I call myself a Controller, not a CFO and not a money man. My kids think this fits me perfectly at work since they call me a control freak. To them, a Controller is a control freak.
Some of my skills are transferable to the homestead. At home, I try to control the rising tide of shoes, clothes, dishes and other items randomly left around the house. Here at work, I try to keep order in the operation of the business. I help control the resources.
Stealth Creative and ‘professional development’ have a pretty serious friendship going on.
Where are your resources? Where are your assets? At our agency, our people are our greatest asset.
Some assets you build; some you buy. We prefer to build and invest in our people.
One way we do this is through professional development. How do we justify spending money for these conferences, seminars and symposiums, etc….
It’s good for the employee
Retention
Happy employees tend to stick around and are more productive. Employees want to learn, they want to become great at what they do. We want to build a loyal, talented workforce.
Mental Health
You might lose your job, but you can’t take away what you’ve learned. Increasing your expertise in your field of work is a great mental health booster. Experiencing the latest trends and innovations builds confidence and character.
Employee Wellness
Who doesn’t enjoy a change of scenery? Change is a good thing. It’s just another excellent reason to get out of the office. Visiting a new city means encountering new things, people, food and ideas. Why wouldn’t this be healthy?
It’s good for our business model
Applying what we learn has improved productivity, communication and other efficiencies. Implementing the morning stand up ‘hit-list’ meeting is one example that has helped make a difference in the operation of the agency.
Meeting with other like-minded professionals, exchanging ideas and processes is an opportunity, which is hard to duplicate in the workplace.
It's good for networking opportunities
We have actually picked up significant new business by attending personal business development conferences. New business development has become part of attending any professional development opportunity.
We have also identified and executed partnerships with vendors and clients. This would not have been possible if we had not decided to participate.
If an employee takes away one useable piece of information, then the time away from work attending a professional development opportunity is worth the investment of time and money.
Focus less on the cost and more on the benefit.
You can’t always attach a dollar value to the investment in an employee. A company can intentionally build and nurture its resources or they can ignore them.
We have chosen to invest in our team, a team which grows through learning.
