Front and center: 7 Chicago companies where professional development is a priority

by Michael Hines
April 30, 2019

At some companies, “professional development” is code for doing more of the same work. At others, it’s an opportunity to grow and diversify your skill set and contribute in new and exciting ways.

We recently spoke to seven Chicago tech companies that take the latter approach and found out more about the learning and growth opportunities they offer along with how putting professional development front and center impacts their business, team and culture.

 

Camelot Illinois tech jobs

If you’ve played the lottery recently, then you’ve interacted with Camelot Illinois, the private manager of the state lottery. People and Organizational Development Manager Alix Prassas said the company’s commitment to employee growth and development is embedded in its culture and core values.

 

What opportunities for professional development does your company offer?

We offer professional skills workshops and give each department a learning and development budget that averages out to over $1,500 per employee. We also provide LinkedIn Learning licenses, opportunities to collaborate with our parent company, and host monthly lunch and learns as well as quarterly career conversations.

There’s also a rotational, learning-intensive, one-year program for recent graduates where they are provided with feedback from all parts of the organization. Because of the size of our office and the amount of work to tackle, it's all hands on deck nearly all the time, so we often get to work on cross-functional stretch projects. Everyone has some role in strategy and execution. Lunch and learns are nearly always facilitated by internal subject matter experts, which allows employees to grow in their public speaking while teaching team members.

 

We offer professional skills workshops and give each department a learning and development budget that averages out to over $1,500 per employee.”

Why is employee growth so important to your company, and what impact does it make on your employees and culture?

At Camelot Illinois, we believe we must be champions for the people of Illinois. Part of that includes ensuring we have embedded a growth mindset into our culture. Each of us has a commitment to “keep improving” — one of our core values — so that the Illinois Lottery will be more successful year after year, thereby benefiting education throughout the state and other good causes. We encourage each other to learn and do better together by sharing, not coveting, knowledge and providing an educational and engaging experience for both sides.

 

Punchkick Interactive Chicago tech jobs

Punchkick Interactive works with brands — such as Microsoft, PetSmart and Allstate — to develop mobile strategies, apps and responsive websites. Senior Web Developer Jack Brett said that the company encourages team members to learn and explore new technologies so that they’ll be able to solve all sorts of client challenges and provide leadership on projects when duty calls.

 

What opportunities for professional development does your company offer?

With such a diverse backlog of clients, the problems our engineering team solves change from week to week. This is why Punchkickers are encouraged to spend part of the work week on learning and exploring new technologies outside their fields of expertise. This includes activities like Punchkick U, where employees research a topic — technical or otherwise — and give a presentation on it. While the position I applied for eight years ago was simply “PHP Developer,” my journey has not only had me coding in multiple languages, but also developing skills in client interaction, public speaking, creative writing and technical communication.

 

With such a diverse backlog of clients, the problems our engineering team solves change from week to week.”

Why is employee growth so important to your company, and what impact does it make on your employees and culture?

As a flat organization, leaders tend to emerge on a per-project basis rather than being assigned based on experience. This model encourages developer autonomy by rewarding the best solution to a given problem, rather than deferring to the judgment of the senior person in the room.

 

RXBAR Chicago professional development

RXBAR — yes, that RXBAR — makes clean-label snacks like protein bars and nut butter using simple and natural ingredients. According to Senior Talent Specialist Katherine Walker and Design Manager Will Ferguson, professional development is key to ensuring employees feel supported as the company evolves and grows.

 

What opportunities for professional development does your company offer?

We offer a variety of opportunities for personal and professional growth. On the more formal side, we offer tuition reimbursement for employees who are interested in continuing their education through programs or certifications. We also place a high value on nontraditional learning and have offered an alternative MBA program and other workshops that allow employees to explore their passions. Through these programs, we've had employees become CPA certified, earn their master's degrees and get job-specific certifications.

 

Our business is fast-paced, and we focus on employee growth to ensure everyone feels supported in our ever-evolving work environment.”

Why is employee growth so important to your company, and what impact does it make on your employees and culture?

Our business is fast-paced, and we focus on employee growth to ensure everyone feels supported in our ever-evolving work environment. Recently, we partnered with Experience Institute to run a two-month workshop where employees were able to explore a personal or professional interest. At the end, we came together with friends and family for a presentation of final projects on everything from art and music to food and tech. It was really fun to see new support systems form, learn more about each other's passions and build cross-functional collaboration.

 

Nexgen Packaging Chicago tech jobs

Nexgen Packaging’s cloud-based software and analytics tools are used by companies in the retail, apparel and footwear industries to optimize their brand identification products and manage their supply chain. Development Resource Manager Sebastian Irizarry said that, when it comes to professional development, his story is a great example of the opportunities the company offers to team members with a drive to do more.

 

What opportunities for professional development does your company offer?

