Post By: Adam Turteltaub

When you think of online compliance and ethics training, you likely imagine courseware developed by a vendor and used by hundreds of other organizations.

USBank broke that mold, creating online training in house. It did so for a number of reasons, not the least of which is cost. While there were a lot of options out there from vendors, the expense of customizing and integrating it with their system was too high.

The training they created ranges from a humorous video showing people using chat to discuss a challenging (not in a good way) manager to a series of videos featuring Katie Lawler, SVP, Global Chief Ethics Officer, talking with various leaders of the bank while driving in her own car.

Jon Ackman, VP, Global Ethics Office at USBank explains that the chat exchange was designed to reflect the current time, in which so much communication is written rather than face to face. It delves into behavior that is culturally destructive while also showing the risks in this means of communication.  When people start writing there is more room for interpretation, and misinterpretation. Showing how to communicate more carefully was essential.

It also reflected the ethics team’s commitment to being authentic and empathetic to employee life, including the need to self-edit.

The driving videos drew their inspiration from both Carpool Karaoke and Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. The team was thinking about ways to get people engaged and motivated while bringing important topics to life. They considered how people consume information these days and recognized that short videos are extremely popular and can be useful for sharing a more human story.

The result was a series of engaging conversations that the workforce could relate to.

Producing the videos was remarkably affordable, relying on a pair of GoPros, a microphone pack and some editing software.

For any organization thinking of pursuing something similar he recommends giving it a try, and not worrying about the small gaps, bugs and errors. They tend to make things more personal. Also, look at your communication plan and try a more targeted approach to communications.

Listen in, and be sure to watch the chat and driving videos.