So last year, the bank embarked on a major revamp of itstraining function: it standardised its learning curriculumin 57 countries to ensure that employees acquire skills andknowledge from the same source. The curriculum is structuredby the bank's Oganisational Learning team, some with thehelp of consultants and top-notch universities.

Besides standardising its learning curriculum, StandardChartered is also installing, in phases, a sophisticatedlearning management system worldwide, wheretelecommunications facilities allow. "The main driving forceof this system is to allow everyone access to learning in aconsistent way, on a just-in-t-ime and just-enough basis. Werecognise that people are different, so the time and pace atwhich they wish to learn is also different. A learningmanagement system allows people to be themselves," addsTsang.

The platform hosts personal career development plans,learning catalogues, learning roadmaps to guide individualsin different job families and different stages of theircareers, a collection of e-learning that employees canchoose to do in their own pace, and a virtual classroomwhere classes can be conducted simultaneously, whether it isin Africa, Zimbabwe, Dubai, London or Singapore, byprofessors in, say, Chicago.

The Saba Software Inc. system has been launched in Hong Kongand Singapore, and is accessible by employees with access tothe Intranet. "It is a big project, part of our HRreengineering effort. It took two years and involved morethan 20 of the bank's top talents," Tsang says. This effortalso saw all its HR processes--from resources and talentmanagement to compensation and benefits--put on an onlinePeopleSoft Inc. platform.

Standard Chartered has taken a "blended" approach toe-learning that focuses on using different mediums toreinforce learning. Tsang elaborates: "Most of the learningthat takes place within the organisation will be acombination of e-learning and classroom learning. Employeescan first learn from the system before going into theclassroom. When they step into the classroom, they can thenfocus on understanding, reconfirmation, and using casestudies, 'live' cases and facilitation."