As the dearth of experienced asset finance staff is increasingly being felt throughout the global leasing industry two forward-looking companies are seizing the initiative and developing advanced in-house training programs.
In the US DLL has inaugurated its Generation Next scheme and and in the UK Shire Leasing is progressing with its Sales Academy.
DLL welcomes the first group of recruits for its Generation Next program.
The DLL Generation Next program is designed to attract high potential young professionals with the interest and commitment necessary to have a successful career in sales.
Sean McManus, VP Human Resources, Americas explained: “This new approach aims to bring young professionals into the fold in a way that shows a clear development path right from the start.
“Our first participants bring diverse perspectives and fresh thinking to DLL—we are learning as much from them as they are from us.”
The Generation Next pilot has been developed in direct alignment with the company’s office technology business. Over the past 25 years, this global business unit has successfully navigated every economic cycle in order to continually support the growth of its partners in the office equipment and technology industries.
The Generation Next program is intended to invest in developing young sales talent to continue to support DLL’s growing business in this segment.
“The key to our success has always been industry specialization and our ability to attract and retain a world class sales organization to develop long term relationships with our customers and help them grow,” said Bob Hunter, SVP, US Sales.
“Our current commercial organization has over 700 years of combined experience and it is the right time to combine the industry knowledge of our top performers with the fresh ideas of our young high potentials to expand our commercial organization and develop future leaders.”
DLL believes that to sustain the leasing industry over the long term it must actively promote vendor finance to students and recent graduates and offer relevant, practical experiences—enabling top talent to thrive and remain in the industry.
Shire Leasing creates career opportunities for young sales recruits
Meanwhile in the UK, Shire Business Group is offering a group of new sales recruits an innovative way to take their first steps up the career ladder. The new entrants will gain valuable experience working for a large organization.
Shire created its Sales Academy in 2013 with the aim of bringing new talent into the organization and the scheme has proved extremely successful so far. Last year’s program has produced five sales people who now have full time sales positions within the Shire Business Group.
Vincenzo Scalzone, sales director Vendor Finance explained that each place in the Sales Academy lasts for six months and comes with a host of benefits, including a good basic salary, a program of formal training and on-the-job coaching and continual assessment.
At the end of the six months, each candidate will have the opportunity to apply for a permanent sales position within the group.
Scalzone added: “The Sales Academy is a unique way to identify ambitious, dynamic individuals and develop them into the next generation of sales and business development roles. It gives Shire the opportunity to invest in new talent and move the business forward.”
Unlike many similar programs, the Shire Sales Academy offers a broad range of experience across all the businesses in the group, including finance, commercial funding, debt recovery, insurance and marketing.
Shire’s Head of HR, Debra Amos added: “We have received a lot of interest from high-calibre applicants who will now take part in a comprehensive selection process during a one day assessment at our Tamworth offices in December. The six most successful candidates will then be invited to join our Academy program in the New Year.”
The company is taking applications up until November 23. Interested candidates can apply via www.shireleasing.co.uk/careers
