Home Credit builds success on workplace learning

Home Credit builds success on workplace learning

Home Credit Vietnam is putting workplace learning at the heart of its growth strategy, seeing it as both a driver of performance and a way to keep employees connected.

Photo: Vietsuccess

Van Thi Hong Hanh, chief people officer at Home Credit Vietnam, shared this perspective on Vietsuccess’s 'People Matter' show, highlighting how the company is building a culture of lifelong learning to encourage employees to upgrade their skills and adapt to the demands of a changing era.

With over 20 years of experience in human and cultural development, Hanh believes that a learning culture is the foundation and a prerequisite for businesses to thrive.

In this rapidly changing era, especially with the rise of AI and digital transformation, every organisation must continuously learn and enhance its competencies. “We must learn to not just improve but also to prevent obsolescence,” said Hanh.

That is why, at Home Credit Vietnam, investing in personnel equates to investing in the company’s future.

Photo: Vietsuccess

"The learning culture at Home Credit is built on the foundation of Thinking - Commitment - Action, with leaders playing a core role. Leaders at all levels serve as role models for learning, consistently enhancing their skills through training, mentoring, and coaching activities provided by leading experts both internally and outside, tailored to the specific needs of each target group," Hanh said.

"Since then, the general director and the executive board have inspired learning and shared experiences with the staff while prioritising budgets for talent training and building a cohesion culture. For example, last year, the company implemented a series of Design Thinking workshops to encourage teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving initiatives. Home Credit started this initiative as a workshop for one department in 2023, facilitated by a third party. Up to now, the company has trained over 20 internal experts while organising more than 30 workshops across various departments," she added.

To promote the lifelong learning culture, Home Credit also strives to diversify educational forms and development opportunities for its staff so that learning is more engaging, convenient, and practically applicable. The courses are designed with diverse topics, formats, and levels to accommodate learning requirements at any time and place. This approach is particularly significant because Home Credit has over 6,500 employees across the country.

A notable activity is the Home-Schooled Expert Series, a weekly initiative held on Thursday afternoons and presented by internal or external speakers. The diverse topics are designed based on employee learning needs, ranging from foundational and professional knowledge to future-ready skills.

The company also provides online learning accounts on platforms such as Udemy, Open English, and Docebo, enabling employees to elevate their knowledge at their convenience and tailor their learning activities to their specific requirements. Furthermore, each department and division has specialised training courses to help their employees acquire sufficient knowledge and skills for their work.

"Above all, at Home Credit, learning must primarily come from practical work, requiring learners to immerse themselves in the job and explore solutions with the guidance and support of their managers," Hanh said. "The company is applying the 70-10-20 model, in which 70 per cent is learning from real-world work experience, 20 per cent is learning through interaction and social relationships, and the remaining 10 per cent comes from formal education."

"Learning is not just an individual endeavour but requires support from colleagues and the surrounding teams. With this perspective, the company has designed cross-departmental training activities in various formats, from traditional classrooms to online courses, workshops about interdepartmental topics, mentoring and experience-sharing programmes, thereby boosting cohesion between departments through learning."

Home Credit is piloting a range of digital tools to support learning and employee engagement, including the integration of Copilot and chatbots into its internal communication platform Teams. The company also makes use of online learning platforms and is developing an AI Advisor tool tailored for the sales team to facilitate knowledge reviews and encourage participation in training.

To successfully carry out these activities, the company has a mechanism for recognising and rewarding internal instructors and students with outstanding performance in terms of study hours, knowledge-sharing hours, and positive feedback from learners. This is core to encouraging employees to dedicate time to self-development, share knowledge with colleagues, and transition employee roles from learners to inspirers, thereby remembering and applying their knowledge to work and life.

Home Credit is also one of the companies that encourages and facilitates internal mobility, alongside personalising development paths, which helps increase employee engagement, especially in leadership and key personnel positions. In addition, the company focuses on identifying and nurturing young talents, with the Home Racer Programme, now in its fourth season, being a prime example.

Through learning promotion activities, Home Credit also engages employees and creates a happy working environment. Photo: Home Credit

According to a survey conducted earlier this year, Home Credit recorded an average satisfaction level of 4.75/5 for its training courses. The eNPS score, which measures company-wide employee satisfaction, reached 80 points. In particular, employee ratings for the growth and leadership categories are 94 per cent. Employee retention rates have consistently improved year after year and are among the highest in the consumer finance industry.

"With our strong employee engagement and work culture, Home Credit has been honoured as one of the ‘Best Companies to Work for in Asia’ at the HR Asia Awards for five consecutive years. This recognition motivates us to keep elevating the employee experience, strengthening a cohesive culture, enhancing intergenerational collaboration, and building a future-ready organisation," added Hanh.

VIR