Tag: banking elearning

30 Aug 2023
simulations

How has the creation of simulations evolved over the years?

The simulations are now being used for all kinds of eLearning in the corporate world.

Importance of simulations for banking training:

For example, simulations have been extremely useful in banks, where they can be used for explaining to the employees what can be the harmful effects of making wrong decisions.

They are taught how various situations can affect the balance sheet of a bank.

In such simulations, various factors become more understandable to banking employees like how they must cope with poor business conditions which happens when there is a recession in the economy and banks don’t get many lending opportunities.

When the banking employees see a change in numbers due to any alteration in regulatory conditions like a hike in interest rates, they learn how to adapt to such situations. Also, there can be problems when the central bank increases interest rates to curb inflation.

When the central banks increase interest rates, the cost of lending increases, and hence banks have to increase their own interest rates to earn profits. The interest rates are increased and banks have to convey to the borrower the reasons behind them to maintain their loyalty. It’s because their loans go for a toss in such situations and hence, they must know how their decisions influence assets and liabilities.

These and many more changes in external factors require intelligent decision-making by banking employees, and this skill gets enhanced through a simulator. The simulation shows how the assets and liabilities of a bank change as a consequence of the changes in such factors, and how to cope with such situations.

Simulations before 1980s:

A simulation showcases a business situation. When this happens, the businesses know how to leverage or emerge as a survivor in such a situation. They understand the challenges of a situation as a whole, rather than being absorbed in the complexities of the situation.

Now, due to authoring tools, creating simulations is not as tough as before.

The simulations were however initially not so popular. This was because there had been no advent of eLearning authoring tools. So, it was quite complicated to create simulations using programming and generating computer variables. The users could not be given simple variables for decision-making, due to which it was tough for them to understand and learn. Therefore, the users could not establish any relations between the variables chosen in decisions and their results. Consequently, the earlier simulations could not fulfil any kind of learning goals of clients. Hence, making simulations simple was required.

How were simulations created back then?

There was a need for creating graphic characters from scratch using design software and then creating body movements and gestures for them through Flash.

Apart from that, it was also required to use programming languages such as C++ and Java to showcase the behavior of the elements in such simulations after any option was chosen, like the user would see a pop-up on screen after he chose any option in a quiz.

Creation of Simulations after invention of authoring tools:

Firstly, the authoring tools have templates, elements, and characters designed for a specific business situation. Even gestures and facial expressions have been created to depict situations.

Therefore, the creators just need to drag and drop animated characters and other elements into templates to create situations. There is no coding required to create templates.

Benefits of using authoring tools for creating simulations:

  • No need for programming:

Moreover, programming is also not needed to create branching scenarios in such simulations. The eLearning authoring tools are already well-endowed with the triggers and the users just have to choose the options.

They contain triggers that are invoked as a user chooses a certain option in a pre-built quiz, and then the user is enlightened about his choice.  Therefore, the user can be presented with many options in terms of situations and quizzes.

  • Immediate feedback received:

Another advantage of these simulations is that since they can be produced so quickly, feedback can be sought immediately from the client. So, the procedure to produce these simulations is quite agile. Changes are made often, and the client does not have to wait for a certain time to offer feedback before the final results are shown to him. Different scenarios can be prepared, produced and altered till they satisfy a client in terms of end results.

  • Easier collaboration:

Since these authoring tools are hosted on cloud-based servers, the graphic designers can work alongside them with SMEs who can tell them whether a certain situation has been shown correctly. When they find anything wrong with a situation, they ask the graphic designers to correct it immediately.

12 Dec 2022
storytelling in elearning

Six benefits of using storytelling in elearning

Storytelling is an intrinsic part of human culture. Generations have shared stories as heirlooms. So, it’s no doubt that it has become an inevitable part of elearning. The learners may not remember graphs and charts and their assimilated data. But they can remember a story because of its structure.

Moreover, storytelling is an interesting way to engage the audience because it takes the learners to a different environment. Employees are enthralled through simulations as they get some time away from the monotonous office environment. It’s also easy to get someone’s attention through a story because they have an element of intrigue in them.

Elearning content development companies also help organizations cash on this benefit of stories by curating those pertinent to their work processes.

Stories ensure people remember facts better; in fact, 63% of learners imbibe the data better in their minds when it’s interwoven with stories: These are the advantages of using storytelling in elearning:-

  • Get the audience hooked:

The elearning content development companies can prepare interesting storytelling scenarios for their clients.

