E-learning – is it all it's made out to be? Does it deliver what it promises? In this article, I hope to convince you that it does? I'll explain why, as Head of Resource Development for the Retail Branch Networks for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, I believe it has proved successful. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and National Westminster (NW) Branch Networks consist of over 2,300 branches employing approximately 30,000 people throughout the U.K. My team are responsible for the design, development and implementation of training and development for these staff. We consider that in today's climate of accelerated change, high performance depends critically on the extent to which our intellectual capital is built, refreshed and leveraged – why?

Our customers expect that, as a minimum, our people are appropriately trained and can handle all their enquiries efficiently and effectively. Competent staff and the delivery of excellent customer service are not an option for the Group, but a necessity if we are to sustain our competitive advantage in the financial market place.