CASE STUDY

TRAINING AND LEARNING SOLUTIONS CASE STUDY

Client: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Area of Focus: Training and Learning Solutions
Contract Vehicle: OPM TMA

Abstract

As the financial crisis of 2008 began, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was introducing a revised version of the 4C system, a system used to manage bank assets. The revised version had the capability to greatly streamline the process of marketing and managing bank assets, and those FDIC employees involved in bank closings needed to learn how to use it almost immediately. The agency engaged Carney to create a curriculum, design course materials, and deploy an online resource library to enable FDIC employees to learn to use the new system as they helped close banks and reviewed the banks’ assets.

Background

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency created by Congress to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation’s financial system by insuring deposits, examining and supervising financial institutions, and managing banks when they close. Though depositors’ money is insured by the federal government, when a bank closes, the agency tries to turn the bank back over to a private institution as quickly as possible. For that to happen, the FDIC needs a quick, comprehensive, and accurate inventory of the bank’s assets.

Since January 2007, the FDIC had been using 4C Asset Management System to manage bank assets. However, in 2008, just as a massive wave of bank closings began, a new version of the system was released. The new version allowed one system to handle the marketing and management of assets of closed banks from start to finish, and replaced several existing FDIC systems. FDIC employees involved in the bank closings needed to quickly learn and be able to use the new 4C release instead of their previous systems.

Through the Office of Personnel Management’s Training and Management Assistance program (OPM TMA), FDIC contracted Carney to develop effective performance solutions.

Challenge

The first challenge for Carney was to quickly begin developing training materials and prepare FDIC employees for what would be a major shift in how they performed their tasks. The FDIC needed to begin training its staff and preparing them to use 4C even before all of the course materials could be developed. The new 4C asset management system marked a cultural shift for the FDIC, and the agency needed to begin preparing their employees immediately.

A larger challenge, however, was to identify how best to deliver the training. With the financial crisis in full swing, many of FDIC’s employees were out in the field performing the very tasks that the new system was intended to streamline, and would not be able to attend traditional classroom-based instructional sessions.

Carney Solution

Carney’s winning solution included the following elements:

Recording a brief video (to be disseminated immediately) that provided an overview of the 4C Asset Management System and highlighted its key features.
Designing printed “Job Aids” that served as checklists for specific tasks.
Creating multimedia presentations that demonstrated how to perform specific tasks using the 4C asset management system.
Developing an online resource library of existing and new materials that employees could reference from any Web-enabled terminal either in Washington D.C. or in the field.
Partnering with Management Concepts to design and deliver instructor-led courses that trained FDIC employees on the finer points of the 4C asset management system.

Results

In accordance with FDIC needs, Carney implemented a three-phased approach to develop and deliver the training materials. The Carney team worked closely with the client to prioritize the work to be completed in each phase. In all, we developed:

1 video (introducing the system and describing its purpose, high-level functionality and capabilities)
6 Multimedia presentations (providing an overview of system functionality and capabilities)
14 System demonstrations (on performing complex system tasks)
25 Task Overviews (on completing business tasks using the system)
39 Job Aids
3 Program Guides (for Franchise Marketing, Asset Marketing and Asset Management lines of business)

Delivering Remarkable Client Experience

Carney’s solution surpassed the contractual requirements. Within a two-month time period, more than 300 FDIC employees successfully completed the training; many classes exceeded capacity and employees in field offices have requested additional training sessions. Overall, the feedback from FDIC employees has been overwhelmingly positive because over 90% of all students surveyed rated the course as Good or Excellent.

The speed with which Carney was able to develop materials also contributed to a remarkable client experience. Though the contract was awarded in late June, by early August, Carney was already beginning to deliver training materials.

Finally, as is true for many of Carney’s client agencies, the FDIC needed to keep costs down. To help meet this goal, Carney designed all of its materials with an eye toward reuse in multiple settings.

For example, both the brief video and the longer multimedia presentations could be viewed independently or included as part of a more in-depth classroom experience. Each individual piece was developed once, but used multiple times, adding value for the agency.

Carney – A trusted partner

Carney, founded in 1994, provides government and military clients with innovative knowledge management solutions that accelerate workforce performance. Carney’s products and services help agencies accomplish mission-critical objectives and improve readiness.

Through best practices and a thorough examination of the challenges facing military and government leaders, Team Carney identifies new ways to capture, control, and transform knowledge through competency analyses, knowledge transfer strategies, and assessment evaluations.

Carney strives to provide remarkable client experiences by delivering quality performance solutions at the speed of need.