Company: ALCAL Industries, Inc.
Function: Electrical, Tool & Safety Distribution
Industry: Wholesale
Fun Facts:
- ALCAL is one of the last locally owned electrical distributors in the region. It has served Northern California’s construction pros for more than 60 years!
- With 15,000+ products ready to ship, a fleet of 50+ trucks and vans making daily deliveries, 500,000+ square feet of logistics and storage space, and 14 locations across Northern California, ALCAL keeps the industry moving—fast and efficiently!
TL;DR: Facing rapid growth and the challenges of uniting leaders amid a unique two-company structure, ALCAL partnered with LifeLabs Learning to build a cohesive leadership framework. Through tailored training programs, leaders gained essential tools, a shared language, and greater confidence—leading to improved collaboration, accountability, and a culture that scales with the company.
Situation
ALCAL, made up of two independent companies—Alameda Electrical Distributors (AED) and California Service Tool (CST)—operates as a team to provide the construction industry’s most comprehensive offering of electrical products, tools, rentals and repairs, safety gear, construction supplies, and project management expertise. Amid rapid growth the company faced a challenge: aligning leaders across both businesses to collaborate effectively and maximize their collective strengths.
“There was no consistent leadership training in place to onboard leaders as they stepped into their roles or joined the organization,” said ALCAL’s HR Director Courtney Paulsen. “Our goal was to strengthen leadership development and employee engagement. We recognized that the leadership framework we wanted could not be applied in every conceivable scenario when it comes to management-employee relations, but we believed that having a shared framework would still be an invaluable resource for managers.”
Paulsen said the most significant challenges were scale, retention, and accessibility: “How do we scale training? How do we make it stick so leaders feel empowered to use the tools? And how do we standardize access for in-person and virtual training?”
With new leaders and an increasingly remote workforce, ALCAL needed a leadership framework with a shared language, practical tools, and a structured approach to communication and collaboration. It aimed to close leadership gaps and build a strong foundation, equipping managers to align on challenges and take action using a consistent set of skills.
Solution
ALCAL partnered with LifeLabs Learning to create a comprehensive leadership development program that was both structured and adaptable to its unique needs.
The organization began with Manager Core 1, a foundational program to build essential leadership skills, followed by Manager Core 2 for next-level strategic and team leadership training. Manager Core 1 also continued as part of new leader onboarding. To further support their team, ALCAL hosted a Skillful Conflict and Collaboration workshop at a senior leadership offsite event to strengthen interpersonal skills and alignment. It also extended training to non-managerial employees with an Individual Contributor Core program focused on enhancing communication and collaboration.
Key components of ALCAL’s program included:
Tailored Guidance: ALCAL partnered with a LifeLabs Learning impact consultant to identify and address challenges both at the organizational level and within individual cohorts. LifeLabs Learning provided expert guidance on best practices for launching their L&D program to maximize ROI—from driving high learner engagement to ways to reinforce the learning for lasting impact. This dedicated consultative support ensured ALCAL got the most out of its training investment.
Cohort-Based Training: Leaders trained in cohorts based on their roles and challenges, ensuring sessions were directly relevant to their needs. For example, supervisors trained together to tackle shared leadership hurdles. As a result, 95% of learners reported feeling socially included in the workshops.
Hybrid Training for Accessibility: While the Manager Core programs were primarily in-person, a virtual cohort ensured dispersed branch-level leaders could fully participate without disrupting operations.
Expert Facilitators: LifeLabs Learning facilitators created a safe and engaging learning environment for a wide range of leaders and confidence levels. With 97% of learners rating their facilitator as knowledgeable and 96% finding them engaging, the sessions created an atmosphere of trust and participation.
VP of Ops Nathan Lewis described facilitators as “the secret sauce.” He said:
“The LifeLabs Learning facilitators walked the talk! They weren’t just training us on these tools—they were using them in real time. Seeing them apply the tools during training really reinforced their credibility.” – Nathan Lewis, VP of Ops
Follow-up & Reinforcement: To support lasting behavior change, LifeLabs Learning provided consulting on how to leverage influential leaders to accelerate skill adoption across the organization. Leaders were guided to apply skills in their daily roles, revisit key tools, and reflect on their impact. Additionally, the LifeLabs Learning platform centralized all resources and tools in one place, making it easy to access and reinforce learning. In turn, 93% of learners felt confident they could immediately apply the concepts and skills they learned in the workplace.
Results
ALCAL’s leadership development program proved highly relevant and useful – every workshop scored above 4 out of 5 in every category.
| Real World Impact Participants found LifeLabs Learning workshops to have practical value and immediate relevance. In fact, 93% felt confident they could immediately apply the concepts and skills they learned, and 95% found the skills they learned useful. |
1. A Stronger, More Cohesive Culture
Leaders now have a shared common language, toolkit, and skills at their disposal to make collaboration easier and communication more effective. They use learned habits like the SOON FunnelTM and DeblurTM in communication and problem-solving approaches.
2. Greater Leader Confidence & Accountability
Equipped with actionable strategies, ALCAL leaders show greater self-reliance through self-coaching skills. The Coaching Skills workshop stood out as the highest-rated across all workshops for “helpful activities,” earning an average score of 4.39.
3. Sharper Meetings & Purposeful Conversations
Following the Meetings Mastery workshop, meetings are more structured and results-driven, with leaders setting clear agendas and defining specific roles.
Meetings Mastery received the highest score of any workshop, with 99% of learners finding the skills they learned useful. Additionally, 97% felt confident in applying the concepts and skills in their work immediately.
“Meetings Mastery was invaluable for the executive team. We’ve seen a real shift—people set clear agendas, assign roles effectively, and practice key skills like summarizing and looping others in. We’re definitely seeing impact and signs of progress.” – Courtney Paulsen, HR Director
| Key Learnings for Growing Companies Through its leadership training journey, ALCAL has identified lessons that any organization can apply: Start with a Vision: Define your leadership challenges and align training with specific goals. Choose the Right Partner: Collaborate with a partner who will customize solutions and adapt along the way. Prioritize Skilled Facilitators: Insist on great facilitators who model behaviors, create a safe learning environment, and hold participants accountable. Focus on Implementation: Set post-training standards for applying the tools to your systems and processes to increase adoption. Measure What Matters: Track the impact to reinforce new habits and demonstrate success. |
Conclusion
As ALCAL continues to expand, the leadership framework provided by LifeLabs Learning is helping the company meet the demands of growth with consistency and clarity. With over 60 managers trained—and more to come—ALCAL’s leadership program continues to evolve alongside the organization.
ALCAL’s story proves that leadership training isn’t just a one-time event—it’s a strategic investment that fuels growth, performance, and a thriving culture.
Ready to boost leadership skills at your org? Get in touch.