2019 Statewide Learning and Development Solutions
Topics:
  • Featured Courses in April
  • Governor's Office Talent Challenge offers 100% Paid Scholarships!
  • Learning Lessons: 7 Ways to Engage Employees with Training
Featured Courses


In April, the Center for Organizational Effectiveness (COE) is offering courses to encourage your continued learning and development. You can learn more about these courses and more from COE on our  website .

Click on the class names below to see more information about the course, available dates, and to register:

Course Name
Cost
Course  Date
$795.00
4/1/2019
$275.00
4/3/2019
$795.00
4/4/2019
$495.00
4/4/2019
Statewide New Employee Orientation
$175.00
4/8/2019
$325.00
4/10/2019
$0.00
4/10/2019
$0.00
4/15/2019
$225.00
4/16/2019
$325.00
4/17/2019
Certificate Capstone Experience
$300.00
4/18/2019
Part One - Successful Safety and Part Two - Effective Safety Committees
$0.00
4/22/2019
10 Habits of a Safety Culture
$0.00
4/22/2019
Exceptional Customer Service
$350.00
4/23/2019
Motivating and Engaging Others
$380.00
4/24/2019
Time Management - 360 Degrees of Productivity
$225.00
4/25/2019
Birkman Assessment
$200.00
4/30/2019
Franklin Covey All Access Pass
$235.00
4/30/2019
Leadership and Influence
$275.00
4/30/2019
Online Lean Foundations
$125.00
4/30/2019
Governor's Talent Challenge Offers 100% Paid Scholarships!
We have some exciting updates to share with you about the Governor's Office Talent Challenge! For the remainder of the fiscal year, the Governor's Office is offering an opportunity to cover 100% of the cost for individuals to attend Lean training through a scholarship program. 
 
The scholarship will cover the full cost of one of the following Lean training courses with Government Performance Solutions (GPS): 
  • Lean Foundations (one day)
  • Lean Leaders (two days)
  • SOLVE Bootcamp (three days). 
All state employees are welcome to apply! Applicants should submit their application  here  by 5pm on April 5th  for an opportunity to participate in the program. Applications for projects that support the Governor's Bold Four or the goals of the department will be prioritized. The Strategic Operations team will notify individuals of their acceptance to the program by April 12th, after which they will be able to register for a course. 
 
Information on the Talent Challenge will continue to be posted on the COE Featured Training site
 
In an effort to Lean the Talent Challenge process, all other general-enrollment Talent Challenge classes have been cancelled. This decision was made to ensure that agencies focus on these three classes which have been prioritized by the Governor's Office.  

For the remainder of this fiscal year, through June 30, these three classes are the only classes that will be offered through the Talent Challenge.

There is no change to onsite classes, purchased by agencies, prior to this decision. If you purchased a class for your group, there is no change. You may decide to have your employees apply for the 100% scholarship. 
 
This 100% Scholarship program works like this:
  • The 100% scholarship application is open through April 5th.  No other Talent Challenge classes will be offered.h
  • The Governors Office will review the applications and notify COE of the demand for classes, based on approved applications.  Individuals will be notified by April 12.
  • COE will schedule classes to accommodate demand, and post the schedule online.
  • Individuals with approved applications will register for classes on the new schedule.
  • Individuals will complete training and submit project reports.
Please reach out to Peggy Moriarty at peggy.moriarty@state.co.us if you have any additional questions or need clarification about the 100% scholarship process.
 
The Governor's Bold Four priorities follow:
  • Education: Implement free full-day kindergarten for all and expand preschool
  • Health: Reduce the cost of healthcare 
  • Environment & Renewables: Set Colorado on a path to 100% renewable energy by 2040
  • Economy: Fiscal reform that serves hard-working Coloradans, including reducing the income tax rate for Colorado residents
For more information on the Governor's Bold Four priorities, take a look at his website's Key Issue page  here .
 
Additionally, projects can align with goals in department's current performance plans available  here

Learning Lessons - Seven Ways to Engage Employees with Training
As we get closer to the end of the FY18-19 Fiscal Year, agencies increase spending on employee development. Sending employees to training is not only one of the best ways to engage the people on your team, it is also one of the goals from our new Governor, Jared Polis, to make Colorado State Government an Employer of Choice within the State.
 
