Tap virtual reality, AI and more to upskill talent development

Leveraging technology to enhance learning and upskilling efforts helps attract new talent—but it also increases engagement rates so that key players will stay and advance as the financial institution grows. For the $90.8-billion-asset Comerica Bank based in Dallas, upskilling is defined as “transforming what someone is doing today into a different, nuanced or more comprehensive way tomorrow,” says Debbie Herd, senior vice president, director of talent development.

“Think about it as ‘leveling-up’ a skillset both for the company’s and the employee’s benefit,” Herd says. There are internal and external ways to upskill employees at Comerica, she says. Internally—“and perhaps the easiest way”—is to provide ways for employees to share knowledge with each other. With the aid of technology, companies can create new and different ways to encourage this collaboration.

“For example, we have established online com – munities, such as a portfolio analytics community, where employees in the company can go to the community discussion board and ask questions,” Herd says. “They can ask for expertise, explore ideas and share new thoughts. Learning is in the flow of work, and skills are sharpened.”

Another internal way to upskill employees is to use the company’s learning technology, she says. For example, internal courses can include knowledge and proficiency checks that ask employees to confirm their understanding of the topics. Simulations within those courses are also effective upskilling tools. Comerica uses these successfully for product training, in which employees practice a product or sales scenario with their managers. The manager uses a rubric, and they score the employee against the rubric standards. The course is completed after the employee’s simulation score is recorded.

“More comprehensively, employee skills can be assessed to upskill them,” Herd says. “We first determine what skill needs to be addressed and agree on the definition of that skill. After that, we determine what proficiency the employee needs to achieve; that is, basic, intermediate, advanced or expert.”

Next, Herd and her team determine where that skill will appear in the company’s learning interventions. For example, will the upskill occur in a course, a job aid, an instruction manual or a curriculum within a program? “Now we have an upskilling road map,” she says. The team is then ready to assess an employee’s skills by leveraging the technology platform powered by Cornerstone OnDemand, which provides a skill assessment capability.

Herd and her team use the skill model of a particular position, and they can then ask employees to assess their skills against that model. “We also ask our managers to assess their employees’ skills too,” Herd says. “Results are aggregated, and employees and their managers review results and discuss what the employee develops and learns next. We then align learning resources to any gaps so that skills are strengthened.”

Externally, technology platforms can provide upskilling resources, which are especially effective for technical roles, Herd says. For example, Pluralsight provides curriculums and proficiency assessments about cybersecurity topics. Also, the Risk Management Association provides proficiency skill assessments for underwriters. “As an L&D professional, I can rely on these platforms because they use validated skill models, techniques and approaches,” Herd states.

“Their platforms are easy to use, and the data can be captured.” BAI offers professional development tailored to the financial services industry, says Laurie McGuire, BAI manager, instructional design and development. “We provide role-based courses that combine compliance and professional development for a more efficient and effective learner experience.” Technology for upskilling employees has been “truly instrumental” for the $61.7-billion-asset Valley Bank over the last couple of years, says Sabine Salvatore, senior vice president, director of learning and development for the Wayne, New Jersey–based bank.

Pre-COVID, Salvatore and her team began exploring nontraditional classroom delivery. But the last few years have accelerated the bank’s learning strategy, and now it leverages several technology platforms focused on supporting the learner. Trivie, for example, is a platform that offers learning via gamification for the bank’s employees through peer-to-peer learning and friendly competition, while providing robust analytics for Salvatore and her team. “Trivie helps us reinforce the learning that is initially delivered to our client-facing associates,” Salvatore says. “We have seen measurable knowledge gain through the use of repetitive practice and reinforcement activities, as well as active engagement.

Another technology platform that Valley Bank leverages for upskilling is its learning management system (LMS), “which we like to think of as our source of truth for all things learning,” she says. The LMS is available to employees across the bank’s footprint to access e-learnings, micro learnings, simulation exercises, support guides, role-specific assets, employee transcripts and much more. “The valuable contributions of our internal design and development team have yielded these learning resources, and they have utilized current technology to create critical deliverables,” Salvatore says. Moreover, Class.com, which integrates with Zoom, allows Valley Bank to offer live sessions that mimic the “over-the-shoulder support” that an employee would experience in a live classroom session.

In addition, the bank partners with several organizations to offer role-specific online certifications, she says. These upskilling opportunities connect Valley Bank associates to their desired learning and career development goals “with flexibility and accessibility.” “We feel that our associates are our greatest assets, and we are highly focused on continuing to offer them learning and development opportunities to deepen their sense of belonging here at Valley Bank,” Salvatore says.

“We believe that the work we do in learning and development drives engagement across the organization and certainly impacts the performance and even well-being of our associates,” she says.

Virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) can also contribute to increased engagement rates, says Margaret Belden, director, growth advisory at Grant Thornton LLP, who is based in Hartford, Connecticut. For example, through VR, banks can simulate face-to-face customer experiences or other branch-based experiences. “When training employees on potentially dangerous situations, such as robberies or active-shooter scenarios, VR could provide the opportunity for an employee to learn within the comfort of a safe environment to help prepare them for these potential real-life situations,” Belden says.

AI supports just-in-time learning, personalized learning and microlearning by allowing employees to access the educational materials they need easily and quickly, she says. These tools, if used with proper governance, can also be leveraged to help employees improve their writing skills, help them determine an approach to solving a problem or simply serve as a context-aware repository for questions on procedures, controls and processes. Banks should consider positioning upskilling to prospective talent candidates, adds Laurie Mendoza, Grant Thornton’s senior manager, growth advisory, in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Candidates are looking for organizations that have clearly laid out career paths, including upskilling opportunities, allowing candidates to visualize their future with the organization,” Mendoza says. “Knowing that their potential employer is committed to helping them learn and grow will in turn help the institution attract and retain new employees.”

Technology is changing and expanding at a rapid pace, and a financial institution’s upskilling program should be flexible to adapt to new and shifting customer and employee experiences in this environment, she says. “Financial institutions should also leverage opportunities to engage with employees who are actively embracing new technology,” Mendoza says.

“Finding ways to connect with these employees, amplifying their thoughts and opinions and providing opportunities for them to help lead the charge in adopting new technology will give financial institutions a jump-start for new growth and a strong foundation for future growth.”

Katie Kuehner-Hebert is a contributing writer for BAI.

We offer more actionable insights that can benefit financial institutions in the BAI Executive Report, “Priorities in talent and professional development.”