So-called outsourcing trends aside, internal training is a key component of employee development that some companies here say they continue to emphasize to promote a strong workplace culture and to help workers advance more rapidly.


Other companies prefer to foster a more informal training environment in which younger employees are able to learn from pearls of wisdom passed down by more seasoned workers. All of those interviewed, though, say they are intent on instilling their goals, philosophies, and methods into the approach that new and current employees take to their jobs.


Derek Tyree, vice president and corporate training manager at Washington Trust Bank, says that for the bank to train employees internally with its own staff, rather than have hired consultants do it, is a definite advantage for the Spokane-based financial institution.


Culture is so important, and having trainers who understand the business and its culture only helps the organization, says Tyree. Washington Trust has had a centralized training department with four full-time employees for about three years, he says.


Stan Stirling, a principal at Taylor Engineering Inc., says internal training at that company is extremely important, especially for younger engineers. He says that Taylor regularly holds brown bag lunch meetings at which employees and principals alike meet to discuss inspections, safety, specific jobs, and changes in the engineering field.


Avista Corp., the Spokane utility company, focuses a lot of its training on safety and leadership skills, among other things, say Mike Hanson, the companys craft training administrator, and Diane Quincy, its director of leadership and organizational development.


Brian Read, senior vice president and director of production support at Sterling Savings Bank, says Sterling does all of its training in-house and operates a 20-person training department. Like others interviewed, he says having trainers who know the industry as well as the companys culture is important. He says that all of Sterlings trainers have worked in other departments in the bank and can offer direct insight about different jobs.


Washington Trust Banks training program is divided into four categoriesnew-hire training, leadership development, commercial-lending training, and organizational development, Tyree says.


Of course, new-hire training differs depending on a trainees job and needed skills. All new hires, though, learn about the banks history and philosophy and receive general customer-service training.


Retail employees, such as tellers, spend six days in the classroom, coupled with four days of training at a bank location, says Tyree. He says that by blending classroom and on-the-job training, employees are able to assimilate the information theyve learned better, have an opportunity to formulate new questions, and bring pertinent discussion topics back to the classroom.


The banks leadership-development training is offered as a nine-month program and is designed to help managers improve necessary skills, such as employee coaching and supervisory techniques, says Tyree. He says that the program involves work in the classroom and on the individuals own time.


The commercial-lending training program is a two-year curriculum that the bank offers to new hires, as well as people who are coming from other jobs at the bank. Tyree says the program includes classroom work, independent study, and group work in which trainees work with mentors who have years of experience in the commercial-lending field.


The fourth category of training, organizational development, is offered as needed, says Tyree, adding that its used to help departments work more cohesively as a team, and typically includes a number of team-building activities.


Washington Trust has retail branches in Washington, Idaho, and Utah, as well as a private-banking office in Oregon and a loan-generation office in Arizona, and Tyree says that trainees travel here, or the training staff goes to their location to do training, depending on what makes the most economical sense.


In contrast to having a formal training department, Taylor Engineering prefers to used organized lunch meetings to keep its employees current on important issues. The topics of the meetings are decided by the firms principals and sometimes include a presentation by a vendor representing a new product related to the work Taylors engineers do, says Stirling. He says its beneficial to get senior and other higher-level employees involved in discussions with younger and newer people.


It creates great camaraderie and offers a chance for more seasoned workers to pass down knowledge and tricks of the trade, he says. He says that the meetings tend to be a bit more infrequent during the summer months, when the firm is most busy, but sometimes the firm will have as many as three meetings a month in the fall and winter.


At Avista, Hanson says that all new employees who work on the craft side of the business, such as electricians and linemen, immediately take a six-hour safety orientation, which is followed by training sessions that deal with everyday job occurrences, such as methods for procuring materials and procedures for operating company vehicles. He says safety is always a top priority for the company, given that its personnel deal with high-voltage electrical current, and its not uncommon for a small tailgate-style safety-reminder meeting to take place before a particular job gets under way.


On the other side of the business, white-collar employees also receive internal training in which the company shares its ideas and goals, says Quincy. She adds that managers have checklists of things to go over with employees at different stages of their employment, and training adds meaning and interest to the job for employees.


Managers at Avista also receive specialized leadership training during two- and three-day courses, says senior human resources business partner Dave Zimmerman.


Sterling, with branches in five Western states, has its trainers stay in constant contact with various departments, which allows them to know what is and isnt working in its training efforts, says Read. He says that the bank is always in a state of self-examination.


Sterling has developed training curriculums for employees depending on their job and line of business, and some, such as the commercial-banking program, take employees through a six-month course in which they divide their time between the classroom and on-site training, says Read.


Even with all of the advantages of internal training, having an expert from outside of a company come in to teach is still preferred in some instances. Avistas Hanson says thats sometimes true when new technology becomes available, and he believes thats the case in many industries. Similarly, Washington Trust Bank employs the Washington Bankers Association to send representatives in to teach about some specific banking issues, says Tyree. He says, though, that afterwards, a bank trainer will help employees tailor the information for use at Washington Trust.


Each company says that internal training has a permanent place in the business landscape. Sterling Savings Read sums it up by saying, In order for our people to be successful we have to give them the skills to do what they need to do.


Contact Ben Rascoff at (509) 344-1260 or via e-mail at benr@spokanejournal.com.