Training and Development
Loanfinder UK are committed to helping employees progress in their career. We know how to spot the potential and greatness in people. It doesn't matter if you join us as an operator or an Operations Director. We are determined to make you passionate and enthusiastic about what you do and soon, like us, you’ll be boring your friends and family with stories of your latest achievement, or the difference you have made. As Kate Lawrence, one of our team of entrepreneurs who formed Debt Line, says: "You see people who started as operators and who are now managers. You know that with passion and determination you won't be overlooked."
Loan finder staff agree that the job is good for their personal growth (79%). They rate their managers highly; an overall score of 80% for questions about managers is beaten by just one other organisation. About 50% of a manager's bonus is based on team appraisals, and employees feel managers help them fulfil their potential, act as excellent role models (both 77%), and really listen to their team (81%). A 78% score shows that the workforce feels excited about the firm's future.
Loanfinder staff benefit from Managerial support and a fee free Training and Appraisal Package to help them develop to thier maximum potential. Staff have monthly appraisals and training is taken very seriously – so much so that managers dedicate 80% of their time to coaching team members and helping them with career development.
What’s more, Loanfinder doesn't fit the stereotype of a financial company and James Benamor isn't the typical managing director. He doesn't have his own office, he rolls up his sleeves to sort things out, and when things are going well, he's the first to congratulate the team. The confidence Benamor has in his staff is reciprocated. They have a great deal of faith in him, giving a positive score of 82%. 78% of employees have confidence in the leadership skills of senior managers and say they truly live the values of the organisation, and 79% feel they can really make a difference to the business.
As just one example of Benamor’s faith in his team, when the Group wanted to expand the loan brokerage business, Benamor didn't put an advert for new staff in the local paper, instead he set up an Apprentice style challenge. Taking a number of the company's call centre agents, whose average age was 21, he gave each one £10,000 to set up a debt management company. Competing against each other, the most successful would become the firm's new brand.
The two groups set up businesses from scratch and the challenge paid off. Nobody was told "You're fired!" About six months later, Debt Line emerged victorious, and four years on, it is the Group's second largest brand. One of the original entrepreneurs is now the managing director of Debt Line and three more are managers within the Group. Benamor is more than happy to acknowledge the excellence of his employees. ‘We harnessed the power that was already within our company.’
As well as helping charities and the local community Loanfinder UK and its group of companies are also keen to help under privileged children and after forging relationships with the Manchester Settlement have set up the Youth Work Experience Programme. The program states that any young person who achieves at least 1 GCSE through the Manchester Settlement education programme is invited for 1 month's fully paid work experience at Loanfinder UK or one of its other groups, which can even lead to full-time employment with a company such as Loanfinder.