Discover’s unique IT training platform builds skills and community
With
talent
markets
tight
as
ever,
upskilling
is
increasingly
becoming
an
IT
imperative,
and
Discover
Financial
Services
is
among
those
companies
sharpening
staff
capabilities
by
investing
in
their
IT
training
strategies.
With
talent
markets
tight
as
ever,
upskilling
is
increasingly
becoming
an
IT
imperative,
and
Discover
Financial
Services
is
among
those
companies
sharpening
staff
capabilities
by
investing
in
their
IT
training
strategies.
The
company,
which
has
a
culture
of
“empowering
[employees]
to
work
better
together
in
modern
ways,”
says
Angel
Diaz,
vice
president
of
technology
capabilities
and
innovation
(pictured),
is
keenly
aware
of
the
latest
“technology-fueled
renaissance”
that
sees
employees
increasingly
embracing
“democratized”
technology
to
“deliver
better
outcomes
for
customers
at
faster
speeds.”
That
renaissance
has
led
Discover
to
develop
the
Discover
Technology
Academy
(DTA),
a
unique
one-stop
platform
for
employees
to
“come
together
as
a
community
and
define
how
we
work,
how
we
think
about
the
marketplace,
and
how
to
deliver
on
products,”
Diaz
says.
The
DTA
platform
offers
employees
access
to
learning
modules,
content
from
subject
matter
experts
(SMEs),
trainings,
networking
opportunities,
and
other
avenues
for
upskilling,
reskilling,
and
continued
learning.
It’s
all
about
“continuous
learning
and
continuous
improvement,”
he
says.
Built
in-house
by
teams
at
Discover,
DTA
benefits
greatly
from
being
developed
by
employees
for
employees.
Having
the
insight
of
team
members
working
on
building
the
DTA
platform
has
proved
crucial
in
creating
a
tool
that
employees
actually
use
and
integrate
into
their
daily
workflow.
Megan
Kostick,
an
expert
application
engineer
at
Discover,
and
member
of
the
DTA
build
team,
helped
“build
out
the
content
processor
that
takes
the
content
submitted
to
GitHub,
processes
it,
and
posts
it
to
the
backend
API
to
serve
up
the
frontend,”
she
says,
adding
that
she’s
also
a
“regular
customer
and
content
contributor
on
the
DTA
platform.”
What
Kostick
loves
most
about
the
DTA
is
how
easy
it
is
to
“search,
share,
connect,
and
find
the
information”
that
she’s
looking
for
in
one
place.
She
notes
that
the
asset
types
offered
on
the
platform
are
“diverse
and
allow
users
to
digest
the
information
in
a
way
that
works
best
for
their
learning
style.”
Autonomy
for
employees
The
DTA
is
a
big
part
of
how
engineers
at
Discover
start
their
days.
They
can
look
at
their
backlog
of
activities
in
the
morning
and
then
utilize
the
DTA
to
identify
the
best
approach
to
an
unfamiliar
project,
or
to
brush
up
on
skills
they
haven’t
used
in
a
while.
They
can
also
read
articles
related
to
their
daily
tasks
or
connect
with
other
SMEs
to
ask
questions
and
get
guidance
on
a
variety
of
topics.
“Most
of
our
engineers,
the
first
thing
they
do
[each
day]
is
they
go
to
the
academy
to
look
at,
learn,
or
bring
something
new
into
their
day-to-day
work,”
says
Diaz.
The
platform
gives
employees
more
autonomy
in
their
daily
work
and
prevents
them
from
being
slowed
down
or
held
back
by
potential
knowledge
or
skills
gaps,
Diaz
says.
Anything
they
need
to
know
or
learn
can
be
found
on
the
DTA,
and
if
they
can’t
find
it,
they
can
contribute
it
themselves.
The
Academy
is
open
to
everyone,
but
there
are
guilds
and
groups
within
the
academy
where
employees
can
have
discussions
and
technical
debates
to
help
“drive
some
of
those
more
advanced
technological
discussions,”
Diaz
says.
“DTA
is
the
first
place
I
go
to
whenever
I
am
looking
for
an
answer
to
the
problem
I
am
trying
to
solve
because
there
is
a
good
chance
someone
else
has
already
solved
that
problem,”
says
Praveen
Erode
Mohanasundaram,
an
expert
application
engineer
at
Discover.