In the following article, "7 Ways To Engage Employees With Training" written by Bob Clary and posted in the online Lifehack magazine, you will see several suggestions on how to increase engagement from your employees by partnering with them to determine training classes that should be completed.
 
7 Ways To Engage Employees With Training

On-going employee training can be a natural aspect to overlook - especially when there are more pressing or urgent goals on the horizon. This goes both ways, for the employee and the employer. However, on-the-job or on-going training is a crucial part of growing your company by developing the skill set of your employees. Another reason to spend time training your employees is that it creates buy-in from them, especially when the training will provide direct benefits for their current and future work .
 
With so many great reasons why  employee  training is so beneficial, it can be difficult to understand why some employees seem resistant to the idea. Let's take a look at some of the best ways to engage your employees with the idea of more training:

1. Make it personal

Typically, making something personal isn't the best idea - especially in the workplace. However, when it comes to employee training, the more personalized you make training, the more likely your employee will respond positively to training. The best way to do this is to keep the learner at the center of the training. Pushing learning, especially learning curriculums that are of a one-size-fits-all variety, is a quick way to turn your employees off, and even results in an adverse effect on their work, with time lost and possible feelings of devaluation.

2. Ask your employees

Sometimes asking your  employees  can lead to a dead end, due to the circumstances, office politics, and so forth. Sometimes you need to intervene and make a decision that's best for the company. Training can be like that too. Sometimes you might have an employee who is good at recognizing their strengths and weaknesses, and other times you'll have to step in and offer some guidance. Regardless of the type of employee, when it comes to training and self-improvement, it's always a good idea to ask them first. After all, it's important for employees to be engaged. For example, in various coding classes, there are many ways to help employees retain their training knowledge, while also being a win-win for the company. This doesn't need to be a daunting thing at all. A simple conversation about personal development goals is likely a conversation that will leave you both feeling better and it'll offer clearer insights into how your employee views their development while also giving you some key insights into what motivates them and what they see as important.

3. Career advancement

If your employee sees a clear path in their professional development through training, they're much more likely to be invested in their training. This can be the outcome of higher wage or even a better position within the company. In some ways, this is dangling the carrot. You offer a potential reward, and they'll do the work to try and achieve what they need to achieve in order to get that reward. Beware of making promises you cannot keep, as there's nothing more demotivating than a broken promise.

4. Multiple formats

The advances in eLearning have been dramatic over the last few years. With sources such as Lynda.com and more, there has never been a better time to offer eLearning for your employees, which provides further training without breaking the bank. Combine this with a BYOD (bring your own device) or a working from home option, and you've got a compelling mix of learning and flexibility that will appeal to many people. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't offer in-house, in-person training too. There is still a lot of value to be gained from learning from each other one-on-one or in a small classroom environment.

5. Bake training into the culture

An excellent way to get your employees to respond to training is to make it a part of your company culture. This doesn't mean superficially offering training or forcing unwanted or unnecessary training onto your employees; it means encouraging people to learn from each other, to make learning a priority and not a secondary act. Have a centralized knowledge base, one that is actively maintained and contributed to. Encourage discussion. Make problem-solving and helping a virtue in your company, not a taboo. Encourage questions, allow people's curiosity to flow, and ask people to punch holes in ideas. This takes everyone to buy-in if it is to succeed. It's not a one-off trick and it's got to start at the very top.

6. Recognize experts when you have them

Sometimes you'll be fortunate enough to have an expert on your team. No matter what they're an expert in, an expert is always a great asset for a company - when their expertise are used correctly. There are many ways to utilize expert knowledge within your company, but simply recognizing when someone is excellent at something and having that information be known to the rest of your company, is a great way to start. They could hold a small discussion or a classroom style meeting. They could present some of their knowledge to the people who are most interested and in need of their expertise - the list goes on. Regardless of how your company uses this expert, merely recognizing this person will provide a boost in morale to everyone.

7. Rewards

The final idea on the list appeals to our most basic human selves: a reward for doing something good. Everyone enjoys a pat on the back now and then and a pat on the back with a gift card or dinner at a nice restaurant or a trip to a sporting event are all simple ways to reward someone for their hard work. These are best presented at milestones, big or small, and are an excellent way to affirm your employee for the job they're doing positively.
Center for Organizational Effectiveness
Department of Personnel & Administration
Division of Human Resources
dpa_prsnltraining@state.co.us
303-866-2439