Like it or not, members of the National Association of Electrical Distributors have a problem with recruitment and retention of great employees. That’s the bad news. The good news is we are not alone, and there are some solutions.
“We need to establish the employee experience and the customer experience. People tend to not quit their jobs, but quit their boss. It comes down to relationships and communication,” Kelly Jones, Director of Learning and Program Content for NAED, told a crowd at the Eastern Regional Conference in Tampa, Florida.
Because of a talent shortage and upcoming retirements, the workforce is turning over. That’s why NAED is about to launch its first-ever Leadership Development Program, a year-long program designed to improve and develop the leadership skills needed to be successful in our industry. The Leadership Development Program will be a mixture of coaching, live and virtual training, case studies, and a unique competency framework.
NAED partnered with Dale Carnegie to create the program, which is not a cookie-cutter project that is expected to work in any industry. The extensive background work by Dale Carnegie allowed them to team with NAED to create a Leadership Development Program that is specifically designed for members of NAED and the leadership challenges we all face.
“It has a unique competency model and real case scenarios based on electrical distribution.,” Jones explained. “All of the courses are custom designed for NAED. Those things can’t be picked up in any other program.”
An important misconception about the program is that it is only for young or future leaders. The program is for people of any age who are open to change and willing to grow for the future. But, if you want to be involved in the program, you have to act soon. “We have 15 as our minimum number of participants, with 24 as our max, and we have 12 right now,” Jones announced. The deadline is coming up in January, and the first 12-month course will begin soon after. Jones also pointed out that if your company has at least 15 people who should be in the Leadership Development Program, NAED will come to you for the program, and it can start at any time in the next year.
The program will take between 60-80 hours to complete in the next year, which is similar to providing training for 7-10 days in the next year. “Sometimes participants will get together in person, and sometimes they will work on their own. But they get 1 to 1 coaching sessions to track their progress throughout the year,” Jones said. “If you put someone in the Leadership Development Program, they can compare their pre-assessment results with their post-assessment results, and they can share those results with senior management.”
NAED’s Member Engagement Team can help you identify potential participants, and help you register future leaders for the program. You will need to register your future leaders within the next 60 days to participate.