Course Descriptions
Account Ownership Basics: Single, Joint & Multiple
After successfully completing this course, one will be able to: handle adult and minor account ownership and corporate accounts and documentation; understand joint tenancy laws and precautions; and work with partnerships and community property ownership.
Audience: This course is designed for tellers, customer service representatives, personal bankers, new account personnel, managers, and anyone involved in deposit accounts.
Accounting (Recommended prerequisite: Accounting Basics)
Accounting teaches students the information needed to create financial statements, including trial balances, t-accounts, balance sheets, and various other accounts and their respective functions. Emphasis is placed on the conceptual framework involved in the classification and summarization of financial data. Valuation of assets and liabilities and recognition of revenue and expenses under the accrual basis are emphasized. Please note: Students should expect 6-8 hours of homework each week.
Audience: Students who require a fundamental knowledge of accounting
After reviewing the subject matter covered in Accounting I, this course covers in more detail accounting topics in a manufacturing environment. Topics include detail on the various types of business formed, as well as specific accounting procedures for balance sheet and income statement components.
Accounting Basics provides a complete foundation in basic accounting procedures for you if you have minimal or no college accounting or business background, or if you need a refresher course or to prepare for further accounting study.
Audience: Students with little or no accounting background at any level.
This course will focus on how the major agricultural trends are impacting marketing and credit decisions, and how the competitive structure is changing. The differential credit analysis techniques will be introduced through short case studies; included will be the worksheets used for small and large commercial agricultural loans, ratio benchmarks for agricultural loans, common denominators of problem loans, and risk- rating systems for both small and large agricultural loans.
Audience: Lenders who will be beginning or are in their first few years of agricultural lending, credit analysts and loan review personnel, loan documentation personnel, and any ag-bank personnel who need an understanding of the agricultural lending function.
Analyzing Financial Statements (Prerequisite:Accounting I)
A practical introduction to financial analysis from the viewpoint of the commercial loan officer, this course gives you the skills you need to effectively assess a borrower's ability to repay loans. After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: relate how a company's type of business, legal structure, size, and management strategies affect the way a lender conducts financial analysis; analyze income statements, balance sheets, and pro forma statements; calculate key financial ratios and use them to compare a company's performance with that of the company's industry; use advanced analytical techniques - sensitivity analysis, sustainable growth, working investment analysis, break-even analysis, and operating leverage; determine when a funds flow statement is required; construct and analyze long-run, multiple-year forecasts of income statements and balance sheets; and construct and interpret a cash budget.
Audience: Designed for commercial loan officers, credit analysts and trainees who have a basic knowledge of accounting principles and practices and a familiarity with the commercial lending process.
Asking for the Sale
After successfully completing this course, one will be able to: Overcome shyness and ask for the sale, gain buyer commitment during the sales encounter, verbal and nonverbal cues that indicate buying interest, key customer questions to detect a readiness to buy, learn how not to over sell and make referrals that get results.
Increased profitability correlates directly to a financial institution's management of its assets and liabilities. Users will learn how to establish financial goals, determine fundamental trade-offs between risks and returns, understand the link between GAP and net interest margin, determine conditions that affect market value of stockholders' equity, factors that make assets and liabilities price sensitive, and managing capital and liquidity risk. The following topics will be covered in this online course: Overview of Asset Liability Management; GAP and Sensitivity Analysis; Duration Analysis; Managing Capital Risk; and Managing Liquidity Risk.
Audience: All personnel involved in the funds management process. Any bank personnel involved in lending or deposit gathering, whether or not they are involved in the asset liability management decision process. Many of these types of participants have walked away with a greater understanding of how other areas of the bank impact product pricing and structure.
Think you have a good handle on the basics of asset liability management or you're ready to take the next step' Learn the income-based and wealth-based approach to asset/liability management, GAP management of interest rate risk, how to conduct a static GAP analysis, calculating asset/liability valuation and market risk, regulation of interest rate risk using the Federal Reserve System's IRR model, and explore hedging with derivative securities. Below is a list of topics that will be covered in this online course: Asset Liability Management; GAP Management of Interest Rate Risk; Asset/Liability Valuation and Market Risk; Regulation and Interest Rate Risk Management; and Hedging with Derivative Securities.
Audience: Those individuals identified in the Asset Liability Management I course who are ready for the next step and more technical information. Experienced funds management professionals.
Balancing life is a do-it-yourself project. Many are able to balance home and career. Others struggle forever and jeopardize relationships, careers and happiness at home. This program will help you understand your challenges, determine opportunities you want to explore, and help establish the steps
you need to take to balance your life. Nobody can force you to make any changes. If you’re like most people you’re involved in many things, which create a more complicated lifestyle than your parents or grandparents experienced. Only you can decide to act on suggestions, which are provided to you.
Program Objectives: To explain the skills needed to manage home and business activities; To provide experience solving case studies; and To present overall strategies for successful life management.
This course builds your knowledge of proper analytical techniques for evaluating the financial condition of a financial institution. Subjects include an in-depth look into the Uniform Bank Financial Report, operating ratio analysis, capital components, return on assets, establishing net interest margin, rate sensitivity, asset and liability liquidity sources, and many more financial components utilized in conducting a bank financial analysis. The course even includes a case study to test your knowledge of proper analytical techniques.
After successfully completing this course, one will be able to: explain the background of the Bank Secrecy Act; report transactions; know the exemptions to reporting regulations; recognize suspicious transactions; complete the Currency Transaction Report; and excel in customer relations.
This course is designed for tellers, customer service representatives, personal bankers, new account personnel, managers, and anyone who handles cash.
Basic Grammar and Communication Skills
This course takes you through a well-developed, consistently applied process approach to communication that is combined with integrated, hands-on application of current and emerging business technologies. Students learn a process for solving future communication problems, and how to use Internet and electronic media to deliver their message, resulting in a tangible communication strategy they can use throughout their careers. This course is similar to Business Communications with an emphasis on writing styles.
Closing the Sale is one of the most difficult aspects of selling for most service professionals and sales representatives. This course shows how the process of demonstrating is directly linked to achieving the sale.
This course takes you through a well-developed, consistently applied process approach to communication that is combined with integrated, hands-on application of current and emerging business technologies. Students learn a process for solving future communication problems, and how to use Internet and electronic media to deliver their message, resulting in a tangible communication strategy they can use throughout their careers.
This course is a comprehensive coverage of personal and business related math topics. Basic math skills are essential for survival in today’s business world. Learning day-to-day application of math concepts is necessary to become successful in the financial services industry. Topics to include: understand how many ratios, payments, interest, etc. are calculated; understand how gross and net pay are calculated; understand the different types of banking accounts and how business math applies to them; calculate loan payments and interest; understand the cost of credit; calculate mortgage payments, including insurance costs; calculate life insurance premiums; estimate technology costs; and understand employee recruitment expenses, including the cost of part-time vs. full-time employees.
Business Conditions Analysis
Understanding the business conditions that the financial industry must contend with is critical for the survival of a successful financial institution. Business Conditions Analysis helps you to understand the economy and the effects of outside sources and trends on the financial industry. Users will learn the key elements of monetary and fiscal policy and how they are used to stabilize the economy, historical causes and impacts of inflation, and the financial impact of recent economic trends and administration policies. Presented in an entertaining and interactive format, it's a straightforward look at the economic and business conditions that shape the marketplace.
Our business environment is one of record pace and quick productivity. Technology has enabled us to communicate and produce in a way we never thought possible. However, as we move through our careers, it's still important to slow down and remember that it always pays to have good manners. Business Etiquette and Protocol is designed for today's high-speed professionals who value the human element in achieving business success.
