Hello ATD Long Island! With so many great events and benefits being offered by ATD: LI, it is nice to get to know the people responsible for the hard work, as well as the professionals in the field that we are here for.
February's Member Profile checks both boxes. This month we introduce ATD: LI's Director of Membership and BNB Bank's Director of Talent Acquisition, Lisa Garraputa.
ATD: How did you come to be a part of ATD LI?
LG: I had attended the SHRM-LI Conference and met some really great people at the ATD booth. After speaking with some folks, it peaked my interest to learn more about the ATD-LI organization and chapter.
ATD: Where do you work currently and what does a work day look like for you?
LG: I am currently the Director of Talent Acquisition for BNB Bank. A work day for me is leading the recruitment function by continuously building and strengthening relationships internally and externally. I act as a strategic partner to our business lines to ensure we are connecting, mentoring, and empowering, internal and external talented professionals.
ATD: Describe a major career achievement that led to your current position.
LG: I believe a major career achievement that lead me to my current role was revamping our Internship Program. Revamping our Internship Program involved creating a new business case, providing guidelines to management and creating a quality internship program that provides students with a valuable experience in the professional fields they are considering for career paths. This program also was created to enrich the growth of BNB emerging leaders. The revamp of this program has resulted in several growth opportunities for our organization in addition to internal growth and mobility for our previous Interns (4 of which have been brought on-board full-time.) I believe my passion to empower young professionals to take the first step in their career combined with my expertise in mentoring and developing talent has allowed me to become a leader within the Talent profession.
ATD: What do you suggest to new members for them to gain the most benefit from ATD LI?
LG: My suggestion for a new member to gain the most benefit from the ATD- Long Island Chapter is to go to meetings, network, get out of your comfort zone and meet new people. I’ve learned so much about common trends, talked about hot topics and even met great people who I could bounce ideas off. It is incredible to be surrounded by talented professionals who share the same passion, which is helping develop talent no matter their level.
ATD: What was the most challenging experience you ever had in talent development, and why?
LG: The most challenging experience I had in Talent Development was when I had clients resistant to change. I believe that clients can be very set in their ways because “things have always been done this way…” I overcame this challenge by asking “why do we do it this way...have we thought about trying this…”
ATD: What are some of the biggest challenges facing the learning and development field?
LG: I think one of the biggest challenges we are facing in the learning and development field is the virtual learning space. There are many great benefits to virtual learning – however, we lack face-to-face interaction and may miss important pieces to the training.
