Tracking and reporting training completion metrics for multiple target audiences/employee groups have been very successful, while demonstrating employee behavioral outcomes is still a work in progress.

Utilizing the short-term goals and long-term plan for Human Resource Development (HRD) that were developed for 2015-16, training started to be more effectively tied to behavioral outcomes through an emphasis on improving employee performance, and a continued focus on student and employee success. Technology was further leveraged to scale out training's reach by creating new purpose-driven online training modules and resources, as well as better promoting what already existed in SkillPort and MyCourses, the two learning management systems used for training employees.

In 2015-2016, seventeen new online training modules were designed and delivered for Student Services staff in support of the college's strategic priorities of: Employee Professional Development, the College Experience Student Success Initiative, and Academic & Instructional Enhancements. Many of these modules were also made available to faculty & academic staff for review and continuous training in MyCourses. As another example, 115 Career & Academic Advisors and other staff completed the Career Development Facilitator (CDF) Certification training program in March 2016.

To further support the college's values-based training culture, 155 faculty, staff & students participated in Leadercast, a full-day leadership development event; 1,621 faculty and staff participated in All College Day 2015, in which 5 breakout sessions were offered to each employee throughout the day with strategic topics and personal development topics to choose from; Spring Training Day 2016 engaged 561 Student Services and Academic Staff members in technical, job-related training across 5 breakout sessions; 57 faculty, staff & students participated in The Telling Project Workshop that was geared at understanding and more effectively working with veteran students; and 285 faculty and staff completed Title IX Preventing Sex-Based Discrimination and Sexual Violence online training. Additionally, 48 SPC employees graduated from two internal leadership development programs: Delta Academy, with a focus on change leadership, and Leadership SPC, a leadership development program for high-potential employees.

The targets for the training developed and delivered in 2015-2016 included:

• Enhancing knowledge, skills and abilites for Career & Academic Advisors, faculty and staff to directly impact student success
• Providing opportunities for both professional and personal development for employees at all levels and categories to better serve our internal and external customers
• Leveraging technology to create and host online training to enable easier access to and completion of purpose-driven training topics

These training efforts were measured against training goals. Purpose-driven training areas had individual goals identified in terms of the number of total targeted training hours to be completed. Weekly progress updates toward these goals were reported to the college community via the Wednesday College Experience webinars. The success of each training area was measured by the percentage of the training goal completed, and then also by the overarching  training goal at the end of each semester for Fall 2015 and Spring 2016. For example, the CDF Certification Training for advisors and other staff had a goal of completing 13,800 training hours by the 115 participants, and 99.9.% of that goal was documented and reached. Fall semester had an overarching goal of completing 2,987 training hours, and 99.9% of that goal was reached. Spring semester had an overarching goal of completing 17,892 trainng hours, and 99% of that goal was reached. Additionally, a qualitative survey was deployed to Student Services staff in December 2015 to capture self-reported behavioral outcomes related to the training that had been facilitated in Fall 2015. Although the survey response rate was only about 22%, the overall results of the survey indicated that staff members had used the knowledge and skills from the fall semester training areas to work more effectively with students, and that they were still using the training modules as a resource to refresh skills and to access quick references on the different topic areas.

All training initiatives in 2015-2016 were designed and delivered according to plan. The HRD team played a critical role in providing more than 43,000 total hours of training that were completed by college-wide participants. The HRD team was able to leverage technology so that instructor-led training, webinars, videos and online training resources could be developed and then easily accessed by target audience members. The building and sustaining of just-in-time, on-demand training was very effective. The tracking and reporting of training completion metrics for multiple audiences/employee groups continued to be successful, while efforts to demonstrate employee behavioral outcomes continue.

When the College Experience and Developmental Education Reform initiatives needed to roll out to the college community on a large scale, the HRD team designed, delivered and collaborated with Subject-Matter-Experts to train and equip employees with the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities for effective implementation of those intiatives.

The development and delivery of training related to the new Career Service Growth and Success Initiative was a major area of focus during 2015-2016. In collaboration with the Career Service Employee Council, both supervisors and Career Service employees were trained and prepared by the HRD team to transition from traditional performance evaluations to the new Growth Plan process that was implemented on July 1, 2016. To engage supervisors and employees with this shift, two HR Success Coaches were hired to assist with the development and delivery of training, and to provide ongoing support with the intiative.

Training efforts were centered around preparing supervisors to serve as "success coaches" to their Career Service employees. The training aimed at familiarizing supervisors with the new Growth & Success process, the online system and tools developed to support the process, and the overall expectations to begin serving as success coaches to their employees. This included supervisors taking a pre-test during the first training session, completing 3 separate face-to-face sessions for a total of 8 hours of training, and then demonstrating mastery of the new concepts through a post-test. Over 43 face-to-face training sessions were offered to provide flexibility to supervisors who needed to complete the 3 modules of training.

Career Service employees received a 1.5 hour overview training session to prepare them for creating Growth Plans, informing them of what to expect from their supervisors and discussing what the new process would look and feel like. 20 face-to-face training sessions were offered to employees on the campuses. Providing this training and preparation for both supervisors and employees illustrates how the HRD team continued to serve as a strategic partner in 2015-2016 in direct support of implementation of a college-wide initiative.