Customers make or break a business. In many businesses, upset customers are rare. But when a customer is upset, the situation can cause great stress and tension to employees and to other customers. Knowing how to resolve the conflict quickly and professionally can make a big difference in how employees perform their jobs and how customers feel about the organization. Course content: why it's important to calm upset customers; why you want customers to complain, five things you can learn from upset customers; why customers become upset; what yu can do to avoid customers getting upset; how your words make a difference; what the upset customer wants; how to diffuse defensiveness; what to do after the customer has left; and what managers need to know about calming an upset customer.
The greatest potential loss in your institution is check fraud. Know how to detect it and how to prevent it from happening. This course covers: major types of checks and their characteristics; check acceptability and authenticity; check security features; typical check fraud schemes and warning signs; and detection and prevention of check fraud.
Audience: Customer service representatives, personal bankers, new account personnel, supervisors, managers and tellers.
Closing the Sale and Following Through
After successfully completing this course, one will be able to: have positive ways to close a sale,'no' can be positively handled and turned into a future'yes', follow-up techniques for the near miss, facing rejection and ways a'no' can be turned into a professional advantage, steps to take when a customer says'yes', importance of good follow-through to future sales.
Organizations today are recognizing the need to retain managers who are also coaches—leaders and teachers who can motivate people to do their best, provide encouragement and moral support, and give positive feedback to help others improve.
College Accounting
This course provides a complete foundation in basic accounting procedures. The goal is to provide students with a strong basic knowledge of accounting terms, concepts, and procedures. This course is somewhat more advanced than Account Basics but not as complex or rigorous as Financial Accounting. Course objectives: understand the basic accounting cycle and define the basic elements used such as asset, liability, owner's equity, revenue, and expense accounts; list the steps in the accounting cycle; prepare a post-closing trial balance and interim statements; understand and perform functions relative to bank accounts and cash funds; understand the implications of dealing with employee earnings and deductions, and with employee taxes, payments, and reports; and prepare a classified income statement and balance sheet, compute working capital and current ratio, and journalize closing entries for a business.
Audience: Students who have little or no accounting background and need a working knowledge of basic accounting.
This course will give you the knowledge and skills to be an effective commercial lender. It covers both the technical side of lending and the important human relations skills all successful lenders must have. After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: explain why good human relations skills are critically important to the successful lending officer in many stages of the commercial lending process; identify the functions of the loan interview and credit investigation; describe how the borrower's financing needs and business type can affect the structuring of a loan; list important elements of loan documents and describe their functions; and name some warning signs of problem loans and identify ways that you can prevent problem loans
Audience: Designed for entry-level commercial lending officers, officer trainees, or personnel supporting commercial lending officers.
Commercial Lending Accelerated
The art of commercial lending is an ever-evolving process. As the economy goes through different cycles, the underwriting of commercial lending also revolves. However, the core concepts of assessing commercial lending credit risk remain the same. This course will focus on assessing portfolio risk, analysis of financial statements, key ratios and cash flow. The emphasis will be on practical tools to properly assess commercial lending credit risk.
Audience: Lenders who will be beginning or are in their first few years of commercial lending, credit analysis and loan review personnel, loan documentation personnel, and any bank personnel who need an understanding of the commercial lending function.
This course is designed to help a supervisor communicate with their employees. It is designed to be read with a pencil. A must have for first time supervisors or for supervisors who wish to communicate well with their employees.
Communication Skills for Business
This course explores the perception process that underlies and colors all communication. It also focuses on two communication skills that are sometimes neglected: effective listening and nonverbal communication. These skills are key elements in building good relationships with customers and co-workers.
Concepts of Interest Rate Risk
This course was developed and taught by Olson Research Associates specifically for CSBS. Olson Research is the leading provider of asset/liability management reports for commercial banks. They provide the service called A/L BENCHMARKS®, which gives bankers the detailed analysis they need to effectively manage their bank for greater profitability. The course includes the evolution, valuation, and accounting for financial instruments. In addition, the subject matter includes recent developments in financial measurement, financial strategies, and regulatory requirements for financial risk management.
Audience: Designed for entry-level commercial lending officers, officer trainees, or personnel supporting commercial lending officers.
For salespeople who want to achieve ongoing sales success in a competitive, constantly changing business environment, this book shows how to develop a mind-set that considers the customer in each part of the selling process.
In this comprehensive overview of the consumer lending business, participants learn the essentials about closed-end loans, indirect loans and related credit products, and open-end credit products. They also trace the consumer lending process from developing and taking loan applications to collection and recovery. After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: describe key laws or regulations affecting consumer lending; list characteristics, benefits, and disadvantages of direct lending, indirect lending, and open-end credit products; explain how effective marketing can increase loan outstandings and application volume; describe consumer loan information sources and the credit verification process; explain how the five C's of credit are used in credit evaluation and decision making.
Audience: Designed for entry-level consumer lenders, consumer credit personnel, and bank employees who need to understand consumer credit.
Consumer Lending: From Application to Servicing
This course offers a comprehensive understanding of the consumer lending process. After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: understand loan types by payment method, credit and collateral; identify regulations that affect consumer lending; understand simple interest and amortization tables; apply loan application policies and underwriting standards; and describe the four'C's' of credit.
Audience: Designed for lending professionals.
Today's consumer lending marketplace is extremely competitive. The best way to stay ahead is with a well-trained staff that makes a difference. The Consumer Lending course is a valuable tool that assists your staff in analyzing the consumer market by exploring market characteristics, market factors and developing a marketing strategy. Users will also learn effective loan pricing principles and formulas, plus a hands-on walk-through of the consumer lending process. This is a great course for any employee in the consumer or retail function of the financial institution.
This course provides an overview of the major laws and regulations that affect consumer credit. Most of these laws carry penalties for violations. It briefly examines the regulatory structure and types of consumer protection provided by various laws and regulations. Major categories discussed are anti-discrimination regulations, disclosure requirements, and prohibitions against unfair practices. It concludes with a consideration of consumer warranties, consumer rights in bankruptcy, and the obligations of a financial institution toward the community it serves.
Audience: All financial services employees who work with consumer loans.
The content of the course includes the following: advantages of consumer loans; classification of consumer loans; common types of loans; major steps in the lending process; identification of loan application elements; verification of applicant information; understanding closing and servicing; major regulations affecting lending
This course is designed for lending professionals, tellers, customer service representatives, supervisors or anyone interested in learning about consumer lending fundamentals.
Credit Products for Small Business
This workshop will give participants the tools needed to recognize factors that drive the need for small business credit, use profiling questions to better understand individual customer needs, and match bank credit products to customer needs. The features and benefits of small business credit products will be reviewed. Techniques will be discussed to aid in communicating credit decisions, including approval, counter-offer, and decline. Bank regulations related to small business lending will be reviewed.
Audience: Bank personnel responsible for selling credit products to the small business customer and/or responsible for identifying sales opportunities and referring small business lending prospects to the appropriate bank contacts.
Cross Selling Deposit Products
This course provides the skills needed to cross-sell retail bank deposit products and services. The workshop explores the importance of cross-selling and focuses on steps in the cross-selling process: interpreting clues to customer needs, cross-selling solutions to match needs, responding to objections, and closing the sale or referring the customer to a specialist. Features and benefits of deposit products are compared to match solutions to customer needs. Participants receive tools for on-the-job-use.
