BMO Wins ATD BEST Award for Talent Development and Corporate Learning

• More than $86 million invested annually in learning and professional development initiatives designed to help employees succeed in the evolving workplace

TORONTO, July 2, 2020 /CNW/ - The Association for Talent Development (ATD) has recognized BMO Financial Group with a 2020 BEST Award. BMO is the only Canadian company ranked among the globally-recognized organizations this year, with winners announced virtually from Denver, Colorado, on June 30. This year's honour marks BMO's fourth ATD award win.  

Distinguishing corporations that demonstrate enterprise-wide success through talent development, ATD's BEST Award is one of the industry's most rigorous and coveted recognitions. Winners include small and large, private, public, and not-for-profit organizations from around the world.

"It is an honour to be recognized by ATD with a BEST Award again this year," said Karen Collins, Chief Talent Officer, Bank of Montreal. "BMO's commitment to learning and development has remained an important part of our pandemic response, especially as we evolve, adapt, and thrive in our new hybrid working environments. Additionally, our investments in digital platforms over the past few years have made learning more mobile, accessible, and personalized, while our digital learning channels are helping us stay connected, share information quickly, and build new skills for today and the future."

As a champion of employee development, BMO has been at the forefront of corporate learning initiatives for more than 25 years ? investing in excess of $86 million annually in its workforce. As organizations continue to navigate evolving workplaces, the expansion of business models, and rapid technology shifts ? especially in recent months with the COVID-19 pandemic ? these changes necessitate investment in skills and education.

"BMO's multi-year learning strategy is focused on fostering a culture of continual learning, to support our employees in developing the skills they need for both today and tomorrow," said Gina Jeneroux, Chief Learning Officer, BMO Financial Group. "By being bold on building talent and future-focused skills, BMO is delivering on its commitment to level the playing field through learning and ensure we're able to anticipate and meet the evolving needs of our customers." 

With its unwavering commitment to learning and development, BMO has created a variety of resources and programs to enable industry-leading talent development across the company, such as:

• BMO Institute for Learning (BMO IFL): This state-of-the-art learning facility in Toronto offers a range of educational options from formal classroom programs and online courses, to digital resources and on-the-job development activities, so employees can choose what, where, and how they build their skills. Recently, as part of BMO's response to COVID-19, BMO IFL was converted into a rest space for front-line healthcare workers.
  
  
• BMO U: A mobile, 24/7 learning platform that creates customized experiences with easy access to thousands of formal and informal learning resources, insights, experts, and learning communities. Approximately 75 per cent of all BMO employees are active users.
  
  
• BMO Forward: This program helps employees across the business build technical skills they will need for a digital future, including artificial intelligence, robotics, data science, cybersecurity, and digital acumen. The program also includes "human skills" ? such as empathy, resilience, judgement, and cultural intelligence ? to forge stronger connections among individuals, teams, and customers.

For more information on BMO's commitment to building a diverse and engaged workforce, visit: https://bmocareers.com/why-bmo/.

About BMO Financial Group 
Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a highly diversified financial services provider - the 8th largest bank, by assets, in North America. With total assets of $987 billion as of April 30, 2020, and a team of diverse and highly engaged employees, BMO provides a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management and investment banking products and services to more than 12 million customers and conducts business through three operating groups: Personal and Commercial Banking, BMO Wealth Management and BMO Capital Markets.

SOURCE BMO Financial Group