Sari Daisey

Director, Talent Management, The Bancorp

Supernova Award Category: 

Future of Work - Employee Experience

The Organization: 

The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBBK) is dedicated to serving the unique needs of non-bank financial service companies, ranging from entrepreneurial start-ups to those on the Fortune 500. The company’s subsidiary, The Bancorp Bank (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender), has been repeatedly recognized in the payments industry as the Top Issuer of Prepaid Cards (US), a top merchant sponsor bank and a top ACH originator. Specialized lending distinctions include SBA National Preferred Lender, a leading provider of securities-backed lines of credit, and one of the few bank-owned commercial vehicle leasing groups in the nation. For more information please visit www.thebancorp.com.

The Problem: 

As a financial services institution that is heavily regulated, training at the organization was synonymous with regulatory requirements. The Bancorp wanted to shift the culture so that training is viewed by employees as an investment in their growth. Their vision is to "cultivate an environment that educates and inspires all employees to reach their full potential".

The Solution: 

Bancorp’s L&D team wanted employees to feel excited about using Cornerstone. Last year, the company shifted to using the Learner Home page. Employees love the design and layout. Leveraging the Learner Home page allows their team to regularly promote 'featured' courses and gives employees the ability to find courses aligned with subjects they're interested in. They launched a 'Take8' initiative to encourage all employees to complete at least 8 hours of non-regulatory training during the year and hope to expand this program as learning becomes a more integral part of the culture. After the launch of the Take8 initiative, The Bancorp introduced a Learning Ambassador program to promote their training initiatives. The program leverages liaisons from each department to gather feedback around educational opportunities specific to their departments. Part of the strategy for selecting non-managers as Learning Ambassadors is to encourage peer-to-peer learning.

The Results: 

The Bancorp’s learning culture is shifting. Employees no longer associate only regulatory course assignments when they think of training. Leveraging Cornerstone’s Learner Home page changed how employees react to the way that training is presented to them. Employees are excited about logging into Cornerstone and registering for the variety of training courses the company is now offering. Employees are eager and competitive about earning their Take8 certificates. They're receiving targeted suggestions via the "featured courses", communications for career growth, and "suggested courses" to align with their subject interests. Through the Learning Ambassador program, which is designed to support employees, people are more actively encouraged to make time for learning during their workday and are enthusiastic to help reach the organization-wide goal for 20% of staff to complete Take8.

Metrics: 

As of mid-2020, the number of employees that have logged in and viewed non-regulatory content since 2017 has increased by 164%.  As of mid-2020, we have observed an overall 150% increase in viewing of non-regulatory content since 2017. In this inaugural year for Take8, from June 2019 – May 2020, The Bancorp exceeded their goal with 22% of staff completing their Take8. We were still able to maintain 100% of staff completing their regulatory assignments on time.

The Technology: 

The Bancorp leverages Cornerstone’s learning management system to execute on the Take8 initiative. The Learner Home hosted on Cornerstone, internally branded as OnCourse, was a gamechanger for improving the look and feel and getting individuals excited and engaged in their learning journey. The monthly Learning Ambassador meetings are in part used as a time to demo elements of the technology, so that they can pass along their system knowledge to their peers.

Disruptive Factor: 

As a a financial institution, there has always been a heavy focus on regulatory training. In fact, in the last four years, not one employee has been late with their quarterly training assignment. While individuals and organization remain compliant, there has been a longtime stigma about training that it is very serious and not an exciting element of their professional development. As an organization that’s so new to non-regulatory training, the biggest challenge was communicating the new Take8 initiative. In addition to a new Learner Home that attracts and engages employees, the Learning Ambassador program has been essential in educating employees about the new Learner Home, the program, and how and why to use it.

For the first time, employees are participating in courses that make learning fun with topics ranging from group meditations and chair yoga to public speaking practice sessions. In development now is a new program for managers called L.E.A.D., where managers will have access to digital content, seminars and group discussions to support their success as a leader. This Learn, Engage, Aspire and Develop program will count toward their Take8 training.

Shining Moment: 

During one of the company’s public speaking classes, an employee extemporaneously gave a speech about how appreciative she is that the bank is focusing on the staff’s professional development. Moreover, the bank has demonstrated their investment in the L&D team has by increasing the staff from 2 to 5. The amount of interest and involvement from leaders and individual contributors shows that the initiative is making an impact on the learning culture.

About The Bancorp

The Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: TBBK) is dedicated to serving the unique needs of non-bank financial service companies, ranging from entrepreneurial start-ups to those on the Fortune 500. Specialized lending distinctions include SBA National Preferred Lender, a leading provider of securities-backed lines of credit, and one of the few bank-owned commercial vehicle leasing groups in the nation.