Edited by Margery Weinstein
The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., prides itself on its commitment to building and developing a pipeline of new and emerging diverse talent. The company says its Line of Business Development (LOB) Programs have a 30-year history of providing a legacy of leaders.
PNC’s LOB Programs offer recent college graduates a strategically designed entry-level rotational career development program. The comprehensive curriculum includes enterprise experiences, experiential learning opportunities, mentorship, and tools for refining leadership skills. The program has produced employees who stay with PNC longer, are more engaged, and add diversity to the organization. In 2011, more than 400 new associates were hired into 11 LOB Programs. Program highlights include:
- A two-day orientation program ensures a smooth transition into PNC and allows employees to gain a deeper understanding of PNC’s strategy and values, their personal strengths, and the LOB Development Program.
- The Learning Conference, a three-day session between the sixth and 12th month of the program, provides insight into the skills and tools necessary for early career development. It brings employees across lines of business together to share and build their knowledge through lectures, workshops, and teambuilding activities.
- Training curricula are delivered in a variety of methods and offer various learning paths that include both technical and soft-skills training.
- Experiential learning opportunities offer time and support so employees apply learning immediately and hit the ground running once placed in a line of business.
- Dedicated Program Management teams oversee the design, development, and execution of the program with the support of line of business leaders and Human Resources partners. Upon completion, program graduates are prepared with the essential knowledge, skills, and tools of key entry-level professional roles and are positioned to display their potential within the line of business.
- Guided Learning is being piloted within the ACCEL Retail Bank Development Program (RBDP), PNC’s largest and most tenured program. This self-directed approach allows associates to learn in a virtual environment with “just-in-time” tools that match their learning style and increase their comprehension and effectiveness. Best practices and lessons learned will be implemented within all line of business development programs and across the enterprise in order to better meet the needs of all employees.
Results
The following results are based on Kirkpatrick’s levels of training evaluation (on a five-point scale; 1 being the lowest and five being the highest).
- Level 1: Learners rated the orientation sessions a favorable 4.77 for providing a strong understanding of PNC culture and values.
- Level 2: Some 96 percent of learners demonstrated knowledge retention and mastery and were successfully assigned roles in the line of business. The Business Banking Fundamental Loans Certification course, part of the ACCEL RBDP, yielded an 8 percent increase in knowledge based on pre- and post-testing. Learners averaged an 88 percent on the post-program assessment.
- Level 3: Dedicated support provided by the lines of business resulted in an increase in employee engagement (4.29 for participants versus 4.25 for PNC).
- Level 4: PNC recorded a retention rate of 96 percent after one year compared to 92 percent for new hire grads, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers 2011 Recruiting Benchmark Survey. A higher percentage of employees met expectations (68.5 versus 55 percent enterprise-wide) and represented 24 percent more diversity.
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