The Towards Successful Seniority® programme is designed to be carried out intensively over 16 hours. The programme consists of 4 x 4-hour sessions with exercises on various issues. We advise trainers to spread the sessions over four separate mornings, so that participants can return to work in the afternoons. In special cases this programme can be executed in a more compact form, over no more than two days (2 x 8 hours). As such however, the programme will be considerably harder work than a programme of four half-days.

The way in which the exercises have been divided into different phases can be seen in the module map. The programme has been planned in such a way that all the exercises build on that which participants have learned in the previous exercises.

For the programme to be beneficial, it is important that it is executed as intensively as possible, within one or two weeks, which means it is easy to recall matters dealt with and to combine them into larger entities. Intensive implementation also promotes the solidity of the group.

Whole personnel

When the method is open to the whole personnel, it serves as a tool that pro- motes mental well-being and the development of expertise. The method can be implemented as, for example, part of early intervention in accordance with the well-being at work plan. The group method offers participants an opportunity to pause and look for new perspectives to their career, to take care of both their own and the work community’s well-being, and to expand personal support networks.

Special groups

The method can also be allocated to special groups according to age, change of work situation or organizational status (e.g. a group of superiors). Elements of promotion of physical fitness can be linked to the programme. The group method offers excellent opportunities to provide additional information regarding, for example, health and one’s own organization and its operations.

Individual participants

Occupational health services or superiors can invite or refer individual participants to the programme. It must, however, be noted that the method is not suitable for solving organizational conflicts, because when there is tension in the group, it may not be possible to achieve a confidential, open atmosphere. The method is also unsuitable for use as an individual therapeutic tool.

Role of supervisors

The supervisor’s support and consent to participation in the programme is important for recruiting and motivating participants, as well as for achieving the method’s goals. The participant and supervisor can, if they so wish, agree upon a meeting after the programme, in order to go through the participant’s goals and future action plans together.

At the end of the programme is a list of the issues dealt with, which is designed to help structure discussion with one’s supervisor. This list contains matters most workplaces deal with in their regular performance appraisals. Distributing the organization’s own performance appraisal form, so that participants can fill in the applicable parts, is another way to support their action plans. It is important that already during the group sessions, participants receive information and support that promote their personal action plans.

Peer groups

Group work is based on peer group realization. Others’ views and suggestions for action increase one’s readiness to act and are helpful for managing one’s own situation. When the group is sufficiently heterogeneous, it will produce different views and ideas. When forming groups, pay attention to group size. Starting a discussion and collecting opinions in small groups (under 10 participants) is more laborious and more trainer-dependent than doing so in larger groups. On the other hand, very large groups (over 15 participants) are also demanding for trainers, because it is not so easy to observe the group process.

Participants generally benefit from the trainer changing the composition of the groups during the programme. Trainers can sometimes place certain participants together if this is useful for group work or group atmosphere.

Online implementation

The Towards Successful Seniority group can also be organized online. Online meetings can be organized by using any software (e.g. Microsoft Teams) that allows audio and video communication between groups and the division of participants into virtual breakout rooms. The breakout rooms are used for discussions in pairs and small groups during group meetings. In addition, during the group, the trainers either share materials via screen sharing or a shared online platform (e.g. Howspace), from which the participants can see the materials previously saved by the trainer on the platform.

Trainers should practise online implementation carefully in advance. It is a good idea to try dividing the participants into breakout rooms and test other functions that are used during group meetings in advance. During the online implementation, you should focus on positive non-verbal communication using the camera and talk about your own actions and thoughts out loud, as silent moments in online implementation can be confusing.

During group meetings, both trainers and participants should keep their cameras on to increase interaction. Participants should be informed in advance, for example, in an email invitation, that cameras must be kept on during the group meeting to foster non-verbal interaction between the participants and thus improve the group’s performance. It is good practice to ask the participants to join the first group meeting about 15 minutes in advance to test the connection. This also allows the participants to check that their camera and microphone work properly. During individual tasks and breaks, the participants are asked to turn off their cameras and microphones, and once the joint activity resumes, they are reminded to turn the cameras back on.

The workbooks are mailed to the participants in advance by the trainers, as everyone may not have access to printers, and the group’s activities will suffer a setback if some of the participants forget to print them out on time. If the participants have access to computers with a PDF program, they can be directed to use the fillable PDF version of the workbook.

Remember to kick off the first meeting by instructing the participants on how to use the online platform (e.g. muting the microphone, sending chat messages). Also remember to include your phone number in the email invitation in case of any technical difficulties.

Writing things down – Flip chart replacement

The trainer can write things down during group meetings with their own computer while sharing their screen with the participants (e.g. taking notes in PowerPoint and sharing the screen on the video meeting platform). They can also take notes on a shared online platform (e.g. Howspace), where the written text is visible to all logged-in participants. The trainer can also share pre-written text or saved images in the same way.

Participants can also write down their own answers on a shared online platform or, for example, use the video meeting platform’s chat feature. Trainers should also practise these functions in advance and find the best approach for themselves before the first group meeting. You can also utilise different comment-liking features in the group.

In this manual, the term “in-person implementation” refers to the opposite of online or remote implementation, meaning group meetings where the participants meet physically or face-to-face in the same room. When trainers are asked to take discussion notes, we recommend using flip charts in in-person implementation.