Taking a team approach to training

When you hear the word ‘training’ what do you think of? In the context of financial services, it’s probably something along the lines of ‘compliance’, ‘qualifications’, ‘mandatory’, possibly even ‘have-to-do’. But in the world of sports, ‘training’ conjures up a very different picture. It’s running across dew-covered fields in the early morning, drills with the bat and ball, fitness, weights at the gym, and yes, learning how the game is played.

If your financial services organisation thought about compliance training in the same way as a sporting club does, would you have a much stronger team, and be more engaged? Juggling training for different staff levels and ensuring all complex regulatory and compliance requirements have been met takes time and resources.

When you approach training as a whole organisation, rather than by role or business line, it becomes much easier to manage. Why? because everyone is playing by the same rules, wearing the same colours, and working together to achieve the same objective.

Who are the members of the club?

The players (frontline staff)

The players are the most visible part of any sporting club. They are assigned a position on the field, alongside their teammates, and must play the game according to the rules.

For financial services businesses, this grouping represents your frontline staff. They are appointed to a specific role, through which they engage directly with your customers according to the processes and procedures they have been taught. Because these roles are highly visible to the public, it is essential the people in these positions display the appropriate knowledge and skills to perform their duties.

In other words, they need to be trained in the rules of the game as they apply to their position.

The coaches (middle-management, team leaders, specialists)

Coaches are the people who make sure the players are doing their job to the best of their ability. Their view of the game is wider than that of the players. Coaches need to make sure all the positions in the team work cohesively and support one another. Coaches also play an important role in driving the development of the players.

In financial services, the coaching role is played by middle-management, team leaders and other specialists. These roles influence the processes and procedures of an organisation and come with a level of accountability.

Training for this cohort should build on the baseline, positional training that is undertaken by the players, because coaches need a wider understanding of how the rules apply across the organisation.

Coaches are also responsible for ensuring the players are appropriately trained, maintaining records of the training and reporting to senior managers about any capability gaps they identify.

The managers (executive, Board of Directors)

The most senior positions within the club, the managers balance the resourcing of the team against the revenue the club earns. They look at the club strategically, setting the goals for the team (to make it to the grand final, for example) and rely on the coaches and the players to achieve those goals. But they also set the standard to which the whole club is held, and leading by example is powerful.

The most senior roles in financial services organisations are (generally) the CEO, Board of Directors and/or the business owners. They set the strategic objectives for the business, and delegate responsibility to their team leaders and middle-management. Although they are not involved in the day-to-day, hands-on activities of the business, the executive still needs to understand the rules that govern play.

This is an important part of risk management (how can you set the risk appetite for the business if you don’t know what the consequences of failure are) and setting the culture of the organisation (the standard you walk past is the standard you accept).

What are the rules of play?

Rules are essential for game play, because without them, how would you know how to win?

In financial services, the rules are the legislation, regulations and related compliance obligations that govern the industry.

Which rules apply to your organisation will depend on which game you are playing (and, in some cases, whether you’re playing at representative or international level).

So how does this work in the context of a training program for your business? Just as in a sporting club, everyone in the organisation needs to know the rules, but not everyone needs to know them in the same way:

• Players need to be able to recall the rules instantly, and make quick decisions in the heat of play based on what is, and isn’t, allowed. Training at this level is about ensuring the rules are clearly communicated, understood and put into context for the player.
• For the coaches, the intricacies of the rules need to be explored, so that strategy can be applied. Unlike training for players, coaches need training that is both more specialised (based on required qualifications and compliance obligations), and broader (providing strategic context, background and encouraging critical thinking).
• Finally, for the club managers, an understanding of the rules is expected, but it is not necessarily knowledge that is called upon every day. The executive team do not necessarily need to know the intricacies of the legislation that applies to your organisation, but they do need to understand the consequence of getting it wrong.

In fact, having adequately trained individuals operating your financial services business is one of the rules you must adhere to.
Section 912A(1)(f) of the Corporations Act requires that financial services licensees must:

• ensure that its representatives are adequately trained (including by complying with the CPD provisions) and are competent, to provide those financial services…

Given that everyone in your organisation is performing their roles according to the same set of rules, it makes sense that everyone in the business receives compliance training from the same source. The depth of compliance training each employee needs will depend on their role, but if your front-line staff are learning from one textbook and your senior managers from another, how can you expect them to work together effectively?

Maintaining your team’s fitness

Ask any athlete and they’ll tell you that fitness needs to be maintained, even in the off-season. In financial services, there are many reasons your employees need ongoing training.

They include:

• Learning about regulatory updates and changes
• Roles that require mandatory CPD points to be earned
• Compliance modules that must be refreshed each year
• Learning about best practise and new innovations

If you take a whole organisation view of training, you can rollout ongoing training in a style your employees are already familiar with, that fits within the context of what they have already learned.

The final whistle

A cohesive, whole of business approach to training creates a stronger, fitter, more effective team. Training not only enables employees to develop the knowledge and skills they need to perform their jobs to a high standard, it also makes them feel supported and valued, which in turn means they are more likely to be engaged and motivated at work. Ultimately, all levels of staff are interdependent on each other. If every level fulfills their role effectively and efficiently then desired business outcomes will follow.

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