Fintechs face a steep hurdle: give employees flexibility to work from home (or wherever they please) while also keeping them engaged, fulfilled, and capable of achieving at a high level.
In theory, this flexibility should translate to improved work-life balance. But does it really?
The data suggests otherwise. Not only do remote employees work more and take less breaks, but they also don’t have nearly the same degree of social interaction with their colleagues or in-person face time with management. Several studies have determined that this detachment can lead to a higher attrition level. For instance, a McKinsey study showed that millions of people have voluntarily quit their jobs over the last year and a half.
Although reduced interconnectedness was a critical reason, it wasn’t the lone catalyst — people also cited inadequate compensation, lack of recognition, limited growth opportunities, and excessive hours. This has been visible in any industry. The fintech industry is no exception.
In fact, we’ve noticed another driver of job dissatisfaction in the fintech, payment, and banking industries: unpreparedness after onboarding. For many growing fintech companies, the onboarding process consists of online trainings, a one- or two-day course, and high-level introductions to other departments.
However, this approach has a major flaw: after the initial training, new employees are expected to learn the rest of what they need to know on the job — which is still a challenge even if they have a fintech, payment, or banking industry background. For the first couple of months, customers often know more about the product/service/industry than new employees do, leading to the sensation of feeling overworked and underappreciated.
The “learn-as-you-go” approach may seem like the cost-effective option, but fintechs tend to pay dearly for it down the road in the form of higher employee churn rates and low customer conversion. The latter is especially tricky. When customers do not view employees as experts, it creates a perception of mediocrity, which can drive customers to competitors.
So, how can you invest in your employees’ education and train them to be experts in payment? There are several different options from self-paced digital tools and internal management training programs to external courses. To help you decide, here is a short guide listing the pros and cons we found of the various types of payment training.
The Pros and Cons of Online and Self-Guided Payment Training Programs
Online and self-guided payment training programs often promise great returns since they’re convenient and repeatable. However, this format still introduces challenges — particularly in terms of engagement and human connectivity.
| Pros | Cons |
| Flexible and caters to the schedules of your employees thanks to digital interface and pre-recorded sessions | Self-paced curriculum can lead to low completion rates |
| Organized course structure, typically divided into digestible segments | Inadequate understanding of an employee’s specific function, as well as the company’s position in the complicated payment ecosystem |
| High-level understanding of broader payment industry can help employees grasp big picture | Generic, unilateral structure can lead to unengaged employees and lower knowledge retention |
| Low pricing — typically a one-time payment for your company’s entire employee base | Difficult to measure return on investment |
In our experience, online training programs are a great way to gain an initial understanding. However, as most employees work during the day, very few set aside enough time to properly study the provided courses. And even fewer want to invest their spare time in educating themselves on their job. As a result, regardless of the online program’s merit, there is still a need for human interaction — which is done mostly on the job.
Of course, this isn’t the only option.
The Pros and Cons of Internal Payment Training Programs
Many companies elect to run their fintech payment training in-house. Compared to online and self-paced training, internal development programs can provide additional benefits — such as more detailed instruction around company processes and specific role responsibilities. However, this approach also comes with its fair share of challenges.
| Pros | Cons |
| Can be tailored to your business’s specific needs | Typically, doesn’t provide comprehensive industry insights and lessons that paint the whole picture |
| Required training can ensure higher completion rates compared to self-paced programs | Often led by HR teams that lack payment expertise |
| Internal sales leaders can leverage their expertise to develop new talent | Opportunity cost of taking time away from key sales leaders who would otherwise prioritize pursuing client relationships |
| In-person training can be more hands-on and interactive | Ongoing support is limited, as new employees don’t want to bother leadership with their growing pains. |
| Difficult to discriminate between underperformance and training issues |
The utility of an internal program is directly correlated to your leadership’s ability to commit time to training — during sessions and after. If they aren’t constrained by their roles’ existing responsibilities, then internal payment training can be beneficial.
But there’s a way to maximize the advantages of both approaches.
Gain the Lead’s Certified Program vs. Other Payment Training Programs
To fill the glaring holes in the typical employee development process, Gain the Lead devised its own payment training program — an engaging, personalized experience that not only educates employees about the broader payment industry but also caters to a company’s unique needs and operations, while conserving the precious time of sales leaders.
Based on customer feedback, here’s how it compares to the other educational models:
| Benefit | Gain The Lead’s Certified Training Program | Digital / Self-Guided Payment Training Programs | Internal Payment Training Program |
| Broad industry learnings | ✓ | ✓ | X |
| Personalized to your company’s operations | ✓ | X | ✓ |
| Engaging material with job-specific application | ✓ | X | sometimes |
| Collaborative design based on your company’s feedback | ✓ | X | rarely |
| Regularly updated to account for industry changes and trends | ✓ | sometimes | X |
| Recyclable training blueprint that can be used for future onboarding needs | ✓ | X | X |
| Created and guided by payment professionals | ✓ | X | sometimes |
| Supportive, on-demand staff that preserves time of internal leadership | ✓ | X | X |
| Expedited learning and seamless integration into role | ✓ | X | X |
| Measurable, standardized results for program analysis | ✓ | X | X |
Invest in Your Employee Experience to Bolster Your Customer Experience
We live in a consumer-centric world. We expect personalized experiences whenever we interact with businesses nowadays. That could be a timely reminder to bring in our cars for maintenance or a tailored selection of products on an ecommerce platform like Amazon. It’s fair to say that businesses who don’t prioritize the customer experience will struggle.
That empowerment has scaled cubicle walls and propagated in the working world, giving rise to the employee experience (EX). If an individual worker does not feel like their needs are met, they will look elsewhere.
Now, to deliver world-class customer experiences and drive revenue growth, fintechs must invest in their employees, which includes their onboarding and development. But it’s an investment worth making. According to a recent Deloitte study, companies that invest in their EX generate four times the profit per employee than companies that don’t.
We challenge you to reflect on your company’s current development process — are your employees quickly and seamlessly assimilated into their roles? Are you seeing tangible impacts on your bottom line?
If you’re ready to improve your employee experience through robust payment training, schedule a free consultation today.
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