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New training available for all ITD employees

As a result of ITD’s commitment to continually develop employees, the Training & Development team is excited to offer valuable training for all employees. Two new programs are bundled in two separate sets of courses. Training and Development recently added the training to the transcript of each employee.

Notices about the training courses was distributed recently by email.

What’s required for employees who do not supervise others?

Effective Communication in the Workplace
There is a new curriculum titled Effective Communication in the Workplace. It is made up of five courses and one book. If you are not a supervisor, you are enrolled in this series of courses. If it wasn’t already on your transcript, we added it and you should have received an email notification. You can verify this by opening the Learning Hub and clicking on View Transcript by clicking here.

This curriculum is required for all non-supervisors in the department. What does required mean?

Required means:

Everyone should begin working on the courses in this curriculum and take them as they are available in your location.

Required does not mean:

Everyone must complete this class immediately when it is offered at a location near you. However, the sooner you take it, the sooner you can take other classes in the series.

The courses in this curriculum also build on each other. The courses must be taken in order.

The first course in the series is Behavioral Styles in the Workplace. We’ll offer a lot of sessions initially to make sure everyone will have the pre-requisites to continue on in the curriculum as more classes become available.

Local trainers in the districts plan these classes according to each district’s training schedule. The Headquarters training schedule is completed through March 2014, and we will continue to schedule classes 3-6 months in advance. See Schedule.

Click here to learn how to use the curriculum.

What’s required for supervisors and managers?

There are a total of four tiers of training for supervisors. Each supervisor will initially complete two of the tiers.

Tier 1 is for all supervisors and managers. It includes a variety of courses that are foundational to effective leadership.
Tier 2 is for front-line supervisors, those who oversee front-line employees and not other supervisors.
Tier 3 is for middle managers, those who manage other supervisors.
Tier 4 is for the Executive and Senior Leadership teams.

As supervisors move up in the organization, they will be required to take the training appropriate to their level of supervision.

Leadership Development: Tier 1
If you are a supervisor (you have the ability to hire and fire employees and sign their performance evaluations) you need to enroll in Leadership Development: Tier 1. This is a series of foundational courses for supervisors and managers. You already have this training on your transcript. You can verify this by opening the Learning Hub and clicking on View Transcript or by clicking here.

All of the courses in this series are required for all supervisors and managers – including foremen and front-line supervisors all the way up to the director. In this case, required means you should plan to take the class as soon as it is available in your location. In the districts, these classes will be taught once in the first 18-months, so you need to be sure you don’t miss them when they are offered. See Schedule

The curriculum for these courses includes three elements – the course itself, an Individual Implementation Plan (IIP) and a meeting with your manager after your IIP is completed. You also will have a pre-meeting with your manager before attending each course. (You’ll learn more about this during the first course in the series.)

The Executive and Senior Leadership teams will be the first to attend the training; followed by middle managers and front-line supervisors. In the districts, the schedule for this training is already established through the end of 2014.

Click here to learn how to use the curriculum.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What if I’ve already taken Fundamental Skills of Communication (from the Effective Communication curriculum)?

A: If you already have this class on your completed transcript, you do not need to take the class again. When you view the curriculum on your transcript, the class should already be marked Completed.

Q: I looked at the classes in the Leadership Development: Tier 1 curriculum and I’ve already taken some similar training. Does that qualify?

A: No, and here’s why:

a. These classes have a different emphasis than classes you’ve taken previously.
b. As you coach employees on these skills, we want everyone in the organization to be on the same page.
c. It never hurts to have a refresher – even the Director and the rest of the Executive Team are taking these courses.

Q: I’m not a supervisor, but I’d like to be. Can I take Leadership Development: Tier 1 to get ready?

A: Not at this time. We are focusing on getting current supervisors and managers through the courses first. Be sure to let your supervisor know you have an interest in becoming a supervisor, and work on completing the Effective Communication in the Workplace curriculum.

Q: How am I going to fit all this required training into my schedule?

A: First, it’s important to realize that this is a new way of life for us at ITD. This is not just something to check off your list and say, “Ok, that’s done.” The objective of the training is for us to incorporate the new skills or behaviors into our daily work. With that in mind, there are two things we’ve done to accommodate busy schedules:

• Almost all of our Professional Development classes are moving to a half-day format. That means you won’t be spending an entire day or multiple days away from your other work. A few classes are still one-day and there are a small number that are multiple days.

•We have spread this training out over a period of time so you don’t have to try and squeeze in a lot of training in a very short time.

Q: As a supervisor, am I required to take the Effective Communication curriculum?

A: No, there are classes within the Leadership Development Tiers that focus on communication.