What's the Company Culture Like at Vail Systems, Inc.?

What are some of the growth opportunities available to you and your colleagues? 

Vail Systems has the unique ability to be agile with promotions, having limited bureaucracy without stringent structures for promotional opportunities. Employees are promoted based on proven performance rather than having to wait for arbitrarily chosen timelines for promotion. Managers look at each team member’s contributions individually, and have the autonomy to offer their employees promotions when they see fit. This is because we don’t put limitations on the number of employees who can be promoted during a given review cycle. 

I started with Vail as an intern, and in four short years, I have been promoted at an expedited rate according to my strengths and interests. The opportunity to explore my intended career path and move into a people management position has allowed me to rapidly develop my skill set at a much faster pace than what I would expect elsewhere.

How does a focus on growth boost morale? 

Employees who know they will be provided growth opportunities are motivated to contribute to their role and fulfill both personal and team goals. Vail focuses on developing detailed career paths for each team, so all employees understand what skills and stretch goals are required to achieve that next career milestone. 

As someone who works with managers to develop these career paths, I have seen just how empowering it is for employees to have transparency into growth opportunities via career pathing. When levels along an individual’s career path are clearly laid out via expected responsibilities, managers are able to provide specific feedback and better support professional growth. I have also found that the more clarity employees have on expectations, the more self-efficacy they have, leading to positive and productive team contributions. I’ve witnessed many of our teams benefit greatly from this positive feedback loop.
 

From an employee perspective, what advice would you give to employers interested in bolstering their growth opportunities? 

I would recommend having career paths accessible to employees and managers. These career paths should provide a clear illustration of the leveling structure within each team, alongside detailed descriptions of qualifications and responsibilities for each level. This gives employees what they need to create appropriate stretch goals and allows managers to anchor their expectations to support talent development initiatives effectively. 

I would also recommend organizational leaders allocate resources into leadership development training. Managers who are able to support their employees’ growth will see long-term benefits, such as improved retention, productivity, employee job satisfaction and work quality output. 

Vail has continually emphasized leadership development and has seen the benefits at all levels. Direct managers are key in the effectiveness of the employees they manage. Vail provides ongoing training and support for managers in leadership skills, as well as knowledge such as communication, emotional intelligence and performance management. These initiatives have resulted in managers at Vail feeling more confident in navigating the career growth journey of their employees.