The people within the business are vital to my success

posted by Caroline Grant
29 April 2015

When I applied to join Clarks, I already had a few friends and family who worked here and they all raved about the culture and the people. With my previous employer, the morale of their people was not really high on their priority list, so it was refreshing to start working for an organization that really does value the community within.

Clarks is a company whose people practice its values. We’re all passionate about our jobs and that shows in how we think and behave here. No company can build a coherent culture without people who share its core values and are willing and able to embrace those values - and we genuinely do that here.

My career path is the perfect example of the wide range of opportunities that are on display in Clarks. I started in Customer Service answering phones and working with Territory Managers. Then, after working my way through a few more roles, I became a member of the Learning and Development team. In this role I get plenty of opportunities to take part in learning sessions both within the business itself, as well as through 3rd party trainers. Thanks to the extensive learning opportunities available, I’ve developed my skills and experience in a wide variety of areas, from personal development to technical training to learning centred around the footwear industry and beyond.

Here in the Americas we call the Learning and Development department “Clarks University”. Our integrated learning system combines in-office classes, online courses, leadership and management workshops and vast opportunities to develop new skills. I regularly have new training projects presented to me and I enjoy the chance to be a part of the development of employees across all areas of the business. The people within the business are vital to my success. After all, they are my customers! Their desires to better themselves, develop their skills and advance their careers have a direct impact on the need for someone like me to exist.

My biggest challenge is to keep people engaged and interested in the training opportunities we offer. Anyone can take a training class and consider themselves an expert on the subject, but the real challenge is applying what is learned to its targeted application - that’s the only real way to determine if the training was successful. And for me, the biggest need I have from our people is their continued support and participation in our course offerings - if there’s a training need within the business, it allows me to improve on the courses we offer and makes it more possible to reach a larger audience.

The career opportunities at Clarks are vast. First of all, we’re a rapidly growing global organization, so new opportunities are arising all the time. Secondly, performance development and succession planning is the focus of both the Learning and Development department and Clarks leaders as well. It’s also the flexibility of my role and the freedom in my job that makes me stay at Clarks. My managers trust me to prioritize my work tasks and projects without micromanaging. Additionally every day is different; I could be teaching a class, creating an eLearning course, working on a team project, or travelling to one of our other locations - not every company can offer those opportunities.

My Clarks highlight so far? I should probably mention that I met my wife at Clarks! If I don’t claim that as my highlight, I may end up in the doghouse!  Outside of work my baby daughter keeps my pretty busy! Whenever I find myself with some alone time I’m usually occupying myself with music in some way… making music, recording, attending concerts, collecting vinyl records, etc.


Patrick – Training Specialist – Newton (MA), USA

Categories: Talent | US | HR |