The idea of purposeful growth has been driving change within Ergon for decades. Whether attracting the right talent or developing our talent within, both are focused on meeting needs for future growth.

Ergon management has always been passionate about creating opportunities to further develop our talented workforce. In this blog post, Blaine Totty, Vice President –Organizational Development, highlights a few of these opportunities Ergon provides to support the professional growth of our workforce.

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I have wondered many times why Ergon is a place that naturally retains its employees. Even if employees leave for greener pastures, many find their way back. That’s because at Ergon, we care for our people and want the best for them. Not only that, but we demonstrate it by providing resources to help strengthen skillsets and support advancement. This aspect of our culture is important when we recruit candidates to work at Ergon; we want the people that we hire to become future leaders who will care for their employees and develop them the same way they were developed. Hiring people who embody the values Ergon holds dear — Empowered Service, Selfless Leadership, Respectful Relationships and Purposeful Growth — and honing those values through training and development sets us up for a sustainable future. That’s why we often say that company growth and employee growth go hand in hand.

How We Encourage Growth
Ergon has a myriad of ways we help develop employees once they become part of the family. Leaders throughout the organization are constantly providing resources to help with this development. Such resources include free access to courses through LinkedIn Learning, Dale Carnegie Training and the Rapid Learning Institute. We have also implemented a Learning Management System complete with various training opportunities on a variety of topics related to various fields and Ergon operations, and we host Lunch and Learns and webinars in which employees are able to increase their industry knowledge and know-how. These are just a few of many ways Ergon is intentionally investing in the advancement of our people.

A Learning Culture
Continuing to develop a learning culture is possibly the best way that we can continue to prepare for future challenges. Our leaders are constantly looking for new ways to strengthen our employee’s abilities and to challenge them. One way we do this is through a monthly LinkedIn Learning challenge created to encourage employees across the Ergon organization to complete as many courses as possible on the platform within the month. Courses can be filtered according to employees’ specific interests. I am personally encouraged by reports I receive from employees about lessons learned through the challenge.

Currently, we are developing a management training program to ensure we give managers the right tools to succeed in their jobs. Part of this program is a curriculum on coaching and the development of people. Additionally, a new performance management system is rolling out so employees can have clear expectations in their roles and set goals for professional and personal development. We are increasing transparency in job opportunities so that internal candidates are given chances to challenge themselves in a new role and gain valuable experience. All of these ways are just the start of our continued effort to embody the value of purposeful growth across our organization.

If you’re interested in working for a company that invests in your professional growth and challenges you to reach your potential, visit our careers page and find out how you can join the Ergon family. We’d love to have you.