Customer Relations & Rapport
In today's consumer environment, customers hold the key to your most valuable resources. They provide feedback, knowledge, and commerce, all which contribute to the success of your business. This course will teach you how to build, maintain, and nurture your customer relationships, as well as how to handle dissatisfied customers. The insights to a rewarding business are within your customers, learn how to tap into those resources and succeed in the consumer world.
Want to build trust and encourage repeat business? This highly motivating book will show you how to quickly improve customer service skills inside your organization-and see a significant impact at the consumer level. This book gives employees the people skills they need to handle irate callers and clients, defuse anger, avoid complaints, prevent burnout, and enhance communications-all essentials for every day business.
Discover why improving your service to consumers is a career investment. Learn how to provide service that meets the needs and expectations of every consumer. Course content includes: recognize the importance of customer service; understand the communication process; recognize the value of face-to-face interactions; describe how to effectively use the telephone to communicate; identify techniques for interacting with diverse customers; identify techniques for handling challenging situations; explain the role of technology in customer service; describe the importance of effectively working with internal customers.
Audience: Anyone who has direct or indirect contact with consumers.
This course will teach you how to understand the role of delegating as part of the management process, identify delegation strengths and remove the obstacles that my get in the way of successful delegation, determine the appropriate tasks to delegate and select the right people to do them, learn the important management sills required to successfully delegate and acquire an understanding of how delegation can help employees develop, grow, and become even more responsible.
This course provides the tools you need to effectively open deposit accounts and help potential customers make the best account choices. It will increase your understanding of the different types of account ownership. At the conclusion of the program participants will be able to: understand deposit investment counseling; state the account owner's rights and responsibilities; examine new account precautions; compare savings, checking, money market accounts and certificates of deposit; define individual, joint, corporate, partnership and trust account ownership; understand contributions and distributions of Traditional, Roth, Education, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs; and accurately administer decedent accounts when an owner dies testate or intestate.
Audience: Financial counselors, personal bankers, supervisors, managers, tellers and customer service representatives.
Knowing your job is an important step in getting ahead at work, but being good at your job may not be enough. You must also be thought of as a professional business person. Being a professional is more than being technically proficient. It's being able to communicate effectively, interact with other appropriately, and develop long-term, mutually beneficial relationships. This program will help you build your reputation as a true professional. Program Objectives: To help you take your job seriously and believe that what you do is important; To describe appropriate behavior in business and social situations; To show you how to present yourself professionally; To develop good oral and written communication skills; To help you maintain good professional relationships with co-workers and customers; To teach you how to improve your job skills; and To demonstrate how to handle tough situations.
Macroeconomics applies economics to phenomenon that students are familiar with and interested in, this course teaches students how economic analysis can be applied to virtually anything of interest, thus helping students develop true economic intuition. This course focuses on macroeconomics, and offers a unique blend of solid theoretical, while utilizing intriguing applications that convey the prevalence of economics in everyday life.
Audience: Students who have not had a formal course in economics and who wish to increase their understanding of macroeconomics.
Economics of Financial Institutions
Gain a better understanding of economics and its impact on the financial industry with this course. Users receive an overview of gross domestic product as it pertains to consumer, business, international and government sectors, the Federal Reserve monetary policy, an introduction and application of the Government's Fiscal Policy, financing marketable public debt, the impact of transfer payments and taxes on gross domestic product and the economy, and why a balanced budget may not be most desirable for the economy. It's like the old saying,'You have to be able to walk before you can run'. Understanding economics is the first step to a solid financial services career.
This course helps one to improve their written communication. Good grammar and punctuation skills are prerequisites for his course. The course content includes: three stages of the writing process and special financial service writing characteristics; the'you attitude' writing technique; determining the reader's need for scope, depth and language; complete, efficient and emphatic sentences that build to unified and organized paragraphs; common business letter characteristics and formatting; effective memos, emails, and letters for good-news, bad-news and persuasive writing situations; and writing effective reports and job procedures.
Audience: Designed for anyone whose current or future job requires effective written communication.
Effective Delegation Techniques
This course will provide participants with the skills needed to effectively delegate tasks. Topics to be covered include: evaluate effective delegating; common reasons for resisting delegation; implementing the new developmental approach; apply the'learning organization' within your own department; and new supervisor challenges.
Audience: Managers, Supervisors, Team Leaders, and others who could benefit from effective delegation techniques.
This course will provide participants with the skills needed to make confident and effective referrals. This course supports the Relationship Selling model used in the Introduction to Relationship Selling course. After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: describe what customers expect from their bank; identify sales and service referral opportunities; use benefit statements to make the referral; make the'hand-off' to a specialist; and identify follow-up situations and develop appropriate techniques.
Audience: Designed for branch or operations personnel who initiate needs assessment but are not involved in making or closing the sale.
Electronic Fund Transfer Act: Reg. E
After successfully completing this course, one will be able to: explain the major provisions and disclosure requirements of Regulation E; understand the transactions affected by Regulation E; and describe automated clearinghouses, call center services, electronic terminal systems, PC banking and Internet banking systems, and electronic credit transactions
Audience: This course is designed for tellers, customer service representatives, personal bankers, account personnel, and managers
During the past decade, American businesses have shifted their focus in human resource management and labor relations to employment issues such as wrongful discharge, sexual discrimination, and other employee rights. After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: Describe Employment-at-will; Identify commonly committed workplace torts; Understand Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Race Discrimination; Describe gender and family issues legislation, as well as discrimination based on religion and national origin; Discuss discrimination based on age and disability; and Understand and describe EEO legislation Audience: Human Resource and Department Managers
Essential Business English Skills
This course is designed for anyone who wants to improve his or her language skills. After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: use nouns, pronouns, verbs and adverbs properly; recognize and correct personal grammar problems; identify proper speech and sentence structure; identify the proper use of plural and possessive words; and build skills in punctuation, capitalization and number usage.
This course looks on topics chosen from The Center for Financial Training “Principles of Banking” book that will help you understand how banking has evolved to become the industry it is today. In addition, it provides a better understanding of our industry, and possibly identifies a path for additional education or direction for a career.
This course will focus on the ethical issues involved in today's technological workplace, including information on ethics in the workplace, technology issues and behavior concerns. Key topics also include: what is business ethics, ethical behavior in business, ethical norms for business decisions, ethical norms for global business, ethics in cultural diversity and the bottom line, loyalty and whistle blowing, handling ethical dilemmas at work and ethics for strategic planning.
Expedited Funds Availability Act: Reg. CC
After successfully completing this course, one will be able to; describe account, transactions and deposit types covered by Regulation CC; identify Regulation CC disclosures, check processing, and customer relations; and understand availability schedules, cut-off times, and next day items.
Audience: tellers, customer service representatives, personal bankers, new account personnel, managers, and anyone involved in deposit accounts.
Evan as technology has allowed us to connect with an ever-expanding global network with the click of a mouse, face-to-face communication is still as important as ever. Improving one's in-person communication may seem nonessential and downright quaint in this computerized age, yet many workplace situations, often those involving conflict, feelings, or other sensitive issues, still demand human contact.
The content of the course includes the following: custodial, guardian, conservator, executor, administrator, representative payee and trust accounts; the laws governing fiduciary accounts; the financial responsibilities of your institution; proper handling of decedent accounts; and protecting the rights of surviving account owners, creditors and heirs.
Audience: tellers, customer service representatives, personal bankers, new account personnel, managers, and anyone involved in deposit accounts.
