• …enabling excellence

    UPGRADE delivers tailor-made consulting
    and training concepts, with a focus on leadership and sales

    Contact Us

…enabling excellence

UPGRADE delivers tailor-made consulting and training concepts, with a focus on leadership and sales

Training Needs
Analysis

Successful and accurate training and change initiatives require accurate analyzes of prerequisites and learning potential. Depending on the question and the environment, different analysis methods are required

Learning Process
Design

Positive changes in organizations require appropriate knowledge, necessary skills and appropriate attitudes and skills. Developing these can be achieved with the right learning process design

Training & Coaching

Learning in organizations is often not as effective, efficient and sustainable as desired. The good news is: It usually gets much better. However, some essential requirements must be met for this to happen

A healthy organization is made up of people who understand and support the company’s vision who fulfill the company’s mission who approach with the right inner attitude who translate their own skills into effective actions and thereby develop joy in doing things together

TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS

Successful and accurate training and change initiatives require accurate analyzes of prerequisites and learning potential. Depending on the question and the environment, different analysis methods are required

LEARNING PROCESS DESIGN

Positive changes in organizations require appropriate knowledge, necessary competencies and appropriate attitudes and competencies. Developing these can be achieved with the right learning process design

TRAINING & COACHING

Learning in organizations is often not as effective, efficient and sustainable as desired. The good news is: It usually gets much better. To do this, however, some essential requirements must be met

Trusted by Clients

Top international companies from many industries have been relying on UPGRADE for 12 years now: automotive, pharmaceuticals, IT, medical technology, biotech, banking, logistics, telecommunications, industry, media and many more.

What unites UPGRADE customers:

They expect professional training solutions that are truly tailored to their specific needs, their companies, their culture and their market. Targeted skills development, sustainable solutions, resource conservation and participatory learning processes are the driving principles behind UPGRADE programs.

5000 +

satisfied training participants

6.8 Mrd €

coached negotiation volume

1,200,000 +

Behavioral observations

What we do

UPGRADE develops tailor-made concepts that can be implemented in companies of different sizes and structures. At UPGRADE there are no generic solutions – all interventions are designed together with the customer and are therefore only carried out in this organization.

Depending on your needs, an UPGRADE intervention can range from a one-off stimulus to a longer-term or continuous, iterative process such as training academies or regular recertifications.

  • Learning process design

    Development of learning content and processes
    and multimedia required to improve performance.

Make performance possible

The aim of designing learning processes in companies is to achieve increased performance potential. Employees, regardless of their hierarchy level, should be motivated and able to use state-of-the-art content effectively. A crucial prerequisite for performance, inner attitude is always an integral part of UPGRADE processes.

The UPGRADE solutions:

UPGRADE designs effective learning processes from analysis to implementation. We support our customers from planning through internal communication, the presentation of content and methods to knowledge transfer and learning assessment.

This applies to different subject areas:

Technical knowledge – product knowledge – business administration – compliance – management knowledge – behavioral aspects such as sales skills and leadership – etc.

These processes are always designed together with our customers and based on their specific requirements and challenges. In-depth analyzes are carried out in advance, which provide a precise picture of the status quo of the organization and the actors, on the basis of which training measures can be recommended.

Sample integrated learning process over a financial year

  • Training needs analysis

    For maximum training success with efficient use of the training budget

A powerful measure for sales organizations

This versatile tool shows exactly whether employees have the necessary skills and inner attitudes for their role in the organization. The entire hierarchy of the sales organization can be recorded, from all sales employees to the key account manager and the team leader.

A positive effect of this process is that it leads to the targeted use of resources in training and further education and to greater efficiency of training programs. In a nutshell: A training needs analysis not only leads to better training results, but also saves time and money overall.

Development of a training needs analysis

How does this work?

