2018 BEST Award Winner, #5

"Thanks for coming up with creative ways to help us learn."

That feedback is among many accolades the talent development team at Apple Federal Credit Union has received recently after instituting a series of improvements and innovations in the way it delivers learning, especially in its e-learning portfolio.

Apple FCU is a community financial institution serving the Washington, D.C., metro area of Northern Virginia. Talent development is a differentiator for this organization, which competes in a highly competitive industry in one of the most densely populated areas in the United States.

The talent development team has been intentional about improving its e-learning portfolio and diversifying the media through which learning is delivered to employees. The team created its own TV station, complete with a theme song and designated news reporter. In 2017, the team released nearly 20 video episodes (all three minutes or shorter) that contained topics related to a pending headquarters move, such as move logistics, decluttering tips, and etiquette guidelines. The HQ On the Move series helped to facilitate a smooth organizational change effort for 275 employees who had to relocate to new offices.

In addition to short video episodes, the talent development team applied microlearning to other e-learning courses, including refreshers on different investment referral opportunities and problem resolution methodology. Gamification was added to the mix to help reinforce and gauge retention of concepts that were incorporated in the refresher courses. A contest accompanied the game to generate positive competition between co-workers to see who could get a perfect score.

The effort increased engagement among staff while accomplishing the main goal of improved knowledge about Apple FCU's problem resolution methodology, which is integral to the organization's success.

In looking holistically at the learning portfolio, the talent development team also undertook creating a suite of new graphics—including infographics, motion graphics, and other design elements—to avoid boring, static screens in courses. In some cases, like a course about robbery, graphics were specifically designed to make scenarios as real and relatable as possible. In overhauling its offerings, the team made sure to include depth and breadth of modalities. It also added closed caption to all video and audio slides to cater to multiple learning preferences.

Another major enhancement the team made involved taking a section of its in-classroom content for teller training and turning it into a virtual classroom course. In addition to cost savings, the program enables employees to learn at their own pace, which is especially important for part-time employees with challenging schedules.

The wholesale overhaul of the learning portfolio has netted positive results for Apple FCU. Through intentional and creative redesign, modality expansion, and refresher-course content, engagement in learning is up dramatically, resulting not only in knowledge gain but also knowledge mastery.

View the entire list of 2018 BEST Award winners.