Financial Accounting (Recommended prerequisite: Accounting Basics)
This course covers accounting terminology; the recording and classifying of financial transactions, including analyzing, journalizing, and positing; the preparation of the trial balance, work sheet and financial statements; a familiarization with handling of adjustments, bad debts, inventory and depreciation; and matters concerning sole proprietorship and partnership. Course objectives: describe content and purposes of balance sheet and income statement; compare the basic characteristics of the accrual basis with the cash basis of accounting; explain the full accounting cycle and prepare all required journals, entries, and adjustments; outline the necessity for and features of internal control; identify the basic assumptions, principles, and modifying conventions of accounting; describe how inflation affects information presented in conventional financial statements; define partnerships and explain their characteristics.
Audience: Appropriate for students who need a working knowledge of accounting.
A seasoned state bank regulator facilitates this interactive, on-line course. The 5-week course consists of many activities, including: analyzing 21 actual fraud cases; viewing PowerPoint presentations on audit, internal controls, and cyber banking; reflecting on and discussing specific fraud issues; interacting with the other participants and the facilitator regarding these issues and the red flags associated with the fraud cases. To fully benefit from the course, you should participate on a regular basis (at least 2-3 times a week) in the threaded discussions. The amount of time necessary to complete the activities is approximately five hours per week.
Audience: A must for all personnel working in a financial institution.
Fundamentals of Consumer Lending
This seminar will provide participants with basic knowledge of consumer credit. It covers terminology, basic categories of consumer credit, determining creditworthiness, the application process, and bank regulations. At the conclusion of the program participants will be able to: explain how banks make money from loans, describe the basic categories of consumer credit (open-ended vs. closed-ended and secured vs. unsecured), define basic credit terminology (e.g., principal, interest, APR, fixed-rate, variable-rate, etc.), describe the five C's of credit, explain the role of credit scoring in making credit decisions, and describe the credit application process and actions taken at each stage to ensure compliance with regulations.
Audience: Personnel with little or no experience in consumer lending.
Fundamentals of Mortgage Lending
This seminar will provide participants with an understanding of basic terminology, regulations, and the secondary market of mortgage lending. It also identifies the benefits for a financial institution to sell mortgage loans. At the conclusion of the program participants will be able to: describe basic terminology regarding interest rates, fees, job functions, and how credit decisions are made for mortgage loans; calculate LTV and determine whether private mortgage insurance or taxes and hazard insurance escrows may be required; explain credit scoring and its role in the mortgage lending process; describe how the secondary markets impacts mortgage lending; and identify mortgage lending regulations and how they apply to the mortgage lending process.
Audience: Participants who currently sell or are involved in the mortgage lending process, but have limited prior training
Handling Challenging Situations
This course describes different challenging situations that may arise when dealing with customers. It gives financial institution employees techniques and guidelines for how to effectively handle difficult or challenging situations. Key topics include: describe ways to interact effectively with customers at peak times; discuss methods for correcting errors; describe effective methods for resolving customer complaints; identify effective ways to interact with angry customers; apply active listening techniques to identify the cause of customer anger; and demonstrate effective techniques for defusing anger.
Audience: All front-line staff.
This course will give you the opportunity for career success by targeting fundamental skills. Handling conflict will provide foundations for effectively dealing with criticism and aggression in the workplace. Covering topics such as avoiding conflict, channeling anger and giving/receiving criticism, this is the perfect tool for the experienced professional, those re-entering the workforce and those beginning their careers.
Handling Objections Effectively to Close More Sales
Objections are an everyday occurrence in the sales process. It's how you handle these objections that will determine your success. Topics to be covered include: importance of objections as part of the sales process; objections are an important part of the sales process; treat objections as opportunities; attentive listening, patience and empathic handling of objections; three major types of objections and proven methods for handling them; handling objections in a positive way; and common objections and effective responses.
Audience: Personnel expected to sell financial products and services.
A Health Savings Account is an account that you can put your
money into to save for future medical expenses. There are certain advantages
to putting money into these accounts. This course will explain these accounts,
including favorable tax treatment. In addition, it will show you what you
can use the money in the account to pay for as well as the advantages of
having an HSA account.
The course presents a structured process for hiring the best candidate for a job. The process is based on a behavioral approach to hiring and reviews compliance issues associated with each component of the process. Participants will learn how to analyze a job to identify minimum technical and performance skills; prepare applicant selection criteria for the skills identified in the job analysis; write interview questions that are legal and focus on behavior relevant to applicant qualifications; screen applicants for interview; conduct an employment interview using prepared interview questions;
select a pre-employment test; select the most qualified candidate for a job, based on information obtained during an employment interview and from references; and make a job offer that is not an implied employment contract.
In this program you will come the understand the mind and body of a con artist. What does a con artist look like and what is the personality of the con artist? Also what are they trying to accomplish. You will also learn about scams and how they work; kiting; split deposits; counterfeit checks; ATM check kiting; lottery scams; and phishing and pharming, the new way to steal information. Identify theft will also be covered. You will also discuss how to prevent fraud-stop-look and listen.
This course provides an examination of the evolution of human relations in the workplace, concepts of motivation, and leadership behavior. The role and function of the individual within an organizational structure are addressed. Topics include: how human relations is a key success; improvement of personal and organizational communications; identification of individual motivations; development of personal strategies for improving human relations; and how to achieve emotional control.
Audience: Aspiring and current supervisors who desire a broader knowledge of the "culture" in a workplace.
Employee skills and motivation are critical for organizational success. This course will help anyone increase their effectiveness, along with that of individuals with whom they work and the organizations of which they are a part. After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: understand
the concepts, processes, and practices that form the basis of successful HRD; show how concepts and theory can and have been put into practice in a variety of organizations; focus on the shared role of line management and human resource specialists in HRD; and reflect the current state of the field,
blending real-world practices and up-to-date research.
This course offers practical coverage of basic human resource management concepts and practices, including the review of important laws and regulations and an overview of information that is commonly used by human resource professionals. This shortened essentials version offers concise, streamlined content. Its focused coverage is ideal for individuals preparing for HR certification exams, Directors of HR and instructors who are seeking basic yet comprehensive and up-to-date coverage of HR concepts and practices. The “Managerial Perspectives,” found at the beginning of each chapter, encourage readers to think in terms of general management as they learn human resource management.
Human Resource Selection offers advanced treatment of the technical issues involved in developing and implementing selection programs within organizations. This course provides up-to-date research and applications for those already working in selection and provides current examples and exhibits. Human Resource Selection covers legal, global and ethical concerns, psychometric measurement concepts, job analysis, predictors of job performance and criteria measures.
Audience: Those working in Human Resources or who are
heavily involved in the hiring process.
This course explains how Identity Theft affects bankers and customers and how it can impact someone’s credit rating if not addressed. Virtually every day a warning is distributed by bank regulatory authorities stating that fraudulent cashier’s checks are being issued in a specific financial institution’s name. Check fraud losses are estimated to be in excess of $18 billion each year. With more and more counterfeit checks flooding financial institutions, this number is sure to increase. Unfortunately, most financial institutions do not understand their legal rights and responsibilities for dealing with check fraud when losses occur. Operational losses attributable to fraud, specifically debit and payment channel fraud are changing right in front of our eyes, and at a pace that threaten both your accounts and the reputation integrity of your financial institution.
Individual Retirement Accounts
This newly revised course covers the changes prompted by The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 and the Re-proposed Required Minimum Distribution Regulations. After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: describe the eligibility requirements and contribution limits for IRAs; understand the tax deductibility requirements of IRA contributions; identify the rollover contribution types and allowable distribution options; report the requirements for different types of IRAs; understand the tax consequences for premature distribution; compare the procedures, forms & disclosure requirements for opening different IRAs; and compare the advantages and disadvantages of each type of IRA.
Audience: Anyone who answers customer inquiries about IRAs, or handles IRA transactions, including personal bankers, customer service representatives and managers.
Increase customer confidence by mastering the FDIC's complex requirements for insurance coverage. Learn how to apply the requirements to actual situations and how to explain insurance coverage to customers. Content includes: purpose and functions of FDIC; Federal insurance coverage and mergers; ownership category account types; basic concepts of FDIC regulations; examples of insurance classification; insurance coverage requirements by account and ownership; and deposit simplification
Audience: Tellers, supervisors, savings officers, retail banking managers, trust officers, retirement account representatives and anyone else who needs to know deposit insurance regulations.
Insurance of Accounts for Credit Unions
After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: define the purpose of federal share insurance; understand the NCUA responses to financially troubled credit unions; explain share insurance coverage for members with accounts at more than one credit union; describe the types of
accounts and the insurance coverage in each ownership category; recognize the differences between providing accurate information about insurance eligibility and guaranteeing coverage to individual members; and comprehend the resources for explaining share insurance to members.
Interacting with Customers in a Culturally Diverse Setting
The level of your customer service directly impacts your level of customer retention. Diversity issues add a unique dimension to customer service. Topics to be covered include: recognize, respect and appreciate individual similarities and differences; become aware of and comfortable with cultural diversity; recognize stereotypes, biases and their potential impact; learn communication techniques that cross language barriers; and interact comfortably and effectively with your culturally diverse customers
Audience: Customer-contact personnel.
Interacting with Older Customers
Topics to be covered include: negative attitudes and stereotypes toward older people; institution services that meet both financial and personal needs; verbal and nonverbal techniques for communicating; and challenges when working with the unique needs of older customers.
Audience: Customer-contact personnel.
Intermediate Spanish for Financial Professionals
The purpose of this course is to enable the participants to communicate with Spanish speaking clients in a complete and professional manner. After successful completion of this class, participants will have the tools to be able to conduct routine and specialized banking transactions with customers effectively and professionally. After successfully completing this course the participants will know and use: Basic Elements of Spanish Language; Fine Art of Verbs; Rule of Engagement; and Putting It Together: Customer Dialogs. It should be noted that different students will perform at different levels of proficiency based on talent, practice, and previous exposure to the Spanish language.
Audience: Banking professionals that have taken Spanish for Financial Professionals or have Spanish language skills or exposure.
Interviewing and Hiring Techniques
Upon successful completion of this course, students will understand the five elements of a successful interview; general, narrow, and follow-up questions; how to make explanations more clear, concise, and effective; strategies for closing the interview; and topics that can violate fair employment practices.
Audience: Any supervisor or manager who participates in the hiring of new employees.
Introduction to Accounting: Part 2
The second part of this course picks up where Part 1 left off by accounting the fiscal period of a Merchandising business that is organized as a Corporation. Students will focus on learning about the formation and operation of a corporation as it relates to purchases and sales transactions. New Journals and Ledgers will be introduced along with payroll taxes and federal income taxes for the business. The course will also cover distribution of dividends for the corporation and analysis of Financial Statements.
Introduction to Financial Planning
This workshop presents basic features and benefits of deposit accounts, certificates of deposit, mortgages, US Treasury securities, stocks, mutual funds, IRA's, annuities, trusts, and gifts. The information will help new bank employees sell and refer products, as well as provide a refresher for more experienced staff. At the conclusion of the program participants will be able to: describe financial planning, why banks offer it, and how it helps customers; list the three key elements used to evaluate financial products; describe the features and benefits of the following financial products to customers - Deposit accounts, Certificates of Deposit (CDs), Mortgages, US Treasury securities, Stocks, Mutual funds, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), Annuities, Trusts, and Gifts; complete an investment risk pyramid for six financial products; and discuss how regulatory issues affect the ability to sell financial products and services.
Audience: All customer contact personnel such as personal bankers, retail bankers, or call center employees, who need to know about the products and services their bank offers.
Introduction to Relationship Selling
This program introduces the relationship selling process, and the skills and techniques which support a customer needs-focused sales approach. After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: describe what customers expect from their bank; state key differences between product-focused selling and needs-focused selling; identify the six steps of the Relationship Selling process; use sales skills and techniques to successfully move through the sales process: use rapport-building skills to set a relaxed, professional climate, ask probing questions to identify customer needs, match product/service to customer needs, script feature and benefit statements, respond to common customer objections, close the sale, and follow-up; and sell against the competition.
Audience: Designed for branch personnel involved with in-branch sales.
Introduction to Securities & Investments
This course will give you the knowledge and skills required to identify the needs of various types of small business customers and the sell a'total banking' relationship. It will also prepare you to assess the customer's credit worthiness by examining income statements and balance sheets
Investigating the Sale: Asking the Right Questions, Listening, and Observing
Topics to be covered include: identifying common financial needs; investigation as good customer service; listening makes interacting with customers easier; improve listening techniques; learn to ask the right questions; and the purpose of clarifying and probing questions.
Audience: Designed for branch personnel involved with in-branch sales.
This two-night course is designed to introduce participants to the fundamentals of Individual Retirement Accounts. Upon completion, attendees will understand eligibility requirements, contribution limitations, distribution rules, and the servicing and reporting requirements of IRA's. Topics to be covered include: the five types of retirement plans; eligibility and allowable contributions to IRA's; types of contributions to and distributions from IRA's; excess contributions; deductibility of contributions; documentation; reconversions and recharacterizations; qualified higher education expenses and eligible education institutions; and basic steps to opening and servicing IRA's.
Audience: This course is designed for new account representatives, tellers, or anyone else seeking an introductory level course on IRA's.
Business law and, more generally, the legal environment of business have universal applicability. A student entering virtually any field of business must have at least a passing understanding of business law in order to function in the real world. Topics covered include: Introduction to Law and Legal Reasoning; Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution; Negotiable Instruments; Creditors' Rights and Bankruptcy; Agency Formation and Duties; Liability to Third Parties and Termination; Administrative Law; Consumer and Environmental law; Cyberlaw and E-Commerce.
Audience: Designed for entry- and officer-level bankers.
Note: You may choose either Law and Banking course to satisfy the Law and Banking course requirement for any of the CFT diplomas. The second of the two courses could then be applied as an elective, if you desired a more comprehensive knowledge of banking law.
Business law and, more generally, the legal environment of business have universal applicability. A student entering virtually any field of business must have at least a passing understanding of business law in order to function in the real world. Topics covered include: Introduction to Law and Legal Reasoning; Courts and Alternative Dispute Resolution; Torts; Criminal Law and Procedures; Contracts: Nature and Terminology, Agreement, Consideration and Capacity of Assent; Breach of Contract and Remedies; The Formation of Sales and Lease Contracts; Title, Risk, and Insurable Interest; Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships; Corporations: Formation and Financing, Directors, Officers, and Shareholders; Limited Liability Companies and Limited Partnerships; Wills, Trusts, and Elder Law; Personal Property and Bailments; Real Property.
Audience: Designed for entry-level and officer-level personnel who need an overview of the legal aspects of banking.
Note: You may choose either Law and Banking course to satisfy the Law and Banking course requirement for any of the CFT diplomas. The second of the two courses could then be applied as an elective, if you desired a more comprehensive knowledge of banking law.
Laying the Groundwork for Effective Sales
Topics to be covered include: selling benefits: the institution, customers and employees; characteristics of a successful sales professional; overcome selling shyness; importance of a professional appearance; dialog selling; building rapport; making a good first impression.
Audience: Designed for entry-level and officer-level personnel who need an overview of the legal aspects of banking.
