Leaders Take Flight

A leadership development program restores employees' faith in their growing company.

The following story was told by Huy Tran, senior manager of organizational effectiveness and training at Asurion.

CLIENT

Asurion, a device insurance company

OPPORTUNITY

Asurion's high-potential employees indicated in employee surveys and roundtables that they were frustrated with the lack of professional development opportunities at the company-a frustration compounded by the fact that the company was experiencing significant growth in its core businesses and needed additional leadership.

DIAGNOSIS

The HR and training departments worked together with operations managers to create a leadership development program for high-potential employees. The program, called FLIGHT (Frontline Investment in Growing High-Potential Talent), guides participants through six-month on-the-job training rotations, during which they learn about different areas of the business and build the skills needed to take on supervisory roles.

METHODS

Through employee engagement data, business leaders at Asurion, in partnership with HR and the organizational development team, identified leadership development opportunities for frontline employees. These opportunities allow participants to develop the critical skills and capabilities needed for future leaders, which ensures that FLIGHT has maximum impact on individual participants as well as the business as a whole.

The program launch included rotational opportunities to provide a holistic understanding of supply chain operations, visibility for participants among key leaders in the form of mentoring and coaching opportunities, and a mix of classroom and on-the-job training. During the on-the-job training component, participants shadow trained supervisors and receive real-time coaching and feedback as they apply key leadership skills on the job.

RESULTS

Since the program's launch in 2009, 71 percent of FLIGHT graduates have received promotions. Participants' leadership skills improved from an average rating of 1.68 to 3.16 on a four-point scale. FLIGHT also has contributed to a 23-point increase in the supply chain operations' engagement scores.

Departments also benefited from the continuous improvement projects embarked upon by FLIGHT participants. Such results include

* improved average handle time by 11 seconds

* yearly savings of $6,300 from a project initiated by a FLIGHT participant

* the creation of metrics for the materials department's presort function

* a quality score increase from 4.33 to 4.53 in four weeks.

Finally, after the implementation of FLIGHT, employees began rating professional development as one of Asurion's top three strengths on employee engagement surveys.

LESSONS LEARNED

Creating professional development opportunities for employees gave Asurion employer-of-choice loyalty, and building key skills and capabilities for future leaders proved to be critical for Asurion to reach its full potential.