  • The training needs analysis determines the extent to which required competencies exist in the team or still need to be developed.
  • Internal attitudes and other aspects of personal motivation are often part of the analysis.
  • Instead of generic templates, the process and analysis criteria are always developed together with selected internal managers on the customer side and tailored to the specific existing requirements and framework conditions.
  • The results allow the resource-saving development of accurate training measures. This means that time, money and nerve-wasting training based on the watering can principle is no longer necessary.
  • Timely and transparent accompanying internal communication is a key success factor in the training needs analysis. Openness regarding the goals and approach ensures the necessary acceptance among all those involved.

Communication – a building block of success

  • Communication plans aligned with ongoing activities and based on the strategy of interventions
  • Kick-off events to communicate the transformation program and the goals of the training needs analysis clearly and transparently
  • Accompanying communication processes that feed back progress and findings to all parts of the organization

Software-based Monitoring & Assessment

The evaluation platform “ WeObjectify ” developed by UPGRADE is a tailor-made Software as a Service (SAAS) that offers objective, systematic and comprehensible evaluation solutions for a variety of use cases – from recruiting to employee/annual reviews to development and assessment. UPGRADE customers have full control over their defined performance goals.

  • Training & Coaching

    Do you still train like you did in the 1950s?

  • Training & Coaching

    Do you still train like you did in the 1950s?

Training

Studies in recent years clearly show again and again how inadequate classic behavioral training often is: employees are repeatedly sent to live training courses in seminar centers for several days at great expense of resources, and six months later one is surprised that nothing has changed.

The training content is hardly transferred to the workplace and even less consistently applied. Although this “classic” approach has been practiced for many decades, it is highly inefficient and is now considered outdated in learning research.

The UPGRADE solution:

Conscientious survey of the current status before every development measure. This is done using analysis tools that involve both employees and managers.

  • Programs that are methodically based on the findings of current learning research and modern learning techniques. Built step by step as an interactive process.
  • Consideration of attitude, attitude and organizational culture as a basis for formative motivation and productive behavior by experienced experts for consulting, training and coaching.
  • Participants who are individually accompanied and supported in a tailor-made transformation process, especially in the all-important phase between and after the individual training or workshops.
  • Individually designed programs that always relate to the current and long-term strategic goals of the organization.

Examples of tailor-made solutions that we have developed together with our customers.

Inner attitude as a prerequisite for success

Change processes often fail not because of ability, but because of desire. This is partly because skills are often much easier to develop than a useful mindset. However, problem-solving skills in practice require both. The right inner attitude is a prerequisite for the successful and sustained use of the skills learned.

UPGRADE training programs always address the entire spectrum of human empowerment in companies. This includes knowledge, personal skills and a helpful attitude at the individual level as well as certain elements at the organizational level. Internal attitudes and the culture of the organization are mutually dependent.

UPGRADE refuses to manipulate people and does not use “psychotricks”. We work with adult, responsible people – together we consciously and voluntarily develop all the foundations that are necessary to achieve the defined goals.

In-depth analyzes enable a clear view of the status quo before training measures are recommended:

Sample programs:

LEADERSHIP, MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS ECONOMICS

Leadership journey

Effective management

Manager as coach

conflict management

Performance management

Marketing and media planning

Project management

finances and controlling

Understanding balance sheet and income statement

Budgeting and reporting

PERSONAL SKILLS

Self and time management

Self-motivation & internal state management

Life balance

Body language

Personal impact

Applied voice & speech control

SALES-RELATED SKILLS

Systematic sales process

Customer acquisition

Relationship management

Questioning techniques

Presentation techniques

Negotiation techniques

Closing techniques in sales

Cross & upselling

Effective speech patterns

Customer profiling

Key account management/planning

Buying center approach

Complex solution selling

Complaints as an opportunity

Selling for non-sellers

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

subito® – the immediate transformation

Meta-communication

Resilience

Mindfulness

team building

Train the trainer

Fundraising strategies

  • Leadership journey
  • Effective management
  • Manager as coach
  • conflict management
  • Performance management
  • Marketing and media planning
  • Project management
  • finances and controlling
  • Understanding the balance sheet and income statement
  • Budgeting and reporting
  • Self and time management
  • Self-motivation & internal state management
  • Life balance
  • Body language
  • Personal impact
  • Applied voice & speech control
  • Systematic sales process
  • Customer acquisition
  • Relationship management
  • Questioning techniques
  • Presentation techniques
  • Negotiation techniques
  • Closing techniques in sales
  • Cross & upselling
  • Effective speech patterns
  • Customer profiling
  • Key account management/planning
  • Buying center approach
  • Complex solution selling
  • Complaints as an opportunity
  • Selling for non-sellers
  • subito® – the immediate transformation
  • Meta-communication
  • Resilience
  • Mindfulness
  • team building
  • Train the trainer
  • Fundraising strategies

Hybrid TRAINING is 7 times more effective!

Hybrid training refers to the conscious use of a variety of forms of interaction:

  • Live training in the seminar room
  • Online survey
  • Coaching calls
  • Online training
  • Live on-the-job training
  • On-the-job training remotely
  • and much more

Online training courses are carried out in a highly interactive manner using the special UPGRADE methodology and guarantee a participant experience that is almost like being in a seminar room.

Digital learning

People are now learning a lot about digital media. In social media you can find instructions, explanatory videos, experience reports, etc. for almost every area. All of this is used intensively. However, classic e-learning in a corporate environment, often arranged “top-down”, is usually far less successful.

If digital learning is to be used, it must be interesting for the individual user, generate added value and be easy to access. UPGRADE uses digital learning in a targeted manner and as an integral part of its tailored development programs.

Entertaining video learning impulses provide support before training and during programs for repetition and deepening. The UPGRADE learning platform offers uncomplicated and mobile access.

Coaching

When it comes to the individual optimization of knowledge and insights after consulting or training measures, coaching is the method of choice! It supports the important step from experiential learning to practical implementation.

Whether online, by telephone, in person, in a group or at the workplace – coaching can ensure that the content of development programs is implemented in a practical, effective and sustainable manner.

UPGRADE coaching includes

  • PERSONAL COACHING

  • TEAM-COACHING

  • MANAGEMENT-COACHING

  • ONLINE-COACHING

  • COACHING ON-THE-JOB

  • Performance development, objectified!

    Discover UPGRADE’s powerful, tailored evaluation platform

A tool to work smarter, not harder

UPGRADE has developed its own evaluation platform for determining training needs. WeObjectify does exactly that – objectify complex behaviors and skills, make them observable and assessable.

WeObjectify is a customizable, versatile and powerful evaluation platform that gives the company full control over the development needs of employees, the monitoring of development progress and the implemented feedback processes

Possible further fields of application:

  • 360° feedback
  • Make annual discussions comprehensible
  • Coaching on the Job Visits with trainers or managers
  • Customer feedbacks
  • Mystery visits
  • Objectify investment decisions
  • And much more
  • Objectify supplier choice
  • Comprehensible and documented comparison of providers in tenders

Full control over the design of the competency assessment

UPGRADE works with those responsible on the customer side to develop individual, valid and meaningful assessment criteria that are aimed precisely at the required areas of employee development. This can include know-how as well as behavior and inner attitudes.

Analysis, observation and monitoring of competencies

WeObjectify is not just a testing and evaluation tool. It is also designed in such a way that the crucial development potential is identified. As a result, a training program for any target group can be accurately developed and monitored – this makes effective and efficient further development of employees easy.

Built-in booking system

Training needs analysis usually includes various activities that need to be planned, coordinated and monitored. This is done by the booking function of the WeObjectify platform.

Micro-Assessment

Microlearning has been trending for some time now. The WeObjectify platform enables continuous competency monitoring throughout the entire course of a development program.

UPGRADE managed to quickly understand our business and provided a customized concept for our B2B trainings which were successfully rolled-out nationwide. If you are looking for a consulting company that aims for YOUR success, then UPGRADE is for you

Fundraising is more than just asking for help. It is the art of nurturing a reciprocal partnership between sponsors and clients. UPGRADE’s fundraising training provides our students with unique communication and fundraising skills that work for their projects all around the world. The learning outcome of these trainings is a ‘must have’ for everybody.