Leadership Skills
This course covers the many roles of a good leader. As a communicator, mentor, and problem solver, leaders can teach others how to develop their own qualities and how to succeed in any career or business. Students will identify the different styles, techniques, and images of a successful leader while incorporating how to develop and fine-tune their own leadership skills.
Audience: Designed for managers, supervisors, and group leaders.
This course covers the many roles of a good leader. As a communicator, mentor, and problem solver, leaders can teach others how to develop their own qualities and how to succeed in any career or business. Students will identify the different styles, techniques, and images of a successful leader while incorporating how to develop and fine-tune their own leadership skills.
Leading Your People to Success
This course discusses how supervisors can use proven techniques to empower their employees. The content of the course includes: team building skills; group dynamics; coaching and counseling; productive performance appraisals; support of employee career development; creating a high-opportunity work environment; embracing change; and continuous improvement of employees.
Audience: Designed for new or experienced supervisors and first-line managers or those preparing for such a role.
This course will enhance your opportunity for career success by targeting fundamental skills. Listening focuses on improving one's listening in the workplace. In a short amount of time, one can learn how to interpret a message, the benefits of good listening skills and how to overcome incorrect listening habits. A perfect tool for the experiences professional, those re-entering the workforce and those beginning their carets.
This course presents management theory and applications in an engaging narrative style not commonly found in textbooks. The author’s unique organization and features focus on the critical theories and enhance them with detailed examples that draw the reader into the reading and clearly show their implications for managers and organizations. The text’s unique organization focuses on how managers “make things happen” in modern organizations, exploring the role and impact of management on individuals and organizations.
With today's fast-paced and hectic way of doing business, change in the workplace has become an everyday reality. Change happens rapidly and sometimes with very little notice. Major changes, such as mergers, takeovers, and layoffs, can leave employees feeling confused, fearful, or disheartened. This course will help managers works through organizational change with strategies for providing positive leadership while dealing effectively with resistance and other trouble spots. It will also helps managers become adept change leaders who will inspire and motivate their employees.
This course covers all aspects of human resource management and its impact on both individuals and organizations. The text builds on a foundation of research and theory but also provides a practical framework focusing on critical issues and successful practices. Over 500 different organizations from
a variety of settings are used as examples to illustrate key points and make the connection to HR practice. Important issues and critical trends are spotlighted in each chapter and reflected in the comprehensive and chapter ending cases included in the text. Managing Human Resources’ balance of theory and practice, hands-on activities, applications, and examples helps students develop the competencies to understand and help their organizations create a sustainable competitive advantage through people.
Managing Investment Portfolios
This easy-to-use, computer-based software course is perfect for understanding and implementing sound management of the bank's investment portfolio. Topics include: fixed income prices and yields; interest rates and the yield curve analysis; securities in a bank's investment portfolio; mortgage backed securities; and, an extended section on portfolio management including setting objectives, policy and strategy. The course is set-up in an easy-to-follow, step-by-step format for best results by the user. Below is a list of topics that will be covered: Bank Investment Portfolio; Fixed Income Overview; Interest Rate & Yield Curve Analysis; Mortgage Backed Securities and the Secondary Mortgage Market; and Portfolio Management Strategies
Audience: Any bank personnel involved in any aspect of the bond portfolio, all accounting personnel, any lending officer or office manager who needs to broaden their exposure to other areas of the bank, and internal auditors.
Managing Performance and Productivity
This course covers the management principles needed by today's supervisors. It discusses how supervisors can use processes and systems to encourage maximum productivity of their employees. Topics to be covered: how to use an effective interview process to select the best candidate; the mentor system and techniques for training employees; establish expectations and measure productivity and performance; work simplification and time management skills; use technology to improve productivity; manage meetings and give presentations; and how to use problem-solving tools to reach results
Audience: New or experienced supervisors and first-line managers or those preparing for such a role.
Managing Quality Customer Service
This course has been developed to help you establish and manage a quality service operation. Learn how to determine customer needs, how to effectively and efficiently meet those needs and how to continually measure your service level.
Managing Time to Improve Performance
This course provides the participants with the understanding and skills necessary to effectively manage their time on the job. Tools provided in the course can be used individually or incorporated into an existing planning system the participants currently have. The course focuses on how to organize and prioritize daily tasks, manage workflow, etc.
The primary objective of Essentials of Services Marketing: Concepts, Strategies Cases, is to provide materials that not only introduce the student to the field of services marketing, but also acquaint the student with specific customer service issues. The business world now demands, in addition to traditional business knowledge, increasing employee competence in customer satisfaction, service quality, and customer service - skills that are essential in sustaining the existing customer base.
Audience: Students who have not had a formal course in marketing and who wish to increase their understanding of all facets of marketing.
Money and Banking (Recommended prerequisite: Economics)
Money and Banking teaches the role of money, credit, and financial institutions in the U.S. economy. Topics include commercial banks, thrifts, credit unions, the Federal Reserve system, credit markets, and monetary theory and policy. It emphasizes the effects of structural change, globalization, financial innovation, and technology on the financial environment.
Audience: Students who have not had a formal course in money and banking and who wish to increase their understanding of the banking industry; officer trainees through mid-management level bankers.
This course is designed to give you handy tips that will give you positive results in increasing team performance while make the job more enjoyable for everyone.
This program covers the critical information needed to reduce the chances of opening an account that the'customer' intends to use to commit fraud. Participants will learn practical techniques that help to reduce fraud at the time accounts are opened. Topics to be covered: describe types of new account fraud; follow steps to detect fraud in the new account interview process; list types of applicant identification documents and describe standards for acceptance; verifying an applicants signature; analyze suspicious applicant behavior and types of transactions; describe the decision making process for determining whether to open an account; and describe new account fraud prevention methods used in electronic account opening.
Audience: Customer service representatives, personal bankers, new account personnel, supervisors, managers and tellers.
Are you preparing to take the Notary exam or interested in learning more about becoming a Notary Public? If so, this popular program will take the mystery out of the office. In clear simple laymen's language the authority, duties and responsibilities associated with the title of Notary Public will be explained. You will learn essential NYS exam information through; Notary law capsule summaries; suggested test study strategies; scores of sample exam questions; and frequent questions and answer segments. This program provides a comprehensive view of information concerning the office. Confusing laws, concepts and procedures are clarified in plain English. There is even a practice examination administered in class.
This program covers a quick professional skill development in the area of organization and productivity. Covering topics such as obstacles to organization, project management and managing multiple priorities. Organizing for Success is the perfect brush up for the experienced professional, those re-entering the workforce and those learning about or beginning their careers.
This course covers knowing one's audience, properly preparing for presentations, and using visual aids. Course content includes: Knowing your Audience, Proper Preparation, Effective Delivery and Stage Fright, Appearance and Gestures, Visual Aids, Computer Presentations, Interviewing for a Job and Conducting Meetings
This course explores the principles and practices of banking and credit in the United States. The course gives an excellent overview of financial services, including information on human resources, marketing, and ethics. Topics to be covered include: money and interest, negotiable instruments, mortgages, commercial lending, security and ethics, and the role of banking in today's economy.
Audience: Personnel new to banking, at any level.
This course is designed to boost your sales. Anyone in sales should take this course.Profiling Mortgage Prospects
This course provides participants with the knowledge to profile a prospective client and recommend the mortgage product that would best fit their individual needs. This course presents a variety of conventional, FHA and VA loan products to provide an understanding of products available internally as well as by the competition. This course also discusses the elements of a successful hand-off of a prospect to a mortgage specialist. At the conclusion of the program participants will be able to: Describe features and benefits of conventional fixed and adjustable rate, FHA, and VA loans; Identify client profiles that generally benefit from each product type; Use key questions to help clients determine beneficial mortgage financing options; Effectively refer mortgage loan application clients to the appropriate person; Identify mortgage lending regulations and the situations they apply to during the mortgage lending process.
