2018 Statewide Learning and Development Solutions
Topics:
  • Featured Courses in December
  • Greetings from the Google Team at OIT
  • New Look for the COE LMS
  • Expansion of Governors Talent Challenge
  • Learning Lessons: Prepare for Change in the New Year
Featured Courses


In December, COE is offering a few courses to encourage your continued learning and development. Click any of the links below to read about the course and to register for available sessions. Review all of the courses that are available through COE on our
  We offer a reduced number of classes in December to match reduced participation over the holidays. Starting in January you will see more classes offered. 

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

Leading Across Generations - 12/11
Greetings from the Google Team
Greetings from the Google team at the Governor's Office of Information Technology (OIT). We are a team of three: Director of Operations Lilo Santos, Google Cloud Guru Travis Tiller, and the Google Program Administrator, Jessica Greene. Our motto at OIT is "Serving People Serving Colorado". We take that mission very seriously.
 
To that end, we offer a number of resources for training specialists and users around the State to take advantage of. We recently launched a series called Google Trainings by OIT, which are monthly domain-wide webinars that dive into Google tools. Last month, we focused on the new Gmail interface. In past webinars we have focused on Drive, Hangouts, and Forms. These trainings are a great way to get users some base knowledge around the tools that are available to them as part of G Suite.
 
Users are notified about these trainings from OIT Service Desk notices. You can also you can check out and share information about upcoming trainings from the  TechU Announcements Page . Speaking of TechU , if you haven't had the chance to check it out, you should! TechU has great information about business tools at the State, including an entire page dedicated to Google Tools that have great demo videos and FAQs for users. We also record and post the domain wide webinars to their respective pages on TechU. We are working on a TechU content refresh, so keep checking back!
 
Finally, we have recently launched a Google Guides Program at the sSate. Google Guides is a community of forward thinkers across the state that connect, discuss, problem solve, and share G Suite solutions! We also post about G Suite updates and training opportunities in the community. If you are interested in becoming a guide, or have a question about anything else Google related, please send an email directly to the Google Team at [email protected] .

New Look for the COE Learning Management System
You may have noticed that the Learning Management System (LMS) is a little easier to use lately. Thanks to some help from The Office of Information Technology (OIT), the LMS now displays open-enrollment courses in the month that they will be offered.
 
The course offering section of the new page looks like this:
Remember that these are only the open-enrollment courses. In these classes, we schedule the date and location which allows you to purchase one or more seats in these classes. If you would like to purchase an entire class for your team we will work to schedule your class at a time and location that is the best fit for you.
 
As always, let us know if you need a class or help with learning and development and you cannot find what you are looking for on our website . We can be reached at (303) 866-2439 or  [email protected].
Expansion of Governor's Talent Challenge
COE is happy to announce that there will be additional classes made available through the Governors Talent Challenge starting in early 2019. These are not new classes. I dentifying the scope of existing classes was too narrow to fulfill the intent of the Talent Challenge, and that additional classes are needed to achieve the goal of systemic process improvement throughout agencies that participate in the Talent Challenge.
 
In the near future we will modify the registration page that is used for Talent Challenge classes and add these additional courses. When the registration pages are ready we will send another message to let you know that you can sign up for these classes and expect to receive the 50% match.
 
The two classes currently offered through the Talent Challenge will continue to be available.
  • GPS, Three Day Lean Boot Camp
  • Honsha, Eight Step Problem Solving 12-Week Program
Below are the classes that will become eligible for matching funds through the Governors Talent Challenge:
  • LEAN Facilitator
  • LEAN Leader
  • Lean Foundations, One Day
  • Establishing Lean Accountability: Increasing Performance through Ownership
  • The 4 Truths of Lean Change Management: Winning the Battle of Hearts and Minds
  • Driving Lean Culture Change-the 4Cs© Model
  • Lean Standardization
  • Continuous Improvement
  • Identify and Execute Process Improvements
  • Lean Leaders Vision and Strategy
Matching Funds

In order to incentivize participation in the Talent Challenge, the Governor's Office will reimburse participating departments for 50% of the cost of classes that are included in the Talent Challenge. Payments will be made monthly by the Governor's Office. Matching fund payments will be based on confirmation that participants paid for and registered in training.
Click the following link to learn more about the matching funds that reduce the cost of this training. Matching Funds Process for CO Talent Challenge.
 