Paul Khalil, CEO of UPGRADE is a very open-minded and friendly person always willing to listen and trying to understand his customers before jumping to any conclusions. He has a very flexible approach to training, allowing the combination of his own expertise with the needs and perspectives of the trained party. Because of his personal background and interests he has a lot of intercultural intelligence, competence and sensitivity which constitutes an important advantage for international training projects.
I am very happy to recommend Paul and his services to all potential business partners.
Top Qualities: Great Results, Personable, High Integrity

The UPGRADE team & think tank consist of consultants, facilitators and scientific experts

Corporate functions

Paul

Paul

Founder, Managing Partner
Simone

Simone

CEO Assistant, Art Consultant

Independent Sales partners & consultants

Alexander

Alexander

Facilitator & Consultant
Roman

Roman

Facilitator, Consultant, Coach & Producer
Amin

Amin

Facilitator & Consultant
Susana

Susana

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Bernhard

Bernhard

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Tim

Tim

Facilitator & Consultant
Hans-Christian

Hans-Christian

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Tom

Tom

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Peter

Peter

UPGRADE-Partner
Alexander

Alexander

Facilitator & Consultant
Bernhard

Bernhard

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Peter

Peter

UPGRADE-Partner
Susana

Susana

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Tom

Tom

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Amin

Amin

Facilitator & Consultant
Hans-Christian

Hans-Christian

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Roman

Roman

Facilitator, Consultant, Coach & Producer
Tim

Tim

Facilitator & Consultant

UPGRADE network partners

Amirali

Amirali

IT Product Manager
Catarina

Catarina

Facilitator & Consultant
Heinz

Heinz

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Murat

Murat

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Thomas

Thomas

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Andreas

Andreas

Facilitator & Coach
Christoph

Christoph

Facilitator & Consultant
Marina

Marina

Facilitator
Noelie

Noelie

Facilitator
Tibor

Tibor

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Andy

Andy

Facilitator & Consultant
Eva

Eva

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Martin

Martin

Facilitator & Consultant
Pia

Pia

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Tina

Tina

Facilitator & Consultant
Andrew

Andrew

Facilitator & Consultant
Florian

Florian

Facilitator & Consultant
Melinda

Melinda

Facilitator & Consultant
Raimund

Raimund

Facilitator & Consultant
Barbara

Barbara

Facilitator & Consultant
Guillaume

Guillaume

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Mischa

Mischa

Facilitator & Consultant
Roman

Roman

Facilitator & Consultant
Amirali

Amirali

IT Product Manager
Andy

Andy

Facilitator & Consultant
Barbara

Barbara

Facilitator & Consultant
Christoph

Christoph

Facilitator & Consultant
Florian

Florian

Facilitator & Consultant
Heinz

Heinz

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Andreas

Andreas

Facilitator & Coach
Andrew

Andrew

Facilitator & Consultant
Catarina

Catarina

Facilitator & Consultant
Eva

Eva

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Guillaume

Guillaume

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Marina

Marina

Facilitator
Martin

Martin

Facilitator & Consultant
Mischa

Mischa

Facilitator & Consultant
Noelie

Noelie

Facilitator
Raimund

Raimund

Facilitator & Consultant
Thomas

Thomas

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Tina

Tina

Facilitator & Consultant
Melinda

Melinda

Facilitator & Consultant
Murat

Murat

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Pia

Pia

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach
Roman

Roman

Facilitator & Consultant
Tibor

Tibor

Facilitator, Consultant & Coach

Scientific advisors

Heimo Adelsberger

Heimo Adelsberger

Hugh Briggs

Hugh Briggs

Alexandre (Rico) de Faria

Alexandre (Rico) de Faria

Michael Hauser

Michael Hauser

Where we work

Time for an UPGRADE? Let’s talk about corporate culture, skill development and the design of learning processes!

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