Audience: Employees who will be or are currently selling mortgage loans.
This course provides the elements of a successful interview; general, narrow, and follow-up questions; how to make explanations more clear, concise, and effective; strategies for closing the interview; and topics than can violate fair employment practices.
This course is a thorough outline of current appraisal theory and practice, providing a practical guide to real estate appraisal for students. After successfully completing this course, you will be able to: define terms associated with real estate appraisal; discuss the formal appraisal process; understand inspections and analysis; understand cost and income approaches; estimate depreciation
Audience: Anyone working in lending or interested in gaining an understanding of the appraisal process.
Real Estate Appraisal Advanced
This course will provide appraisal information about the Interagency Guidelines, Appraisal Rules, Uniform Standards Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), appraisal reports, appraisal valuation process, concepts of value, and the three approaches to value (cost, direct sales comparison, and
income capitalization). This course will enable you to: Explain how the regulatory agencies use appraisal reports; Describe the various types of appraisal reports; Explain the appraisal valuation process; Describe the identification aspects of highest and best use analysis step of the appraisal
valuation process; Describe and apply the cost approach to valuation; Describe and apply the direct sales comparison approach to valuation; Describe and apply the income capitalization approach to valuation; Define pertinent appraisal terms.
This course provides cutting-edge coverage of specialized mortgage lending procedures. Including sources of mortgage money, constraints on those sources, loan qualifications, and laws and regulations that guide practices.
This course brings to life the color and law of real estate in day-to-day settings. In addition to the lively case selection, it also has a clear set of rules that will enable you to recognize, solve, and prevent legal issues.
As a result of this course, students will be able to: understand partial ownership AND co ownership of real property, and lending issues related to these topics; discuss real estate residential and commercial leases; understand mechanic's liens (strikethrough: methods of real property conveyance); discuss constitutional issues, specifically eminent domain powers; and understand environmental issues in real property, focusing on Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).
Real Estate Lending Compliance
This course provides participants with an in-depth view of the legal concepts and regulations associated with residential mortgage loans. Upon successful completion, students will understand: the major regulations that affect lending practices; the two types of real estate ownership most frequently financed by mortgage lenders; the differences between title and lien theory; the basic components of a mortgage and deed of trust; and the basic components of a promissory note.
Audience: All financial services employees who work with residential mortgage loans.
Referring Insurance & Mutual Funds
This course will provide you with the knowledge you need about insurance products and recognize customers needs for these products and help you develop the skills you need to make effective referrals.
This course covers knowing one's audience, properly preparing for presentations, and using visual aids. Course content includes: Knowing your Audience, Proper Preparation, Effective Delivery and Stage Fright, Appearance and Gestures, Visual Aids, Computer Presentations, Interviewing for a Job and Conducting Meetings
This course covers construction and permanent financing for residential property; real estate law; documentation; mortgage loan servicing; the secondary mortgage market; the role of government in mortgage lending; and residential real estate as an investment. The discussion of underwriting, processing, and servicing will give participants a framework for learning the mortgage lending business and refining their existing knowledge. Additionally, the coverage of laws and regulations affecting mortgage lending provide an understanding of mortgage lending's history and a glimpse into its future.
Audience: Financial service professionals who want a broad overview of mortgage lending.
Residential Mortgage Lending: Application to Servicing
This course includes the following key topics: key mortgage regulations and laws; fixed rate, adjustable rate, conventional and FHA/VA loans; analyzing and evaluating mortgage application risk; market value appraisal steps and concepts; closing on a mortgage application; reducing loss in collections; and the secondary mortgage market.
Audience: Designed for mortgage lending professionals and anyone wishing to enter the field.
Residential Mortgage Lending Overview
The content of the course includes the following: mortgage loan products and documents; types of costs associated with a loan; interest, simple interest and amortization; fixed-rate and adjustable-rate mortgages; regulations that affect lending practices; steps in the lending cycle; analyzing an applicant's income, assets and debits; and the steps in loan closing.
Audience: tellers, customer service representatives, supervisors or anyone interested in learning about residential mortgage lending fundamentals.
This course provides a broad understanding of financial institutions. After successfully completing this course, one will be able to: describe consumer financial needs and matching products; understand retail financial institutions' charters and organization; utilize types of deposit and lending services; describe customer/member service operations and support departments in retail financial institutions; and practice regulatory and supervisory controls.
Audience: Anyone who is new to retail banking.
Retirement Products for Small Businesses
This course will introduce and define retirement products and services appropriate for small businesses including IRA's, Keogh's, SEP IRA's and Employee Benefit Trusts. Participants will compare features and benefits of these products to match the product(s) most appropriate for the small business owner's and their employees' needs. Participants will receive tools for on-the-job use in making benefit focused retirement product referrals. At the conclusion of the program the participant will be able to: define the benefits associated with retirement planning for the small business owner; define various retirement products applicable to small business owners and their employees; compare the features and benefits of the various retirement products; match the applicable features and benefits of the retirement plans to the appropriate small business owners; and complete a referral outline using a benefit-focused strategy.
Audience: Bank personnel responsible for managing small business relationships with responsibilities for referring and/or selling retirement services and products.
Identify ways risk affects the banking industry. Evolution and Nature of Risk in Banking This lesson provides a historical approach to risks found in today's financial institutions. Topics to be covered in factors affecting risk, systemic and firm-specific risk, and internal and external risk.
Safe Deposit Basics
This program is designed for bank personnel new to the safe deposit function and customer contact personnel who cross-sell this product. This short program gives you an overview of the features and benefits of the safe deposit product and some of the critical aspects of sound and prudent safe deposit operations. After successfully completing this program, you will be able to: explain safe deposit features and benefits; describe the safe deposit customer profile; describe the legal responsibilities of financial institutions offering safe deposit boxes; manage locks and keys, explain safe deposit operations; and describe safe deposit contracts.
This course challenges financial institution employees to see themselves as sales professionals. It provides the tools needed to achieve the level of sales professionalism required by financial institutions today. Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to: overcome hesitations about selling and benefit from a professional approach to sales; recognize how your sales efforts benefit your institution, your customer and you; adjust your selling techniques to comply with the unique challenges of financial selling; identify customers' financial needs quickly and efficiently in a variety of customer situations; structure your sales presentation as a dialog with the customer, rather than'pitching' the product; use the techniques of listening, questioning and communicating nonverbally to improve results in sales situations; customize product presentations for specific customers and their problems or needs; present products in terms if benefits as well as features in order to gain customer commitment; gauge customer interest in the product enabling you to ask for the sale at the right time; respond effectively to common objections to financial products and services; use proven strategies for efficiently confirming the sale; create a positive customer encounter, regardless of the outcome; analyze demographics to help understand customers' life-styles and their financial wants and needs; shop the competition to improve sales results; implement tele-consulting strategies to improve sales results; and use goal setting and the power of positive thinking to improve sales success.
Audience: Anyone who works at a financial institution and has customer contact including tellers, personal bankers and loan officers.
This course is for those new to selling. You'll explore the psychology of selling, questioning techniques, closing a sale, telephone selling and more. Through lively exercises, you'll learn selling techniques and the importance of a positive attitude and self-image.
