As a larger organization, MasterCard offers a multitude of innovative and rewarding opportunities for upward and lateral advancement, and international assignments.
In 2010, employee survey data showed employees felt there was nowhere for them to go unless they were making vertical moves. MasterCard’s answer was a new online “marketplace” for bite-sized career development experiences to help employees learn new skills or another part of the business while keeping their “day jobs” (Smart Steps). It also devised a program to help employees make meaningful, lateral career moves (Smart Moves).
Additional programs at MasterCard that support this include MasterCard University (MCU), a one-stop portal for all career development and learning resources to help employees grow their skills and transform their careers. Tuition Reimbursement - MasterCard encourages employees to continue their education as part of their professional development, providing financial assistance for coursework that enhances their career with MasterCard.
Cornell Tech Innovation Scholars Program – To transform its innovative and ambitious employees into future leaders, MasterCard partnered with Cornell University to create a global scholarship program where selected employees in certain business units receive a full scholarship for either a one-year MBA or a Master of Engineering in Computer Science at Cornell Tech, while still being paid by MasterCard.
From a communications standpoint MasterCard saw an opportunity to shift engagement online and develop a direct relationship and dialogue with consumers and influencers. To move beyond simply “listening,” it created the Conversation Suite – a dynamic, global insights and engagement engine that shifted the company from monitoring social and traditional media to applying purposeful listening to inform business decisions and foster more impactful communications.
The MasterCard Conversation Suite is a set of tools, technology and savvy people that allow the company to listen and engage in 56 markets and 27 languages across all social, online, digital and traditional channels.