ESL Federal Credit Union wants its employees to stick around for the long haul, and its learning function endeavors to make that happen. Now recognized as a Great Place to Work, with a turnover rate of 12 percent (the industry average is 24 percent), ESL has made significant progress toward that goal.
Eight years ago, the relationship between the training department and senior management was purely transactional. Now, the group has gone from order-takers to established experts on adult learning. It anticipates and fulfills a wide range of development needs that support business goals. Because soft skills—such as professionalism, teamwork, and customer focus—form the organization's core competencies, the learning function has relied heavily on one-on-one coaching for developing such skills. Managers receive coaching training, attend workshops, and complete extended learning assignments, so that they can have more effective conversations regarding their employees' performance and professional development.
Coaching relationships also exist in the highest levels of the organization. Manager effectiveness was identified as a competency gap, so the learning and development team helped establish a custom 360-review process in which each manager completes an action plan for implementing improvements. Senior executives meet periodically with CEO David Fiedler to discuss their plans.
"We try to reinforce that the 360 is about organizational development and continuous improvement. It is not a performance appraisal," he explains.
The transformation of the learning function during the past eight years also has included a closer involvement with customer-facing employees. Instead of remaining at headquarters, trainers go out in the field several times a year to see what the frontline needs are in the branches. Besides identifying skills gaps, this also gives trainers a chance to ask, "How do we (as an organization) stop being complex?" and "How do we create processes that are easier ultimately for our members, but also for our employees?" says Maureen Wolfe, senior vice president of human resources.
The learning function recognizes that performance gaps are not always treatable with training. It uses the Human Performance Improvement Model to determine the root causes of performance issues before proceeding with a solution. And when training is deemed the appropriate remedy, steps are taken to ensure that employees get the most from it.
The learning function currently is rolling out virtual classroom training for frontline managers. To increase their comfort with the technology, managers were first educated on the basics of using virtual training platforms. Level 1 surveys following these initial sessions demonstrate that managers recognized the advantages of virtual training and were enthusiastic about participating in it. This approach not only secured their buy-in, but it also guaranteed a higher rate of learning transfer.
Eighty-eight percent of employees at ESL agree that they have the training they need to do their jobs well.
"Once people are here, they want to stay here," says Wolfe. "And we want to continue to grow their skills, so they can add more value as they progress through their careers."