Skills for the 1st Time Supervisor
This course enhances the participant's opportunity for career success by targeting fundamental skills. Skills For the First Time Supervisor will provide the foundation necessary for effectively working with and managing others. Covering areas such as decision making as a supervisor, motivating employees and handling change and conflict among employees, this is the perfect reference for the experienced professional new to a manager's position as well as for the entry level person looking to learn more about management.
Audience: New supervisors.
Spanish for Financial Professionals
This introductory course will help financial institution employees develop verbal conversation skills in Spanish and show you the appropriate idiomatic constructions. After successfully completing this course, you will be familiar with: the Spanish alphabet; pronunciation; vocabulary; everyday expressions; and basic banking terminology. **Online students, please note that their are four scheduled instructor calls throughout the online class.
Audience: personnel who would benefit from learning basic banking terminology and everyday Spanish expressions.
Supervision blends skill-building techniques and traditional management principles to prepare students to become supervisors in today's business world. The course will emphasize that supervision is working through people to develop and empower them to become better and more efficient in their roles, and closely follows the SCANS requirements for the five workplace competencies and three-part foundation of skills and personal qualities needed for job performance.
Audience: Both practicing and aspiring supervisors who have little formal knowledge of supervision.
This course provides methods for maximum effectiveness as a supervisor. Topics include risk-taking, vision, consensus and collaboration – how you get employees to work together to share power and information - and recognition and rewards in order to increase performance.
Building a team is like building a house-you have to start from the ground up. A team is made up of individuals with different talents, skills, and personal working styles. Learning to work together as a group can be as challenging as it is rewarding. Team Building is a primer on how to formulate strong teams through a climate of open communication, trust, and accountability. This book will take you step-by-step through the process of team building-from creative ways to encourage teamwork to tips for handling conflicts effectively.
Team dynamics often create their own set of problems. Don't try to find solutions alone-do it with the proven resolution techniques outlined in this ready-to-apply program. This course will show you how to rationally confront issues and how to systematically resolve them. Real solutions prevent recurrent problems.
Techniques for Face-to-Face Customer Interaction
This course enhances the participant's opportunity for critical characteristics that creates a positive first impression, appropriate ways to greet customers, proven rapport-building techniques, guidelines for maintaining confidentiality, questions that uncover customer needs, listening techniques that improve communication.
Techniques for Motivating Your Staff
Learn how to discover employee needs and expectations, apply motivational techniques and channel employee motivation for improved job performance. Course content includes: identify specific needs, desires and values that motivate employee performance, set external and internal rewards; use expectations, feedback, rewards and other proven workplace motivational techniques
Techniques for Telephone Interaction
This course introduces techniques for effectively providing customer services when communicating by telephone. First, it describes the potential barriers to effective telephone communication and suggests ways to overcome these barriers. Next, it introduces guidelines for appropriately answering business calls and taking concise messages. Then, it presents guidelines for the three most common areas of complaint-placing callers on hold, transferring calls, and screening callers. Finally, it describes potential problems resulting from the use of voice mail and answering machines and explores ways to overcome these problems.
Telephone Courtesy - Customer Service
Don't let poor telephone skills hurt your business reputation. This course guarantees to earn your company outstanding marks in customer service. This positive, motivating guide teaches the importance of effective telephone techniques and how to correctly identify customer wants and needs. It includes practical case studies, skills inventories, and personal action plans.
Your company's reputation is on the line-literally. Make good telephone skills a standard throughout your organization. This course teaches everyone how to adopt a professional, friendly tone from the initial greeting to the final goodbye.
After successfully completing this course, one will be able to: describe the expectations of your role as a teller; respond effectively to difficult customer situations; understand the cross-selling opportunities provided by daily transactions; distinguish between genuine and counterfeit currency; avoid balancing errors; conduct proper procedures during a robbery, fire or other emergency; explain the Currency Transaction Report; describe endorsement types and their individual features; and utilize negotiability and security measures to prevent check fraud.
A new or experienced supervisor and first-line managers or those preparing for such a role will find that this course offers training of the following topics: challenges facing today's supervisor; methods for smoothly transitioning to a new supervisory role; SMART goals to develop planning strategies; and ways to effectively communicate to staff.
The Building Blocks of Business Writing
If you want to build your writing skills, this course introduces a three-stage process for success. It shows how to master the fundamentals, develop an effective style, and select an appropriate format. Most importantly, it helps you prepare the "base" for further writing improvement.
This course enhances the participant’s opportunity for career success by targeting fundamental skills. Those skills provide the foundation necessary for effectively working with and managing others. Areas covered include decision making as a supervisor, motivating employees and handling change and
conflict among employees. This course is relevant for experienced professionals new to a manager’s position as well as for those at entry level seeking to learn more about management.
Teller Operations
After successfully completing this course, one will be able to: describe the expectations of your role as a teller; respond effectively to difficult customer situations; understand the cross-selling opportunities provided by daily transactions; distinguish between genuine and counterfeit currency; avoid balancing errors; conduct proper procedures during a robbery, fire or other emergency; explain the Currency Transaction Report; describe endorsement types and their individual features; and utilize negotiability and security measures to prevent check fraud.
Audience: New and experience tellers, teller supervisors and managers.
This course provides insight on how to balance your time both at home and at work . Topics include how to prioritize, how to delegate, how to accept and reject projects, and how to effectively plan your time on-the-job in order to be more productive.
The content of the course includes the following: financial institutions affected by Regulation DD; accounts covered by Regulation DD; account disclosure content such as rates and terms & conditions; distribution of disclosure information; advertising guidelines and disclosures; and interest computations and payments.
Audience: tellers, supervisors, customer service representatives, new account counselors and managers.
Understanding Organizational Behavior
Understanding Organizational Behavior studies the scholarly
foundations upon which the science of organizational behavior is built.
You will learn how to transform business challenges into personal opportunities
and organizational advantages. This course builds upon a powerful theme
of change to clearly demonstrate how change not only affects attitudes and
behaviors within an organization, but also offers new opportunities and
experiences for those who can learn how to profit from its potential. This
course addresses timeless organizational behavior topics, such as motivation,
leadership, teamwork and communication, as well as some of the emerging
issues shaping the field of organizational behavior today. Supporting themes
focus on the challenges and opportunities within globalization, diversity,
and ethics today. You learn not only the concepts and theories that help
enhance the management of human behavior at work, but also learn how to
practice these skills. You will learn how to answer today's demands on the
individual to learn, grow, and adjust as this book equips you for success
within today's changing world of work.
Audience: Anyone interested in learning more about organizational
behavior.
This course covers knowing one's audience, properly preparing for presentations, and using visual aids. Course content includes: Know Your Audience; Proper Preparation; Effective Delivery and Stage Fright; Appearance and Gestures; Visual Aids; Computer Presentations; Interviewing for a Job; Conducting Meetings.
Audience: Any bank employee who makes stand-up, verbal presentations to, community groups, business prospects, staff, senior management.
Designed for anyone who works in teams, this timely course addresses such crucial issues as the definitions of team membership and team rules, and how to function effectively as a team. It explains how to make meetings work, reach agreement, create a "family" and conduct post-project follow-up. Especially valuable are the tips on how to establish communication, closeness, and commonality. You will learn the five roles of an effective team leader, the four functions of team members, and the three Ps of project management, as well as techniques for promoting creativity and participation.
Written Communication (Writing in the Workplace)
This course covers organizing content, avoiding common writing errors, formatting documents, and taking charge of one's material. Course content includes: Identify the Purpose; Focus on the Reader; Organize the Content; Watch Your Language; Avoid Common Writing Errors; Take Charge of Your Writing; Format Your Documents; The Last Word.
Audience: Anyone who writes business correspondence.
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