Many businesses, including those in the financial sector, have faced many challenges at the start of 2020, and indicators point to the remainder of the year continuing to be difficult for companies across the globe.

Financial institutions are essential to everyday life for both businesses and consumers, meaning your organization will need to be at the top of its game this year as the economy continues to take a downturn.

Robust, comprehensive employee training is a great start to ensure your institution is ready to face additional challenges that 2020 will bring. Here’s what you need to know about hot finance training trends this year and how to implement them for your organization.

1. Fewer Compartmentalized Training Options

As the number of individuals working from home or otherwise telecommuting increases, the availability of compartmentalized training options will decrease. Gone are the days of spending a half day at a training workshop, attempting to retain a large amount of information in a small frame of instruction time.

Today’s learning trends for finance professionals are more readily available. On-demand options and train-as-you-go will continue to dominate the learning and development space for financial institutions.

2. An Increase in eLearning

According to TechJury, a total of 77% of businesses in America took advantage of online learning in 2017. eLearning also enables employees to retain significantly more information than traditional training -- between 25% to 60% more data is remembered. Statistics also show that better training results in a whopping 42% increase in revenue for U.S. companies.

As financial organizations of every size begin to use technology more frequently in their day-to-day work, the demand for educated financial professionals will continue to rise. Look for financial institutions to begin to aggressively explore eLearning solutions for staff training.

3. The Growth of Virtual Mentorship

Mentoring has long been a necessity for freshly-graduated financial professionals. However, face-to-face mentorship has taken a backseat for virtual mentorship. This type of mentorship opens up more opportunities to seek mentors beyond your immediate area.

2020 will see a significant growth in virtual mentorship, where mentors and mentees communicate solely via email, instant messaging, and social media.

4. The Utilization of On-Demand Webinar Training

Data from GoToMeeting suggests that 14% of webinars published on the Internet are created by financial organizations, second only to technology and IT. This compares to 11% of online webinars published by educational institutions, 7% published by healthcare, and 7% published by the government. 4% of online training webinars were published by retail, 4% by manufacturing, and 4% by insurance companies. The remainder of educational webinars (10%) were published by travel, hospitality, marketing, non-profit, and real estate companies together.

Expect to see comprehensive on-demand finance training webinars become more popular for financial organizations in 2020. Take advantage of new training ideas to provide your institution’s staff with a multitude of ongoing education options.

5. More Opportunities for Microlearning  

Microlearning is any kind of learning and development activity that takes place on a smaller scale than traditional learning. Bite-sized information and short learning videos make it easier for employees to retain information and use it in their day-to-day activities.

Microlearning is often more affordable than other types of employee training, and it can also be incorporated into train-as-you-go initiatives, where staff members receive smaller bits of education they can take action with in the course of their daily work.

Why Invest in Finance Training in 2020?

The start of 2020 has seen significant changes to businesses worldwide. Virtual learning and telecommuting are just starting to truly find their roots, and it’s critical that financial organizations take this opportunity to adequately train and educate their employees in an effective and comprehensive manner. This year, your institution can’t afford easy-to-prevent mishaps by staff members who lack adequate training.

Comprehensive Finance Training Webinars Available On-Demand from Business Watch Network

Stay informed on trends and news in the finance sector with training options available 24/7/36 from Business Watch Network. Use our simple eLearning platform to hear from leaders of financial organizations and train your employees when and where it works for your business. Register now.