Taking a Lead in Staff Training

Financial Times

When Barclays University, the training unit of the UK-based high street banking group, was looking for a way to encourage junior team leaders to adopt more of a leadership role, it turned to Epic, the quoted e-learning consultancy.

"Barclays University needed a programme to provide an integrated and consistent leadership proposition for junior team leaders, who may have responsibility for two to three people, up to heads of strategic business units - a total of about 5,000 potential users.

The senior management wanted them to take a more active leadership role, explains Donald Clark, Epic's chief executive. In partnership with Barclays University, Epic developed a training programme dubbed "Take the lead... "

The leadership training programme was built around a blended approach, integrating offline and online training resources and delivery systems. Mr Clark explains: "A key component of this blend is the 'take the lead' website, which forms a single gateway for leader development within Barclays."

The content is specifically designed to engage the "students" by focusing on leadership issues and role models, drawn not only from within the financial organisation, but also from contemporary society and popular culture - examining Sven-Goran Eriksson's leadership style, for instance, or the dynamics of team building within the "Big Brother" house on television.

The site is also the jumping-off point for a series of e-learning modules, theories, just-in-time performance support tools and online reference materials. "Take the lead in style" is the first module to be released. Other recently introduced modules include "take the lead" courses in performance, change, teamworking, innovation, communication, time, life and the business world.

Other elements of the blended training programme include Barclays University learning "nudges" - short pieces of "just-in-time" learning also developed by Epic - supporting links and suggested reading, diagnostic tools, face-to-face workshops and support through telephone tutoring.

Epic also developed and piloted the Barclays University "Learning Zone" - an innovative, interactive gaming kiosk which allowed call centre staff to have fun learning both general knowledge and Barclays-specific product knowledge, whilst away from their desks.

"The results were phenomenal," says Mr Clark - and demand for the kiosks led to their introduction across the bank."