He
finds
DTA
to
be
a
convenient,
centralized
place
to
“share
and
locate
content
about
standards,
best
practices,
tutorials,
and
products.”
The
power
of
the
training
platform,
Diaz
adds,
is
that
it
is
“embedded
in
the
way
we
work
—
it’s
not
a
separate
entity.
It’s
not
something
that’s
on
the
side;
it’s
the
main
course.”
The
DTA
not
only
gives
employees
access
to
learning
materials,
it’s
also
a
convenient
platform
for
networking
within
the
organization.
There
are
opportunities
to
chat,
ask
questions,
and
connect
with
peers
in
other
departments
or
business
units
that
employees
might
not
typically
interact
with.
It’s
akin
to
a
“digital
watering
hole,”
says
Diaz,
where
people
“share
what
they
do,
share
feedback,
how
they’re
learning,
how
they’re
improving
their
process
in
the
company,
and
who
can
be
doing
similar
work
in
other
areas.”
The
DTA
also
enables
employees
to
share
their
expertise.
John
Coyne,
an
expert
application
engineer
at
Discover,
remembers
when
there
was
an
“initial
challenge
from
subject
matter
experts
to
create
content”
on
the
platform.
Coyne
stepped
up
and
contributed
more
than
15
pieces
of
content,
including
tutorials,
code
patterns,
articles,
and
blogs.
“DTA
is
undoubtedly
part
of
my
daily
workflow. When
I
find
myself
in
need
of
an
answer
to
a
question
or
solution
to
a
problem,
the
first
place
I
turn
to
search
is
on
the
DTA,”
he
says.
“I
look
forward
to
the
daily
e-mail’s
from
DTA
that
provide
some
featured
articles
and
upcoming
events,
such
as
lightning
talks. I’ll
often
answer
a
question
from
a
colleague
by
linking
to
a
DTA
tutorial
or
article.”
The
community
aspect
of
DTA
is
what
“makes
it
extremely
useful
in
solving
actual
problems
you’re
facing
or
developing
solutions
that
can
be
implemented
in
your
environment,”
says
Coyne.
In
regular
training
exercises,
he
notes
that
the
projects
you
work
on
don’t
always
translate
to
real
life
and
may
not
represent
what
you
do
in
your
daily
work.
But
the
DTA
allows
for
hands-on
learning,
with
examples
that
are
true
to
Discover
and
its
internal
culture,
all
while
building
community.
Kostick
agrees.
“DTA
has
connected
me
with
different
product
teams
and
SMEs
across
the
company.
It
gave
me
a
home
and
I
feel
connected
to
the
greater
company,
with
an
overall
sense
of
community,”
she
says.
“DTA
allows
me
to
find
and
solve
issues
while
increasing
my
personal
knowledge
to
be
a
key
contributor
to
the
Discover
technical
community.”
Beyond
IT
skills,
just
the
act
of
contributing
to
DTA
offers
employees
opportunities
to
hone
valuable
skills.
Soumya
Raju,
a
senior
manager
of
product-immersive
learning
journeys,
says
that
she
utilizes
DTA
to
create
product-owner
immersive
learning
paths
for
the
company
and
to
organize
community
events
for
the
product
teams.
The
opportunity
to
contribute
her
knowledge
to
the
platform
by
uploading
articles
she’s
written
has
helped
improve
her
writing
and
communication
skills,
she
says,
adding
that
as
an
all-in-one
platform,
DTA
is
vital
for
helping
her
succeed
in
her
career
—
and
she
doesn’t
have
to
jump
around
through
various
tools
or
platforms
to
find
the
content
she’s
looking
for.
Coyne
has
had
a
similar
experience
in
contributing
to
the
platform.
“DTA
has
helped
me
to
become
a
better
technical
writer,”
he
says.
By
empowering
employees
to
learn
new
skills,
connect
with
colleagues
and
SMEs,
and
share
their
own
expertise
on
an
easy-to-use
platform,
Discover
has
reaped
significant
benefits
from
DTA.
Beyond
having
a
workforce
that
is
up
to
date
on
the
latest
tech
skills,
through
the
platform
the
company
is
fostering
a
commitment
to
continuous
learning,
giving
employees
the
ability
to
upskill
on
their
own
terms
while
fostering
community
across
the
organization.
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