2019 Corporate Responsibility Report

Professional Development

When we recruit the best employees, we then need to provide world-class development opportunities to retain them. It’s important to let employees direct their own development, in partnership with their managers and reflecting their career goals and business objectives. Employees participate in development programs of their own choosing, except for necessary compliance training.

We provide the tools and programs employees need to help them build key business skills, improve everyday performance, and prepare for advancement. Those tools and programs—tailored to the employee’s level within the company—are available through our Learning Management platform. Every month, we alert employees to available open enrollment courses that help them build business acumen, influence others, and manage work processes flawlessly.

Our programs aimed at employees transitioning into manager roles focus on compliance with HR policies and processes, leading with strategic thinking, and coaching and developing others.

Programs dedicated to emerging leaders include customized coaching partnerships that accelerate their ability to communicate vision, lead change, and drive employee engagement.

We’ve heard from both participants and managers that our development programs result in higher effectiveness in work prioritization, coaching, and networking growth.

We also have a robust performance review process, the foundation of which is employee performance goals and Leadership Behaviors (how employees achieve their goals). We conduct formal reviews at least twice per year to ensure employees and managers are having conversations about the progress made against their goals and their ability to exhibit the desired behaviors. In addition to informing compensation decisions, these reviews provide an opportunity for both the manager and employee to have open conversations regarding the employee’s accomplishments and where they can develop skills and capabilities for both current and future roles.

Education Assistance Programs

>1,000
employees have taken
advantage of education
assistance programs since 2018.
>500
employees are participating
in The Discover
College Commitment.
100%
tuition paid for eligible U.S. employees to earn a bachelor’s degree from one of seven online programs at three select universities through The Discover College Commitment.
90%
reimbursement for business- or role-related programs at any accredited academic partner.

On-Site MBA

The growing complexity of our industry requires us to remain focused on building our talent. The Discover Onsite MBA Program is designed to build leadership capability, equipping participants with the skills needed to take on the unique challenges they will face as future leaders of our company. This cohort-based program allows our high-potential employees to earn their MBA degree at our Riverwoods campus with tuition fully paid by Discover.

“ The Discover on-site MBA program is equipping me with leadership and critical thinking skills that not only help with career development but allow me to take some of the things I’m learning and make an instant impact for the organization. The program couldn’t be more convenient with it being located at work [on campus], provides me a unique opportunity to network with colleagues, and truly highlights how Discover cares about the future of its employees.”

Rob Weiss, Senior Manager, Public Relations

Our online learning program for employees, Financial Wellness for You, has helped employees manage their financial progress since 2016. We believe that helping employees is a key step in achieving our mission of helping all stakeholders achieve a brighter financial future. In 2019, we expanded the program to include more engaging and informative content, such as interactive online games, polls, and simulations. The program has 51 courses in which employees can focus on the financial guidance and topics that are important to them. Our goal is that all our employees will use the platform, in turn giving them the financial confidence to help others achieve their brighter financial future.