As a global leader in financial services and technology, PayPal recognized the need to enhance its managerial training to better equip new managers. With approximately 25,000 employees across various functions worldwide, effective training for newly appointed managers was crucial for maintaining operational excellence and enhancing customer satisfaction. To achieve this, PayPal partnered with Growthspace.
The challenge
PayPal faced challenges in training new managers who were typically promoted based on their individual contributions rather than their leadership abilities. These managers often lacked essential leadership skills and practical knowledge necessary for their new roles, such as team management and performance feedback.
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The partnership with Growthspace
To address these challenges, PayPal leveraged Growthspace’s platform, which offers a precision skill development system powered by an AI-driven expert matching mechanism. This platform enabled PayPal to provide personalized learning experiences to its new managers, focusing on both leadership skills and practical managerial tasks.
Program structure
The program begins with a personalized invitation PayPal’s MAPS programs for new managers, emphasizing the opportunity as an honor and encouraging their participation. The training includes:
- Initial training: Six weeks of virtual classroom instruction covering leadership skills and practical managerial tasks.
- Personalized development sprint: After the initial training, managers are paired with experts from Growthspace who work with them on specific skills they wish to develop further. This part of the program involves the managers directly, ensuring that the training aligns with PayPal’s business objectives. According to Kendra Goldbas, the Global Head of Learning and Development at PayPal, “The engagement of managers of participants was crucial for the success because they see the direct impact on their teams, which in turn affects their own KPIs.”
Impact and results
- High engagement and positive feedback: The program has seen high enrollment rates and positive feedback from participants. 94% of participants felt that their growth sprint enabled them to meet their goals.
- Engagement of participant managers: The managers of the participants have shown significant engagement in the process. “The power of starting from that point of where can we help the business move the needle on what it needs to move the needle on? And always will lead to better learning outcomes down the road,” said Kendra. 95% of participant managers reported seeing significant improvement in skill focus areas.
- Cultural shift: There is a notable shift towards a learning culture within PayPal, with senior leaders recognizing the importance of investing in new managers. According to Kendra, “It’s now become part of the lexicon of what they believe leadership to be as a manager at PayPal.”
- Business impact: Preliminary data shows promising trends in retention and performance among managers who have undergone the program, suggesting that the training is effectively enhancing their leadership capabilities.
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Realizing the business impact of learning initiatives
PayPal’s focused approach to training new managers has made a noticeable impact on employee retention. Kendra Gold Bass articulates the effect of the program, stating, “Our retention data is already looking quite strong relative to those who didn’t have this kind of experience in their first year.”
PayPal’s partnership with Growthspace has significantly transformed its approach to management training. By focusing on personalized learning experiences and practical applications, PayPal is better equipped to develop competent leaders who can meet the demands of their roles and contribute to the company’s success.
To learn more about PayPal’s experience with Growthspace, watch the video below:
