Mission: Growth in a distributed company

Training distributed teams is a massive challenge. Yet, Würth Polska is succeeding in this area. What is the 70-20-10 rule they use? What solutions support employee development? And why is it so important today? In the new episode of our "Company That Supports" series, we host Anna Falkowska from Würth Polska—an experienced manager, coach, and behavioral profiler. Join us!

1. 00:00:00 Introduction
2. 00:01:47 The VUCA and BANI world – why adaptation is necessary
3. 00:03:49 Neuroplasticity and the need for new experiences
4. 00:06:32 Würth Polska structure and team specifics
5. 00:07:52 The 70-20-10 model in employee development
6. 00:13:43 Networking and peer-to-peer learning among sales representatives
7. 00:17:36 Online and in-person training
8. 00:19:47 Microlearning, podcasts, and courses as a process
9. 00:23:19 Popular development topics – assertiveness and leadership
10. 00:26:25 Differences in development needs between men and women
11. 00:27:20 Challenges and difficulties in implementing development programs
12. 00:34:56 What distinguishes a supportive organization

Transcript:

Dr. Ewa Hartman: The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. These words, spoken by Alvin Toffler—a writer and futurist who explored the digital revolution and its impact on business and culture—are highly relevant in these fast-paced times. To learn, to reach for the new, and to let go of what no longer serves us—whether as individuals, employees, business owners, creators, or advocates of ideas—we need an open mind, fueled by curiosity and a high degree of self-awareness, including knowledge of our own talents, habits, and adaptive or non-adaptive ways of operating.

Why? The answer lies in models used to describe reality, often applied interchangeably rather than just chronologically: the VUCA model (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity) and the BANI model (brittle, anxious, nonlinear, incomprehensible). While these concepts differ in detail, they share one essential commonality: the instability and unpredictability of the world around us. This necessitates vigilance, rapid response, and adaptation.

An open, curious mind, situated in an environment that fosters growth, is exactly what enables us to handle this. In a VUCA and BANI world, an organization cannot rely solely on familiar methods. The necessity of continuous learning has become a condition for survival. Business is no longer the domain of stable, decade-long planning. Today, companies must be ready for rapid change and the search for solutions—often along completely unconventional paths. Furthermore, the corporate world is automating, shifting routine tasks to artificial intelligence.

What is left for us humans? We are left with solving complex problems, innovation, creativity, and collaboration. Without collaboration, both problem-solving and innovation are unattainable. So, how do we solve complex problems and collaborate effectively? We must learn, but learn broadly, to connect distant ideas. We should not promote a single, linear way of thinking where everything follows step-by-step, but rather explore different points of view and ask bold questions. In the business world, learning means employee development, but not just through the lens of the business utility of the knowledge—meaning not just diving into products, Excel, or presentation skills.

Development means exploring the secrets of communication, how the brain works, improvisation, and even, if necessary, ikebana. Because a narrow approach to skills and knowledge strengthens the bubble we are in. Its walls become less permeable, and instead of looking wider, we are, in fact, limiting our field of vision.

It’s like the saying, "if you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail." In an environment where learning is foreign, every new idea stops fitting in before it even has a chance to be heard. Every new person is seen as a nuisance because they disrupt the neatly arranged, albeit dusty, building blocks.

Let’s also remember neuroplasticity—the brain's ability to continuously develop and adapt by creating new neural connections and reshaping thought patterns. However, to tap into this neurobiological foundation of learning, we need something new: fresh content, experiences, conversations, and moments of wonder. If we get stuck, we become masters—but masters of stagnation. We’ll get better at finding problems, better at making excuses, better at living in denial, or better at repeating, "Back in the day, things were different, but now..."

We can no longer afford that luxury. Companies that want to lead their industries must consciously invest in developing future-ready skills and create space for experimentation, even with the potential risk of failure. They must support agile learning that emphasizes rapid testing and encourages asking questions and challenging the status quo. As Alvin Toffler reminds us, an organization's success starts with the individual—someone aware of their strengths, open to learning, and ready to act. Let this inspiration strengthen our readiness, because the world will never change as slowly as it does right now.

