Career Development, Culture, and Continuing Education – oh my!

An interview with EGPS leaders in honor of National Career Development Month

2,080 hours. That’s how many working hours are in a year with a standard 40-hour work week (minus PTO and holidays, etc.). That’s a LOT of hours, and with burnout on the rise, it’s critically important that employees don’t dread those hours. At EGPS, our employees satisfaction and career development is a top priority. So, in honor of this and National Career Development Month in November, we’ve interviewed our Chief Operating Officer, Dawn Genz, and our HR Director, Lauren Linsmeyer, about culture, training, and opportunities at EGPS. Take a look!

Q: How do you promote career development and opportunities at EGPS?

Dawn:  At EGPS, we are committed to fostering career development and providing ample opportunities for our employees to grow and excel in their professional journeys. Our approach to promoting career development revolves around individualized development plans, continued education and training opportunities, mentorship, performance recognition, collaborative projects, and crucial regular feedback.

Lauren: I think we do this in many different ways. First, we talk to our managers about opportunities and needs within the organization. We post career opportunities internally. This is either for our current team to grow into or for them to share with someone in their network. One of the biggest ways we acquire talent is through word of mouth from our internal team members. I think it says a lot about our company – that employees want to bring in people they know and love to work alongside them. You just don’t find that at every company.

 I think another way we support career development is through internal promotions to our management team for those that are seeking the opportunity to grow at EGPS.

Q: What kind of continuing education opportunities and training do you provide for employees?

Dawn: Here at EGPS, we place a strong emphasis on continuous learning and professional development for our employees. We understand that our industry is constantly evolving. Therefore, we are committed to providing a variety of continuing education opportunities and training to ensure that our employees stay ahead of the curve.

Lauren: EGPS is a huge proponent of continuing education for our employees. Whether it’s obtaining industry credentials or maintaining their credentials, we fully support our team’s efforts both financially and workload-wise to focus on those goals.

At EGPS we have some of the best professionals in the industry (if we do say so ourselves 😊), which allows us to produce and provide a large amount of internal training and education opportunities to our employees from our own internal experts, as well!

Q: How would you define the culture of EGPS?

Dawn: The culture of EGPS is characterized by an open and collaborative environment that fosters meaningful dialog and the free exchange of ideas.  We value diversity, respect, transparency, and a commitment to ongoing learning and growth. At EGPS, we work to create an environment where employees thrive, innovation flourishes, and the company achieves success.

Lauren: I would describe the culture of EGPS as collaborative, professional, and innovative. Our teams are set up to truly be an integrated support system to each other. I believe we have the best professionals in the industry, and their knowledge, expertise, and care for our clients go a long way towards building a culture of positive professionalism. Lastly, our team brings forward some of the best technology, analytics, and processes to EGPS. We really value automating what we can to allow our teams the ability to focus on our clients.

Q: How do you show employees they are valued?

Dawn: We aim to create an environment where employees feel valued, respected, and motivated to contribute their best to the success of the organization. We accomplish this through regular recognition, personalized appreciation, listening to valued feedback, professional development, flexibility and work-life balance, employee benefits, and regular check-ins.

Lauren: I think this is a tricky question. All employees feel valued in different ways and it’s always a challenge as a fully remote workforce. That being said, I think that EGPS allows for flexibility for our team to be people as well as employees. I believe that we show them they are valued by listening to them, implementing their ideas, and providing an environment that is open to feedback and continued growth. I’ll say it again, we have some of the best professionals in the industry and I think we respect that, respect their experience, respect their contributions, etc. and in turn our employees feel that and feel valued.

Q: What are 3 ways you support your employees’ development goals?

Dawn:

1. Individualized Development Plans. We work closely with each employee to create personalized development plans that align with their career aspirations and strengths. These plans outline specific goals, milestones, and actionable steps to achieve them.
2. Continuous Learning Opportunities. We provide a variety of continuous training opportunities.  By investing in their skill development, we empower employees to acquire new knowledge and stay up-to-date with industry trends, enhancing their overall expertise.
3. Mentorship and Coaching. We encourage employees to seek mentorship from experienced colleagues within the organization.

Lauren:

1. We allow for personalization. We realize that employees are all at different points in their careers and that not all of them need or want the same goals. Our managers are amazing at knowing their team and giving their employees the flexibility to personalize their goals.
2.  We support continuing education. This is such an important aspect of who we are at EGPS. We believe that continuing professional education benefits our employees, our clients, and EGPS. It is truly a win-win-win.
3. We provide a plethora of internal resources. Our internal expertise and how our employees collaborate together to make EGPS better every day really sets us apart. First and foremost, our team makes themselves available to each other and it shows in the achievement of our goals!

Q: Anything else you would like to share?

Dawn: Our employees represent the most valuable resource at EGPS. Thus, it is extremely important that we actively facilitate and advance their career growth.

Want to know more about career opportunities at EGPS?

Check out our Careers page to see our current openings!