Barques’ discovery sessions go international

A city which is most commonly associated with the prestige of the EU and NATO but is equally a place of exquisite art exhibitions, idiosyncratic bars and delicious food. 

So when given the opportunity, it was a no-brainer for Barques to bounce from Birmingham to Belgium to deliver our first international discovery session. 

Ten bags, one flight and 2,400 post-it notes later, we were making our way down cobblestone streets in search of the Saint Boniface restaurant and a cold pint of Maes, the perfect location for pre-session preparation. 

The Barques team loves to get into the nitty gritty of what makes our clients tick and there’s nothing like an interactive session to fully appreciate that. This one in particular was a delight to host and a great opportunity for us to engage with the client on a deeper level - more on that exciting project to follow…

As a team which thrives on working closely with people and supporting businesses to grow, we are thrilled at the success of these sessions and are eager to continue to develop our offering. From Birmingham to Brussels and beyond, who knows where our intrepid team will go next! 

‍

Progress in a post-it

Collaborative problem solving is a highly effective way of encouraging new ideas. 

Research has even proven this; one study published in January 2023 found collaborative problem solving significantly improved both critical thinking and attitudinal tendency in a sample of students. 

But it’s not rocket science really. Group discussions give room for different opinions, perspectives and ideas to be challenged, built upon or explored. 

It’s for these reasons that collaborative exercises form a central part of our sessions and vary depending on the business areas a client wishes to develop. 

For instance, a brand discovery session will encourage attendees to analyse and deliberate the components which make up their organisation’s identity, from personal stories and values to messaging and tone of voice. 

To maximise engagement and insight, the toolkit on offer to attendees is limited to post-its, pens and people. 

Points written down for each task are then explored further by Barques’ relationship director and discovery session lead, Anthony Bisseker, to draw out additional information which attendees may have missed in group discussions.

At the end of each session, the insight provided is collated and later transformed into a coherent report which reflects attendee conversations and crucially recommends actions to support improvement and growth. 

‍

Discovery sessions tailored to you

We ensure our discovery sessions go the extra mile, or 350 miles if our latest example is anything to go by, for our clients. 

Customised around the needs of the business, they are designed to get to the root cause of any challenges faced and create practical solutions to ensure that the business collectively moves towards a shared goal.

Tailored to each unique situation, our sessions can: 

• help to identify and resolve issues with internal culture. 
• unlock new audiences or strengthen audience loyalty. 
• establish or enhance a brand proposition. 
• inform a website build or refresh. 

The only things we ask for in return are full engagement and honesty throughout to enable us to deliver you a coherent report and recommendations. 

It’s as simple as that!