Participant Project Requirement

Each participant in a course within the Talent Challenge is responsible for completing a project which demonstrates application of learning objectives from the course and which results in improvement within the participant agency. Participants are responsible for identifying, completing, and reporting data from the project. The reported data will include: a short narrative summary of the project documenting the problem, actions taken, and impact of the process improvement in quantifiable measures. For example: time savings, dollar savings, improvements in customer satisfaction, and improvements in engagement or performance. A description of completed projects will be posted on the CO Talent Challenge Form .  

Learning Lessons
Using William Bridges "Managing Transitions" Model to Help Navigate Change

The election of Jared Polis as Colorado's new Governor raises questions about what changes are to be expected across state agencies. Many of you may already be experiencing shifts in staffing. William Bridges (1933 - 2013), an author, speaker and consultant, known for pioneering a new methodology to support people and organizations through transition makes a distinction between transition and change. Whereas change is the outcome that results (the external), transition is the psychological process that people go through as they process a change (the internal). In sum, change happens fast; transition is slow. Bridges identifies three stages summarized below. Understanding the dynamics of transitions can help you to support your team members in accepting and processing the transition.
Stage 1 - Ending, Losing, and Letting Go

In Stage 1, people need to let go of the connection to how things used to be in order to embrace the new. Someone's level of happiness with the way things were may impact the degree to which the change is initially embraced. Focusing on "the past" where certainty exists makes it more challenging to let go. Focusing on "the future" opens up greater possibility and hope for something new to emerge. During this stage, people might feel afraid, anxious, disoriented, angry, resistant or frustrated. Acknowledging loss openly and with compassion can help the person transition to the next stage. Asking the question, "What is it time for me to let go of?" is a way to start addressing the transition. Asking oneself, "What is my preferred future?" can help identify the path forward. Along with this, emphasize how employees may be able to use their talents, skills, abilities and experiences to navigate the transition and be sure to communicate any available training or support resource that can be used to help ease the transition, like coaching sessions from CSEAP.

Stage 2 - The Neutral Zone

When people enter the Neutral Zone, the old way may be finished though the new way is not fully functioning. People experiencing change still may not have a full sense of what the future holds. They are on a learning curve, the old reality and sense of identity is gone and the new one is not fully formed. Things aren't quite comfortable and people may experience impatience, skepticism about the change, low morale or productivity. In addition to experiencing resistance, this can be a time of creativity and innovation. It is important to be encouraging and keep focusing on desired outcomes during this stage. Celebrate successes and continue to encourage open communication. Look for opportunities to improve or standardize processes that help people to move through transition and change. Meet with your people frequently to continue to read the pulse on how they are managing the transition.

Stage 3 - The New Beginning

In this stage, people have accepted the change and are experiencing a new way of working, seeing the results of their efforts paying off. A beginning is marked by new understandings, values and attitudes. People understand their new roles and energy is unleashed in the new direction. The atmosphere may be upbeat and positive with participation and contribution. In order to sustain the change, reward your team for their hard work, highlight success stories and look for ways to link their personal goals to the organizational goals.
People take different amounts of time as they process through each stage and may slip back into a previous stage. Keep an eye out for this to support them in continuing to move forward.
If you'd like more information and resources, please see William Bridges website or book referenced below.  The Center for Organizational Effectiveness is here to assist you managing transitions effectively. We can be reached at (303) 866-2439 or [email protected].

References

Bridges, William., 2016. Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change, 4th Edition. Boston, Massachusetts. Da Capo Press.    
"Bridges Transition Model: Guiding People Through Change." MindTools.com. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/bridges-transition-model.htm Accessed November 26, 2018.
Center for Organizational Effectiveness
Department of Personnel & Administration
Division of Human Resources
303-866-2439