Employees today face a lot of pressure at work for upskilling. But when the elearning module is not interesting enough, they don’t gain any knowledge. The learners’ interest can be grabbed at the beginning of the lesson when a story is told to them about another learner’s experience.

When learners listen to this story, they can learn how a subject working in a similar position faced a challenging situation.

The scenarios can help learners understand how complex situations can arise at the workplace because they contain relatable characters, or such stories can come straight from the horse’s mouth. When learners listen to someone’s experience who works in the same role, this has a profound impact on them.

Anecdotes can also be used in a module to inspire the learners because they can ensure that employees can learn how their seniors overcame problems. When senior employees share their experiences about solving problems by following a solution, they take an interest in upskilling themselves.

  • Explain facts: 

It has been found that when facts are put into stories, learners retain them better; the retention rate is as high as 20 times. You can’t attempt to influence the learners by just stating facts to them through PowerPoint slides. Therefore, storytelling is an effective medium when the management has to affect the learners to modify their behavior radically.

With genuine stories, the learners are likely to be persuaded rationally and strongly to change their work practices. The company can narrate facts to the learners about how a certain skill can increase their productivity, but when they listen to someone’s similar experience, their perception of the same skill changes.

When seniors come out in the open about professional mistakes, the learners have the highest retention. The leaders and seniors inspire others to adhere to the company’s values.

Sharing such experiences is a positive way for organizations to make employees bond with each other. Employees prevent others from committing the same errors they did through such experiences. Hence, storytelling is the best way to teach others to escape such situations scot-free.

  • Spread awareness: 

News can also be used to inspire learners. Such news can be any compliance lapses, including cybersecurity events in any organization, and have led to serious consequences for them. They can be video clippings of any real-life incident. You can teach compliance training interestingly through such videos because once learners have the backstory of how not following rules can cost a company; they are bound to be interested. 

  • Explain the relevance of laws: 

Detailed videos can also be shown to the learners, which let them know why a law came into place and how it can prevent negligence.

For example, a law regarding cybersecurity can be introduced to the learners about how it can prevent hackers from accessing the systems. It can prevent unauthorized access by only allowing designated personnel to use certain systems.

Through news bytes, the learners can learn how not following such rules has led to ransomware attacks in organizations. 

  • Instill an understanding of the company’s values:

Stories can also be used to let the learners understand why an organization follows a certain set of values. There is always a reason why an organization believes in a specific value. When the organization’s history is portrayed through simulations, employees become empathic about the values and start believing in them. Sometimes certain values of an organization are very valuable for it because they have led to its success and hence should be followed by employees at all levels. 

  • Stories spread easily:

 Also, stories do get a word of mouth publicity rather than data. Once an employee attends a training   session, he is bound to let others know about it, giving an incentive to the upskilling initiatives of the   company. An organization can’t give data to people and expect them to remember it. But they will   always remember it if data has been interspersed with a story.

29 Dec 2021
banking training program

Do banks require a banking training program? If yes, why?

The pandemic has forced businesses to alter the way they conduct operations. It had the same effect on banks also that had to reskill employees because they had no other option when the customers were not willing to come in person. The banks also can’t afford to fire redundant employees because their operations need individuals with integrity. The banking employees have to be hired after rigorous criminal checks, due to which frequent hiring is not possible. Apart from that, employees are hired after testing them for mathematical aptitude and English comprehension skills.

Hence, banks have to reskill such employees by keeping a close watch on the changing trends. You can conduct tests with employees to know the skill gaps required for fulfilling crucial business goals.

Banks also have to check whether the training program they are looking to implement matches the needs of the trainees, whether they want a hybrid or an online solution.

An online banking training program is of two types, one of which is related to banking operations such as handling checks, checking whether the currency or the check submitted for deposits is counterfeit or not.

The second category of such programs includes elucidating on the business etiquette and the latest regulatory compliance rules.

Why is a banking training program required?

  • Lack of employees:

The training of employees can be done with employees from other departments, for example; customer service representatives(CSR) can be trained with the Operations employees so that the former can enhance their knowledge of banking services. The latter can improve their communication skills and hence can deal with customers when there is a shortage of CSR.

  • Training freshers with different educational backgrounds:

Banks need to have scalable training content, too, which can be provided to a larger number of employees when the need emerges. Hence, they should have training resources for online mode also when the new employees can’t attend training physically.

