Finances, retail, higher education, manufacturing, tourism – no matter the field or industry; today, everyone agrees on one thing: personalization is vital for engagement and knowledge retention. Whether you operate in banking, insurance, asset management, investment, or another financial services sector, your employees can only perform their jobs efficiently if you keep their skills and capabilities sharp.
And to accomplish that, you must provide consistent and immersive training tailored to their job roles and the problems they face on a daily level. If you still use the same old training program you’ve been using for the past three years, but the results weren’t as you hoped for, you’re already overdue for an update.
A healthy, productive, and well-performing company depends on its employees and their capability to do their jobs effectively and contribute with unique ideas and solutions. But that capability doesn’t exist in a vacuum.
Instead, you must continuously foster and expand it, feeding it with relevant projects, lessons, and opportunities. Discard safe formulas and by-the-book approaches.
Even though financial services are a highly conservative industry due to stringent regulations and high risks, it’s also evolving and changing fast. The COVID-19 crisis, Russia-Ukraine war, recession, and digitization have already disrupted finances, and there’s no return to the pre-pandemic world.
Professionals within this industry must understand how to leverage these transformations and be ready to respond to future ones. And the most efficient way to show them how to do so is through personalized learning approaches.
The Benefits of Personalized Learning Approaches For Financial Services Professionals
Gartner recently analyzed why personalization is vital for a positive employee experience, especially in the era of digitization, which requires companies to develop workforce capabilities much faster than before. Since L&D teams are strategic partners in charge of helping employees acquire essential digital skills, they play a crucial role in establishing relevant and effective training.
Moreover, they know how to develop programs tailored to each individual, including adaptive and advanced learning experiences. That is equally important in every industry, and financial services are no exception.
Personalization addresses unique challenges these professionals face in their job roles, as well as personal preferences and professional ambitions.
But Gartner identified three other reasons why personalized learning is essential in every industry, including finance.
Evolving Employee Demographics
We live in fascinating times, as four generations currently comprise the workforce. These are Baby boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z.
That level of diversity makes the financial services industry more complex, including concerning employee training and development. As you work with professionals approaching retirement and young people who have recently joined the workforce, you can’t provide one L&D program for everyone.
People of different generations naturally have different priorities, learning styles, preferences, and aspirations. That requires using unique training materials for each group and tailoring the tone, approach, and goals to your audience.
For example, Millennials are typically more tech-savvy than Baby Boomers and may prefer programs focused on preparing them for leadership roles. On the flip side, Gen Z appreciates the flexibility and might still want to explore what the world of financial services has to offer in terms of job roles and possibilities.
Moreover, younger generations, namely Millennials and Gen Z, have had their formative years in a time of rising personalization, so they likely care about it even more than their predecessors. Still, you must consider every generation’s unique needs and expectations and leverage data to develop satisfying and effective L&D training.
The Need To Take Employee Experience To A Higher Level
Even though employee learning has become increasingly important in the past years and companies understand how positively it impacts performance, they often disregard the equal importance of personalization. However, the rapid pace of changes and innovations within the financial services industry makes it essential to prioritize employee experience.
One of the best ways to accomplish that is to introduce more personalized learning initiatives and opportunities. You can do it by tracking your employees’ career plans and aspirations, the skills they’d like to adopt, and the capabilities they must improve to perform their jobs better.
Moreover, you can help them become subject matter experts or reskill and transfer to departments where they can easily tap into their full potential. Another way to foster personalized learning approaches is to consider employees’ affinities, interactions with colleagues, classes they have taken, and search history on the L&D platform.
That lets you detect behavior patterns and discover how this correlate among employees. Once you identify similarities, you can segment employees and deliver custom learning content more effectively, resulting in higher engagement. That requires having a personalized, agile, and long-term L&D strategy for your financial services departments.
Digital Business Makes Contextualized Learning A Must
Many enterprises are experimenting with digital businesses, and this trend is also entering the financial services landscape. Technological advances and tools are transforming every industry, and banking is among the most future-forward sectors with its mobile banking.
