Bringing a human touch to virtual training.

Next-generation training

Christina Prince and Rachel Argen share a passion for training. Both have spent years honing their craft at MIDFLORIDA Credit Union, first coordinating, then delivering, and later managing training programs. Prince is the VP/Training Manager and Argen is the AVP/Instructor Led Training Manager.

Consisting of five instructor-led staff and five e-learning staff, the training department team combines both instructor-led training and e-learning. All new hires who will work directly with customers go through instructor-led training as they onboard, and until recently this training was exclusively in-person to ensure that employees learn critical cash handling and interpersonal skills. Trainees return to their branch ready to deliver exceptional service to members. “At MIDFLORIDA, we believe that human connection improves experiences, whether between teller and customer or trainer and learner,” says Prince.

In-person training, despite its benefits, became a recruitment challenge as it required new hires to be away from home for a full week. This led to an increasing number of potential employees declining job offers from MIDFLORIDA. MIDFLORIDA’s senior management approached the training department with an idea to solve the problem. The department worked together to develop a new form of training by blending advanced virtual technology with the human touch.

Preparing employees to deliver exceptional business results

MIDFLORIDA serves more than 470,000 members across the state of Florida. The training department plays a pivotal role in preparing new employees to provide exceptional support to members. The department handles training for all retail positions, including tellers, help desk staff, and member service roles. Initial training sets the tone for the importance of the human touch in every interaction. All 1,400 employees continue to receive training as they progress in their careers.

Argen knows firsthand the important role that tellers play in customer experience, having been one at the start of her career. Prince has a similar understanding, having worked on the help desk. Their varied careers at MIDFLORIDA inform their approach to training.

In response to losing top candidates due to travel constraints, Argen and Prince began developing a virtual training program that would still provide the high-touch level of learning that the in-person program delivered—a project that accelerated with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. At first, the credit union explored the program using a popular online meeting application, but the training team quickly found issues with running classrooms effectively on a platform with limited capabilities.

MIDFLORIDA needed a learning environment that enables rich training experiences like games, interactive Q&A, and mock interactions for successful learning, equal to or better than in-person training. These experiences create a fun learning environment for learners, while also testing their understanding. Trainers can then move ahead with confidence or present materials in a new way to build greater understanding. MIDFLORIDA invests more time in initial training because it prepares learners to best represent the credit union to its members from the start.

Working with Adobe partner Envolvemedia, Prince and Argen learned about Adobe Connect. The rich customizability, robust controls, and scaling features made it their platform of choice.

Going virtual while keeping it personal

At Prince’s request, IT confirmed the compatibility of Adobe Connect with MIDFLORIDA’s network and firewall, following issues with the previous solution. Additionally, Connect safeguards provide greater reliability by preventing training sessions from ending abruptly if the host disconnects—a serious problem with the previous solution. Prince and Argen moved ahead, engaging Envolvemedia for implementation and testing.

To create highly effective virtual learning content that rivals its in-person curriculum, the training team carefully reviewed every in-person training handout, test, interaction, and role-play scenario. Lectures were converted into interactive elements, putting the content directly in learners’ hands for deeper experiences.

“Where previously we may have been talking at people, that’s been turned into interactive motions where attendees now click through content and provide various responses to confirm retention and comprehension before moving forward in the session,” Argen explains. “We’ve significantly improved on the in-person and virtual training experiences we used to offer.”

Each topic and concept are organized into a Connect layout, with one click to switch between them as needed during sessions. Layout templates help simplify the training flow and reduce the work involved in setting up each class. Pre-set Connect pods provide easy access to chat and resources, and learners can apply accessibility options if needed, like enlarging the screen for better visibility. Trainers can even control the launch of web links and handouts to ensure everyone is on the same page.

“With Adobe Connect, trainers know if learners are engaged or if they need help with the content, taking the guesswork out of managing classrooms and participation,” says Argen. “Delivering content seamlessly with a high level of interaction makes the training effective.”

The reusable virtual room templates in Connect streamline the session setup, saving time and effort. During pre-training prep, training support specialists review the template to ensure that all content is uploaded, with presentations ready to start, resource materials shared, and links to websites and external resources included. These specialists also help with troubleshooting during training sessions so that trainers can focus on delivery. After the session, the specialist clears chats and resets presentations.

“Trainers just click on the proper place at the proper time, letting them focus on managing their screen and teaching system while keeping all learners engaged,” says Argen.

MIDFLORIDA’s reimagined new hire training is now 80% virtual, with only the first day in person. During that day, trainers engage learners in interpersonal exercises to instill the importance of the human touch. Learners leave the session ready to participate virtually for the rest of the week. The Adobe Connect training environment keeps new hires focused on how to do their jobs without worrying about how to run technology.

After new hires complete their training and return to local branches, regional and area managers observe them in action. “We used to get calls about training gaps. Now we hear about how new hires are more prepared and knowledgeable than before,” says Prince.

Scaling to serve an expanding talent pool

Now that training meets people where they are, MIDFLORIDA is more competitive in hiring and retention. More applicants accept job offers and turn up for training. Going virtual has supported the training team in developing staff at all levels and functions, significantly reducing the travel burden for everyone.

As a result, travel-related costs have dropped, with trainers traveling to the new hires’ locations, spending only a single day in a physical MIDFLORIDA classroom. Trainers no longer spend days printing and shipping materials to the classroom, instead utilizing digital resources. As a result, trainers can spend more time enhancing content with new exercises, resources, and activities that make learning fun.

As MIDFLORIDA continues to grow, opening new branches and hiring more back-office staff, Prince sees new opportunities for the training team. Some back-office teams have already expressed interest in using virtual training. The training team looks forward to helping guest speakers produce and deliver valuable sessions on topics such as leadership and diversity for these audiences.

“It’s truly gratifying that we can now present training in such meaningful, relevant, engaging, and virtual ways," says Prince.

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