As Nexgen continues to grow, every process is questioned, which, in return, brings opportunities for everyone. This is an informal process brought on by all of the new business opportunities. To some, it may be overwhelming to have this level of change, but to others it is exciting. Not many companies of this size welcome open feedback and innovation.

 

Employee growth is crucial to Nexgen's future, and new development opportunities, career pathways and exciting challenges present themselves on a regular basis.”

Why is employee growth so important to your company, and what impact does it make on your employees and culture?

I started at the associate level and now find myself in an international management position just a year later! As a self-motivated individual, I identified a need for a position and geared my day-to-day behavior and tasks to fit into my desired role. In my new role, I’m able to drive growth and development in others. Employee growth is crucial to Nexgen's future, and new development opportunities, career pathways and exciting challenges present themselves on a regular basis. Leadership and mentorship is also prevalent at our company. Every day is an opportunity to grow.

 

Ansarada Chicago tech jobs

Ansarada’s AI-powered deal-making platform is used by companies and their advisors to securely and easily manage and share documents critical to facilitating major financial events, like mergers, fundings and IPOs. Account Executive Meg Suchy said professional development at the company is fostered by leadership, who encourage team members to follow their passions wherever they lead.

 

What opportunities for professional development does your company offer?

At Ansarada, you truly have the ability to define your own career path, whether it’s a promotion or a lateral move across business units. Our leadership team cares about the success of the business as a whole and recognizes that, over time, employees’ passions can shift. I have first-hand experience with this.

I started my career at Ansarada on our amazing customer support team. After expressing interest to our leadership team in moving into sales, they helped me play off of my strengths and develop the skills to be successful in the role. With their support, I was able to grow and improve my skills, ending last quarter as the number one sales rep in the globe.

 

At Ansarada, you truly have the ability to define your own career path, whether it’s a promotion or a lateral move across business units.”

Why is employee growth so important to your company, and what impact does it make on your employees and culture?

Culture is something that is protected at Ansarada. We focus on building momentum and creating an unstoppable force. We protect our teams from momentum breakers and foster a growth-oriented environment. We have each other’s backs and will protect our teammates’ success and progress.

 

Spark Hire Chicago tech jobs

Spark Hire’s video interview software is used by over 5,000 companies around the world to streamline their recruiting and gain more insights into candidates. While Sales Development Representative Cara Botha has only been with the company for a short time, she said its commitment to employee growth has already made an impact on her.

 

What opportunities for professional development does your company offer?

Spark Hire offers training from outside organizations that are leaders in their industries to help our team train and develop their skills. In the short period I have been here, I had the opportunity to be part of a very valuable and exciting sales training with Victory Lap. I have six years of experience in sales, and this really challenged me. It encouraged me to always be transparent with my team about what works and what doesn’t so that we can create an environment of constant growth and development.

 

I’m excited about my growth and being part of the company’s growth.”

Why is employee growth so important to your company, and what impact does it make on your employees and culture?

Being able to grow with and in your company is pretty important. It makes employees feel like the company cares about their development as much as they do. This makes me want to perform in my position and gives me the drive to be better. This leads to a “go-go-go” attitude in the office that makes you feel important, no matter the level of your experience.

I have seen the growth opportunities here and how fast my colleagues have grown. I do believe this is part of the success of Spark Hire and why everyone is so happy to work here. I’m excited about my growth and being part of the company’s growth.

 

Palette Chicago tech jobs

Palette Software helps companies inject tech into their finance operations with its accounts payable and purchase-to-pay automation solutions. Service Operations Consultant Scott Fitzpatrick said the company’s culture places a big emphasis on knowledge sharing and support, which helps turn mistakes into teachable moments that make the entire team stronger.

 

What opportunities for professional development does your company offer?

We work with a lot of technology, and I learn new things daily through my work with SQL databases, web applications, ERP integrations and within the Microsoft Azure cloud environment. There is also an annual assessment of employee growth and collaborative plans made for any areas needing improvement. The environment is supportive, and any time I find myself up against a difficult technological challenge, our senior staff helps me get through it.

 

The environment is supportive, and any time I find myself up against a difficult technological challenge, our senior staff helps me get through it.”

Why is employee growth so important to your company, and what impact does it make on your employees and culture?

Growth is a strategic metric in our company as we continue to build North American operations up to a larger market share, and Palette is achieving this metric through the growth of each employee’s skill set and role. Market share growth is only sustainable when it rests on the shoulders of skilled, healthy, happy and empowered employees.

Knowledge sharing and support is part of our culture. For example, one time I missed an important requirement on a customer project and caught the oversight just as we were going live. I had just enough knowledge to recognize what was needed to fix the situation but not the skills to write the code. Our team pulled together and our senior development staff implemented the fix, putting the project back on track. We regrouped so all team members knew how the code worked and how to deploy it when needed.

 

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