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28 FEDA News & Views ate focus on leadership development. Case in point: After reading the book All In by authors Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton, Maahs made it required reading for his leadership team, and then doubled down on the commitment by hiring Gostick to speak at the company's gainsharing meeting, as well as lead a workshop on leadership fundamentals for top management. Here's where the account- ability comes in: After reading All In, Alto-Shaam's most senior managers were asked to write down a list of action steps inspired by the book, and then present their plans for imple- mentation within the company. "A lot of companies do not have an organizational develop- ment program person," says Hayden, "but there are a number of low-cost alternatives that any company can do to work on growing their people." It sounds pretty, but we have our hiccups. Success starts from the top and then from employees who buy in to the idea that education is important. We're continually evaluating, gathering facts and working through those hiccups. –Bill Hayden, Alto-Shaam's Director of Organizational Development and Training Next Up continued There are multiple levels of training geared toward grow- ing leaders at Alto-Shaam, including six in-house leadership courses for supervisors and line leaders, taught by Hayden, and additional training for upper management tapped to attend professional development courses at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee or the University of Wisconsin- Madison. Senior management has the option of attending more intense programs at either Wharton, Duke or the University of Colorado Springs. The depth is what attracted new employee Sarah Millard to Alto-Shaam, after cutbacks at her former employer prompted her to start thinking about a new career in marketing. "I was looking for a place where I could learn and strengthen my skills because, as a reporter, there weren't a lot of opportuni- ties for growth," she says. "One of the things Alto-Shaam does well during the recruitment process is outline the possibilities. When I started here, there was already a team of experts and training in place to provide me with the resources I needed to do my job as I transitioned from journalism into marketing." Basic training at Alto-Shaam begins at Alto-Shaam University (ASU), a program designed to familiarize every employee with the internal structure of the company and information deemed essential for life at Alto-Shaam. "In the first year of service, employees take classes from our leadership team in areas such as business basics, finance, quality, and human resources," says Millard, who now serves as Alto-Shaam's com- munications specialist.