The Need:

I was assigned to a small, dedicated Learning & Development (L&D) team tasked with addressing the training and development needs of an underserved financial market segment. This market had no formal onboarding program and relied either on outdated materials designed for other markets or, in many cases, no onboarding at all. As a result, many employees entered their roles without sufficient training or skill development, leading to inconsistent performance, low confidence, and high turnover rates driven by a lack of structured support and development opportunities.

The Solution:

Before developing any training, our team partnered closely with core business leaders and stakeholders to conduct root cause analysis, identifying reasons for the challenges rather than simply addressing surface-level symptoms.

Through this process, we discovered that:

• Employees were often promoted or hired into roles without adequate preparation or skill development.
• Managers lacked formal coaching skills to effectively support and develop their teams.

To address these issues, we developed a comprehensive, role-specific onboarding and coaching program tailored specifically to this market.

Challenges & Approach

The biggest challenge was the tight timeline — all training needed to be developed, deployed, and completed within one to two months. Despite these constraints, we delivered a cohesive, multi- component training solution designed for rapid implementation and measurable impact.

Final Training Solutions Included:

Live Instructor-Led Zoom Training:
A one-hour virtual session delivered twice daily for two weeks to accommodate global time zones. Sessions were recorded and made available on demand for those unable to attend live.

Manager Coaching Microlearning Series:
A four-part, web-based microlearning program (each under 10 minutes) designed to teach managers effective coaching strategies was released. The content was aligned with a proprietary company coaching model, similar to Curb-Stone Coaching, ensuring consistency and practical application.

“Meetings-in-a-Box” / Huddle Materials:
Ready-to-use materials for managers to lead daily 15-minute team huddles. These guided discussions reinforced key behaviors, clarified expectations, and built team alignment.

Follow-Up and Reinforcement:
Follow-up sessions were scheduled at two weeks, one month, and three months post-training to reinforce learning, address challenges, and ensure sustained behavior change.