The Personnel Board of Jefferson County’s Managing Processes Certificate is designed to teach the critical business skills and thinking processes needed to be a successful supervisor. This program helps prepare employees for promotional opportunities in a supervisory role.
Program Details
The program is open to all employees at any level, but it is highly encouraged for current and aspiring supervisors. It contains 14 sessions over 36 contact hours. The classes include:
- Creative Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Developing Your Team’s Culture
- Doing More with Less
- Effective Meetings
- Leadership Roundtable
- Making Ethical Decisions
- Merit System Rules and Regulations
- Performance Management and Appraisals
- Project Management Fundamentals
- Social Media Benefits and Landmines
- Strategic Planning Fundamentals
- The Law and You! A Supervisor’s Journey
- Training Your Team
Each course is offered four times per year, allowing employees to have multiple chances to attend based on their schedule; courses do not need to be completed in any order.
Prior to the pandemic, 100 percent of these courses were offered as instructor-led training (ILT) only. During the pandemic, the Personnel Board made the switch to offer all of these in a virtual instructor-led training (VILT) session. Due to the success of the VILT offerings, and based on employees’ different learning preferences and needs, each of these courses now is offered in both modes twice per year.
Evaluation is done after each class with Level 1 surveys. During the classes, the organization offers pre- and post-tests in most of the sessions. Once a participant has completed the program, an e-mail is sent to their direct manager asking them if their work performance/behavior has increased, decreased, or stayed about the same as a result of this program.
Graduates of the program are invited to an annual graduation ceremony held at an offsite location each year. This event usually has approximately 200 employees who have completed one or more of the agency’s certificate programs. Each participant receives a plaque, breakfast, and recognition from their local leadership, including appointing authorities or mayors from different agencies or cities.
The Personnel Board provides a participant guide or job aid as a takeaway in just about every class. The instructors have an Outlook calendar reminder for six months after the graduation event. The main facilitator of that program sends out an e-mail reminding attendees that it has been six months since they attended the graduation event. They invite them to look back over their participant guides when they need them, and encourage them to start attending one of the agency’s other certificate programs, such as Leading People or Professional Development.
The Personnel Board’s training Website contains more than 75 recorded Webinars that align with all of its programs. These recorded sessions run between 10 to 20 minutes long and are modularized for just-in-time learning or personal growth. Employees are encouraged to revisit this site to help reinforce the content that was shared in the classes.
Results
In 2022, six Personnel Board employees successfully received promotions or lateral appointments. In 2023, that number tripled to 18.
