Building The Future: Gibraltar Business Capital Develops Talent to Inspire New Ways of Thinking
For Gibraltar Business Capital, developing the next generation of asset-based lending professionals is critical to moving the industry toward new ways of thinking. The Chicago-based specialty finance company openly promotes its culture, employee accomplishments and employee brand to attract young talent.
Always willing to craft new opportunities for young professionals, the company currently offers entry-level positions in operations, credit and business development, as well as training and rotational opportunities for team members who are motivated to learn more about other areas of the business while advancing their skills and careers.
Gibraltar also partners with third-party resources to support personal and professional development within the company. For example, the company partners with Insperity, a Professional Employer Organization (PEO), to provide training classes, many of which are free or otherwise compensated for by the company. Gibraltar also sponsors participation in associations like the Secured Finance Network and leadership development programs like Vistage. The company’s culture and development teams even bring in outside resources to hold team training to drive growth in emotional intelligence, functional best practices and finance topics for young professionals looking to grow within Gibraltar.
In providing a wealth of resources and opportunities to its teams, Gibraltar’s leaders prioritize employees’ personal and professional development daily. When the company’s CEO, Scott Winicour, acquired the business in 2010 from his father, he says he was “clueless” about professional development because it wasn’t a business practice he had ever encountered. Several years ago, however, an advisor spoke to Gibraltar’s management team about professional development, and Winicour’s view on the subject shifted. “Professional development has become a huge priority,” Winicour says. “We discuss it as a management team every time we get together.”
Winicour has experienced the benefits of concentrated professional development, attributing some of his evolution as an executive to a year-long leadership training program he attended called Stagen. He recently shared some of the concepts he learned in the program with the full organization through training sessions. He also has taught several interpersonal and soft skills sessions on active listening, productive conflict, communication skills, providing feedback and handling difficult situations.
“I received feedback from the team that they’ve applied many of these concepts to their personal lives to be more effective inside and outside of work,” Winicour says.
As mentioned, Gibraltar’s focus on professional development incorporates the whole individual from both personal and professional perspectives. The company’s management team carefully considers employees’ individual work and life goals, considering that some employees’ lives require a low-stress, nine-to-five job. In contrast, others have the space and a strong desire to keep learning, growing, taking on new challenges, and setting large goals.
“It’s my job as the organization’s leader to understand what value everybody wants from their relationship with Gibraltar,” Winicour says, noting that other management team members have the same responsibility to serve all employees.
Because Gibraltar is small and nimble, it can be more flexible in supporting young talent. With its flat organizational structure, new talent has direct access to Gibraltar’s leadership team, meaning the company can be generous in supporting those looking to learn and grow without enduring layers of approvals or formal program applications.
“I want people to recommend Gibraltar as a great place to work and refer others to work with us, and, ultimately, I want to know that I did right by our employees as human beings,” Winicour says. •
