Industry: Altig International
Revenue: $100M+
Space: Financial Services
Location: Redmond, WA

Client Background:

• Altig International is a second generation family-owned business that grew to dominate an industry niche in the direct consumer sale of financial services products. Their market is primarily working through the leading unions, trade associations, and organizations across North America. The company is comprised of a team of over 400 professional agents across North America.

OneAccord Solution:

• After an initial study engagement where OneAccord assessed all facets of sales, sales management & sales-related human resource activity, Altig International decided to first address the training of new sales personnel.

Engagement Highlights:

Involvement began in the summer of 2007 and continued through 2009. Three stages:
• OneAccord first assessed the current training program, including the expectations set during the candidate recruiting phase, on through candidates' release into the sales field following training.
• Then OneAccord proposed several initiatives to improve the overall training program:
  • Pre-employment recruiting discussions about the actual nature of the practical work involved in the sales position were added during the candidate interview phase.
  • Pre-training expectations were set accurately: the intensity of the experience was shared proactively with employment candidates.
  • Candidates were both stretched and encouraged to share their experiences openly with each other and with the company, creating a strong camaraderie among the members of each training class.
  • Significant training program components were modified to improve their effectiveness and retention.
  • The candidate release from training into the field process was also significantly changed, to help improve effectiveness once the new sales team member entered the field.

Results:

• Candidate feedback about the training experience was much stronger than ever before, with the roots of company loyalty being proactively communicated by the successful new sales classes. Post-training retention of employees rose a staggering 40% over previous levels. Management has recognized that these newest trainees have entered production more quickly, have been more successful, and have been retained much longer than their peers from earlier training seasons. According to the CFO, each 5% gain in retention is worth several million dollars to the bottom line.