Study Finds Insurance and Regional Banks Provide Better Training to Employees than Investment and Global Banks

Training and employee support are key for on-the-job performance and success. It’s often about technical and managerial skills for finance professionals, and all too often, a downturn results in financial service firms cutting back on human resource efforts. But just which financial firms are still doing it right? According to Training Magazine’s 2012 ranking of the top 125 companies, large and small insurance companies and regional banking players placed high on the list in training. The leading global banks and investment firms were mostly absent from the rundown with only Bank of America making the cut, coming in at number 59.

Of the top 25 on the list, Farmers Insurance took the number two spot, and the Economical Insurance Group came in at number six. Of the well-known regional players, BB&T Corporation took eighth place, and PNC Financial Services Group came in at number 11.

Edward Jones placed 15th. At number 17 was the Vanguard Group, and at number 18 was MasterCard Worldwide. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company ranked 19th, and MetLife placed 23rd. First Horizon National Corporation was 24th.

The magazine based its ranking on a variety of metrics, including “total training budget; percentage of payroll; number of training hours per employee program; goals, evaluation, measurement and workplace surveys; hours of training per employee annually; and detailed formal programs.”

The survey also assessed “a range of qualitative and quantitative factors, including financial investment in employee development, the scope of development programs and how closely such development efforts are linked to business goals and objectives”.

According to the ranking results, of the 125 companies, about 93 percent of the companies “used employee satisfaction surveys, while 56 percent tied managers’ compensation to the development of their direct reports. Some 98 percent used competency maps and personal/individual development plans.”

If you were wondering who came in first, it was a tele-communications company, Verizon.