My guest is a Training Manager at Würth Polska with 15 years of experience in people development within international organizations. She currently supports the development of distributed teams by designing and leading development programs, individual career paths, and talent initiatives. She has a background in coaching and is a certified behavioral profiler. Anna Falkowska. Hello, Anna.

Anna Falkowska: Hello, it’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you for the invitation.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: I’m very glad you could join us. I’m happy for many reasons. First of all, I love employee development and want to learn as much as I can about it myself. Our audience is also interested in employee development. I have a question for you: have you ever heard the phrase, "But our organization is unique"?

Anna Falkowska: Ewa, I hear it all the time.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: You hear it all the time?

Anna Falkowska: I hear it all the time, yes.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: I hear it constantly as a trainer too—"but our organization is unique"—and I understand it. Why do we say that? Because, first, we think we’re special—and in a way, of course, we are—but on the other hand, thinking about our audience, they would like to know who you work with every day so they can make even better use of your insights. So, here is my next question: briefly introduce our audience to what you do, what your organization's structure is, and who you are developing.

Anna Falkowska: Sure. Würth Polska is part of a global group operating worldwide. We provide products for professionals. Since we are a trading company, most of our employees are sales teams distributed across Poland. That’s 600 people. Over 200 people also work in sales support areas, such as the warehouse, logistics, marketing, HR, finance, and accounting. So, we really have a lot of people to look after.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: There are a lot of them, and they are distributed, right? And as we started with that "our company is unique" idea, that probably affects how you need to prepare and think through your programs. I’m very curious if you had a foundational concept? Is there a core model in your company that you relied on to address the fact that you have employees in the field and some on-site, that there are quite a lot of them, and—importantly—they are salespeople, meaning people for whom "every minute counts"? Right? So that’s another challenge. Is there a guiding principle or a specific model you based your work on?

Anna Falkowska: Yes, we use the 70-20-10 model, which is based on three pillars: practice, feedback, and training. To elaborate, employees gain 70% of their knowledge through daily work—that is, the day-to-day challenges, responsibilities, and tasks assigned by their managers.

20% of knowledge comes from feedback, both from managers and colleagues. A key feature of our organization is what we call "joint rides," which are regular meetings where managers accompany sales representatives in the field.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: And that is the second pillar, the 20%?

Anna Falkowska: Yes, because it’s a collaborative effort. The manager and the sales rep go to see a client together, and the conversation happens naturally in a real-world environment with a real client. This allows for direct observation of the customer service and sales process. Afterward, both the rep and the manager can discuss strengths and areas for improvement, making it a vital part of our organization.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: And the third one is?

Anna Falkowska: The third is 10%, which is training. This includes both traditional training and modern learning methods.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: I’d like to dive deeper into each of these pieces. On one hand, it’s truly fascinating because people really do learn through experience. By placing such a strong emphasis on experience—that 70%—we guarantee that people learn exactly what they need most. I also like the element you mentioned; while every part is important, it ties in beautifully with the 10% training, because having that knowledge makes it easier to learn from experience. Have you noticed that after a training cycle, your sales reps pick up on more things in the field?

Anna Falkowska: This relates to competence development in general, as "competence" is such a buzzword. But what does it really mean? I always explain this in training sessions, for example, when speaking to sales reps: "What do you understand by this term?" Competence is knowledge—knowing "what." It’s skills—knowing "how." And it’s attitude—the willingness to implement it. I know mistakes can happen, as they always do, but having the mindset of "I want to try" is key. Experience is built in the field through practice. I can have all the competence and knowledge in the world, but if I don't put it into practice or test it, that knowledge becomes dead. It only truly comes to life in the field.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: Tell me, do you promote this learning-by-doing approach in any specific way? Do you support the sales reps or ask them additional questions? Experience is amazing, but it’s crucial to ensure it sticks and that the person actually reflects on what they’ve experienced. Does that happen?

