Throughout the year, we feature employees sharing their unique stories about their time at Ritchie Bros. In this edition, Celia Vandenbergh, Manager, Customer Financial Operations, talks about her career journey and transformation within the organzation.
I joined Ritchie Bros. 15 years ago as a Customer Service Representative. I had just arrived from Argentina with no experience in an office environment, no prior accounting knowledge, and quite frankly, no friends. But the people here quickly became my family. I built strong relationships and learned the value of being part of a team, and I thrived on the joy of accomplishing goals together.
Ritchie Bros. nurtured and supported me by not only helping me set goals to continuously grow myself and the business, but by helping me to achieve them as well. My manager saw skills and qualities in me that I wasn’t even aware of, encouraged me to further my education and push myself out of my comfort zone, and made me realize my potential. I often think of the extremely introverted girl who started here in 2006 and I am in awe of how far I have come thanks to my journey within this organization.
Hire for attitude, train for the skills
There is truly unlimited growth potential at this organization and my own progression is demonstrative of that. Over the years, I have acquired skills in everything from operations to finance and accounting to people management. RBA allows me to constantly grow and leverage my strengths, after enjoying a challenge as Manager of Financial Operations (FinOps) for our Asia Pacific markets, I am thrilled to move into a new role as Financial Analyst to focus on the tasks that I enjoy the most and have a meaningful contribution to the needs we have today.
Ritchie Bros. is constantly evolving, which creates a unique combination of challenge and opportunity. Individuals who thrive within our FinOps department are the ones who are active participants in their experience as team members and want to make a difference for our customers and the organization. This translates to engagement in new initiatives, adaptability to changes, a positive attitude to achieving goals despite challenges, and a solutions-oriented approach to feedback.
This proactive, ‘can do’ attitude is at the heart of Ritchie Bros.’ culture. In fact, early on in my career when I was leading up my first hiring process, my manager summarized it in one sentence: “You hire for the attitude, you train for the skills.” What this means to me is that we look for candidates who will fit in with our culture and want a career more than simply a job. And I’ve seen this applied many times here over the years.
For example, we recently hired some individuals with no technical experience in the local region, but they interviewed extremely well and showcased their desire to learn and grow. They provided great examples of scenarios where they naturally sought improvements, stayed committed to their personal development, and communicated in an effective and engaging way. We were honored to extend them job offers and are very excited to see what our new colleagues will accomplish!
Holistic development for all team members
Ritchie Bros. is committed to developing all colleagues and approaches training in a holistic way. Our people leaders provide tools and opportunities for development, and our team members learn by doing – they are encouraged to come forward with ideas and to voice their needs. We also have an impressive library of online courses through Percipio, a Learning Management System, which is accessible to all colleagues.
Lastly, and most importantly, we actively mentor team members. We focus on development plans and goal setting so we can guide them on their path to their next role.
And this approach works! Over the last five years alone, I have seen numerous colleagues grow into leadership or more specialized roles. It is always a very proud and rewarding moment to see team members succeed and reach their career goals.
A unique experience in FinOps
As the largest asset management and disposition company in the world, our roles in FinOps at Ritchie Bros. provide a unique, global experience.
No matter your role in FinOps, you’ll be provided opportunities to grow your accounting, analytical, and customer-facing and interpersonal skills in a collaborative and fun environment. Each team member develops transferable skills that improve their operational knowledge and performance, and we’re in the privileged position of seeing (and influencing) how our core business functions, from contract signing all the way to payment to the seller, and everything in between.
But to me, the biggest joy of being a part of FinOps is to know that what we do matters. Behind every transaction is a customer who needs us and it’s rewarding knowing we are making a difference in their experience with Ritchie Bros. We never know exactly how the day is going to go, but I think that dynamism is the best part. The one thing we can always count on, though? That the day is going to go by fast because, as they say, time flies when you’re having fun!
Looking for a new FinOps role on an exciting team? Explore the latest job openings on our careers page.