Training Magazine Recognizes American Fidelity for 13th Consecutive Year
Wednesday, February 01, 2017
American Fidelity has made the Training Magazine Top 125 list for the thirteenth consecutive year. The list recognizes companies that provide excellent training and development programs for their Colleagues.
“Technology changes so rapidly that our jobs are constantly evolving. It’s more important than ever to take advantage of professional development opportunities and improve soft skills that will always matter,” said David McLaughlin, training manager. “One of our core values is to be Always Future-Oriented and training helps prepare us for the future and ensures we have the skills we need to continue serving our Customers.”
Training magazine's annual awards program recognizes employer-sponsored training and development. The judging is based on an extensive application process and includes many factors such as financial commitment, programs offered, metrics measured and methods of evaluation.
In 2016, American Fidelity Colleagues completed 51,776 hours of internal and external training for an average of 26.57 hours per Colleague.
Training helps American Fidelity retain Colleagues and continue growing as a Company. Like many companies, American Fidelity is moving away from many legacy technology systems to more modern systems that better today’s Customers and security demands. Not wanting to lose Colleagues who developed and maintained these legacy systems, American Fidelity created a training plan to help these Colleagues learn new skills and transition in to other roles. These Colleagues spent seven months dedicating 80 percent of their time to learning new skills.
“This training is giving our legacy technology developers a brand new skill set to help them continue their career. One reason we chose to do this is because these Colleagues have a significant amount of business knowledge. Another reason is they’ve contributed greatly to the organization over the years and we don’t want to lose their talents,” shared Diana Bittle, vice president, software solutions. “If we weren’t doing this then these Colleagues would have to be let go and we’d have to hire new ones. Thirty years of business knowledge is hard to replace. I’m really happy with the amazing amount of support we’ve had for the training from the top down.”
Colleagues also have access to a career development specialist, leadership development classes, mentorship opportunities, on-site classes through Oklahoma City Community College, tuition reimbursement, online training and Company-specific certification programs.
Media Contacts
Melody Wortmann, AVP of Communications, Creative Services and Culture
P: 405-523-5979
Melody.Wortmann@americanfidelity.com
Lindsey Sparks, Corporate Communications Team Leader
P: 405-523-5901
Lindsey.Sparks@americanfidelity.com