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October 12 , 2007
For Professional Development Opportunities, Bell is Among the Very Best
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Over her 27-year career at Bell, Patricia Robertson has taken on greater responsibilities and new managerial roles. She credits Bell’s professional development program for helping her grow her career. |
Professionals in the aerospace and defense industry consistently place professional development and career growth among their top considerations in job satisfaction. When Aviation Week recently examined the organizations that offer such opportunities for employees for its annual workforce study, Bell Helicopter ranked among the best.
Training to Take on New Responsibilities
Such findings did not surprise employees like Patricia Robertson and Bob Ellithorpe, who have grown professionally at Bell. They have taken on greater management and project responsibilities, and they credit leadership programs offered by Textron and Bell with helping them to achieve such success.
“The continuing education made possible by Bell Helicopter and Textron gave me the vision to widen my sphere of influence, the confidence to accept more responsibility and the skill to accomplish the job,” says Robertson, the executive director of Business Development and Management within the Engineering & XworX organization.
Robertson is helping Bell to maintain a strong competitive advantage in the aerospace industry by leading a team that provides the processes to manage the development of world-class technology. It’s not a job that Robertson would have envisioned when she joined Bell 27 years ago as an engineer in the Cost Analysis Engineering Group.
But her participation in courses offered through Textron University (which provides hundreds of classes), coursework developed through partnerships between Bell and local universities and her Textron Six Sigma Green Belt training all paved the way for her to accomplish great things for herself and Bell.
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The range of Bell’s professional development programs attracted Bob Ellithorpe to Bell and it is among the reasons that he has stayed with the company. |
Attracting and Retaining Talented Employees
For Ellithorpe, Bell’s strong emphasis on professional development, including a tuition reimbursement program, was a major selling point when he was considering a number of employment options eight years ago upon his retirement from the U.S. Marine Corps.
“That one opportunity in and of itself was significant,” Ellithorpe says of the tuition reimbursement program. He immediately began an MBA program at the University of Dallas. “It attracted me to Bell and it has been a motivation to stay with Bell.”
Ellithorpe began his career at Bell in commercial marketing. Two years later, he took over the management of such high-profile projects as the V-22 Osprey and the Eagle Eye aircraft system. Today, he serves as executive director of the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) program.
Like Robertson, Ellithorpe has taken advantage of many of Bell and Textron’s management programs. “I have seen my own skills and abilities improve because of these training opportunities that Textron has offered,” he says. “They have significantly helped to develop my management skills.”
Learning to Meet New Challenges
Professional development programs are good for employees, but they are also important for the success of Bell and Textron. “Bell is on a tremendous growth curve and we face many challenges in meeting our customers' current and future needs,” says Wanda Burghart, Bell’s director of professional development. “This requires us to have the best talent in place to continually improve our processes, products and services that drive innovation.
“Our employees are very savvy,” she adds. “They know that today’s skills won’t be enough to make you successful tomorrow and they are in this industry for the long haul.”
Each employee is encouraged to have 40 hours of learning per year, with measurable goals set for each employee. Partnering with Textron University, Bell offers a wide range of programs that range from leadership development courses to training geared towards enhancing specific job skills.
Bell ensures that employees’ professional development needs are met through a formal annual needs assessment and ongoing feedback from participants.
The proof of Bell’s professional development program is in its results. Bell has one of the lowest voluntary turnover rates in the industry and about 80 percent of promotions at the managerial level and above come from within the company.
“We know that people want to come here and stay,” Burghart says. “And they won’t stay if they don’t find a challenge in their jobs – interesting work and the opportunity for growth. We are providing that for our employees.”
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