Chief talent officer Karen Collins says BMO gives employees plenty of opportunities for learning, growth and advancement.supplied
Diverse work opportunities and a supportive culture make data and analytics roles at BMO an excellent fit for ambitious digital and tech talent
Financial services wasn’t the first industry that Eric Morrow thought of as a place to work. But after several years of working in aerospace and having a PhD in geophysics from Harvard, Mr. Morrow landed a job in BMO in 2017 as a senior manager in its then enterprise machine learning centre of excellence. Today, he is Head of Enterprise Data Science and AI within the bank’s Data and Analytics (DnA) group, leading a diverse team of data scientists and AI developers with backgrounds in everything from computer science to astrophysics to neuroscience.
“For the most part, my team doesn’t have a formal education in financial services,” Mr. Morrow explains. “The common trait is more about people that are really good at telling stories with data and being able to do something useful with it.” As an example, he cites the team’s involvement in the development of CashTrack, which provides customers with an intelligent prediction and warning of an upcoming cash shortfall.
One of the key elements that brought Mr. Morrow to BMO was the broad applicability and tangible outcomes that data science, machine learning and AI can bring to opportunities within the bank. “There’s almost endless opportunity for taking data and applying models to it within a financial services organization,” he explains. “Potential applications span everything from marketing to defending against cybersecurity threats.”
He’s also excited to work on projects that help BMO focus on the future. He identifies his work with the BMO Climate Institute as an example, where science and analytics are being used to understand how financial risks and opportunities related to climate change impact the bank and its clients. “This is all aligned with the bank’s stated Net Zero ambitions for climate,” Mr. Morrow explains. “It’s a gratifying goal to be working towards, and to be contributing to, coming from the analytics perspective.”
Mr. Morrow continues to find himself impressed at the opportunities for learning and growth at BMO, which chief talent officer Karen Collins says is a priority for all BMO employees, including top digital and tech workers.
Ms. Collins points to two initiatives that are part of BMO’s Talent Transformation strategy. The first is BMO Forward, a series of online learning programs that allow all employees to build digital fluency. The other is a pilot project with the online education and training company Pluralsight that helps assess the technology team’s proficiency and then creates self-directed learning programs to close individual skills gaps.
“Technical people love knowing that they’re joining an organization that’s committed to helping them build and develop skills as technology evolves so quickly,” Ms. Collins explains.
She also notes that BMO has a strong culture of internal career mobility, moving as many people internally each year as they hire from outside the company. “There are lots of opportunities for people to learn new skills, progress their career and move within the same company to a different job,” she says. “Whether BMO colleagues are working in a bank branch, a contact centre or part of a technology team, there are many career paths within the company.”
“Our roles within branches are changing across BMO because of the digital advancements we are investing in,” she says. “Our digital-first approach gives branch employees the tools they need to enhance their interactions and relationships with their clients.”
Aside from learning and growth, Ms. Collins has noticed more candidates inquire about workplace culture, flexibility, work-life balance, and inclusion practices at BMO. While BMO has been developing its diversity and wellness initiatives for decades, the past two years have further sharpened its deliberate focus on well-being, purpose, and culture.
The bank recently worked with the First Nations University of Canada to create an online course about Indigenous perspectives in Canada that all BMO employees were asked to complete. A similar online course looks at the Black experience in North America. “These courses focus on helping educate people around those experiences and then offers concrete steps that everyone can take to become a better ally,” Ms. Collins explains.
Another project that Ms. Collins is proud of is BMO’s partnership with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) to develop a Workplace Mental Health Playbook for Business Leaders, identifying ways that an organization’s leadership can support mental health. The playbook, released in January 2020, just before the pandemic, is even more relevant now.
A key takeaway from the playbook, which BMO leadership has adopted in its practices, is to consider new ways of working. “Performance is measured by outcomes, and we focus on the ‘how’ as well as the ‘what’ work gets done,” Ms. Collins explains.
This new perspective creates flexibility in work. “We want our employees to feel a sense of belonging,” Ms. Collins says. “They should experience the fact that we care about them as people. That’s something that differentiates us and the culture that we’ve built at BMO.”
BMO recently held a webcast called “The Future of Careers, developing and engaging talent in the shifting economy.” You can learn more at this link.
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio with BMO. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.