We are looking at an online training solution from Bankers Edge/Bankers Systems. Is anyone using this product that can offer an opinion? You can post here, e-mail me, or send me a private message to let me know how you like it.

<VENT WARNING>

I am so tired of conducting endless training sessions and not knowing if any of what I am saying is getting through. Not to mention the fact that I do not have the time to prepare training material and come up with clever gimmicks and ideas to make some of the topics I train on interesting.

<END VENT WARNING>

The system we are looking at would require employees to pass tests to ensure that they have gotten the general concepts of the training. That way if you have a teller who is really struggling with the concepts of BSA, you will know about it and can address it right away rather than finding out about it after an error is made. Employees who are proficient with certain areas can "test out" by passing the exam without going the whole way through the training and people can take the tests (which are different each time) as many times as they like. The employees can do the training at their workstations at the branch rather than traveling and being away from the branch for half a day. I figure that what we save in milage and paying for travel time will more than pay for the system, if I can only convince the guys with the checkbook!

Are there any other systems out there that are similar? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Haven't used it but I know 1st Financial Training Services has a training program. The number according to the brochure I have is 1-800-442-8662

There are a number of on-line training systems available. We used to use BVS and are now using BankersEdge. The employees love this one. The tests are in the format of a jeopardy game. They know what questions they missed when they get their score. From a management point of view, you can key in your policies and procedures, you can see which questions are being missed by what percentage of your employees so that you can target certain areas for small training or newsletter training. We are very pleased with the product.

I don't know if you can ever get completely away from classroom training. The only thing these on-line training programs teach is the regulation - not how it's implemented at your company. I still teach a compliance training class each year with hands-on exercises for them to complete. The one request I receive each year after training is "more exercises, please". Adults seem to learn more easily with Hands-on experiences.

Yes we started using it the first of this year. It works pretty good for covering the basics. Those who haven't grown up on computes find it a little more difficult then those who are internet/computer savvy. But it is very helpful, and as the administrator you can monitor which modules different people have started, what their pre-test scores were and then their score after reviewing the materials. It amounts to a lot of reading with a few button clicks here and there, so can become tedious to some.

I think there are 20 modules and we assign modules based on the person's responsibilities and neeeds. Some people do all 20, some only 7 or 8. I wish there were more advanced modules available also to compliment the basic modules they have. There are some areas where a person may only need the basics and others where deeper study would be helpful. Right now, that doesn't appear to be an option with BSI/BE.

Overall, we have found it a useful tool, but it doesn't replace the need for classroom training yet.

We have set ours up based on job function. Some employees will get an overview of the reg and the employees who deal with the reg every day will get the full version. I believe in the not too distant future there will be an editing capability beyond what is currently available. Then a bank can really customize based on their own needs. The banks may even be able to write their own questions. Just think of the possibilities.

We have had nothing but positive feedback about these training modules. We are a bank of 135 branches in 12 states and 4 Regioinal Compliance Officers. This save us a lot of time and effort.

After using video training for a number of years, we added "on-line" training through Digital University for more variety and to give those motivated employees a chance to further their education. This is a sample of the contents from the Digital University August Newsletter.

WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE:

New Course: Compliance Training
Unfair and Deceptive Practices and Acts
New Course: Home Banking and Bill Paying
Mid-year 2002 catalog available
Expanded and Updated Compliance Center
New Course Under Development: Stress Management
New Course Under Development: Fair Housing Act
New Student Report for PLUS

If you are interested in more information; visit digital university at www.digitu.com

What do you do as an "incentive" for all employees to complete their training? Is it part of their performance evaluation? Do you hold their bonus until training is current? Anything else?

We just started with an Internet Based Training provider (not the one you are looking at). We did a pretty thorough evaluation and Bankers Systems ranked really well in our research.

A great benefit to the bigger providers is the Management Reports. You can see who is trainng and how successful they are. Time will tell.

We got a really strong buy-in from the front line supervisors and I think that will be the measure of success or failure, how well they are supporting it a year from now.

No, IBT is not the end-all answer, but it can keep training available to the employee either at work or at home. They don't have to wait for your presentations or wait for a seminar in the area. It is part of a total package.

Our bank has been using the Intranet version of the BankersEdge compliance training for about a year and a half. I am very happy with the product. The training courses are pretty in-depth, and are easy to comprehend. The knowledge tests at the end are in a Jeopardy style format that the employees find less stressful than a series of 20-questions. As the administrator, I am able to track the employees scores and get printouts of test results for department heads and auditors.

The only two drawbacks I have found are (1) there is currently no way to track which ares an employees is having problems in (but they said that a new version will be coming out with this feature); and (2) Some employees will JUST take the test: over and over and over and over again until they pass it. When I send out the training notices, I remind them that they may only try to take the test once and pass without taking the training course. If they cannot get a passing score the first time, they must take the course and then try the test again. This seemed to have worked.

I assign the training course and give the employees about three weeks to take it on their own, at their convenience. After the three weeks is up, (and a two-week reminder has been sent out) they are assigned a time and date to take the training at a location that is inconvenient to them, so this promotes timely test taking. Overall, I like it, and use it for annual Reg CC, Fair Lending, OFAC, Reg E and Privacy Training. (Still do Security and BSA/AML in-person.)

