At Sterling Bank, Employees Train With the Stars
By Paul Harris

ASTD BEST Award winner Sterling Bank built an online “test bank” to simulate performing actual transactions—for such make-believe customers as Marilyn Monroe. In the virtual environment, employees of a pending merger or acquisition can work on the system that they will convert to in the near future, without the chance of causing any damage to any real customers or accounts. Sterling finds that this build confidence, which is transferred to the customers once there in real environments.

When new employees of Houston’s Sterling Bank begin training for their positions, they immediately delve into the bank accounts of some mighty famous people, such as Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Marilyn Monroe. An invasion of privacy? Not really. The names are recognizable but the accounts are fictitious. They enable the new staffers to learn their craft by performing actual transactions in a virtual environment, using custom courseware developed by Sterling’s own training department. Call it a variation on the simulation trend that is sweeping e-learning.

Banking on online

Training managers at the organization, a subsidiary of Sterling Bancshares, say the online “test bank” has become a valuable tool in introducing its systems to new employees in a realistic setting, using actual accounts. The test bank courses aren’t only designed for newly hired “Sterling Bankers” filling roles as tellers, lending assistants, and new account reps. Employees of pending mergers or acquisitions also learn on the system they will soon use, without risking damage to real customers or accounts. For example, Sterling recently acquired San Antonio’s Plaza Bank and trained 38 employees on the system. The test bank also is used to test newly acquired systems as well as upgrades to loan and platform methods used by the organization, which has 38 locations.

“So much of our system is customized to meet the needs of Sterling, it is not possible for us to buy off-the-shelf training products,” explains Rhonda Festervand, Sterling University vice president. “They don’t give employees the true picture of what they’ll see on the job.” With the test bank, Sterling can replicate actual systems during training, offering real life experience. “It’s like a simulation, except that it’s the real thing with fake numbers,” she says.

Students are taught a variety of banking systems via the training method, including the teller system (Product 4), the new account platform system (Bankware), and the customer information system (Fidelity). Each student is assigned a fictitious “test” account including name, number, and information appropriate for their course.

While the test bank is accessed from computers, students employ it in facilitator-led courses offered only at Sterling’s three training facilities in Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio, Texas. A total of 24 hours of training occurs on the virtual online customer information system, part of a 72-hour indoctrination that includes classroom learning and instructor supervision. Students are given special sign-on information for the test bank, where they are able to see the famous virtual customers, their relationships with the bank, transaction histories, and other information.

Progress is monitored by the instructors, with testing conducted during a certification process that also will soon be online. “Participating” celebrities are drawn from the top tier of popular performers, including Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Harrison Ford, Jodi Foster, Julia Roberts, Mel Gibson, and Sandra Bullock. 

In addition, Sterling has recently adopted the hosted version of the GeoLearning LMS and will use it for compliance and other training. Festervand says the bank’s goal is to convert all programs of two hours or less to online learning. It employs the Dazzler Max course creation tool as well as GeoLearning’s course creation tools. 

The two-year-old test bank online training tool is an ingredient of Sterling University, an acclaimed training and development program that offers numerous courses aimed at a blend of personal and professional skills, from leadership development and time management to life balance and computer skills. A resource library promotes learning from books, videotapes and audiotapes, while a recently produced CD seeks to shorten the training time of its bankers.

Defined career paths are offered, along with certifications in many positions. Examples include transforming the teller position to that of a front-line manager, a credit analyst training program, the certified lender program, and the Master CEO and Master Office Manager programs. The broad variety of courses and classes are aimed at helping each employee to reach their full potential. In short, they are provided the experience to be competent and well regarded in their jobs, says Festervand.

Bottom line

It’s no wonder Sterling Bank enjoys industry low turnover levels, and is considered one of the nation’s best companies to work for.  Indeed, it has been tapped by Fortune for the second straight time in its list of 100 top employers. Sterling ranked 27th nationally in the magazine’s 2004 survey, making it the highest ranked Houston-based company and the third in all of Texas. It’s also a recipient of ASTD’s 2003 BEST Awards.

“Service is our competitive advantage, and we measure it through service shopping,” says Bambi McCullough, executive vice president and chief service officer. Every Sterling Bank office is “shopped” three times each quarter by anonymous shoppers who scrutinize drive-in, lobby, and new accounts services. All employees are expected to follow certain measurable standards when servicing customers, and offices are given scores based on them. “In the past five years, service scores have risen 70 percent,” says McCullough. She says the impressive performance is a credit to Sterling’s training programs, especially the test bank and its ability to train employees in a safe environment, not with live customers.

Festervand says the test bank program will remain at Sterling’s three training locations for the foreseeable future, despite the increasing amount of training that’s occurring at each banking location. She also says it has dramatically reduced the amount of time required for training while improving overall performance. Says Festervand: “The less time you can spend on training that’s not same as you’ll encounter on the job, the better off you are.”

Paul Harris is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to Learning Circuits and T+D Magazine.