The dust has settled on this year’s professional development classes, and, by most accounts, the new approach to The Gerken Companies’ annual training has been a success. More than 300 participants completed post-event surveys, with over 85 percent rating the new format as an improvement over previous years.

With input from their Gerken team members, Nick Badenhop, Joe St. John, and Hannah Montana reimagined the company’s staggered month-long training approach. Instead of holding numerous limited-seating sessions at the Napoleon office, they transitioned to a two-day, conference-style format.

The Gerken training conference, or Ger-Con (its working title), occurred at the Hilton Garden Inn in Perrysburg on February 26 and 27. Most sessions happened in the Main Ballroom, with three smaller rooms designated for breakout sessions.

Joint lunch sessions each day provided networking opportunities and allowed attendees to visit various vendors’ booths. Internal HR, IT, and Payroll personnel were also on hand to answer questions.

Hannah noted that many third-party vendors reported receiving more questions over the two days than in all previous sessions combined.

“We were blown away by the number of genuinely thoughtful questions we fielded from plan participants,” said Steven Small, president of Claridence Wealth. “I hope your employees found it as beneficial as we did.”

According to Hannah, the team received overwhelmingly positive comments from Gerken participants. Furthermore, many employees included heartwarming comments in their written survey responses.

“One team member wrote there are many days when he gets lonely operating his piece of heavy equipment,” says Hannah. “But he added that coming to this event made him feel special, part of something much bigger—a team that cares and a company with many good things happening. That really moved me.”

Thanks to everyone involved in transforming Gerken’s annual training, and special kudos to Nick, Joe, and Hannah.