Whirlpool Corporation
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Carter, Louis, Goldsmith, Marshall Best Practices in Talent Management (2010).West Palm Beach, San Francisco: Best Practice Institute, Jossey Bass. 14: WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION Kristen Weirick The development and refinement of a customized leadership competency model with robust analytics and integrated assessment training to build deep capability. Introduction The Business Challenge Design and Approach Phase I—Leadership Competency Development Phase II—Top Talent Indicator and Derailer Definition and Deployment Phase III—Business Acceleration Drives “Next Level” Talent Assessment Evaluation Next Steps Summary Introduction Whirlpool Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances. Founded in 1911 by Lou Upton, Whirlpool initially produced motor-driven wringer washing machines. Today Whirlpool Corporation realizes annual sales of approximately $19 billion, has 73,000 employees and maintains approximately seventy manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. Copyright © 2010- Best Practice Institute, Inc. Do not copy or distribute this document without prior written and verbal consent of Best Practice Institute. This document is for single use only. When referencing content within this document, you must include attribution to: Carter, Louis, Goldsmith, Marshall (2010) Best Practices in Talent Management. (West Palm Beach and San Fransisco: BestPractice Institute/Jossey Bass). Whirlpool Corporation manufactures and markets major brand names that include Whirlpool, Maytag, KitchenAid, Jenn-Air, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, and Bauknecht to consumers in nearly every country around the world. footnote on opening page Whirlpool Corporation would like to acknowledge Michael Tobin, Ph.D., of Vantage Leadership Consulting. Mr. Tobin’s knowledge of leadership development and coaching, combined with his deep and insightful perspective of the company’s unique organizational culture, fueled the development of Whirlpool’s Leadership Model and resulting tools and resources. During its first fifty years, the company grew and expanded manufacturing operations to include a full range of kitchen and home appliances. By the 1970s, company leadership began globalizing with expanded operations in Brazil, Mexico, and India. Whirlpool Corporation accelerated its global expansion in the 1990s, with an expanded presence throughout Europe, Latin America, Asia, and parts of Africa. The company was on its way to becoming the global leader in the home appliance industry. With the acquisition of Maytag Corporation in 2006, the company drove efficiencies that resulted in an even stronger organization that was able to offer more to consumers in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. Whirlpool Corporation became a more efficient supplier to trade customers while offering a broader portfolio of innovative, high- quality branded products and services to consumers. The Business Challenge For most of the company’s history, the right talent was easily and readily available to help drive the business. However, a number of factors emerged over the past two decades that have impacted how Whirlpool Corporation attracts, engages, and develops talent to ensure it has the level Copyright © 2010- Best Practice Institute, Inc. Do not copy or distribute this document without prior written and verbal consent of Best Practice Institute. This document is for single use only. When referencing content within this document, you must include attribution to: Carter, Louis, Goldsmith, Marshall (2010) Best Practices in Talent Management. (West Palm Beach and San Fransisco: BestPractice Institute/Jossey Bass). of leadership to succeed in a constantly changing global business environment. The growth, size, and scale of the business added a level of complexity that required different skill sets and capabilities to compete in the global marketplace. Those skill sets and capabilities either had to be developed internally or acquired through new hires externally. Along with the change in the size and scale of the business, the external consumer marketplace was demanding fast-paced change and innovation in products and services. The development of technology-enabled products to meet the changing needs of consumers was necessary to compete globally. Innovative and technology-savvy talent was needed to meet these demands. The new global marketplace drove increased competition for market share and talent. During this time, companies experienced the shift from an employer’s market to a candidate’s market in which great talent was both highly desired and scarce. In addition to the competition for talent, the nature of the workforce was also changing. Decreasing corporate loyalty, business outsourcing, and the needs of the talent marketplace were creating an environment in which employee tenure declined. Workers more easily changed jobs, companies, and locations in search of better opportunities. In summary, a “perfect talent storm” was brewing: a more complex and globalized market, demanding better talent to drive greater results and differentiation and an increasing scarcity of the talent that could provide it. It was imperative to have a defined set of leadership competencies and a talent management system in place that would enable the company to: 1. Define the type of leadership it needed to continue to be successful. 2. Assess the company’s current leadership competencies and talent and define any gaps. Copyright © 2010- Best Practice Institute, Inc. Do not copy or distribute this document without prior written and verbal consent of Best Practice Institute. This document is for single use only. When referencing content within this document, you must include attribution to: Carter, Louis, Goldsmith, Marshall (2010) Best Practices in Talent Management. (West Palm Beach and San Fransisco: BestPractice Institute/Jossey Bass). 3. Develop the necessary leadership competencies internally. 4. Assess all future leaders against these competencies for external acquisition and internal talent pool succession planning. 5. Provide a consistent set of tools, resources, and defined process to manage the company’s talent on a global scale. 6. Deeply embed the competencies and operationalize the supporting tools and resources. Design and Approach Phase I—Leadership Competency Development In 1999, Whirlpool Corporation began development of its leadership competencies, which became known as the Whirlpool Leadership Model. The model was developed with active leadership participation and input from the company’s executive committee and then-chairman David Whitwam. The goal of the Leadership Model (Figure 14.1) was to provide a common language for leadership around assessing and developing employees, managing talent pool and succession planning, and assessing external talent for acquisition. The model is unique to Whirlpool Corporation as it defines who is wanted as a leader, what leaders are expected to do, and how they are expected to perform. The “who,” “what”, and “how” of Whirlpool’s Leadership Model have been organized in terms of leadership attributes, practices, and performance. Copyright © 2010- Best Practice Institute, Inc. Do not copy or distribute this document without prior written and verbal consent of Best Practice Institute. This document is for single use only. When referencing content within this document, you must include attribution to: Carter, Louis, Goldsmith, Marshall (2010) Best Practices in Talent Management. (West Palm Beach and San Fransisco: BestPractice Institute/Jossey Bass). Figure 14.1. Whirlpool Corporation Leadership Model Leadership Attributes describe the characteristics and behaviors expected of leadership at Whirlpool Corporation. The company expects its leaders to have great Character and Enduring Values. Long before the demise of many companies due to compromised ethics, such as Enron in the late nineties or the mortgage and banking industries at the beginning of Copyright © 2010- Best Practice Institute, Inc. Do not copy or distribute this document without prior written and verbal consent of Best Practice Institute. This document is for single use only. When referencing content within this document, you must include attribution to: Carter, Louis, Goldsmith, Marshall (2010) Best Practices in Talent Management. (West Palm Beach and San Fransisco: BestPractice Institute/Jossey Bass). the 2008 recession, Whirlpool Corporation defined and demanded a high level of character and integrity in its Leadership Model. In addition to Character and Enduring Values, an appropriate level of Confidence and forward-looking ideas (Thought Leadership) were defined as necessary leadership attributes. Confidence is defined as the ability to take appropriate and decisive actions and develop confidence in people and organizations that leads to responsible risk taking and the ability to win. Thought Leadership is viewed as the ability to consistently challenge and improve thinking and decision-making processes to develop innovative thinking and sophisticated judgments that lead to positive results. Finally, the model defined the attribute of Diversity and Inclusion. Leaders must create an engaging environment that leverages each individual’s thoughts, beliefs, and ideas to achieve optimal results for the company and its customers. Leadership Practices address the company’s needs for people who exercise Vision and Strategy. Great leaders must be able to create a vision and a strategy to support it and persuasively align stakeholders