As a senior manager of learning and development (L&D) at Lending Club, Joe Deegan is responsible for developing and executing new learning strategies for Lending Club’s fast-growing workforce.

Figure 1: Joe Deegan, senior manager of L&D at Lending Club

We connected with Joe to learn about Lending Club’s use of technology and video in its learning and development strategies, and upcoming trends around data that could change the L&D space. The interview has been edited for clarity.

Doreen Lorenzo: Give us a little background for those people who don’t know what Lending Club is. 

Joe Deegan: Lending Club is an online credit marketplace connecting borrowers and investors. Because we are online and place a heavy emphasis on technology, we operate at a lower cost than traditional bank lending programs and pass the savings on to borrowers in the form of lower rates and to investors in the form of solid returns.

DL: That’s a new way of doing things. How does your instruction keep pace with that? 

JD: Yes, pace is a great term to use, because that is something that is definitely a challenge for us. As a company we are growing quickly, which requires that we place a heavy emphasis on onboarding new hires. Week after week we’re bringing on a new group of employees who need to learn processes, procedures, and systems as quickly and effectively as possible. We’re also helping the company navigate a high rate of change as we implement new internal procedures, technology, and programs that help us to be more effective as a company. On top of onboarding and change management, we are also working hard to build scalable L&D programs and implement new technology that helps us to be more effective as an L&D team. When we are working so hard to keep up with the pace of the company, it can be difficult but necessary to prioritize building the long-term L&D strategy.