40 MAY / JUNE 2018 Bringing New Grads onBoard Seven ways to offer training, skills for success For most financial institutions, a year doesn’t go by without hiring recent college graduates. When bringing in the next generation of employees, how they are integrated into the organization is the difference between success and failure. What are the best ways to reduce turnover and improve performance? OnCourse Learning spoke with three experts who have spent their entire careers onboarding and training financial services employees – including new grads. Jack Hubbard is chairman and chief experience officer, and Bob St. Meyer is president and chief operating officer, at St. Meyer & Hubbard, which focuses on improving sales performance. Tom Carlin is managing partner at Eensight, an OnCourse Learning partner that provides lending training solutions for financial services organizations. They provided time-tested ways financial institutions can ensure their new class of hires thrives. The following practices can help onboard new grads from Day One. These techniques are designed to improve workplace performance, boost morale and ultimately help retain the talent that financial institutions work so hard to hire. 1. Choose the right people. Identify candidates in the interview process who are malleable enough to blend into the banking environment. To do so, refine the organization’s interviewing techniques and consider the use of hiring tests, such as a predictive index, to help the hiring manager understand behavioral tendencies related to the open position. “Know who you are hiring, and be sure they are coachable enough to be able to do the job,” advises Hubbard. “While many things have changed in the industry over the years, banking is still a conservative business, and it’s important to find people who are the right fit for your culture.” 2. Teach the company’s culture. After new employees are hired, teach them about the organization’s culture. This includes explaining the dress code and behavioral expectations so these new hires, fresh out of college, understand the importance of business etiquette and its impact on career development. “Younger people who have been in school don’t learn about this by osmosis,” observes St. Meyer. “They typically don’t know how to dress, and what topics are appropriate to talk about in business meetings.” This group of employees needs guidance on what constitutes business etiquette and can benefit from examples of how to greet people and how to appropriately communicate by phone, letter and email. Don’t forget to cover how new hires should conduct themselves in a variety of situations, including when eating meals with clients and colleagues. 3. Spell out role responsibilities. In order for new employees to meet the organization’s objectives, they need to fully understand what is expected of them. Their job descriptions should clearly state all the components of the job, as well as be flexible enough to accommodate additional tasks that come up on the fly. “Managers need to clarify their priorities and provide expectations of what job duties need to be completed, and by what date,” Carlin says. 4. Identify skill gaps. Even if a finance or accounting major is hired, it is likely the new graduate arrives with skill gaps. The best way to find these gaps is by administering a diagnostic skill assessment. This helps measure competency across the organization, so an employer can take steps to remediate skill deficiencies. For example, a credit skills diagnostic assessment can show where gaps exist in areas such as financial analysis, the credit management process, risk mitigation, and commercial and consumer lending. “When we’ve given skill tests, we’ve found that the Jeff Kelly Vice President of Governance, Risk & Compliance OnCourse Learning jkelly@oncourselearning.com OnCourse Learning is an educational partner of the Indiana Bankers Association. Article author HUMAN RESOURCES
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