A skills-powered learning strategy for a Major Global Bank
The challenge
As part of a business strategy refresh, one of the world’s biggest financial institutions needed to invest in future-proof work and skills. Without this, they didn’t know which capabilities to prioritise that won’t turn the dial for their growth. They needed a learning strategy which was ahead of the evolving demands of their local competitors and the global financial services sector. They focussed on front and middle office roles in wealth management, private banking, corporate and investment banking and business banking, so that they had future-ready skills at their heart of their long-term business growth.
Under the leadership of the Chief Learning Officer, Simply partnered with them to pinpoint their critical future skills, define cross-cutting capabilities and ensure their learning investments were targeted, strategic and globally relevant.
The solution
Simply enabled data-driven approach to workforce planning and skills development:
Mapped their key roles: Mapped their internal job architecture and analysed profiles across core banking functions using labour market data, giving them a 360-degree view of their internal and external data.
Benchmarked locally and globally: Compared local market needs with global financial services trends to stretch the businesses’ thinking on skill development priorities — for example exploring relationship management from hospitality and luxury sectors.
Prioritised critical skills: Pinpointed emerging and fast-growing skills for potential investment. Pulled out specific competitor examples showing how priorities differ across their peer group, giving them compelling evidence to create a clear L&D roadmap.
Scanned for future roles: Identified emerging jobs and groups of work not yet present in the bank to enable them to consider alternative operating models and anticipate future talent needs.
Define cross-cutting capabilities: Summarised the evidence all the way back up for workforce planning decisions: defining seven critical capabilities relevant across the bank for their MDs and CXO audiences to debate and prioritise.
The impact
The insights provided a strategic foundation for the organisation’s learning strategy:
Sharper focus, smarter spend: Enabled data-led decisions on where to invest in skills development; adjusting their budget priorities toward higher growth, durable and strategically aligned skills.
Stronger, proactive engagement: Equipped the L&D teams across the business to have strategic, evidence-based conversations with internal stakeholders and international partners about interventions such as capability academies and hiring.
Increased momentum: Sparked multiple, coordinated actions to deepen the bank’s workforce transformation and skills-development efforts.
They now have a future-focused learning strategy grounded in robust labour market intelligence. The work is part of building their overall capability to anticipate talent needs, proactively engaging with business stakeholders to support or challenge their priorities. By staying ahead of industry shifts, they ensure their people are equipped with the right skills to lead in a rapidly changing, competitive finance industry.
They needed insight to identify, retain, develop and hire critical skills across the enterprise. They selected Simply as their Rightskilling Platform provider and partner, with a multi-year subscription sponsored at Board level.
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