Learning and Organizational Development has improved how NC State employees can find the unit’s professional development courses.
Employees can find courses based on a curated list of professional development course topics, such as communication, feedback and performance management, and by job roles.
Kevin Rice, director of L&OD, and Stephanie Davis, assistant director of L&OD, hope the curated lists make their unit’s classes much easier for employees to find than in the past. The webpage for each curated list includes a list of available courses and a link to the registration page for each class.
“I think that, based on feedback we have received, this has been a need for many years,” Davis said.
L&OD has been developing a list of its available classes each month to publish in the University Human Resources newsletter. Starting in November, L&OD will use the newsletter to encourage employees to use its new curated lists.
Rice said the new lists can also help supervisors looking for training opportunities for an employee struggling in a particular area or when a manager and an employee discuss the employee’s annual performance plan. L&OD has developed two learning plan guides — a comprehensive guide and an abbreviated guide — to help facilitate performance discussions between employees and managers.
“We’ve tried to create a one-stop point to find different training for skills employees need to develop,” Rice said. “When managers are getting ready to build an employee’s performance plan, they can easily find courses that may align with their direct reports’ needs.”
Why You Should Take a Professional Development Course
Rice said faculty and staff members at NC State are hardworking and are experts in their fields of training. However, he said, employees should consider taking university-offered professional development training to improve their core skills such as communicating effectively.
“We have faculty members focused on doing research, getting tenure and training in their field of expertise, but they haven’t stepped back to think about how they lead effectively or communicate effectively,” Rice said.
Davis agrees.
“Our employees are technical experts at whatever jobs they do, but 80% of their work revolves around communication, collaboration and playing nicely in the sandbox with others,” she said. “Professional development can help them to do those things.”
Davis said another reason employees should take L&OD’s professional development courses is networking opportunities.
“We put participants in small groups to have discussions, role play, practice skills and share problems they have encountered,” she said. “They get some real-life, on-the-spot peer coaching, which is great.”
Davis said professional development training motivates employees, helps them stay sharp and builds confidence. She said when employees use the leadership skills they learn in professional development classes, the results are better team engagement, productivity and morale.
“There is a direct correlation between when you feel confident and competent and how you navigate people,” Davis said.
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