EDITOR’S NOTE

Welcome to our August edition, where we explore some of the thrust areas at the forefront of innovation in corporate learning. This month, we spotlight Knowlens’ groundbreaking work in BFSI with lessons for most service and white collar businesses. We also feature a special focus  on Induction Programs, designed to transform the way organizations onboard and empower their teams. Get ready to experience stories born out of our experiences and enrich your perspective.

Visual Learning in BFSI

The BFSI sector is diverse from large private banks to public sector banks to NBFCs to insurance and mutual fund players and fintechs and distributors. Training approaches have commensurately been diverse. However across the industry, intuitively it is safe to assume most of the staff constituting the mass retail businesses, are visual learners. By default these bankers observe people and deal with emotions…whether it is sales or service

Visual Learning : Knowlens & BFSI

Knowlens has been at the forefront of visual learning in the country being the pioneer at producing actor based web series and short videos. This is complemented by animation films for concepts and scorms for knowledge and concepts.

Across the sector leading organizations amongst many others like Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, DCB Bank, ICICI Securities, Anand Rathi, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, Birla Sunlife Insurance, Aviva Life Insurance, Prudential AMC have used Knowlens products in various ways.

Training in BFSI

Let’s take a bird’s eye view of Training in the BFSI sector. Most training can be compartmentalized into the following areas:

• Product Training
• Domain Training
• Behavioral/ Soft Skill Training
• Compliance Training

Let’s do an exercise of mapping the right training approach with the right training methodology.

1. Product Training

The core focus of training across the industry, it covers the actual financial products like loans, life insurance, current accounts etc and concepts related to that including say interest rates and surrender value calculation etc. This is highly knowledge based and often involves concepts

These can be company specific products e.g. a variant of a premium current account or industry concept level courses on the features of current accounts in general.

Training Approach

Apart from the usual learning on the job, formal approaches have been incorporated by most organizations as the costs of non training are just too high.

Classroom: Internal subject matter experts (SMEs) often conduct sessions on their respective topics. For instance in a NBFC, someone may cover a session on credit norms; or in an insurance set up, basics of life insurance concepts.  Company specific products are often covered through specific product launch presentations, scorms and distributed sessions.  Almost always it is internally done.

Online: for large organizations with diversely located teams, SCORM courses have been useful, SCORMs can be made for generic product as well as company specific products. This is an area where Knowlens has been doing a lot of work whether it is part of induction or lateral trainings.

These offer interactive learning which can be scalable and measurable across the company. Challenges remain on learning culture and acceptance of e learning and can vary from company to company in terms of learning culture.

1. Domain Training

This content is knowledge and concept based and usually at the industry level.

The content can be more abstract – for instance how does a bank function, what is net interest income, the place of assets and liabilities in banks etc. This clearly offers an opportunity for standardized content across the industry unless the organization is focused on certain specific segments.

Training Approach

Like product training, the training approaches have been  e- learning and classroom. However there is an interesting variant which took root during Covid and has not left its vice like grip on training since then.

Virtual  Training : through tools like Zoom or Teams, using e learning material or ppts or even films has taken root. Typically this is popular in induction training, where it is complicated to get large groups of SMEs but not necessarily confined to this. Knowlens currently runs hybrid induction programs including e – learning elements like virtual sessions, assessments on its LMS and video recording of learner responses.

1. Soft Skills/ Behavioral Skills/ Business Skills

This category of skills varies a lot across the industry with larger set ups with dedicated L & D teams focusing on these as well. Perceptions on these as necessity vs luxury vary especially where there are large field forces. The imperative here is highly scalable but impactful content and delivery styles.

Training Approach

The traditional classroom or the virtual classroom, while powerful, has had challenges in terms of scalability at the bottom of the pyramid for most organizations. How do you ensure a homogeneous quality of trainers across locations for organizations with several thousand employees distributed across locations? Trainers may be great on command of subject but poor on communication and vice versa. How do you manage costs and time challenges of such delivery?

E learning offers reach and accessibility but falls short on impact and retention due to the nature of these topics. The usual infographics and animation characters fall short of the learning needs and have lower effectiveness.

Technology Enabled Films:  In our experience, this has emerged as by far the most effective methodology in this category of topics. These are film role play based content delivered on a technology platform usable both in classroom and online. This can be broken into the following variants – web series based courses and short video based courses.

1. Web series based courses: Films using storytelling are contextual as they are set in real BFSI situations, live actors hold audience interest and have better audience connect and retention. We have done web series based courses on sales, relationship management, managing agency in life insurance, banca in life insurance, first time managers, NPS in liabilities, NPS in assets. Typically these target larger processes like a complete sales cycle and cover behavioral and emotional dimensions which are often missing in product and domain training. A combination of role plays based on realistic situations combined with insightful expert analysis does the job. These are crucial to career success e.g. sales of financial products is such a huge area in this space.

Organizations have gone for Knowlens off the shelf courses as well as created custom courses for themselves.

2. Short video based courses: These are short videos on specifically identified problems like say objections in insurance, or concept videos on sales planning or financial planning. Useful for very specifically identified organization problems.
3. Film assisted Classroom or Virtual classroom: Another popular variant we have experienced at Knowlens is films accessed by trainers in classroom or virtual classroom sessions instead of end users in online mode. In these cases, the film forms the fulcrum around the content delivery ensuring trainer dependence is reduced, making these sessions more vibrant and useful. These are supported by detailed expert analysis which is used to summaries.

