As MTM, Inc., continues to grow, the non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) solutions company must ensure candidates are immediately ready to step into leadership roles when entering new markets. To remain competitive, leaders are required to be knowledgeable about the organizational culture, industry, and internal processes, and have the ability to meet contract requirements. In response to this need, MTM Training partnered with executive leadership to develop and launch the Bench Program, which is available to every employee, in every department, across the organization..
Program Details
This year-long leadership program is multifaceted to teach the skills, knowledge, and behaviors required to immediately step into a leadership role for new contracts. The program combines many learning strategies, including:
- In-person instructor-led classes
- Flipped classrooms
- On-demand submissions
- Job rotation
- Role-play
Learners are pushed outside their comfort zones and grow through activities such as vision boards, interviews, and video submissions surrounding a variety of topics, including sales. They also are required to complete monthly homework assignments on various topics, from engagement to selling the brand. Through completion of this program, MTM develops Brand Ambassadors who represent the company internally and externally.
Participants complete assessments that are both behavior and knowledge based. These assessements outline competencies for success and are used as coaching instruments by program facilitators, organizational psychologists, direct leadership, and mentors.
Each participant receives a dedicated executive-level mentor, who is assigned for the lifecycle of the program. These mentors meet several times a month with their mentees to provide coaching and guidance. As part of the program, participants are surveyed to gauge the satisfaction of mentoring relationships, identify areas of opportunity, and improve overall program effectiveness.
Monthly, department-specific training is conducted by executives, which creates more knowledgeable subject matter experts. All Bench participants are divided into project teams, with each team led by an executive leader. Prior to these teams being formed, the executive leaders must submit their project idea for approval.
Short-term reinforcement includes quarterly incentives in the form of MTM-branded swag items when participants reach predetermined milestones. Long-term reinforcement is achieved through the review of initial assessments at the year-end milestone to compare pre- and post-program competencies with the participants directly.
Results
Behavior change is demonstrated by high utilization of the employee engagement platform. In one month, program participants sent 420 recognitions to their peers, leading to an increase in employee engagement of 4.8 percent. By ensuring employees have a deeper understanding of MTM’s business model and industry, they are more motivated and empowered to make a positive impact. Employee capacity increased by 3.2 percent, competency by 1.3 percent, and utilization by 3.5 percent, according to MTM’s quarterly engagement survey.
As a result of the Bench program, more than 50 percent of participants were promoted within the program year. Attrition continues to be a positive indicator of employee satisfaction, and is currently more than 40 percent below industry standards. Additionally, the company’s internal promotion rate remained steady at 18.5 percent. These results all contribute to the reduction in administrative costs year over year, increasing revenue by more than 12 percent.
