A lack of opportunities for skills development, career progression, or the chance to move into new roles is one of the most common reasons people consider changing jobs. It’s clear that professional growth is a priority for today’s workforce.
That’s why at Sancus Lending UK, we view career pathing not just as a benefit, but as a vital part of how we support our people and build a sustainable, future-ready business.
Here are a few of the key lessons I’ve learnt and implemented along the way.
A clear roadmap for development is essential
From the outset, we put a structured development programme in place to support all Sancus colleagues with achieving their career ambitions. This framework is open to everyone across the business. Line managers play a pivotal role, engaging in regular conversations with team members to explore both short and long term goals.
These discussions shape tailored development plans that align individual aspirations with the evolving needs of our business. Together, we review current skill sets, identify areas for growth and agree practical steps to support ongoing progression.
We’ve also mapped out clear career pathways across the organisation, showing how new roles will integrate as we expand to meet growing demand in both the residential and commercial markets. In the process, we’ve identified transferable skills that allow colleagues to move between teams and functions, opening up non-traditional and flexible career journeys.
We’ve created clear job descriptions for both current and future positions, outlining the skills, experience and qualifications required. This clarity empowers colleagues to understand what’s expected and how they can progress, too.
Employee development is a cornerstone in our overall growth strategy. By investing in career pathing, we’re helping people achieve meaningful progression while also meeting our commercial objectives.
Setting and embedding company values
We spent time workshopping key values as a team to agree a set of shared principles for the business. They are at the core of everything we do, quite literally: Customer commitment, Open and honest, Respect and integrity, Excellence. Our values are more than just words – we’ve embedded them into our culture so that everyone across the business is working to the same standards and expectations.
They guide how we treat each other, how we make decisions and how we show up for our clients.
By living these values day to day, we create a consistent, accountable environment where people know what’s expected and feel part of a shared purpose. This helps us support individual growth, build trust and deliver strong results together.
Future-proofing
We’re investing in a balanced mix of technical and interpersonal skills to ensure our team can take on greater responsibilities and prepare for future roles. This approach is helping us build a strong internal talent pipeline, ready to support growth across our chosen markets. We’re also planning ahead and thinking about the roles we’ll need over the next three years so we can prepare more effectively.
When it comes to securing and nurturing future talent, we’re passionate about creating access into our industry whatever the candidate’s background. We are proud to offer apprenticeships that allow us to secure great talent who haven’t followed traditional career pathways like university, with many of our current team coming from this route.
The UK employment market is evolving fast and it’s vital that employers in the real estate lending sector continue to adapt to the changing landscape. Creating effective career pathways is a true differentiator, but it takes commitment and an ongoing focus. As business needs and individual ambitions evolve, so too must the routes we offer for progression.
At Sancus UK, we’ll always be committed to mentoring, coaching and supporting our people because when every colleague has the opportunity to thrive, the business does too.
The benefits are already evident – we’re attracting more candidates for roles we plan to fill in 2025 and beyond and we’re improving retention by building our team from within, encouraging every individual to contribute to a thriving, successful culture.
Andrew Charnley is managing director at Sancus Lending UK
