Ockendon Training Company clients

The Challenge

A major US investment bank wanted help designing and delivering product training for interns.  The training needed to be relevant and concise, enabling the interns to perform more effectively on their desks for the duration of their internship.

The solution

OTC designed a short high-level programme covering the basics of investment banking and the key products and services offered to clients.  Participants were encouraged to ask questions and to learn by doing, through highly interactive simulation and role-play exercises. 

The result         

The client was delighted with OTC’s contribution, as the participants enjoyed the learning process and thus formed a more positive view of the bank, as well as being more confident in their ability to perform effectively on the desk during their internships.

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The Challenge

A major investment bank wanted to distinguish its on-campus recruitment events from the competition.  It asked OTC to designing and delivering a very different type of on-campus recruitment event, where participants would participate, rather than be talked at, and would get some useful technical knowledge to take away with them.

The solution

OTC designed a programme based on dividing the undergraduates into three separate groups and giving them short practical training inputs on corporate finance, equity research and sales and trading – focussing on what actually happens in practice and comparing and contrasting this to what is taught in text books at business school.  The participants then got back together for an engaging and intensive market simulation - allowing them to apply some of the techniques learned.

The result         

The client was delighted with the results.  Many participants commented that it was much the most memorable on-campus event that they’d been to, and that they’d actually picked up some relevant and useful knowledge.  They left the event with a very positive view of the bank.

 

The Challenge

A major east European investment bank wanted to put together a world-class graduate training programme to attract top talent to their firm. They approached OTC to design and deliver key elements of their technical training programme.

 The solution

OTC designed and built several engaging technical and product training modules, that complemented the other modules and created an integrated whole. The training was highly effective, using real-life examples and case studies, using live Bloomberg Anywhere screens within the classroom and challenging participants to think and respond through interactive exercises and simulations

The result         

The client was delighted with OTC’s contribution and extended our work to include other technical training for more experienced hires within the bank .

 

The Challenge

A major US investment bank wanted help designing and delivering a global technical training programme for new MBA hires into the bank. The programme had to be flexible enough to add value to those who already had significant financial training and Wall Street experience, as well as being able to accommodate PhD hires with much more limited financial knowledge.

The solution

OTC designed the programme so that participants could work at a speed that suited them.  There were additional exercises and case studies for the more advanced students, allowing the tutors to spend more time ensuring that the less experienced hires were brought swiftly up the learning curve.  The course was highly practical, with examples based on real clients and real products of the firm, together with regular workshops and inputs from line managers.  Participants were rigorously tested on their knowledge, through weekly examinations, which ensured full commitment to the learning process.

The result         

The client was delighted with OTC’s contribution and invited us to design additional modules to extend the scope of the programme the following year..

 

The Challenge

A major UK bank had a sales force that was selling payment solutions to Finance Directors.  It wanted help them to be more confident in using specialist financial language and in being able to articulate the commercial and financial benefits of their products more effectively.  The programme needed to incorporate input from their own product specialists.

The solution

Rather than come up with a traditional “chalk and talk” classroom solution, OTC designed and delivered a programme based around an interactive business simulation.  Participants worked in teams to set up and run a manufacturing business.  They experienced the challenge of managing working capital, competitive markets, delivering operational and supply chain efficiency and the importance of cash flow.  We incorporated the banks own payment products into the simulation so that managers got a first-hand insight into the value offered by each product.  We included presentations from product specialists, so that participants could learn more about the advanced features of the various products.

The result         

The programme was oversubscribed and the feedback from the participants was exceptional. Demand from participants was so great that the client extended the programme to a wider audience than initially intended.  The participants all commented on how much more confident they feel in understanding the financial jargon and in being able to articulate product benefits in a financially articulate way.

 

The Challenge

A major international law firm had a group of senior lawyers that whilst expert in the practice of law, were less comfortable in engaging with their clients on financial matters.  Increasing numbers of their ultra-high net worth clients have self-made fortunes, rather than inherited money.  The ability to communicate effectively about commercial and financial matters is thus increasingly important to establishing both rapport and credibility.

The solution

The client approached OTC because of our skill in designing engaging learning that turns learning about sometimes quite “dry” topics into an enjoyable learning experience.  In particular, they liked the fact that, although we’re very skilled in breaking down complex ideas and then arranging the elements logically into a coherent structure, we don’t patronise our audiences (something that’s particularly important to avoid with lawyers).
OTC designed a short one day programme that covered the basics of financial accounts and how to interpret a set of financial statements.  The programme used relevant examples drawn from both clients as well as the firm’s own financial statements. 

The result

The client was delighted with the results.  Participants really liked the fact that the training was so tailored, as it made it easy to absorb and directly applicable.  The delivery style was, as usual, highly interactive, with participants encouraged to ask lots of questions and to share their own experiences with one another.
The client has now rolled the programme out globally, and has commissioned OTC to work on a more advanced programme for the most senior leadership team.