Training supervisors and Career Service employees on the new Growth and Success Initiative was critical to launching, implementing and gaining buy-in for the new performance management process.

The expected outcomes for the first phase of the initiative include:

• Improving employee performance and success by training Supervisors as Success Coaches who will implement the new Growth Plan process with their Career Service employees

• Increasing employee engagement by training the Career Service employees on the new Growth Plan process

• Familiarizing both supervisors and employees with the online system and tools that will be used to support the new process

• Hiring two HR Success Coaches that will provide training and support to both supervisors and Career Service employees

173 supervisors participated in the "Supervisor as Success Coach" training module series, resulting in 1,287 training hours being completed. The average score on the pre-test prior to the start of the training was 75%. The average post-test score after the 3 training modules were completed was 90%. The pre to post-test comparison showed a 15-percent gain for supervisors, which is statistically significant. Additionally, 538 Career Service employees participated in the overview training sessions which resulted in 807 training hours being completed. Also, the hiring process for the two new HR Success Coaches was completed.

The training plan for the Career Service Growth and Success Initiative was executed as planned.The HRD team played a critical role in providing more than 2,000 hours of training that were completed by college-wide supervisors and Career Service employees. The HRD team was able to offer a flexible training schedule to engage supervisors and employees with the new initiative. A great opportunity exists to build on this training plan in 2016-2017 to further support supervisors and employees with the new process, and to further develop a coaching culture at the college.

Evaluating best practices of other institutions helped define the changes, improvements and expansion needed for the first phase of the SPC onboarding process that was piloted in 2015-2016.

Feedback provided by internal stakeholders and research conducted regarding onboarding best practices at other institutions indicated that SPC needed to expand its current onboarding process in order to better promote and support employee engagement and success.

In 2015-2016, the HRD team expanded its half-day new employee orientation to a full-day event. Historically, the new employee orientation basically consisted of a benefits overview with a small portion of the event dedicated to learning about some of the college's culture. The first step in providing a more effective onboarding experience for new employees was for the HRD team to develop the benefits overview/training online in an interactive course in MyCourses so that 1 1/2 - 2 hours of the event no longer had to be spent on reviewing and explaining the different types of benefits available. New employees were asked to complete the online course prior to attending the orientation. The intention of this change was to give the newly expanded, full-day event more of a focus on welcoming the new employees and immersing them in the college's culture via more interactive activities and speakers. Different departmental leaders were invited to participate and give brief overviews and short training presentations about important college resources  and functions. Additionally, a light breakfast, lunch and SPC promotional items were provided to employees along with engaging icebreaker and scavenger hunt-types of activities, giving the orientation a new look and feel.

Another new step that was put into place involved the Human Resources (HR) team requesting that network accounts be created for the new employees so that they could gain access to the SPC network much quicker. Traditionally, supervisors had to request the new network accounts to be created, and often, the new employees would spend several days on the job waiting for access to the network.

To further support the expansion of the onboarding process, the Onboarding Concierge position was conceptualized and planned in 2015-2016. This new position will collaborate with the Onboarding Team comprised of the Campus Liaison, the Technical Support Coordinator, the Facilities Liaison, the HR Success Coach and the Supervisor to provide a comprehensive onboarding experience for employees beyong the full-day orientation. Beginning in 2016-2017, the Concierge will serve as a personal assistant to the new employee, develop and implement a robust college-wide onboarding plan, coordinate the onboarding team and activities, and conduct weekly meetings in support of the onboarding process.

SPC recognizes the importance of an effective onboarding process as direclty related to new employees being successful on the job, promoting employee engagement, and being vital to job satisfaction and employee retention. Expanding the half-day new employee orientation to a full-day with engaging speakers and activities, and streamlining the network account creation process, were the first steps toward expanding SPC's onboarding process in 2015-2016.

Expanding the half-day event to a full-day new employee orientation immediately changed the dynamics. Ownership and support by internal stakeholders for the onboarding process grew by involving departmental leaders as speakers and trainers in the event. 161 new employees participated in the full-day event in 2015-2016. By involving HR and having HR collaborate closely with the Technical Support team to streamline the network account creation process, 83 of those new employees were able to complete the new online Benefits course in 2015-2016.

Moving the benefits overview/training to an online format that employees complete prior to attending the orientation event, allowed the HR-Benefits team to provide better support to new employees. They started spending only about 30-45 minutes focused on answering questions about benefits versus having to present for 2 hours, which was often overwhleming for the employees. The full-day orientation event gave the new employees an opportunity to learn about the college more holistically, and to better grasp how the different departments work together to focus on student success and employee success. Post-event survey feedback indicated that the new employees appreciated the full-day format, they felt welcomed and found the experience to be very beneficial towards starting their new positions successfully at the college.

We look forward to making more progress with the onboarding process in 2016-2017 as the new Onboarding Concierge develops and implements a more comprehensive onboarding plan that reaches well beyond the new employee orientation event to support, engage and retain employees.