Anna Falkowska: That’s exactly what those "joint rides" are for—the regular work between a manager and their sales rep or the entire team. It allows us to capture what’s happening in real-time, because when people come to training, they are in a different environment. It’s not their natural workspace, so training is just training, right?

It’s very important for delivering new knowledge, getting people on the right track, or refreshing existing skills. However, the real consolidation of practice happens in the field. For us, that 70% also involves self-study; it’s not just about us providing the knowledge. People really have to put in the work themselves to grow and to have the drive, because that is probably the most important thing.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: You know, what you're saying reminds me of when I lived in the UK for a few years. I knew people who had lived there for a very long time and were still making basic mistakes. They lacked the two elements you're talking about: the collision of how they speak with someone who can correct them—let's call it the manager in our context—who could say, "Listen, I know you're doing well, but if you just swapped this tense for another, it would be even better." Often, these people couldn't catch their own mistakes because they lacked that training, that hard foundation, like knowing that if I want to ask a question, I should place the auxiliary verb before the subject, and so on.

And for me, from a brain-science perspective, it all fits together beautifully—it all takes shape. We have experience, we have conversations, and we have training. We know a bit about experience now—salespeople go out, verify things, and then have a chance to meet with their managers. But tell me, how do they learn from each other? Do salespeople learn from one another? Is that an element here too?

Anna Falkowska: Are you talking about networking?

Dr. Ewa Hartman: For example.

Anna Falkowska: They exchange knowledge among themselves. They call each other, even outside of their own teams. Networking actually forms quite naturally for us. For instance, salespeople who come to onboarding training are mixed across different divisions. Let me explain what these divisions look like. Divisions are sales departments, such as the Auto Division—where we target products at car workshops, for example. The Metal Division—for manufacturing companies. The Construction Division—for construction sites. Even though they are from different industries and different parts of Poland, people meet during onboarding training, and later they set up WhatsApp groups and exchange information. Sometimes, when I'm driving with a salesperson, I hear someone call: "Wait, Ania is in the car with me." So they really do call each other and exchange tips, and of course, they do the same within their own teams because they work together and are a single unit.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: It’s also very interesting that—and maybe this is a stereotypical view—I had this conviction that salespeople want to keep their skills and knowledge to themselves. But you’re saying they share it willingly. That’s amazing. Does it come to mind how this was initiated, or what made salespeople—who, as I said, probably due to my stereotypical thinking, usually play for their own team—think, "I have a great technique, I won't sell it to my colleagues"? How did it happen that they talk to each other?

Anna Falkowska: It varies, Ewa. Sometimes they do play for themselves and want to keep that know-how, but there are also those who are happy to share and ask questions. I operate on the assumption that we can ask people how they do things, but you also have to show them that you appreciate them. So, if you want to learn something from someone, appreciate that person, and they will be more willing to tell you something. I think the nature of the area they work in also determines that they ask each other and exchange knowledge, because, for example, someone manages to sell something, or someone has developed e-commerce for their clients really well, and others ask: "Listen, how did you manage that? What did you do?"

Sometimes it’s like revealed magic, but it turns out to be very simple tasks, and someone might say, "Oh, I just did this and that." And the other person says, "Oh, just that? Okay, I'll do that too." And that’s exactly what happens here. It’s also important to encourage people to do this. We talk to managers so that during their meetings—whether they call each other often or have online meetings, since we are a distributed team—they also share tips, tricks, or ideas on how things can be done. If someone succeeded at something, they should share how they did it, so I think it happens very naturally, actually.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: On one hand, it’s natural, but on the other, you said something very important. If you ask someone for help, if you ask them to share knowledge or information—show appreciation. Appreciate that this information and knowledge came back to you. Look, we often talk about appreciation, but you can never say too much, right? That appreciation will return to us in every area—we can learn from each other thanks to it. And since we are continuing to learn, what about training? Online, in-person? How do you organize it?

