HAWTHORNE, Calif. – SkyOne Federal Credit Union has created a new Learning and Development Department, and named Devorah Allen to head it up.
According to the credit union, as Director of Learning and Development, Allen will create a comprehensive curriculum of educational workshops and employee career development paths. The new department is part of the Marketing Division and was borne out of SkyOne’s renewed focus on corporate culture and employee engagement.
Allen has already begun forging the department’s foundation by partnering with departmental managers to create a learning and development plan for each employee, according to SkyOne. This process includes engaging with key contributors and individual managers to analyze current workforce habits for performance improvement opportunities, as well as defining new best practices to apply in order to meet or exceed departmental goals.
Below, Ms. Allen shares insights into why the function was created, as well as advice for other credit unions considering something similar.
CUToday.info: Where will the primary focus be, and where will you begin initially?
Allen: I will craft all initial Learning and Development (L & D) efforts to supporting SkyOne’s key strategic goals.
To start, I have begun by offering instructor-led soft skills courses, such as emotional intelligence, communication, and critical thinking, along with business skill courses such as email etiquette and Excel. These run concurrently with ongoing web-based member service training featuring listening skills, questioning techniques and selling skills. SkyOne-specific courses will be co-facilitated with SkyOne’s employee subject matter experts as part of our career development objectives.
The management team will also participate in both instructor-led and online strategy and leadership courses, and will attend credit union-specific educational events as part to remain current in best practices.
CUToday.info: Tell us about your background and what you bring to the credit union, and what you have found to be particularly effective in making this kind of education/training program work?
Allen: I hold both an MBA and a Six Sigma Green Belt certification, and am a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP). I also bring 20-plus years of air transportation experience and 15 years of training experience to SkyOne.
I personally prefer instructor-led training. I enjoy seeing the light bulb of understanding go on when a concept takes hold. However, I understand that adults learn in a variety of ways. For that reason, we offer blended learning, such as coaching by a supervisor, online classes, workshops, online communities); synchronous learning, such as live webinars; asynchronous learning, such as self-paced courses, archived webinars/courses, etc., and we are looking at starting a wiki, so that our employees can collaborate and continually modify technical content.
CUToday.info: What advice would you have for any credit union considering doing something similar?
Allen: My advice would be to hire someone that has a combination of education and a proven track record of Learning and Development success. Be sure that the L&D function is tied to the strategic goals of the credit union and provide adequate resources for success. Foster a learning environment, ensuring that full support is given for learning at every level, starting with the CEO. Put your employees first and watch employee effort and member service skyrocket!
CUToday.info: What are some leadership lessons you’ve learned?
Allen: One, it is imperative to align the hiring practices with the culture and values of the organization. Many times skills can be taught, but the importance of hiring for the right fit in values and personality cannot be overstated.
Two, always align decisions and actions to the strategic goals and objectives of the organization.
Three, do a thorough needs assessment before jumping into creating a solution through training. Many times the issue is not a lack of knowledge but of a lack of resources, effective/proper management practices, poor environment or other factors.
Four, not addressing negative employee situations will demoralize positive employees and undermine management credibility, while addressing these situations will likely result in additional employee discretionary effort.
CUToday.info: Can you give some samples of specific trainings you’ve given in the past and how they have had impact? Maybe a story of a single employee or department?
Allen: The story of the boiling frog is one of my favorites. The story is that if you put a frog in a pan with deep, lukewarm water and gradually increase the temperature it will remain in the pot until it is too late to jump out.
The pot is our daily life and the water our daily routine. Our daily routine breeds inertia, and many times we are unaware that we have been in this pot for a long time without embracing positive changes in our lives.
Positive changes could be returning to school for a degree; finishing that book we have been writing; getting our health under control with proper sleep, exercise and eating right; or even opening that business we have always wanted to pursue.
This training has prompted many of my employees to return to school, get into better shape, get onto a management track, find a mentor, or make any number of positive changes in their lives.