We are taking service to a new level

The Union of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine, as one of the winners of the competition of the Academy for the Development of Business Associations of the National SME Platform, continues to actively participate in the project.
On October 16-18, the second module of the training program entitled “Leadership, Services and Membership” was held in Vinnytsia. The program brought together representatives of business associations from different regions of Ukraine who seek to develop leadership, communication and service skills to increase the efficiency of their activities.
The training began with a study visit to the industrial parks of Vinnytsia, where participants had the opportunity to meet leading representatives of the city’s business community, visit modern industrial facilities, innovative companies and institutions that shape the economic and technological future of the region. The visit program became a kind of immersion in the business ecosystem of Vinnytsia – an example of how effective interaction between authorities, entrepreneurs, educational institutions and the community creates conditions for sustainable development.

For three days, together with extraordinary trainers, we immersed ourselves in the world of leadership, developed skills in managing customer impressions, creating value for business association participants and building a service culture, learned the art of presenting an idea and reaching new heights.
During the training, Andriy Rozhdestvensky, executive director of the UCU Leadership Center, which works in partnership with a similar Leadership Institute named after Jan Ignatovych Ivey Business School (Canada), encouraged us to understand the 3C model of leadership and its components: Competencies (financial, strategic, human and organizational), Character (which includes 11 Virtues) and Commitment (which consists of Aspiration, Involvement and Sacrifice). Reflections on the practical application of certain leadership elements guided the participants to generate ideas, and the trainer’s ability to explain the most complex things in understandable language, supported by excellent visualization, became a “springboard” for the audience to delve deeper into the topic.

How to sell your idea? And what is needed to turn it into a successful investment project? The answers to these questions were sought at the master class “Pitch Deck and Pitching for Promoting Your Own Projects”, which was held by Dmitry Sofina, director of LLC “Operational Sociology”.
The event became a real instruction for those who dream of financial support and development of their startup. Dmitry Sofina shared his secrets on how to “package” a business idea in a convincing and understandable format for investors.

The key point of the training was the creation of a Pitch Deck — the very presentation that can be decisive for the fate of the project. Dmytro showed how not to overload it with unnecessary information, but to focus on the most important thing: the problem that the project solves, the solution, the market and competitive advantages.
Special attention was paid to pitching skills In the modern world, where a human approach, sincerity and care are becoming increasingly important, the art of service is becoming one of the main factors in the success of any organization. This was precisely what was discussed during the busy second training day with Anastasia Vladychynska — a leading consultant in customer and collaboration experience, a well-known expert in the field of service culture, author of training programs and a trainer who has been helping businesses and government agencies develop a culture of humanity in their work for over ten years.

During the day, participants immersed themselves in three key blocks of the program, dedicated to how to create positive impressions, create real value for participants, and build an organization’s service model that works for trust and development. The first block was dedicated to understanding the nature of human impressions. Anastasia Vladychynska emphasized: how people perceive an organization, its communication, or an event is formed not only by what we do, but first of all, how we do it. Participants learned how important it is to build the first moments of contact with a person — from the invitation to the event to the greeting, the atmosphere in the hall, or the manner of communication of the staff. There were many examples from real experience — how small details can create a “wow” effect or, conversely, destroy a positive impression. “Service is not a service. It is an emotion that a person feels when interacting with you,” the trainer emphasized.

In the second part of the event, participants explored the question: what does it really mean to create value? Anastasia said that true value for a person is not the amount of information or the scale of the event, but the feeling of attention, involvement and significance. Together, they considered practical cases: how to make participation in an event comfortable, how to work with the audience’s expectations, how to identify the hidden needs of participants and exceed them.
There was a lot of interactivity, examples, dialogues and discussions. Participants determined what values ​​their organization carries and how they are reflected in daily work. Learning with Anastasia Vladychynska was not just a training, but a strong motivational experience. A visit to the Vinnytsia Tourism Office gave an understanding of the importance of high-quality client experience in the development of tourism and business initiatives. Today, tourism for Vinnytsia is not just an industry, but a strategic direction of urban development that unites culture, economy, business, education and community. The tourism office coordinates this process, working as a modern municipal structure that combines the functions of analytics, marketing, promotion and communication. The goal of the activity is to create a holistic tourist experience: from the first acquaintance with the city brand to the comfortable stay of guests on site.

The tourism office is actively developing the brand of Vinnytsia as a modern, comfortable and inspired city. The visual style, the slogan “Vinnytsia is a city of ideas” and a systematic marketing strategy help create a recognizable image of the city as a space of opportunities. The office team works to ensure that every tourist visiting Vinnytsia feels not only hospitality, but also the energy of development, creativity and goodwill. A visit to the Crystal Innovation and Technology Park, a space that has become the heart of creative ideas and technological development of Vinnytsia, made a special impression. Educational initiatives, business startups, IT companies and research centers have united here. The next stage of the program was a visit to the KNESS Group company, one of the most powerful energy companies in Ukraine, specializing in renewable energy and engineering solutions. The company representatives spoke about the path of the brand’s formation, implemented projects in Ukraine and abroad, as well as the vision of the future of the energy sector. Participants saw how Ukrainian business can be high-tech, environmentally friendly, and competitive on a global scale.

A real discovery was the meeting with representatives of the Vinnytsia IT Association – a platform that unites the city’s IT companies and promotes it as a powerful regional technology center.
An important part of the program was getting acquainted with the activities of the Vinnytsia Business Club – an association of entrepreneurs who work together to develop their business, learn, share experience and support young companies. This form of interaction creates an environment of trust, where business becomes not only about profit, but also about partnership, community development and shared responsibility.
The event was concluded with a question-and-answer session, where everyone was able to get a detailed answer and consultation. The issues of supporting entrepreneurship, developing small and medium-sized businesses, as well as creating conditions for investment and attracting young specialists were discussed.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the Leadership, Services and Membership Program confirmed the relevance of the synergy of leadership, a service approach and partnership for the development of MSMEs. Participants received tools for strategic management, project management, and communication with association members. Vinnytsia became an example of a business-friendly city that combines innovation, transparency, and humanity in approaches to entrepreneurship development.

In the third training module, representatives of the NGO “Union of Rural Green Tourism” will have the opportunity to communicate and gain new knowledge and impressions within the framework of the Program “Strategy and Organizational Capacity” on October 23-25 ​​in Kyiv.
The project “Academy of Business Association Development: Strengthening the Organizational Capacity of Ukrainian Business Associations as Intermediaries between Micro, Small and Medium, and Large Businesses” is implemented by the National Platform of Small and Medium Businesses with the assistance of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Ukraine and financial support from the Government of Japan provided within the framework of the initiative “Transformational Recovery for the Security of People in Ukraine”.

Sincerely,
expert of the NGO “Union of Rural Green Tourism”
Valentyna KHOLODOK