The training content should be reusable so that changes can be made to it as per the modifications in compliance laws. The main problem before taking up a banking training program is that it needs to be specific. There have to be different programs for new and old employees, where the former need onboarding but the latter need upskilling for better roles. Hence, the challenge lies with the e-learning companies USA, who have to prepare training material as per employees.

Onboarding is also tougher for freshers who have the relevant degrees but don’t know the exact duties of their job role. In India, a banking training program is a must because the graduates in different streams are hired. Thus, such programs teach the fundamentals of banking to non-commerce graduates and about the proprietary banking software to those who are not accustomed to working with IT.

The employees can be taught about the banking infrastructure, which can make them work better. So recruits can be taken through simulations where they can be shown how banking employees work in conjunction with each other to make things happen.

A banking training program is also vital for employees because when there is a hike in demand for services, they can easily adapt to different roles. It’s because a banking training program teaches graduate freshers different skills including business, communication, and software skills.

Divisional training is also part of a banking program because new employees might be working in different departments of the bank such as commercial banking and investment banking etc.

  • Training employees for quality and not quantity :

Banks also have to check whether the employees are performing reliably and are not committing mistakes due to the pressure of working at speed. This can cause a lot of problems for the bank because any unintentional error with the customers’ money can cause them to pay for damages and lose customer credibility. Hence, even if employees are doing their work at a pace, they should be trained to double-check their data entries before pressing the “SUBMIT” Button.

It’s better that the repetitive tasks should be delegated to AI-based software, since the employees can commit mistakes if working quickly.

AI is also helping banks to carry out the tasks of record-keeping efficiently. Banking employees are also faced with lesser work due to the implementation of AI. They can put their attention into creative tasks, such as suggesting ways to customers to save profitably.

How can banks make employees imbibe knowledge from such programs?

Banks have to ensure that the employees attend such programs, which can happen when it’s a must for staying hired. However, employees also have to be rewarded for learning from these programs by introducing metrics to measure an employee’s learning. Whenever an employee scores the highest marks on a quiz, it can be informed to everyone else in the organization.

Every quiz should have a level attached to it. But these quizzes must be related to credit-based courses, such as teaching employees about how to handle loan requests based on a borrowers’ credibility assessed from his tax return and other financial statements, etc.

There can be different such courses for banking employees who make decisions to lend to high worth borrowers and conventional borrowers, such as those for home loans etc. Evaluating the creditworthiness of borrowers is important because any loan default means a loss for the bank. Hence, the documents such as tax returns need to be checked whether a borrower has enough salaried and non-salaried incomes for the requested loan amount.

A banking training program also helps employees in judging that if the collateral is getting used for securing the loan, is it enough to recover the dues in the situation of non-repayment.

Hence, a banking training program ensures that employees in such decision-making roles have proper job aids. When employees have completed a banking training program, they also have a scope for career progression in the same bank.

05 Oct 2021
Banking elearning

How can banks provide better operations with banking e-learning?

Banks are including elearning to make sure employees are adept at doing their jobs. They are given games by the senior management to ensure they get a hang of their job roles.

How are banking elearning games helpful in handling customers?

Banks face a crisis when it comes to handling a tough situation. It’s because although customers have shifted to internet-based banking due to the pandemic still some of them prefer to come to banks. It’s because old people can’t operate online banking software and hence need resolutions of problems such as cheque clearance, the opening of savings accounts, etc. These banking elearning games make sure that customer executives experience situations like how to handle queues in banks and don’t panic when such a situation emerges.

These simulation games empower employees to handle their job roles better. For example, in a cheque clearing game, the employees are supposed to move the players, to handle tasks like when a customer gives a cheque after which they have to verify the details. Any wrong move in the game penalizes the players. All the game results are sent to the managers who then decide when an executive should be allowed public dealing. When an employee has attained a certain score, he can then be shifted to a customer handling role.

When employees play such games, they get hands-on experience in dealing with customer processes, so they don’t commit any errors in the actual process. Such elearning helps employees to deal with situations like mortgages, payments, and approval of loans. The customers want expedited processes when they come to banks and hence elearning has become a crucial way to achieve these results. Banking elearning must also include system safety because any carelessness can cause bugs to enter the system and everyone knows the consequences of data theft in such organizations. Hence access control is important in this kind of training.

Security is also important in banking elearning because if any information about the process is leaked, the operations can be compromised. Any hacker can get knowledge of a bank’s operations and this can be risky. Hence access to banking elearning courses should be there for employees only.