I hope this was helpful.

We use a website called digituplus. In fact, we are conducting privacy and BSA training that way. I find it very handy. One reason has already been mentioned (you have to prepare a presentation, and then you aren't really sure that the employees are paying attention). Another useful reason is that you always have a few people who can't go because they have somewhere to be right before or after work (i.e. picking up their kids from school). With the online training, you can give them some more time to complete the training courses. I love it! Don't know if that helps, just my two cents.

Opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.

I've used it at two different banks, one we set it up by job categories and the other we sat people down on their first day and had them go through it. I would not recommend the second. We hit some problems with the first way too. Because everyone was expected to complete a certain number of courses each month, often backroom people would not do assigned duties because they were busy doing training. Planning/scheduling time has to be a priority when thinking about how to implement the program. Both programs had great content and we're user friendly.

Our bank of 1,000 employees migrated from BVS to BankersEdge this year and we are very pleased with the ability to modify the online training with specific input related to the bank's policies. The compliance examiners were impressed as well. It is very cost effective for our 91 branches some 600 miles apart.

We were using on-line training for compliance training and found it was ok, but had a problem with our people not taking the courses or just taking the tests. We tried both Bankers Edge and Bankers Training and Consulting and had the same results. Recently we purchased the BVS Performance Management System with all its various elements. Not only did we find that we could tell who was not doing their assignments as intended, but more importantly the system gave us a way to tie our strategic goals to individual performance. We never used them before because we felt they were too expensive, but with the problems we had with the training only products we realized that low cost training courses don't work because we needed much more than just some courses...we needed a whole system that was more than training and gave managers multiple tools, information and control they needed to do their jobs and meet their goals.

We're using BVS and are very happy with it. We've had it since January.

Can you tell me more about digituplus?

We have been using BVS for about six months and are happy with it. We can customize screens, see test results, find out which questions have the most wrong answers and who is behind in their training.

We find these 1 1/2 to 2 hours sessions very good for new employees, annual refreshers, and intros for people new to a job. However the training is not in-depth enough to eliminate specific task training (i.e. CTR completion for tellers or full day RESPA session from the state bankers assoc. for new mortgage people).

I like the fact that employees can start with the test. If they do well, they don't have to go through the whole course. If they can demonstrate that they know the information, that's fine with me. Also, this quiets the know-it-alls who think that they never need training.

I just purchased the BankersEdge.. Do you give insentives to the employees to take the courses??

How about "if you take all the required annual training, you get to keep your job"? Sorry, I'm beginning to experience some CIP-induced frothing. If I had a dime for every time someone has told me that we can't possibly ask for ID when a long-time customer opens a new account, I'd be able to retire before 10/26/02.

Thats how I feel, some upper mang. believes we should do an incentive program.. sorta "dangle the carrot in front of the horse". I think you work here, as part of your job, DO THE TRAINING! aaaaggggghhhh

We have been using Digital University for over a year and are very pleased with it. I assign a module to DDA personnel and Loan Personnel each month with a deadline when to turn in their Achievement Certificates. If someone does not turn it in after a reminder our CEO has me to report those names to the board.

Just had some little ranting to get out of my system...

We do Intranet training using Power Point. Every Reg is presented on an annual basis to all employees. Employees must answer 3 questions for each reg presented. We also present compliance trivia via e-mail.

Lisa N - I was just curious about why you don't want people taking the test over and over and over until they get it right. In my mind, the employee is getting just as much training as if they had read the course material all over again.

Some people do not learn well by simply reading. They need more interaction, and the constant repetitition of responding to questions, with immediate feedback on "right" or "wrong" answers seems to do well for these folks.

JMTC (Just my two cents)

Bonnie, I agree 100% with your two cents. I let people know that I track their training by the exam results, after all I can't, don't want to stand over their shoulders and watch them read the entire course.

We used Digital University for a year. It was very easy to get into the system for those non-computer personnel. You could even print out the courses and then take the tests online. We assigned specific courses according to their department. We initially asked for about 1 course a month. Some employees had all theirs plus more finished in the first few months. Others waited until the last month and tried to complete them. Other (mainly officers, didn't do any at all). We are using Sage Online currently and the employees are finding it harder to use. We have had lots of trouble with the courses "timing out" if they have to pause during the training. I also hear the "I just don't have time during the day to complete any." However, they don't hesitate to leave a little early if they are finished (our tellers are allowed to leave when balanced) It wouldn't take much for them to stay and complete a course.

We have started doing some periodic training after hours using the course material. They don't take the tests, but at least have attended the training. My thought is if they can stay late for that, why do they have a problem staying and taking a course on their own???

We even offer incentives. For every course completed, the employee gets their name in a drawing for $10 Bonus Bucks every month. Bonus Bucks are turned in for Gift Certificates to be used at merchants that are customers of the bank. Then every quarter, there is a drawing (again 1 name for each course completed during that time) for 1/2 day off - given by the President of the Bank. You would think that would help - and it did the first year. Now they are wanting to go back to video format. UGH!