The rapid changes in many areas of the economy are placing ever greater demands on employees and managers in all divisions. To be able to react to these changes, it is of particular importance for the Österreichische Volksbanken-AG Group to offer employees and managers practical training and education of a forward-looking nature.
The training programme aims – depending on the individual skills and requirements of specialists and managers – to convey (additional) qualifications, to achieve professional expertise and to prepare for future challenges and new areas of work.

The requirements for the respective tasks will be compared using a predefined competence profile in the annual appraisal interview and the respective development measures will be determined jointly.

Individual advice on the actual training and development measures by the HR Development & Learning group leads to an optimal solution tailored to requirements.

The success of the training measure is supported through a good training transfer – from the survey of requirements to evaluation.

Following implementation, an evaluation discussion (comparison of target and actual performance) is held with the employee. This evaluation discussion can lead to additional measures being planned.

Management development constitutes a key lever for corporate development. For this reason, particular attention is paid to the customised development and promotion of newly appointed and experienced managers at Österreichische Volksbanken-AG.

The methods used in management development range from an analysis of potential to modular management courses and individual coaching.

Targeted development measures are possible with the help of the analysis of potential.

The following tools are used:

• Self-assessment 
• Curriculum vitae analysis 
• 360 degree feedback 
• Management planning games 
• Internal hearings

The combined results constitute the basis for additional management development opportunities

New managers are offered the following management seminars in particular:

• Leadership – fundamentals of management 
• Think, communicate and manage in a solution oriented manner 
• Lead teams efficiently

Experienced managers are offered various courses on management and leadership.
These measures allow us to boost the abilities of newly appointed and experienced managers in leading staff and managing tasks.
 
Managers are also offered additional consultancy services such as coaching, team development and moderation.

In many areas of the ÖVAG Group, technical careers are enhanced long-term through career stages. These are divided into four development stages – from Junior to Professional and on to Expert and Senior.

In addition to providing a guideline for staff’s personal career path, the enhancement of technical careers provides an answer to the question “What must I do to be personally successful?” and achieves a balance between tasks, the responsibility associated therewith and one’s own decision-making powers. The individual development gap between the tasks set and the individual’s abilities and skills also becomes apparent and customised training is provided.

Specialists on the technical career path will be offered coaching, team development and moderation in addition to the training measures mentioned, which are part of the Group training programme.

The range of training encompasses WIN (Wissen Intern Nutzen = using knowledge internally) training sessions, in-house training, training sessions at the Volksbank Akademie and courses with external training providers.

"Knowledge is increased by sharing it".  This is precisely the basic idea behind the WIN (Wissen Intern Nutzen) concept: WIN training sessions support the existing philosophy of networking knowledge within the company and these are a tried and tested part of our corporate culture.

With the aim of networking knowledge within the Group, needs-oriented, free workshops are offered by experts from outside the bank. At present, the programme includes circa. 60 different topics.

Target group-specific learning and development processes are offered for individuals, teams and organisations.

This means that individual programmes are devised to meet the specific requirements of the respective target group in addition to the existing range of training services. The service extends from designing the content – including technical aspects – to adapting it for teaching purposes.

The Volksbank Akademie offers courses for bankers ranging from basic training to managing director-level training. Details can be found on the Internet at www.volksbankakademie.at.

Specialist technical and character training courses are researched according to individual requirements. Positive feedback from participants results in more intensive collaboration with specific providers.

Following implementation, an evaluation discussion (comparison of target and actual performance) is held between the direct line manager and the specialist. This evaluation discussion can lead to new measures being planned for the manager and specialist and it restarts the development cycle.