Sterling Savings
Generational Training Gap Resolved with Blended Learning Solution
Situation
Sterling Savings Bank, a thriving regional bank with over 3,000 employees and full service branches throughout Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and California, has a vision to become the leading community bank in the West. When an in-house audit revealed a gap in the training of their frontline managers, the company went to work to find a solution that would provide the best learning experience, while simultaneously meeting the multi-generational learning needs of their diverse and widely disbursed management team.
Solution
Sterling worked with NetSpeed Learning Solutions to create a customized blended learning solution that includes a half-day classroom with online follow-up. This combination of face-to-face learning, with a follow up electronic newsletter and online training through NetSpeed’s Fast Tracks modules, which provide quick learning bites in the form of Podcasts, Avatars and other technologies, successfully accommodates their employees' different generational learning styles while keeping time and distance in mind. Sterling Savings Bank was able to realize a cost savings by utilizing NetSpeed’s train-the-trainer program and expressed strong support of the blended approach. “Our relationship with NetSpeed has been extremely valuable for us. We’ve been able to incorporate our own company experience into the training, combine programs and pick modules to fit with the needs of our workforce, and have come away with a practical program that can be put to use immediately,” says Bridget Piper, Vice President of Talent Management & Organizational Growth.
Result
Sterling Savings Bank’s blended learning program has made a definitive impact on the organization, according to Piper. “There is less turnover in our CSR staff, which we attribute to stronger leadership development. Our frontline managers are taking better care of their teams, and we’re confident that this offering is helping us do that.” Because of the program’s wide appeal, Sterling Savings Bank continues to offer their managers learning opportunities year after year.
The Cobalt Group
New Managers Gain Confidence and Improve Employee Satisfaction with Leadership Webinar Series
Situation
The Cobalt Group is a leading provider of automotive marketing services who specializes in helping dealers and manufacturers increase their retailing effectiveness by providing digital marketing solutions such as rich-media display ads, search, and other services. When the company added more than 350 new first time manager jobs within a single year, they needed an effective, easy to roll out leadership training program that would accomplish the goal without absorbing too much of their new managers' valuable time.
Solution
Instead of taking their managers out of action for a series of 8-hour classroom training sessions, the Cobalt Group chose the NetSpeed Leadership Webinars Series, which provides a 90-minute interactive online learning experience that includes a variety of media and follow-up activities. More than just a cognitive experience, the webinar series combines best practices leadership content delivered in manageable chunks, with lots of dialog and practical follow-up. The succinct material, interesting delivery and pragmatic follow-up with portable tools like the pocket guide was, according to Julia Pizzi, V.P of Human Resources, one of the reasons the program worked so well for them. “Adult training requires engagement activities, a variety of media, and follow-up help to people wrap what they’ve learned in their own experiences. The post-webinar online reinforcement tools in particular have helped us because just-in-time learning can’t be applied until the situation occurs. With NetSpeed’s post-session resources, the learning is quickly and easily refreshed.”
Result
Pizzi believes that the program has helped new managers feel more confident in their new roles and better supported by the organization. “The first time manager is the weakest link. Thirty percent of new managers don’t make it because it’s the hardest job, which is why this kind of program is so important, “ says Pizzi. “In a recent Cobalt survey, employee satisfaction with management turned up significantly better than expected. This is a direct reflection of the education. We’re sure that this webinar series is contributing to our success,“ says Pizzi.