Anna Falkowska: We mix it up because we introduce variety, and there are different teaching methods, so we won't achieve what we can with a whole spectrum, a whole range of activities, by using just one standard method. How does it look? When it comes to training, we have traditional forms of learning, i.e., in-person training. However, I am perfectly aware that development is a process. It’s not enough to invite people for two days of training, give them knowledge, and then expect them to know everything.

It doesn't work like that because development and learning are a process. It has to take time, it has to fall into place slowly, step by step. So, between these meetings, between these training sessions—if it's a development cycle and they come to one place periodically, or even if it's a one-off training—there must be some follow-up, there must be something more.

And here we use these modern forms of learning, such as micro-learning. I mean various types of e-learning and courses, but also podcasts that are widely available. It also includes articles and books, whether in traditional form or as audiobooks, depending on what someone prefers, because there are different types.

So, that knowledge is in there somewhere. I also believe that even if you listen to a course or a podcast and not everything clicks, if even a fragment resonates, you might think, "Okay, this is starting to make sense now, something new is falling into place." When we collect these little things, it suddenly turns out that we think, "I get it, I'm starting to apply this." We move from something unconscious to something conscious, and we start using it intentionally. That’s the beauty of it, but it is a process.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: Exactly. And it brings me back to our conversation just before we started recording, where we were sharing our experiences as moms regarding what’s happening in schools. So often, schools expect students to just know the answers rather than ask questions. They are expected to know, and later, as adults who have spent years being told to know rather than ask, they forget that learning is a process. You are trying to undo that, to show them that you don't have to be an expert right away.

It’s important to ask, to share, and to gather small pieces of knowledge—get a bit here, reach for a bit there, and keep building. I want our audience to really take this to heart: knowledge is a process, and you can't solve everything with a one-off meeting. Of course, one-off meetings are great and have their own value, but it’s worth building on them, finding inspiration, and going deeper. For example, sales reps—they probably listen while they're in the car, right?

Anna Falkowska: They do. You know, they travel from client to client, so sometimes the distances are short and they can listen to one lesson, but sometimes they have a longer drive and can get through a whole course. But imagine this: people tell me they listen to podcasts or courses while they’re working out, so, after work. It’s not just about doing it during work hours. Because we provide 24/7 access, we’ve told our employees, "This is for you—use it whenever you want, as much as you want."

Dr. Ewa Hartman: From the platform, microlearning, podcasts…

Anna Falkowska: Yes, we use the Multi.Life development platform, which has a huge variety of development areas. Employees call me or tell me, "I’m working out and listening to this," or "I’m listening on my way home." It’s not just for those who travel; our office staff use it too. Some live nearby, while others have a 40-minute commute. They say, "I do one podcast or one course on the way to work, and one on the way back." People use it everywhere—even while cleaning. A manager even called me while heading on vacation and said, "Ania, remind me of my login, I’m going on holiday and want to listen to some things."

Dr. Ewa Hartman: But I have to say, it’s truly fascinating that you’ve built a culture where people reach for these resources on their own. Of course, they have the opportunity because you’ve provided access to various tools 24/7, so they can use them whenever they want—if they’re busy at work and want to dive into something after hours, they can. I think that’s a brilliant solution. But the fact that they *want* to—you know, it reminds me of the 70-20-10 model. When I hear that my field work gives me experience, I can verify it with my manager, get feedback, and share it with my colleagues... And female colleagues! See, my stereotype kicked in again, assuming sales reps are all men, but that’s not true, is it? There are women too?

Anna Falkowska: There are women, yes, of course.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: And we’ll talk about that in a moment. I’ll ask you in a bit if there’s a difference or if it’s the same. But you know, when you approach it holistically—if I can share something with my colleagues and they appreciate it—I’m even more eager to reach for something new and deepen my knowledge. After all, we like to feel useful and valued.

