Sponsored Content by Andra Popescu, D2L Corporation
Financial services organizations are facing industry pressure like never before. From disruption caused by technology to the emerging fintech industry, changes in customer expectations and increasing employee turnover, there is a need for financial institutions (FIs) to take learning beyond simple compliance training.
Due to the regulatory requirements of the industry, FIs have been focusing their learning efforts on anti-money laundering or know your customer programs. And although it’s important to develop compliance-based learning that keeps the C-suite out of jail, it’s also crucial to look at learning as opportunity to make and save the company money while deepening customer relationships.
How do you do that? By building a modern learning culture within your FI.
What is a modern learning culture?
A modern workplace learning culture inspires, motivates and supports employees as they move into new roles, and empowers them to acquire new skills and competencies, or develop those they already have on demand. It also considers the expectations, needs, and preferences of modern learners. It puts those principles at its core, leveraging next-generation learning tools and modern learning experiences to encourage greater employee engagement, workplace efficiency, and organizational agility through always-on learning.
Organizations with a strong modern learning culture don’t only benefit from increased employee engagement but are also more likely to bolster their bottom line, thus helping the FI with saving and money-making initiatives.
Companies with a strong learning culture have 30-50% higher engagement and retention rates. Not only that, but a strong learning culture makes organizations 56% more likely to be first to market with products and services, ultimately making these organizations 17% more profitable than their peers.
Engaged employees are less likely to leave your organization, thus saving you money in talent acquisition initiatives. As for your advisors who are in the field, the more engaged they are, the more likely they are to provide better service experiences, thus deepening the relationship with your customers.
Compliance training may help organizations mitigate operational risk, but modern learning supports with the development of an engaging, interactive employee culture.
How do you foster a strong learning culture?
A strong learning culture is one where the organization is committed to employee development as a key strategic differentiator. Investments need to be made in both the people and technology available to support employees with skill development in their existing roles, but also providing an opportunity to gather the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to support with succession planning activities within the organization.
In order to foster a strong learning culture, one must learn how to engage with and cater to the modern learner. Today’s modern learner is looking for an upgraded learning experience. This includes video, Social AssessmentTM, content creation and curation capabilities and on-demand bite-sized learning.
Convincing internal stakeholders to move beyond traditional learning practices and embrace modern learning can be an uphill batter. Executive decision-makers may not know what modern learning means, appreciate how the approach differs from traditional learning methods or understand why the organization should embrace it. This is where you come in!
Making the business case for Modern Learning
Making the business case begins with understanding the challenge. What are your current organizational goals? How is your FI performing at the moment? Can an investment in your workforce improve performance or better align with business goals? If so, modern learning can be the answer for you.
Once the challenge has been identified, it’s important to define modern learning for your executives. Help them understand what it is and how it differs from the current learning practices within your organization. What are some core components part of a modern learning experience and how can they help improve performance across the organization?
Continue building your business case by getting to know your stakeholders. Whether you’re in a learning function or part of a business line, you are likely to have many stakeholders at the table when proposing a new modern learning experience that goes beyond compliance. Do some research, get to know them and understand what keeps them up at night.
Make your business case by sharing with your stakeholders how modern learning can help their individual challenges. A new leadership development program could support with the talent shortage and ensuring employees are job-ready when new opportunities arise within your FI. Perhaps your organization is struggling with a skills gap where individuals are missing the specialized knowledge required for a specific role. Whatever the case, positioning the solution from the point of view of your stakeholders.
Regardless of how much you prepare, you might be faced with some resistance which is why it’s always important to consider how you would handle objections. Depending on who your stakeholders are and how they like to interact, there might be different ways you might address their objectives. Some individuals are logical thinkers and require further analysis to understand the benefits. With others, you might connect at an emotional level by empathizing with what they’re going through. Ultimately, you will most likely need to ask some questions to better understand the root cause of their concern.
Where to Go From Here?
If you’re ready to take your organization’s learning to the next level, be sure to review The Modern Learning Business Case Workbook for Financial Services. The workbook was specifically designed to walk you through building a compelling business case for modern learning that’s intended to galvanize action from the corner office.
Download The Modern Learning Business Case Workbook for Financial Services now!
