We have always believed that it was vitally important to ensure that we had an internal development pipeline for the business. We wanted to create a business where anyone, regardless of their initial role, had access to the opportunity for success. It makes commercial sense to do so. Creating the perfect team by allowing everyone to contribute is clearly a great way to achieve. However, let’s put the practical and business reasons to one side for a moment because there is something much more important to think about.
There are some things that you simply cannot put a value on. Seeing people succeed is one of them.
Opportunity is the key to success
When we bring somebody into the fold, we like to think we offer everything they need to succeed. The key to allowing a team member to grow and achieve everything, and quite often more than is expected of them, is to allow them to plan and create their own growth path. This means already having a management team in place that believe in helping their colleagues grow. To do that, they must be supportive, collaborative and really listen to the needs of the team. Trust is important and, of course, you need a flexible training programme that allows the employee to grow. Trust, though, and the encouragement needed to use their talent makes the training relevant and unbolts the door to experience.
Adam, who has been with the team a few months now, describes it best.
“I was working from day one. I’ve got a really supportive team around me, and the buddy system meant I got to work with one of the top recruiters in the business. So, I didn’t just learn from the training; I learned from the desk and saw success each and every day.”
Another new starter, Dillon, is already discussing his work in terms of clear goals he has achieved. He will proudly tell you how it only took him a short time to put through his first real deal and how he attributes that to the trust placed in him to succeed. This is wonderful to hear because no matter how much training or encouragement you offer a new team member, unless they have every opportunity to succeed, they never will. That opportunity is presented only by actually doing the job.
The rest of the team are part of individual success
One of the things we are most proud of is the way the team works as a whole. Everyone is aware that their own goals are also those of the team and that the team wants them to achieve. Support and encouragement are second nature to everyone, and that generates more than just a workplace. It makes it a place you want to be where colleagues become friends and experience becomes mentorship. Dillon hit the nail right on the head with his comments on why he enjoys working here.
“It’s the team. The team is a close-knit one, and I enjoy going to the office because the team motivates me. That’s what I enjoy, or I wouldn’t be here.”
Adam also echoed Dillon’s comments about the team. He felt that he has made friends, and the fact that everyone was part of a social circle, as well as work colleagues, contributed to his satisfaction with his role. Job satisfaction, as any employer will tell you, is one of the biggest contributions to success in the workplace. Adam was promoted in the first six months of his time with us and attributes that in a large part to how happy he is in the role.
“I was welcomed from day one... We all not only work together, but we also go on incentives together and socialise. I have quite a commute, so it’s great knowing I am coming in to be with a team that works together and has the same goal.”
In the final analysis, though, training, teams, environment, good management and all the other markers that make for a good workplace are only the vehicles for a career journey. Dillon met his early goals, and Adam earned his promotion, not because of the workplace we created but because of something they brought with them. They had the talent, desire, and skills to succeed – all we needed to do was give them the opportunity.