, analytical thinking and the ability to act with limited information.
Скажи_HR
A board game for HR specialists and recruiters that helps bring HR terminology to life and develop professional language, creative thinking, teamwork and professional communication within the HR community or HR team.
Боги обратной связи
An educational game for managers, employees, HR and the talent pool. It helps practise giving and receiving feedback, working with emotions, and seeing one's strengths and development areas in communication.
Games and simulations tailored to your company
We also create business games and simulations for specific objectives: change management, teamwork, difficult conversations, decision-making, communication between departments, customer work, service, sales, leadership or HR processes.
Individual mentoring
Individual mentoring is a format for situations when a manager, owner, CEO, HR director or HR specialist needs not a training, but a professional counterpart, an external expert view and support in real decisions.
When it is useful
- You need to make a difficult decision about an employee, manager, team or structure
- There is a complex HR case, a conflict or a sensitive management situation
- You need to prepare for a difficult conversation
- You need clarity on KPIs, assessment, motivation, HR documents or processes
- An HR specialist needs support in developing professional thinking
- An owner or CEO needs an external view of people, the management team or the HR system
What you get
- A confidential space to work through real situations
- Expert feedback and practical recommendations
- Help preparing decisions, arguments and communication
- Support in developing managerial or HR thinking
- Support with implementing decisions, if needed
HR breakfasts
HR breakfasts are live expert meetups for HR specialists, HR directors, managers and everyone who works with people.
It is an informal yet substantive format of professional development: participants meet, discuss current HR topics, receive tools, work through practical questions, complete exercises and share experience.
What happens at HR breakfasts
- An expert block on a current HR or management topic
- A practical block with exercises, case analysis or discussion of solutions
- Experience sharing between participants
- New tools, ideas and approaches for work
- Informal networking and expanding your professional circle
Who it is for
- HR specialists and HR directors
- Managers and business owners
- People who develop the HR function, teams and management culture
- Professionals who value being part of a professional community, sharing experience and growing
What you get
- Fresh HR practices and tools
- The support of a professional community
- A chance to discuss real questions with peers
- New ideas for your company and team
- Lively professional communication without unnecessary formality
Individual and team practicums tailored to your company
Short applied sessions on a specific management or HR task: from feedback and delegation to KPIs, change, teamwork, conflict management or leadership development. On request, we develop stand-alone practicums, working sessions and mini-programs for the company's real context, the participants' level and the tasks that need to be solved in practice.
How we develop learning
A clear, staged process.
- 01
Request diagnostics
We clarify the business context, learning goals, target audience, participants’ level, real difficulties at work, managers’ expectations and the result the company wants to achieve after training.
- 02
Programme design
We develop the learning structure, topics, practical tasks, cases, exercises, working materials, business games or business simulations, taking into account the company’s objectives and participants’ level.
- 03
Learning delivery
We deliver trainings, practical workshops, business games, business simulations, HR breakfasts or mentoring sessions in a live, applied format, focused on real work situations.
- 04
Consolidation and support
We help participants transfer learning into practice: we formulate recommendations, provide tools for independent work, conduct follow-up meetings or support the implementation of new approaches.
Questions about training
Can the programme be adapted to our company?+
Yes. We adapt topics, cases, exercises, format and level of complexity to the business context, management maturity, industry and real objectives of the company.
Can we run not the full programme, but a separate module?+
Yes. Many topics can be delivered as a separate training, practical workshop, business game, business simulation or part of a broader programme.
How is Smart Solver learning different from a regular training?+
We do not just deliver a training. We work with management competencies, behavior, habits, tools and real work situations. That is why learning is often connected with consulting, diagnostics and further implementation.
Can learning and mentoring be combined?+
Yes. For example, a series of trainings can be delivered for managers, and then individual or group mentoring meetings can be added to help transfer the tools into practice.
Can a business game or business simulation be delivered separately?+
Yes. A business game or business simulation can be a standalone format, part of a corporate event, an element of training or a way to practice a specific skill.
Let’s start with what really matters.
Tell us about your business context and the learning task you want to solve. We will help determine which format suits your company: corporate training, practical workshop, business game, business simulation, annual programme, HR breakfast or individual mentoring.