Intro

Aquafil is an international Italian company founded in the mid '60s in Arco, in the province of Trento, that operates in the production of polyamide, polyester and nylon threads for clothing and carpets. With more than 50 years’ experience in the sector and approximately 2,900 employees, it is becoming increasingly global by acquiring plants in Slovenia, Germany and the United Kingdom, and creating start-ups in Croatia, China, Thailand and the USA. Acquafil is looking towards the future. Its globally recognized position of leadership has been achieved by an approach focused on the development of sustainable and innovative models. In 2017, Aquafil took part in a European project dedicated to the development of nylon from renewable or recycled raw materials.

The journey

The relationship of Wyde and the company’s IT function evolved together throughout the common journey that involved about 20 people over the course of two years. The Playground consisted of several thematic modules including project management, time management, communication and people management. The project continued for almost 30 days and had two main objectives.

• On the one hand, to build a strong team identity, increasing integration and collaboration within the group. At the beginning of the journey, the IT team in fact was split into a group of senior employees with long experience in the company and a group of newcomers with very diversified experiences.
• On the other hand, to strengthen the ability of the IT team to become a partner of the business and its top management, expanding collaboration with other functions of the company, to consider the team as internal customers with their own needs.

Client's testimony

Paolo Zanada, Head of IT at Aquafil, explains why he chose Wyde and outlines the objectives and results achieved on the Playground:

«For me it was important to find a company that would help me as the IT manager. Not knowing the world of training, I came across Wyde by chance, typing in some keywords. I wasn’t simply looking for training, I wanted a transformation. Having talked to some reviewers, I finally heard something that amazed me: “If you really want to change, perhaps by even creating potential problems initially, this is the right company because they really go in deep”.

I managed a group that had grown from 10 to 20 people, where the first ten were longtime employees with experience gained only in Aquafil. The others, besides having recently arrived, had very diverse experiences and cultural backgrounds. I received the request from the company to involve new and different personalities. Hence, there was a necessity for integration and change within an international context.

I wanted to make changes in the IT function, and in the way it is connected with the rest of the company. It was important for us to become an internal service function with internal customers, while composing a team with a clear identity and relationship and planning model that we would first experience internally and then export externally. We had to work on communication processes to promote greater transparency and openness. 

I felt that Wyde and I were on the same page right from the start. They were able to give me an idea of the whole process, a broad portfolio of competent and professional teachers – the right people for different topics we wanted to deal with. Also, from the contractual point of view, they did not force me to find a solution that had been defined in advance, but they were able to offer me a modular path to evaluate and recalibrate from time to time. 

The first real success was that all the members of my team were very satisfied with the training. Especially the old guard, who had never done that kind of soft training before. The ones with diverse backgrounds evaluated the experience with Wyde in a holistic way.

As for the results obtained, I might say that now I notice more dynamism. From the very first sessions I understood that I had to reexamine my expectations. After doing so, I saw in everyone a greater intention to achieve certain results. I see more collaboration, fewer attempts to find excuses. Previously we weren’t aligned, but now we have rules, common tools, we take a similar, if not common, approach to problems, customers, suppliers, and we have a clearer and smoother identity.

We meet more frequently in a spontaneous way, without my requesting it. The integration of the two groups is evolving, despite the heterogeneity of the team in terms of their hierarchy. Wyde has accelerated this process.

In addition, people now recognize their responsibility to provide a service to our internal client. I believe that this transformation is just a beginning, but I already see a different approach, aligned with ambition».