White Lodging's Tips for Topgrading Success
July 15, 2008
By Sarah Boehle
White Lodging Services launched topgrading company-wide in January 2007 as a way to hire, develop, and promote "A" players within the organization. "At the time, we were a medium-sized organization that was growing significantly," explains White Lodging VP of Learning Services Mary Jo Dolasinski. "We anticipated tripling our management staff in the next three to five years, and we saw topgrading as a way to consistently ensure that we were bringing great people into the organization—while also developing and promoting those who are already here more effectively."
As part of the program, all new-hire candidates and existing employees must complete a four-hour topgrading interview. They are then ranked as an "A," "A Potential" or "Non-A" candidate. All Non-"A" players must have an action plan submitted, and their progress against plan goals is rigorously tracked by White Lodging's learning services department.
Training recently spoke with Dolasinski and Senior Learning Manager Todd McDonald about the program's impact and their tips for topgrading success.
Training: What implementation challenges did you face?
Dolasinski: There were a number of them. We had to roll out a new paradigm-shifting initiative system-wide to 800 managers; customize all forms and processes to meet company needs; train our managers in an abbreviated timeframe; create tracking to monitor usage/compliance; and develop tracking to analyze the success rate of the "A" candidates hired and promoted through the process.
Training: How did you meet them?
Dolasinski: Through comprehensive training and tracking. To kick things off on the training side, we invited Topgrading author Brad Smart to conduct a seminar for senior leadership to get their buy-in. We then developed a two-day course for teaching managers the topgrading process, and we conducted a train-the-trainer seminar for 24 key leaders who served as facilitators for our system-wide rollout. A two-day training program for 120 of our general managers (GMs) was next. Finally, we traveled the country for three weeks delivering training to our hotel managers, and we continue to conduct ongoing training on a monthly basis for new managers as part of the on-boarding process.
Training: What tips and best practices can you share with others who are interested in implementing something similar?
Dolasinski:
• Process makes perfect: We wrapped all of our processes around topgrading. Before a candidate is offered a position, she is required to go through a lengthy topgrading interview. Then, before an offer letter can be sent to her, the hiring manager is required to complete a "Topgrading Interview Guide," as well as a personal development plan for the candidate. We also use topgrading to develop those who are already employed by the company. Every employee goes through the same interview process as our job candidates, and everyone here participates in the ranking, personal development planning, and review components of the program.
• Lead by example. Topgrading has the full and visible support of our CEO and all of our regional VPs. All of our senior leaders went through a two-day topgrading class, and just like everyone else, they are all required to topgrade job candidates and create a personal development plan for them before they are allowed to hire anyone. We also publish a list every other week that names those who aren't compliant with the program or are late with their topgrading paperwork. Senior leadership isn’t exempt. If the CEO were to fail to turn in his topgrading paperwork, his name would appear on the list, too.
McDonald:
• Be Development-Oriented. Traditionally, topgrading is known as a very cut and dry process; there’s a perception that if you are ranked low, you're fired. Our approach is much more positive and development-oriented. If you're not an A player, we do everything we can to help you become one. We have identified a number of people, for example, who were simply in the wrong job, and after interviewing them, we were able to get them into a role where they could be very successful.
• Go all out. Topgrading isn't a quick fix. Doing it right takes commitment, time, and tenacity—especially early on. So be sure you are fully committed to the process and can approach it from an "all or nothing" perspective. Doing it only partially won't work.
White Lodging Services is a hotel development and management company based in Merrillville, Ind. In 2008, it placed 124th on Training magazine's Top 125 list, an annual ranking of organizations that excel at human capital development.
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