Freight brokerage England Logistics’ New Leader Development (NLD) program touches every department in the organization. Every new leader receives detailed instructions designed to help them acquire and develop the skills and knowledge to be an outstanding leader, regardless of previous experience.
Program Details
New Leader Development aims to help those who are new to management and have been promoted from within, or individuals who have been hired externally, to become accustomed to their roles and new working environment. The New Leader Development class is offered every quarter. Each new leader attends within three months of becoming a leader.
Much of the curriculum is focused on the way England Logistics operates, but it also includes best practices and training in various management skill sets. This takes the form of 25 hours of instructor-led, hands-on training over six weeks, covering 12 topics such as time management and retention.
NLD is intentionally front-loaded with training to capture the new leader’s available schedule before the demands of their role become too pressing. Following the first week, the time dedicated to training tapers off to one hour per week during weeks five and six. This allows for the training to stay fresh in new leaders’ minds and address any topics that may need more attention as they experience them first-hand in their new role.
Weekly one-on-one accountability meetings between the new leader and their manager to discuss progress toward leadership-specific goals provide short-term reinforcement of leadership directives.
The monthly Leadership Logistics Council (LLC) brings leaders of all levels company-wide together to innovate and implement strategies that are designed to promote company growth and sustainability. This provides new leaders the opportunity to bring ideas to the table, learn from senior leadership, and obtain long-term reinforcement of foundational leadership principles taught in NLD.
Results
Since the inception of NLD, 79 percent of England Logistics’ existing leadership team has graduated from the program. As of September 2020, promotions were nearly halfway to the company’s goal for that year.
One of the program’s biggest impacts has been on efficiency. One new leader reported a 19 percent increase in shipment frequency among his team when measuring team sales in the first six months after his promotion. Another leader increased transactions processed per hour by 52 percent. This enabled them to cross-train their employees to help cover the growing workload.
