Wells, as far as learnings go

The American investment banking behemoth has had its share of close calls. Most would perhaps recall the one in which the courts slapped a fine of two billion dollars. Not surprising, though, given its stature in the country’s wealth management industry. Misrepresentation of loan asset quality in the books, the story goes. But in reality, it is the bankers themselves: their skills, knowledge and expertise, that determine how stringent and compliant an audit of the financial statements can be.

LEARNING IS THE CURE

Sure enough, matters came to a head and Tim Sloan took to the drawing board with his leadership team. The solution was in a more comprehensive learning program for its 250,000+ employees, especially the 500 strong WFAS (Wells Fargo Audit Services) Group. Like any major financial services conglomerate would do, it leveraged education technologies and exhaustive curricula to establish the Audit Services University. To oversee compliance with current guidelines and broadly ensure the blended learning programs, both online and offline, were in alignment to the required business outcomes, the WFAS Leaning Council was also formed – a supervisory body within the university.

Well, all that was in the kitchen. Here’s what was served – The Audit Leadership Experience Program. This best-of-breed program in regulatory compliance not only imparts skill upgrades in all relevant responsibility areas, it also simulates an actual audit process, where key parameters for performance, including business partner interaction, critical thinking and tough negotiations are rigorously tested.

In a nutshell, the Wells Fargo Learning and Development included all the bells and whistle you’d expect a top of the line skill development program to have – virtual classrooms, leadership consultation and summit events, not to mention Peer evaluations for each candidate.

Why this case assessment? And why Wells Fargo, you may ask? Well, blended learning models are not only supercharging corporate learning and development, they are also massively impacting aspiring investment bankers, who are keen to get that first toe-hold in the global investment banking science. The road is wrought with difficult interviews, and endless queues of hopefuls at every stage, but those on the quick lookout for the rocket skates are getting certified in investment banking. Time for you, too!