Through collection of data from the Deposit Operations department of Urban Financial, an average of 87,500 checks are negotiated monthly by Tellers hired within the last 90 days. Of those, a little over 2,600 checks on average are negotiated monthly when they should not be, equating to 3% of checks being honored when they are not acceptable.
With that said, the District Operations Manager in collaboration with the Branch Management District Manager has requested assistance in helping reduce checks being incorrectly negotiated by creating an eLearning module for New Hires.
The overall business goal that our SMEs are looking to accomplish is to reduce the acceptance of non-negotiable checks by half (from 3% down to 1.5%) by the end of the first quarter in 2023.
After analyzing the performance problem, I confirmed that newly hired tellers lacked the skills and knowledge to fully analyze a cehck properly for negotiability. I proposed creating an interaction-based eLearning experience where new hire tellers can practice recognizing various checks within a specific timeframe to better comprehend checks and items to review for negotiability.
Our ultimate goal is to improve customer satisfaction and reduce the financial impact of the problem by providing new hire tellers the ability to practice in a risk-free environment, connecting them to what to review on a check in the real-world. The client accepted my proposal and we proceeded with the project.
Process
The process began with a collaborative meeting with the Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to create an action map in Figma. It was important to confirm specifically with the SMEs what we are looking to accomplish in this training, as the full customer interaction with a bank teller has many other components outside of reviewing a check for negotiability. For training purposes, our discussions were solely around the process of negotiating a check, and other nuances of a teller interaction were purposely omitted from the training, except for the need to discuss why a check cannot be negotiated should a reason arise.
Action Map
Through conversation with the SMEs, I created an Action Map in Figma, which helped me narrow down the main learning points of this training, and how we are aiming to accomplish them. Ultimately, reviewing teach check for the six points of negotiability is what would drive the eLearning. Through other items discussed, we established we wanted to provide a limit of 10 seconds to review each check, and to be able to potentially explain why a check cannot be accepted if a situation arises.
Text-Based Storyboard & Visual Mockup
After verifying the process through an action map, I then created a text-based storyboard to ensure all portions of the process is captured. After approval from the SME, I then designed a visual mockup of the eLearning course by making an initial draft of the course in Figma. Figma allowed me to experiment with visuals and layouts in order to create an experience that gave the new hire a strong simulated experience of a teller transaction where a check is utilized.
As we are looking to have checks utilized in this experience, discussions were held whether we should completely make up checks, use templates, or scan/use real checks that were not accepted. Based on the conversations, we found that using several template examples would be the most effective method as we can modify some of the info so no sensitive real-life data is contained on the checks.
Visual Storyboard
Once the visual design was approved, I created the visual storyboard which tied together the text-based storyboard with the corresponding mockup slides in Figma. Programming of each lesson was also included in the process of creating visual storyboards to understand navigation, text, and graphics to utilize.
Interactive Prototype
I created an interactive prototype of this project utilizing Storyline and then had the stakeholders/SMEs provide feedback on Review 360. I received feedback from them and peers on my team as I continued to iterate on refining the wording and overall course design.
Full Development
When I had the final approval and sign-off from the SMEs, Iwas able to conduct the final modifications to the Storyline project, which was then published and housed within Urban Financial's Learning Management System (LMS).
Text-Based Storyboard & Visual Mockup
After verifying the process through an action map, I then created a text-based storyboard to ensure all portions of the process is captured. After approval from the SME, I then designed a visual mockup of the eLearning course by making an initial draft of the course in Figma. Figma allowed me to experiment with visuals and layouts in order to create an experience that gave the new hire a strong simulated experience of a teller transaction where a check is utilized.
As we are looking to have checks utilized in this experience, discussions were held whether we should completely make up checks, use templates, or scan/use real checks that were not accepted. Based on the conversations, we found that using several template examples would be the most effective method as we can modify some of the info so no sensitive real-life data is contained on the checks.
Visual Storyboard
Once the visual design was approved, I created the visual storyboard which tied together the text-based storyboard with the corresponding mockup slides in Figma. Programming of each lesson was also included in the process of creating visual storyboards to understand navigation, text, and graphics to utilize.
Interactive Prototype
I created an interactive prototype of this project utilizing Storyline and then had the stakeholders/SMEs provide feedback on Review 360. I received feedback from them and peers on my team as I continued to iterate on refining the wording and overall course design.
Full Development
When I had the final approval and sign-off from the SMEs, Iwas able to conduct the final modifications to the Storyline project, which was then published and housed within Urban Financial's Learning Management System (LMS).Check out the finished product here
Results & Takeaways
In implementing this eLearning module and releasing it at the beginning of 2023, there was a steady decrease in acceptance of non-negotiable checks. In the first quarter of 2023, the percentage of non-negotiable checks accepted by newly hired tellers dropped from 3% down to 1.7%. The eLearning course is assigned as a mandatory course for new hire tellers to complete within the first month of hire.
I learned a lot about working with two different SMEs that while in different departments, they had different needs in the goal- Deposit Ops wanted to minimize losses to the financial institution, while Branch Management wanted to minimize both employee turnover through mistakes by new hire tellers and also keep customers satisfied with stellar service. It also helped me to learn that it is imperative when there are mutiple stakeholders such as in this situation that their goals are aligned as early as possible in the process.
In addition, working through the Action Map with the SMEs helped to really set us up for success with this training initiative as it left no stone unturned for what they ultimately wanted the learners to get out of this training; while we did show the importance of reviewing the check, it is equally as important to explore ways to explain it to a customer to find a resolution.
In successfully completing this training initiative, I feel more comfortable in accomplishing any further training needs that Urban Financial may need in the future, and utilizing the correct methodology, and tools based to meet their goals.
