Learning from Experiences to Accelerate Development – The LCS LEAD Program

At LCS, we believe investing in our employees’ professional growth and development is the key to success. That’s why professional development is built into our culture—from assigning every employee a Professional Development Coach to offering department exploration through CrossTrain workshops.

In 2021, LCS leadership saw the need for a more immersive career development program. In response, they partnered with Human Resources to design a robust career development experience that would give employees a comprehensive view of LCS and Rent Manager’s operations.

And thus, the LEAD Program was born.

What is the LEAD Program?

LEAD—short for Learning from Experiences to Accelerate Development—is a two-year program comprised of four six-month rotations through various departments at LCS: Sales, Implementation, Professional Services, and Quality Assurance. Through each rotation, participants gain firsthand experience in how each department contributes to the LCS customer life cycle and company success.

“The program provides employees the opportunity to receive mentoring, coaching, and direction from leaders and their fellow employees throughout the course of the rotations,” said Professional Development Coach Morgan Walker. “The idea was to foster growth for our employees who weren’t sure what they wanted to do with their career or just wanted to learn more about our business to better prepare for a higher-level career with us at LCS.”

LCS CEO and President, Dave Hegemann, hand-selects each participant for the LEAD Program from a pool of applicants. So far, four groups have participated—one has graduated and moved into new roles, two are in the midst of their rotations, and the newest group has just begun.

To better understand the impact of this unique program, we spoke with Morgan and several current and former LEAD Program participants about their experiences.

A Broader Perspective of LCS

For many, LEAD is an opportunity to see beyond the boundaries of their original role.

Warren Beeckman, currently in his final rotation, said he saw the program as an opportunity to develop new skills and expand his horizons. As a former teacher, he hadn’t been in a corporate setting for 10 years, so the LEAD Program was a way he could boost his career and explore new roles. “I feel like [my career] really benefitted because it touched on a little bit of everything,” he said. “I know now what I’m really good at, what I struggle with, whereas if I just stayed in one role, I might not have known a lot of that about myself.”

Olivia Feldmann, also finishing up her final rotation, said she was drawn to the program as soon as she joined LCS. “I remember thinking ‘that’s what I want to do, that is the full scope of the company,” she said. “I’m going to see every department, I’m going to meet people along the way, I’m going to get a better understanding of how we all work together.”

Kayla Brown, a LEAD graduate and now a Quality Assurance Software Tester, said she decided to apply because she wanted to help Rent Manager customers in a different capacity than she’d been doing as a Product Support Specialist. “Going into the LEAD Program, I got to take all of the information I had learned and apply it elsewhere,” she said. Each rotation allowed her to come away with a clearer picture of customers’ needs and how the software helps their business.

Building a Valuable Network

Over the course of the program, LEAD participants spend a lot of time getting to know their fellow employees. They all felt that one of the most valuable byproducts of working in multiple areas was the network they built of team members they may not have met otherwise.

“You develop a solid network of people that you can tap on for questions or if you need some more information on additional things, you know exactly who to go to,” said Case Review Analyst David Warnica, who completed the LEAD Program in September 2024. “You now have your source in each of the departments you participated in.”

For Kayla, the LEAD Program offered a unique opportunity to share the knowledge she’d gained from other teams with her colleagues back in the Product Support department. “I was basically bridging that gap [between departments], and that helped a lot because I had more experience in these new departments, and I was still able to understand it from the Product Support side,” she said.

 Adaptability and Flexibility are Key

When asked what makes a successful LEAD participant, one trait stood out: adaptability.

 With just six months in each rotation, the participants felt that the ability to quickly adjust to different priorities and workloads was the key to getting the most out of the program.

It also helped to keep an open mind, according to Olivia. “We may have an idea of what the rotation will look like before we go into it, but each rotation can be a little different for each participant,” she noted.

“Each of the four roles that you’re going to be in have totally different tools, and there are going to be learning curves as you get into each of the rotations,” said David. “[But] everybody’s pretty accommodating. Just always ask questions.”

An Investment for Growth

As the second group of LEAD participants nears graduation, Morgan said she has really enjoyed seeing how much the employees have grown. Many began in entry-level positions with limited Rent Manager knowledge. By the end, “seeing how much they know at the end of the program, how many more people they know, [and] how much more well-integrated they are into the entirety of the company has been really exciting,” said Morgan.

For the participants, their experiences in the LEAD Program have impacted their careers in ways that wouldn’t have been possible without it. Olivia said she felt like she was a valued member of the team from the beginning. “[I was] given some responsibility in each role to do something with some creative freedom that I’ve really appreciated,” she said.

For Warren, the very existence of LEAD speaks volumes. “Even if you never join the program, just the fact that it even exists is huge,” he said. “I feel like I’ve just constantly been growing since working here, and especially too with being in LEAD.”

Looking Ahead

At LCS, we believe that investing in our employees’ career development is key to cultivating an engaged workforce, and the LEAD Program’s success is a prime example. It is already fulfilling its purpose as an investment in the future of our employees. “If we don’t have something that looks like it’s 100% right for you, maybe you can join the LEAD Program and get experience that you didn’t have before,” said Morgan. “You might discover a career path that fits you even better than you imagined.”