Anheuser-Busch Employees' Credit Union

Anheuser-Busch Employees' Credit Union (ABECU) is a full-service credit union offering a wide variety of products and services to their worldwide membership base. ABECU is currently ranked as a "Top 150" credit union in the U.S. and is a recognized leader in the development of the interstate delivery of financial services. In order to better serve there 100,000+ members, ABECU is committed to providing the best possible training for their 300 employees which is why they have implemented a comprehensive Learning Management System from Las Vegas-based TFactor, a recognized leader in this field.

Prior to the deployment of TFactor’s KnowledgePortal360 solution, ABECU used a half a dozen applications and learning modules. Michelle Podolak, training specialist at ABECU, describes the situation: “We had an in-house system that was difficult to maintain, along with various Excel spreadsheets and Access databases. We knew that we needed a centralized system, but we wanted to make sure that we made the right decision before we committed.” The credit union’s due diligence led them to interview numerous vendors and take part in various product demonstrations. Podolak recalls that “our search was quite strenuous because we really wanted to find a powerful system that could meet all of our needs but still be easy to install, use and maintain.”

After more than six months of vendor meetings and internal consultations, ABECU felt confident that TFactor offered the most robust system on the market. Podolak says that “we became a Beta site for them and we immediately liked the way that they handled keeping track of scores, booking completions, and maintaining attendance lists.” Employees can simply sign up for courses securely using a Web browser, study, take tests, and it is all recorded automatically for the training department and department managers. Podolak explains that “we loaded our existing materials into the system, and we were excited by the way that the system permitted us to build our own classes with the integrated CourseBuilder module.” ABECU’s IT Department also liked the fact that the KnowledgePortal360 solution runs as a Software as a Service (SaaS) system – they have no servers or software to maintain since it is all run remotely at a secure data center.

Podolak notes that “not only can we incorporate our PowerPoint shows, Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, Access databases, and Web-based content into the system, but it is also a centralized repository for our instructor-led classes and even outside training courses that our employees take.” With the help of TFactor, the St. Louis-based credit union has established a custom university called the University of Knowledge that offers AA and BA degrees. Each of the four divisions within the credit union offers degrees that even include incentives and an official graduation ceremony! Podolak confirms that “KnowledgePortal360 is terrific – before we implemented the software it was a real headache running all of our diverse training programs.”

Not only are the credit union’s training and IT departments happy with KnowledgePortal360, but the credit union’s other employees are thrilled with it as well. According to Podolak, “we have had nothing but a positive response from our employees. They can even take classes from home if they like.” ABECU has taken their one week new employee training program and imported it into KnowledgePortal360 with voice over narration so that remote new hires around the globe can share in the same important introductory education that St. Louis employees receive. Always looking to improve the system, ABECU’s training team has launched a Blogcast for multimedia credit union programming. This informative offering features areas for staff feedback, training updates, state of the Credit Union addresses from the CEO, etc. Podolak enthuses that “we are a growing credit union and this helps bring us closer together.”

Even with such a sophisticated system, Podolak is pleased to report that “problems with the system have been almost nonexistent. TFactor is a very helpful company and they really work hard to provide us with excellent support and the right tools we need to utilize the system to its fullest. In fact, they seem to anticipate our needs.” She concludes that “if another credit union was looking for a Learning Management system, I would wholeheartedly recommend TFactor.”