CBJ Workforce Leaders 2019

Clickstop’s training programs gives employees
opportunities to learn and thrive
Clickstop’s self-driven learning culture is key to the Urbana-based
online retailer’s success in training for existing employee needs, said Director
of Communications Jeremy Meyer. The company uses onboarding,
mentorship and talent development programs; leadership and
executive development workshops; and new leader integration and peer
discussion sessions to ignite employees’ desire to learn and personal
conviction to transform to the
best version of themselves.
“We strive to provide creative
autonomy and flexibility Best Training for Existing
in responsibilities to allow
Employment Needs
employees the opportunity
to learn through new and
challenging experiences,” Mr.
CLICKSTOP
Meyer said. To make learning
accessible, Clickstop hosts
on-site workshops, provides
access to e-learning programs and reimburses employees for outside
training and certifications. Nearly 20 percent of Clickstop’s 145-strong
workforce participates in its mentoring program, designed to increase
employees’ awareness and reflections on their learning.
Since 2018, Clickstoppers have invested 420 employee hours participating
in talks by experts on business and leadership topics, peer
group discussion and one-on-one coaching and collaboration and
leadership building through Leading Edge and Vistage workshops. Employees
don’t need to hold formal management roles to participate in
leadership sessions, which have also been opened up to other companies
in the Corridor to give Clickstoppers the opportunity to gain new
perspectives and ideas from other businesses.
Debuting this year, the six-month New Leader Integration program
gave six participants deeper understanding in such areas as leveraging
strengths of team members, leading with the Clickstop Code, having
effective employee Impact conversations and developing an employee
engagement strategy.
Eight upcoming leaders joined in peer group discussions, allowing
them to cultivate relationships, learn from each other and
gain greater awareness of the ripple effects of decisions and company-wide
initiatives.
Each quarter, the Clickstop leadership team nominates top performers
and high-potential employees for support by the Talent
Enrichment Team in identifying their goals, strengths and areas where
they’d like to focus their development. Eighteen employees have participated
this year.
Getting new employees off on the right foot is key, so before new
hires are trained on their job functions, they spend a week learning
about the company’s mission, values, teams, goals and top business
initiatives from other Clickstoppers. The Clickstart program has onboarded
40 employees since 2018 and has proved its worth.
The “time to impact once the employees get into their roles” is
reduced because “they know why we do what we do and where to find
what they need to be successful,” said Mr. Meyer. •
Why is training and developing employees
important to Clickstop?
Rather than looking at change as a threat, we
see it as a part of our competitive advantage.
“The minute we ignore the need for change
is the minute we stop growing and things
start heading the wrong direction,” CEO Tim
Guenther said. “The longer we wait to adapt to
change, the more the damages will be.”
At Clickstop, a big part of how people
learn is through the changing, challenging
environment where people are given a lot of
autonomy to experiment and try new things: to
put themselves in challenging situations that
require them to stretch their capabilities every
day. This type of environment allows a variety of
strengths to be identified and sharpened.
What would you recommend to an
organization looking to implement an
employee training program?
Start with providing clear expectations of
the employee’s role. Help her understand
why the role is important to the success of
the organization. What are the initiatives of
the company? What is the company seeking
to accomplish? How is her work tied to the
initiatives? This creates purpose. Purpose
fuels growth.
When purpose is present, you will find that
employees are more heavily invested in the
success of the business, assuming the employee
aligns with the values of the organization.
This investment leads to greater creativity
in one’s approach to their work and creates
opportunities to grow for both employee and
employer. Employees aren’t necessarily looking
to skip jobs every few years, but they are looking
for new opportunities.
clickstop.com
202 Blue Creek Drive, Urbana, IA 52345
(800) 383-0592
CBJ WORKFORCE LEADERS 2019 13