Teaching employees about hard skills, soft skills, and compliance

Banking involves a lot of administrative tasks done through software. Hence it involves teaching employees the correct use of software for their job duties so that they become efficient. After going through banking elearning employees not only gain hard skills, but also soft skills and customers are more pleased. With an elearning platform, when employees play simulation-based games for their skill assessment, their performance can improve. Such communication skills are quite useful in convincing customers to save and open accounts with banks. Of course, the ability to save differs between different customers. But their psychology towards savings can be influenced by a banking officer who can tell them about good rates on term deposits. This way, the customer can become more financially knowledgeable and learn about how savings can fetch him good rates of interest. But there needs to be the protection of customers so that they are not defrauded. However, law-making authorities in several countries have come up with rules to protect customers’ money.

In 2017, RBI made changes to the Banking Ombudsman law which protects customers in case they are misled about a banking product(mis-selling). For example mis-selling happens when someone tries to conceal facts about a financial product like asking customers to invest in mutual funds which are linked to securities whose values can fluctuate and there is no assurance of monthly returns. But banking elearning can teach employees to refrain from such practices to protect the integrity of a bank.

30 Sep 2021
banking elearning

Use banking elearning to prevent theft of card details


Banking e-learning
is a valuable resource for such institutions. It’s because due to the massive foray of technology in this sector. Apart from employees, the banking customers also need such training to safeguard them from so many frauds. Due to cashless transactions happening everywhere, customers are likely to leak their ATM pins while withdrawing money. The customers should make sure that they don’t write the PIN anywhere, especially on the back of the card.

What is skimming at ATMs?

Skimming is the act of stealing money from fraudsters through your ATM cards when they get unknown access to your PINs. Such PINs are revealed to them because they install a small device called a skimmer on the card slot of the ATM machine. So when you insert your card into this slot to withdraw some money, this device scans all your card’s details and when you have mentioned your PIN on it, the risk of losing money is high. This skimming can also happen in restaurants where you use your card to make bill payments.

Even when you have not written the PIN on the card’s backside, the scammers can know it when you enter it into the ATM machine while making a transaction. The wireless skimmer device then transfers all the PIN details to the fraudsters. So, before leaving an ATM, make sure that you click the Cancel button on the ATM machine. Also, tear the transaction slip so that no one can know your card details. Apart from a skimming machine, there could also be cameras installed at a bank. So always cover the keypad of an ATM machine with your hands while entering the PIN. Hence, banking e-learning is important for customers to conduct safe ATM transactions.

Skimming happening in hotels and gas stations

A powerful method of protecting yourself from skimming is that when you provide your credit card for swiping on a POS machine at a merchant outlet like a restaurant, make sure that it’s done before you. Don’t give away your card to a server for making payments. This way, your card won’t be swiped in a skimming machine by malicious servers to get card details through its magnetic chip which they can use to produce fake cards. They can also retrieve the PIN through hacking or produce counterfeit documents like a driver’s license to confirm identity. Also, register for SMS alerts with your bank, so that any unauthorized debit transaction comes to your notice immediately.

When hotels have unscrupulous employees who use customers’ debit cards on skimming machines their reputation gets affected and they can even face lawsuits when customers are robbed of large sums. But some employees don’t know anything about skimming and are tricked by their colleagues into using such machines. Hence, banking elearning is useful for such naïve employees.

You can detect a skimming machine at a gas station also when you twist the card reader and it’s loose. The skimming machine could be installed inside the gas POS machine. The keypad could also be loose because it has been placed on top of the real one to capture your PIN.
Elucidate customers through banking e-learning

The best way is to educate customers about skimming is through banking e-learning

This ensures that they don’t conduct any online transaction using their debit card without entering their OTP. This kind of protection makes sure that anyone who knows the debit card/credit card credentials and PIN can’t withdraw money without having access to the customer’s registered mobile number with the bank where the OTP is delivered. Also, it’s better to keep the phone locked at all times. Nobody should be able to access your phone without knowing your swiping patterns or passwords or fingerprints.

Banking E-learning is also useful for hospitality employees

Hospitality is also a major sector where such skimming happens. Hence, employees must be trained on how to protect customer’s money. When employees are trained and see a fraud, they must report it to authorities. They should be explained the risk of theft in such situations because they can lose their job. Hence, they should be trained about ethics and how their morality must be included in their duties.

He was a German psychologist who is known for discovering the forgetting curve. According to this curve, the biggest decline in memory happens within 20 minutes, and then 1 hour.