Staff development
Employee development at Experian is a collaborative process, requiring commitment and effort from both employee and manager. Employees are expected to take responsibility for their own development, while managers play a key role in promoting an environment that actively supports and contributes to employee development efforts.
In Experian Americas, employee development activities are created and managed through an Individual Development Plan (IDP), which is used to document specific, job-related areas in which an employee would benefit from further development. The business has a Workforce Development Team which is responsible for delivering education opportunities such as: leadership development, sales education, product education, core training programs on systems or upgrades/enhancements, information technology, desktop applications, and professional development. This training is provided through a variety of means including web based training, instructor led courses, computer labs, self-study workstations, etc. During 2006 the Experian Learning Centre provided educational services to a total of 5,188 employees for a total of 152,883 educational hours.
Experian International has a similar approach, with development and training activity for individual employees being driven by a Performance Review as part of the corporate Performance Management Process. Development and training activity is provided in the following areas: sales capability; professional technical skills development; project management; professional development; management and leadership development; and customer service. Training can be either in the traditional face-to-face manner or via e-learning. All of these are subject to full evaluation ranging from immediate post learning feedback to full return on investment appraisal. Experian International typically invests over £600 per employee per year on training although this figure varies between divisions dependent on the nature of their products and disciplines.