Hotel operator La Quinta has a four-week leadership development program for new general managers called INNitiation. A critical first step in the company’s leadership development program is ensuring the correct person has been selected for the position. The assessment output from the hiring process includes a report to guide ongoing development planning. Once candidates accept an offer and join the organization, their trainers receive a full debrief on the assessment results, so they can tailor the initial four-week, one-on-one training process to be most effective for each individual.
The first three weeks of training take place at a certified training hotel. The Operations Training and Development manager spends these three weeks on one-on-one training:
- Week 1: Operations, Heart of the House (Housekeeping, Maintenance, Laundry), and Product Quality
- Week 2: Front Desk, Breakfast, Service Quality, and EBITDA & Administration
- Week 3: Property Management and Transition
La Quinta’s philosophy is that the general manager needs to understand how to do each role in the hotel before managing a hotel. With that in mind, the training during these three weeks includes job shadowing, coaching, and performing each role in the hotel.
At the end of the three weeks at the certified training hotel, the Operations Training and Development manager and the new general manager spend a week at the new general manager’s hotel. Together, they spend time meeting with the hotel employees and transitioning the new general manager into the role of running a hotel. A final deliverable for this week is an action plan for both personal and professional growth.
Even after the four weeks of in-person training are over, the relationship between the Operations Training and Development manager and the new general manager continues. Every two to three months, the two have mentoring calls to check progress against the action plan and determine any needed support.
This combination of assessment, onboarding, and development has resulted in an overall 5 percent decrease in general manager turnover.
