Learning curve
ON F&A COURSE
14
know-how exchange
WHAT'S NrwS Issue 3 March 1998
A budget of USD 5 million for a dedicated training program is
more than a reflection of just how crucial the shift from sales
orientation to expert F&A relationship manager is for the success
of Rabobank International's customer focus strategy. It exemplifies
RI's real commitment to changing the way we work, the way our
mindset influences how we approach customers in the
marketplace.Three of our promising young people participating in
the course share their experiences and keep you up to speed - who
knows, you could be the next cohort.
met in London in late January. Like their
co-workers, they had already put in over
50 hours of 'homework' in preparation
for this first module of the course. A
tough four day program of 16-hour
sessions and high expectations from the
Harvard teaching team has set the
Standard for the next two modules and
future courses. We asked them how
effective is the course? How can it
contribute to the change in mindset seen
as essential by the exponents of the
customer focus strategy? And how is
contributing to building global networks
of expert rnarket consultants geared to
creating customer value?
ACTION LEARNING
The three module course is straight
forward in structure. The first, i.e. the
London program, covers opportunities,
trends and developments in the global
F&A industry. The second brings in
banking and financial services techniques
and trends, i.e. our capabilities with
emphasis on corporate finance and
investment banking. The third will
integrate the two. The whole is based on
precepts of action learning, in other words
learning from real experiences or case
studies. Participants have also been
divided into a number of teams whose
task is to build an ongoing research
project with a real (or potential) customer.
It is ambitious, but the organizers
themselves say this first trajectory is
evolutionary. 'We are trying to configure a
training method that will promote an
interactive, dynamic approach to serving
the market,' comments Henny van de
Schraaf of the Rabo Academy.
Philippe Charbonnier of Paris with a new
global understanding of clients
Betty Mills of Atlanta, Philippe
Charbonnier of Paris and Fernando de
Araya based in Santiago de Chile - all are
young, promising account managers who
already have significant know-how in the
F&A market. They are typical of the
selective recruitment policy pursued by RI
in its search for creative account managers
and product specialists with an affinity for
the sector. Now, an intensive training
program designed specifically for us will
help these budding relationship managers
develop a new mindset, a new approach to
building customer value.
TOUGH PROGRAM
Betty, Philippe and Fernando are members
of the first cohort of 30 participants who
FREE SPEECH
Participants agree that the case studies anda
action learning approach are certainly
linked to the reality of the marketplace. 'I
was reminded of corporate strategy
courses at my business school,' says
Philippe Charbonnier. 'But that was
general. The F&A case studies prepared
by the Harvard Business School were
excellent and the lecturers, professors Ray
Goldberg and David Bell, were
demanding. I think the course gives you a
more global understanding of clients'
positioning in their business sector and
possible response strategies. These issues
are key to our job, but we are often too
tied up with day-to-day business and don't
always see the bigger strategie picture.'
Betty Mills agrees. In her view, we tend to
approach customers purely from a
financing perspective. 'The course and
how it was taught made us look at M
companies, at how they operate and are
managed more on a macro level. The
interactivity built into the learning curve
was excellent. It kept us involved and
interested and people appeared to speak
their minds freely.'
DEMANDING AND REWARDING
Interaction is rather easier in an
environment where everyone is focused on
the same issues. The talk and networking
went on from early morning (breakfast
was scheduled for 07:00; last project
meetings for 21:00) until late at night. The
prep work is described by participants
variously as 'demanding', 'time
consuming' and 'staggering'. 'You have to
be very serious about this course,' says
Philippe. 'I reckoned to spend between
three and even five hours per case,
excluding the written study which took
about eight hours.' Fernando would have
preferred to receive the documentation
rather sooner. 'Preparing case studies is
always demanding; 1 I cases in two weeks
in addition to your normal workload is
crazy if you want to prepare properly. I'd
have liked a little more time.' Betty was
also in the middle of a deal 'so it was
rather overwhelming'. On the other hand,
she says that while the project is proving
time consuming it is also very rewarding.
CUSTOMER COMMITMENT
Project team members are scattered
around the world - a conscious choice in
order to give them a real experience of
putting together a customer-focused
activity with people in diverse
geographical locations. The objective is toV
target a F&A company and enter into a
research partnership which secures
customer involvement and commitment to
the project. The teams have to carry out
