Lloyd Companies Welcomes Training And Development Director

 At Lloyd Companies, working and learning go hand in hand.

We’re continually increasing how we emphasize training and leadership development for our team, and now we’re taking it to an even higher level.

Marcia Schmitz, a leader in the training and development industry, has joined us as our full-time training and development director.

With her leadership, we look forward to fully launching and utilizing Lloyd University, our in-house approach to teaching our team members skills for today and tomorrow as we help them grow within our company and provide outstanding service to others.

We talked with Marcia to learn more about her exciting new role.

Question: Welcome to Lloyd Companies! What are you most looking forward to about your new role?

Answer:  I am most looking forward to working with the high-quality, talented Lloyd team.  So, far I have met a lot of team members and one of the things that stands out to me is that this team is engaged and they care.  Lloyd has recruited a lot of good humans!  I am looking forward to helping enhance the way we onboard new employees as well as how we continue to train and develop them to be successful in their roles at Lloyd.

There is a famous quote by Zig Ziglar that states: “You don’t build a business, you build people, and then people build your business”.   I have always loved that quote and I am looking forward to helping develop the people of Lloyd Companies.

Question: Tell us a little about the journey that brought you here. What’s your background?

Answer:  I have been blessed over the years with opportunities at different organizations to build out new programs and services, new business units and new teams and that has always been exciting to me.  My professional career has been in the “people business”- in business development, sales and leading client facing teams before starting a consulting business to help organizations train and develop their people.  One thing that has always been important to me and that I believe is a critical responsibility as a leader, is that we set people up for success.  What that means to me is that we are making sure team members have the training to develop the skills they need to be successful.  I believe strong leadership is essential to successfully operate and grow a business.  And I can see there is a commitment at Lloyd to their people.

Question: How would you describe the role that training and development can play for employees? Why is this valuable for them?

Answer:  When I think about the role that training and development can play for team members, I right away think, this is something that can help them achieve their personal and professional goals.  Training and development is an investment in each individual team member.  If our team members embrace this concept and truly take the time to invest in themselves, they will be able to achieve great things personally and for Lloyd.

Question: What are your initial impressions of Lloyd Companies? What qualities stand out?

Answer:  My initial impression is that Lloyd Companies is made up of many people who care.  As a company, one of the things that attracted me to the organization is that they seemed to be living their core values of Family, Giving Back, High Ethical Standards, Profitability, Relationships, Reputation and Traditions.  All important things.  Great organizations care about their people and strive to do good and I see that at Lloyd Companies.

Question: What’s the next step for Lloyd University? 

Answer:  Currently, we are focused on securing a strong foundation for Lloyd University.  Before I arrived, the team had been busy building many great training courses and a platform to house our university library.  A lot of work has already begun.  My goal is to further enhance what has already been started and begin to fill some of the gaps where we have needs.  A major focus of Lloyd University will be on Leadership Development as we believe that a strong team of leaders, investing in our people, will be critical to our continued growth and success.

Question: We talk a lot about work-life balance at Lloyd. How do you achieve that for yourself, and how will you help others at Lloyd do the same?

Answer:  I think everyone is always striving and working for work-life balance.  One thing I am grateful for is the flexibility for work and life to co-exist in healthy way at Lloyd.  I think it is something that as individuals, we all need to do our part to set healthy boundaries and identify what works for each of us personally.  What is healthy for one individual might not be healthy for all.  I also believe that a focus on better time management is critical to making this happen.  I have always believed in working smarter and not harder and to me, that means we have to start thinking outside the box.  Instead of doing something a certain way, just because it has always been done that way, challenge your thinking and others to improve the way we do and approach things.  I also think that as individuals we need to be more intentional with our time and the way we manage it.  I hope to help the Lloyd team manage their time better and find a balance between work and life that works for each individual.