Anna Falkowska: You know, we’ve even noticed that our employees aren’t just interested in strictly business areas like sales, customer service, or negotiations. They are also very eager to take courses that touch on their personal lives.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: So, what is it exactly?

AnnaFalkowska: What is it? Well, for example… Do you know what the most popular course is overall, and what people ask about most often?

Dr EwaHartman: Based on my experience as a trainer, I’d say it’s personality types. That would be my guess.

AnnaFalkowska: That too – but also assertiveness.

Dr EwaHartman: OK, fair enough.

AnnaFalkowska: People really notice that they could improve their assertiveness, or that something could change. Sometimes, perhaps a lack of self-confidence makes them think they aren't assertive when they actually are. Still, it’s a very interesting course—how to be assertive in today’s world—and people are eager to sign up for it. But speaking of the fact that it’s not just strictly business areas like sales, people are keen to reach for something that helps them grow. They might hear about assertiveness, and that might lead them to think about how to build more self-confidence.

And later, that might lead to things like time management or stress management. You know, you finish one course, find it interesting, and then move on to the next—that’s how you build that awareness and start the process. Sometimes you just need to inspire someone, give them a starting point, a little nudge to "give it a try," and then people start to gain more self-confidence and self-awareness. And once they start gaining more self-awareness, they know exactly what they need to reach for next.

They start choosing things that actually interest them. That’s why development isn't always a "one size fits all" approach. Of course, we do run those kinds of trainings, for example, when we’re developing people for specific roles. But these soft skills, the more developmental topics, are individual because "different strokes for different folks."

Dr EwaHartman: Right?

AnnaFalkowska: Exactly.

Dr EwaHartman: And what do women choose?

Anna Falkowska: Women often reach for assertiveness, they also reach for female leadership, for example—that’s what interests them. So those are some of the areas, but women also often reach for things that are developmental for them, but also, for instance, things that are useful at home, like topics related to children or nutrition, so things that are more universal for them.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: We’ve spent quite a bit of time on this culture of learning, and it resonates beautifully here, but I assume there are some difficulties as well. And that there was something at some point where you heard or thought: "Maybe this isn't the right direction." Would you share some of the challenges?  

Anna Falkowska: Challenges exist, and actually, that’s a good thing because we can learn from them and observe. It’s not like we just sit around and invent things; we listen to people to see what they need. A big challenge is matching, for example, training to the target group—and vice versa—because these topics sometimes emerge from business needs. For instance, we think about the target group—and we had this approach with one sales project where we decided we would train managers on a topic, and they would then cascade it down, meaning our expectation was that they would pass it on in the field. However, it turned out after the training that this wouldn't happen, that it wasn't the right direction, because several areas indicated it wouldn't go the way we wanted. So, we took it on the chin and said, "Okay, we're changing the target group," and we targeted the entire training at our sales representatives because they are on the front line of contact with our customers. And that was the turning point; when we later started measuring the impact of the training on business results, it turned out that after six months, the selected group of sales reps who were trained showed very high year-over-year growth.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: Okay, and does any other challenge come to mind? Or situations where you had to make a slight pivot or a slight change in direction?

Anna Falkowska: Implementing development programs and training platforms is definitely a challenge in itself. Why? Because you can implement them, but if you don't have a plan for what to do next, how to look after them, how to manage them, who to address, and when to address them, these benefits become "dead" benefits. They don't really live within the organization. People say, "Oh yeah, we have that, but I don't use it." That’s pointless, right?