However, the line between digital and physical experiences is getting less visible, meaning that personalization is now possible across multiple channels. Companies and institutions must use that to create a well-rounded employee lifecycle and develop a holistic L&D approach.
Indeed, that takes time and won’t happen overnight. You can’t create relevant and effective personalized learning experiences for financial professionals without considering all those factors.
Think about how you can use groundbreaking advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to enhance it. For instance, predictive analytics can help you detect specific challenges within your company and different departments, making it easier to tailor L&D training to each employee.
You can also brainstorm with them about how they can use emerging tech tools to simplify and make their job roles and daily tasks more engaging. That enables your financial service professionals to use their abilities, skills, and potential efficiently and in a way that makes a difference.
Another way to accomplish smart personalization is to dive deeper into your employees’ capabilities through powerful analytics and continuously track what you know about them and compare it with what they have learned and what they can learn in the future.
Tips On Developing Personalized Learning Approaches For Financial Service Professionals In Different Sectors
To effectively introduce personalized learning approaches for financial service professionals in different sectors within the industry, consider the following strategies:
- Conduct a Training Needs Analysis: Run a comprehensive training needs analysis before implementing personalized learning initiatives. Identify the specific skill gaps, challenges, and requirements unique to each sector. This assessment will provide valuable insights to tailor learning programs accordingly.
- Collaborate with Subject Matter Experts: Engage experts from each sector to contribute their expertise and insights in designing personalized learning approaches. These experts can provide valuable input regarding the specific knowledge and skills required for professionals in their respective sectors. Collaborating with them ensures the learning content is accurate, relevant, and aligned with industry trends.
- Customize Learning Paths: Recognize that professionals in different sectors within the financial services industry have varying roles, responsibilities, and career aspirations. Develop customized learning paths that cater to the specific needs of each branch. Consider the distinct challenges and competencies required for professionals in banking, insurance, asset management, investment, and other sectors. Tailor the content, examples, and case studies to reflect the realities of each of them.
- Blend Different Learning Modalities: Personalized learning can be delivered through various modalities to accommodate different learning styles and preferences. Blend multiple learning methods such as e-learning modules, virtual instructor-led training, simulations, case studies, and collaborative projects. This multimodal approach ensures that professionals can engage with the content in a way that resonates with their individual learning preferences.
- Leverage Technology and Data: Utilize technology and data analytics to enhance personalized learning experiences. Incorporate learning management systems (LMS) that enable individual tracking and progress monitoring. Leverage data analytics to gain insights into learners’ performance, engagement levels, and areas of improvement. Use this information to refine and personalize the learning content further.
- Encourage Continuous Learning and Feedback: Foster a culture of continuous learning by encouraging professionals to engage in ongoing development. Provide opportunities for self-directed learning, constant feedback, and knowledge-sharing platforms. Encourage them to set personal learning goals and regularly revisit their progress. This approach ensures that personalized learning is not a one-time event but a continuous journey of growth and improvement.
- Monitor and Evaluate Effectiveness: Regularly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of personalized learning approaches in different sectors. Collect feedback from professionals to gauge their satisfaction, engagement, and perceived value of the learning initiatives. Analyze performance metrics, such as knowledge retention, skills application, and job performance, to assess the impact of personalized learning on individual and organizational success. Use this feedback to iterate and improve the learning programs continually.
Closing Thoughts
Developing personalized learning approaches for financial service professionals in different sectors within the industry requires a targeted and sector-specific approach. – Conduct a training needs analysis, collaborate with subject matter experts, customize learning paths, blend different learning modalities, leverage technology and data, encourage continuous learning, and monitor effectiveness to effectively introduce custom content programs that address the unique requirements of professionals in each financial branch.
As a result, you will foster employee engagement and improve their overall performance, contributing to the success of individuals and the financial services industry as a whole.
