Does anyone use incentives for employees who complete in-house training? We use a PC library for training which is where the employee can sit at their desk and go through the training session, take the test, and not have to leave their areas. But we do not require the employees to do training, it is just available. (With the exception of BSA and Privacy). My problem is I am having a difficult time getting the employees to take the tutorials....I am considering creating an incentive type system, but I was wondering if anyone had used incentives and if they worked.

Incentives could be anywhere from candy bars to gift certificates, to a lunch with the auditor! Ha ha!

Any input would help.

Do you employee evaluations at your institution?

If so, it might be a good idea to include any training completed as one of the sections on the evaluation. If it looks like it could help with raises and bonuses, it just could get completed more often.

Currently employee training is not part of the evaluation criteria. Now if you are attending any type of college that is noted, but not just internal training. I don't think the CEO & Pres would want to incorporate that into the evaluation process either. They are kind of the mind that if the employees have time they will do it, if they don't have time, they won't. But that it should not be required, per se. Thats why I wanted to make it a fun program.....I think people respond better to positive motivators than being told the "have to" complete 3 or 4 tutorials a month.

This is not banking related, but involves employee training. When I worked at Blockbuster Music we had modules we could do. It was not required, but helped our case if we wanted a promotion or raise. By completing the modules we could show that we were interested in the job, not just collecting a paycheck. These modules would focus on a genre of music then gradually went up to explain the duties of Assisant Manager, Manager, Regional Manager etc. Kind of a way to know the inner workings of the corporation. Of course, everyone would start with their favorite music genre then move on. We would earn stars that we wore on our name bagdge. Each module had a different color star. There were about 12 stars in total.
Anywho, I was told about them my first day of work. We had to check out a module, study, and then take a test given by the store manager. When I had started, the SM had the most stars, 6. Within 2 weeks I had 10. I couldn't do the last two, because since no one had used them for a while, they had gotten misplaced.
I was thrilled when customers would ask me why I had so many stars. After the 2 weeks, I got bumped up to Assistant Manager Trainee.

So, long story short, if you have some sort of recognition for those that do it, it would enhance the program. It might also get others to buy into the program.

We have "teller trainers" and they are paid an incentive each pay period. It works well for us. A new employee is on probation for 3 months and then can test out after that period.

We have gone the route of incenting associates for completing specific training classes as well as rewarding them for successfuly completing a series of classes. We have PC application self-based training classes available through a third party. These training classes have four levels of mastery, Beginner (everyone is required to meet htis proficiency), Advanced, Expert and Grand Master. After an associate reaches the top three levels they can choose from a selection of bank logo items. The higher the level, the nicer the item. (paper wieght at Advanced, putter at Grand Master) This is our IT's way of reducing their expense on the Help Desk by ensuring more associates are trained in the applications.
We have also incented our associates for attending after hours training on Online Banking. Too many of our associates were not familiar with the product to be able to sell it at parties and social gatherings. Everyone who attended these sessions were eleigible to receive a gift ($30-$50) from a catalog.

When I worked at another institution in college, they had a similar system of training modules. There we were entered into a drawing every quarter if we completed 5 modules during the quarter. Everyone found time to work in 5 in a 3 month period. Prizes were changed every quarter and ranged from gift certificates to restaurants to a 2 night lodging in a nearby resort town. The best ever was a day off with pay! Who couldn't use an extra vacation day!

My first bank, long ago in a galaxy far far away, used to pay employees to take AIB classes. Not only pay for the class but also pay the employees $25 for every 1/2 credit hour. That was $150 for a 3 hour class. I took 14 classes that way. Many employees took classes. These were evening classes that you had to drive 1 hr each way. We car pooled and went out to eat before class. It really helped people from different branches get to know one another and learn something at the same time.

At my present bank, we don't give incentives but do pay for AIB classes, which I am now the instructor for. We have an on-line training resource, but there are no incentives for that and it isn't used as much as it should be.

Thank you everyone for these good comments.

We had a big push a few years ago to raise computer literacy among the staff... Everyone was asked to complete basic Windows, Word and Excel courses. Once an entire department passed all the proficiency exams, the department got a pizza party. Peer pressure really works - if one person is holding up free food, the rest of the staff starts to lean on them!

Anyone who wanted to take the "advanced" proficiency exam got $50 for passing, too. We got a lot of people who did that.

Money and food - the two big motivators!