So, when approaching this at all, what we did was think very carefully about how we want to use the training platform, who we want to target, and how we want to target them. And we do it in a very logical way, not just by saying, "Let's go, let's send a course to everyone!" No, everything has to be strongly connected. For example, right now, my colleague, our HR person, is conducting first aid training for employees—there are different groups. He does it brilliantly, really. But what next? Yes, you can do first aid training, but for me, the automatic next step is: "Okay, now we send a thank-you email for attending, along with a course where you can refresh and deepen that knowledge," so people can return to it at any time. But they know where to return to it, so they don't find out later that such a course even existed. You know, there are a lot of courses, so people might not even come across them. That’s why we provide ideas on where they can find things.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: So, in fact, you remind them where, what, and how to use it. Exactly, so just providing it isn't enough, right? You still have to show how to use the help. I also assume that for sales reps, who value their time—because it's obvious their time is "measured in minutes," so to speak—they probably demand even more, right? Very clear messages and simplified access paths: "Simplify it for me, simplify it, show me, click-click—and I'm there." That’s my assumption—I don't know what your experience is.

Anna Falkowska: Yes, regarding the time of sales reps, if a sales rep isn't in the field—for example, if they are in training—they aren't earning, right? That’s how it is in sales companies. So, we try to pull our employees away from their daily duties as little as possible, but we know that in-person training is also important. So, we try to keep that to a minimum. However, where we want to redirect all that attention and also save time—because that’s an optimization of both costs and time—is in those microlearning areas. Meaning, to refresh someone's knowledge or for them to learn something, look, we don't have to pull them away from their daily work because they can do it while traveling, for example.

They refresh their knowledge gradually, and they have it available whenever they want. Yes, they have access whether on a tablet or a phone; they turn it on, they can do it later, they can watch it with video—so whatever they prefer. It’s about matching different needs. One person is an auditory learner, another is a visual learner, so it’s a really broad reach and a way to utilize all of that.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: Ania, I’d like to capture the main thought, or main thoughts, from our conversation—if I get anything wrong, please correct me, okay? So, we have a large group of people who are dispersed, whose time is valuable, and your approach, at the highest level, is 70-20-10. Meaning we learn primarily through experience, that’s 70%, we learn through feedback, e.g., with a direct supervisor and among ourselves, and we learn during training, where we get a certain foundation that we can later deepen. And generally, the process is key—we give something, but then we implement it calmly, share it, we can exchange thoughts, and thanks to that, curiosity is built in people.

And that is truly, for me, the quintessence of learning—build curiosity, show that learning happens in different ways, and then you can go further and further and actually design programs. I’d like to start wrapping up our conversation, but I have one more question for you, which I ask various guests at the end of our talk.

Imagine you are a judge in the "Company That Supports" competition, and your task is, among other things, to set the criteria that will appear later because you will be awarding the "Company That Supports" statuette. From your point of view, as someone who deals with development in a company, what would an organization have to do to be awarded the title of "Company That Supports"?

Anna Falkowska: That’s a good question. I think an important criterion is how a company approaches development. Is it only about development when someone gets a promotion, or is it about role-based development? There’s a huge difference there. Do we only invest in those we promote, or do we invest in those who are with us every day and help them grow in their current roles? I think that would be one criterion.

The second criterion is accessibility. Does the company just want to be a learning organization in theory, or does it provide actual, real, tangible opportunities and tools? For example, does it organize training or provide various forms of learning? Does it promote these things, or do they just exist in the background for people to use if they want? Is there a strategy that says, "You can do it this way or that way, and you can use these resources"?

What other criteria could there be? I think a very pragmatic one, as is common in business, is whether there is clarity—a very clear, distinct process. This ranges from career paths to how the competencies needed within a given organization—or even future-proof skills—are developed, and finally, whether it’s even measured—whether training is actually tracked.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: OK, great. I’m so glad we could talk about this. It’s incredibly inspiring and uplifting to hear you talk about learning simply as development and as a process. It’s something we need to reinstall in adults. Because, unfortunately, our education system is designed so that we are expected to know things rather than to learn. And then the time comes when we actually need to learn, so let’s do just that. Thank you so much for this conversation. I’m taking away the importance of "process, process, process." I hope we can talk again sometime.

Anna Falkowska: Likewise. Thank you very much.

Dr. Ewa Hartman: Thank you ve