The Advanced Leadership Experience (ALE) at Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) is a director-level, competency-based program first piloted in 2011 to address the need to engage and retain critical leadership talent. Based on the outstanding pilot results, this program was rolled out to all directors across the enterprise and is now a development requirement for newly hired and promoted directors, in alignment with HCSC’s 2013 workforce readiness goal.
To minimize disruption of operations, ALE primarily employs virtual access, with limited face-to-face interactions. The program incorporates innovative approaches to support and embed learning and to allow flexibility. These approaches include:
- Online collaboration software used in networking and discussion
- Internal thought leaders who provide credibility and alignment
- Partnership to conduct workshops with a leadership development vendor having specialized knowledge and expertise in emotional intelligence and brain science
- Personalized development via a menu of coaching and assessment options
ALE moves through three distinct phases over the span of 11 weeks and allows for up to 60 concurrent participants. Each offering is supported by a Human Resources facilitator and internal thought leaders at the vice president level who align topics with the company’s corporate culture. To reinforce learning and encourage networking, leaders also participate in a Web-based virtual discussion board.
Phase 1: Collective Learning
During the collective learning phase, leaders cover two topics relevant to HCSC:
- Enabling a High-Performance Culture
- Building Your Leadership Reputation
An industry-leading vendor delivers the full-day workshops (one per topic offered in multiple locations), and internal thought leaders provide the HCSC perspective via Webinars. Live and virtual learning delivery is supplemented by videos and reading material.
Phase 2: Personalized Development
This second phase allows participants to select from three development options:
- The Hogan Lead assessment and one coaching session
- An emotional intelligence 360-degree assessment and two coaching sessions
- Four executive coaching sessions
Phase 3: Social Learning
Leaders who have completed ALE attend an internal networking event with senior thought leaders, providing further exposure to executive leaders. Additionally, networking opportunities (both live and virtual) are built into the first phase, Collective Learning.
Results
Results are consistently positive: Some 291 participants have voluntarily attended ALE since its launch, accounting for 38 percent of HCSC directors. Participants reported a 35 percent knowledge gain for the Enabling a High Performance Culture topic and 72 percent for Building Your Leadership Reputation.
If HCSC were to send directors to a similar external program, the cost would be nearly $7,000. Internally offered, this program costs less than $1,500 per participant.
Finally, there are significant correlations between directors who participated in ALE and retention and effectiveness: ALE directors are less likely to leave HCSC, experiencing a 2.1 percent voluntary termination rate, whereas directors not enrolled in ALE tend to leave at a 6.0 percent rate. Direct reports of ALE participants also tend to stay longer than those who do not participate in ALE (11.7 percent vs. 6.0 percent). Additionally, 100 percent of high potentials completing ALE stay with the company.
