Overview
When The Douglaston Companies needed to create a consistent standard for employee and manager development, they partnered with Hone to deliver live, instructor-led learning aligned to their newly created core competency framework.Ā
Since launching Hone, The Douglaston Companies has been able to:Ā
- Deliver learning employees find valuable and applicable, reflected in an 87% learning effectiveness score.Ā
- Help employees build skills tied to the companyās core competencies, such as collaboration, accountability, ethical judgement and integrity, management of self and problem solving. Ā
- Foster a culture of learning, with employees proactively sharing positive feedback and asking for more development opportunities.Ā
The company
The Douglaston Companies are a dynamic group of privately held companies that function in unison to provide unparalleled service in the areas of real estate development, construction management, and property management.Ā
With a diverse workforce across multiple functions, The Douglaston Companies needed a development approach that could support both individual contributors and managers while reinforcing a consistent standard for growth across the organization.Ā
The challenge
Before partnering with Hone, The Douglaston Companies was experiencing significant growth and recognized an opportunity to create a more consistent employee experience across the organization. Engagement survey feedback reinforced the important role managers play in shaping employee success and highlighted the value of establishing common expectations and leadership practices across the organization. Ā
Ā Under the leadership of Olivia Kelly, Chief Administrative Officer, The Douglaston Companies set out to create a more intentional approach to employee growth. The vision was to define clear core competencies that could serve as a common language for performance, development, and culture across the organization. Learning was not intended to be a standalone initiative, but a way to reinforce the behaviors and expectations that help make The Douglaston Companies a great place to work.Ā
When Amelia Moore joined as Learning & Development Manager in late 2024, her goal was to translate that vision into a scalable learning experience. She focused on helping employees and managers build the skills behind the company's core competencies while creating a learning experience that felt relevant across roles and business lines. To bring that vision to life, The Douglaston Companies needed a partner that could deliver high-quality development in a way that felt relevant, engaging, and easy to scale across the organization.
The solution
The Douglaston Companies partnered with Hone to deliver live, instructor-led learning tied directly to its newly developed core competency framework.Ā
Ā The rollout was deliberate and phased to build engagement from the start. First, all employees were enrolled in a class on preparing for performance reviews, while all managers took a companion class on running effective reviews. This created a shared learning experience across the organization and introduced employees and managers to the Hone platform through content that was immediately relevant.Ā Ā
From there, Amelia worked with Honeās learning strategy team to build curated learning tracks for each core competency at two levels: one for individual contributors and one for managers. Ā
As the program matured, Amelia layered in additional elements to drive accountability and real-world application:Ā
- Provided people leaders with access to Honeās Manager dashboard, so they could track progress, encourage participation, and support employee development. Ā
- Integrated Hone Learning Tracks into performance reviews, reinforcing the connection between development, growth, and the company's core competencies. Created a New Hire Learning Track as part of the employee onboarding experience, introducing new employees to the Hone platform through a curated selection of the companyās most popular classes.Ā
- Reinforced learning with AI-powered sessions woven into tracks alongside live classes, giving employees additional opportunities to practice and reinforce key skills.Ā
Together, these elements helped The Douglaston Companies turn its core competency framework into a practical, scalable development experience for employees and managers.
"What has been most encouraging is seeing learning become part of everyday conversation. Employees aren't just attending classes, they're sharing what they're learning, applying new skills, and actively asking for more development opportunities."
Conclusion
Since launching Hone, The Douglaston Companies has seen strong engagement and meaningful skill growth across the organization:Ā
- 87% learning effectiveness, signaling that employees found development valuable and applicable.Ā
- 93% of employees reported that they had applied or planned to apply what they learned, demonstrating a strong connection between learning and on-the-job performance.Ā
- 62% of employees reported significant growth in Management of Self, a core competency focused on self-awareness, growth mindset, prioritization, and execution.Ā
- 4.7/5 average class rating, reflecting a high-quality learner experience.Ā
- Growing learning momentum, with employees proactively bringing ideas for training they want.Ā
- A stronger culture of development, with executives noting that Hone has sparked genuine curiosity to learn more across the organization.