1. Compliance Courses

Being a regulated industry, BFSI has unique challenges in compliance including POSH, AML, KYC and many other courses. These are often mandatory courses and it is strongly recommended that online approaches are followed as these can be tracked. The financial consequences of non compliance can be catastrophic. Further there needs to be evidence of coverage which is much easier through LMS reports.

Training Approach

Traditionally, POSH has been important area for companies and the approach has been a mix of classroom or e learning. Classroom is great but does it ensure coverage? What is an employee missed the session for some reason? Costs of classroom are much higher.

E learning for POSH through animations does not really cover the moral and behavioral essence of the subject. It remains a classic case for film based learning like the earlier section on soft / behavioral/ business skills.

Other topics like KYC/AML/ Insider Trading have a strong knowledge, concept component well addressed through SCORMs. However some role play elements would go a long way in making this content much more interesting.

Benefits of Visual Learning in BFSI

Clearly the benefits of visual learning are manifold and can be used in different contexts.

Product, Domain, Soft/Behavioral/Business skills and Compliance. There is a hard need for organizations to look at learning effectiveness and map the right learning approach to their learning needs.

For us at Knowlens, the wide mix of scorms, animations, web series-based films, short videos, hybrid virtual learning have been a rich mix , each bringing its own value and insights.

Conclusion

Visual learning is not just a trend but a transformative approach to training in the BFSI sector. At Knowlens, we use SCORMs, web series animations, and short videos to provide effective learning experiences. By adopting visual learning methods, BFSI institutions can improve their training programs, ensuring their professionals are well-prepared for the industry’s challenges.

Case study – Visual Learning in Induction Programs

This August, we’re highlighting some of the interesting and diverse work Knowlens has done in the area of induction across various industries using visual formats. Instead of focusing on a single company, we’re showcasing three distinct examples where Knowlens successfully transformed induction programs using SCORM-based approaches, virtual sessions, and film-based learning.

1. Balmer Lawrie – SCORM-Based Induction Transformation

 Balmer Lawrie, a leader in multiple sectors, including manufacturing and services, faced challenges with its traditional induction process. The existing setup relied heavily on long, Zoom-based classroom sessions that required significant coordination and lacked the polished quality of curated online learning.

Knowlens stepped in to convert these sessions into a series of SCORM-based modules. These modules covered a wide array of businesses within Balmer Lawrie, ranging from manufacturing sectors like lubricants, chemicals, and greases to service industries such as travel, logistics, and vacations. Over 12 to 15 modules were developed, each tailored to provide a comprehensive and engaging learning experience. The result was a streamlined induction process that was not only efficient but also engaging and easy to manage.

2. Bajaj Life Insurance – Pre-Induction via Virtual Sessions

For Bajaj Life Insurance, a leading name in the life insurance industry, Knowlens managed the pre-induction program through a blend of virtual sessions and online assessments. Utilizing the Knowlens Learning Management System (LMS), we conducted initial training sessions via Zoom. These sessions were then integrated into a comprehensive course, complete with online assessments to evaluate the learners’ understanding.

To further reinforce learning, video recordings of learners responding to various questions were also incorporated. This approach ensured that new employees were well-prepared before stepping into their roles, and it provided Bajaj Life Insurance with a robust mechanism to continuously assess and refine their induction process.

3. Film-Based Learning for Sales Induction

Knowlens’ film-based learning product, “The Birth of a Salesman,” has been instrumental for several clients in their sales induction programs. This approach is particularly popular among entry-level employees who are new to sales or those seeking to master the fundamentals of selling.

“The Birth of a Salesman” is regularly used as part of the induction process for new hires, offering an engaging and practical way to learn essential sales skills. The visual and narrative-driven format makes complex concepts easier to grasp and retain, providing a solid foundation for employees as they embark on their sales careers.

Conclusion: A Unified Approach to Induction

Induction is a critical area where visual learning truly shines, and Knowlens has had had the opportunity to  refine and fine tune various formats based on the organization preferences. These diverse case studies illustrate how tailored, visually engaging content can enhance the induction experience, making it more effective and enjoyable for learners. This unified approach to induction underscores the power of visual learning in onboarding new employees and sets a new standard for corporate training.

 Knowbyte –  The brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text and that visuals can enhance learning outcomes by as much as 400 percent.

Product of the Month – Transmission Lines

While we have been covering more esoteric topics, but some of our clients came back with the need for a basics of communication skills program. We already had one course course “Talk the Talk” on scenario based videos in Projecting oneself, Communicating with Teams and Projecting to customers.

Transmission Lines is –focussed on 3 areas of Communication:

Active Listening
Enhance relationships by truly understanding and responding to others.

Assertive Communication
Express oneself confidently and clearly for a more significant impact.

Non-Verbal Communication
Mastering body language and tone to reinforce messages effectively.

Transforming interactions and lighting up the office with effective communication!

Testimonial –

The Way Knowlens has Integrated Films, the Internet, and Mobile for learning , it is an immensely Scalable EdTech Proposition for learners and Job Seekers we believe it adds immense value to our Audience at Times Job.

-Vivek Madhukar, Formerly COO, Times Business Solution Limited