This past spring the Technology, Institutional Assessment and Planning (TIAP) Office distributed a Training Needs Assessment survey to all college employees to gather input on the areas of training that faculty and staff would like to see offered to the campus community. The survey provided us with invaluable information regarding training needs across the campus. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all who responded to the survey for your participation and provide a general summary of the types of training requested by respondents. The results of the survey will be posted shortly to the Planning and Research website (an announcement will be sent to the campus community via the Campus Chronicle when it is available).
In all, 266 college employees responded: 37 Classified Staff, 134 Faculty or Department Chairs, and 95 Non-Teaching Professionals. The survey addressed five main areas, as follows:
Technology Related, including Banner, Blackboard, Microsoft Office Suite, and email and information security training: The most popular topics in this area include student- and class-schedule related Banner training, PowerPoint, intermediate and advanced Word, and all levels of Excel and Access. Adobe was also popular, covering editing tools, file conversion, Acrobat, and Creative Cloud, among others, and respondents expressed interest in learning more about email and information security as well as Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, electronic portfolio creation for students, and online signatures.
People Skills: This category was very popular, with the most respondents indicating an interest in ‘navigating the college administrative structure’; ‘handling angry/upset students, parents, etc.’; ‘problem solving’; ‘workplace conflict resolution’; ‘assisting students, parents, and other internal and external parties’; ‘confidentially (general, FERPA, HIPPA)’; ‘chain of command (what it is, how to use it, and when)’; and customer service in general. Respondents expressed interest in the remaining topics as well, such as time management, communication skills, and workplace etiquette. Additional topics suggested include change management, assisting/identifying/referring students with learning disabilities as well as students in crisis, and Human Resources policies.
Office Functionality was also a popular category. A large number of respondents indicated interest in records management (what to keep and not keep, for how long, and in what form), forms for internal/external use (where to find them, which to use), purchase orders (requisitions etc.), work orders, payroll and travel authorizations, phone (functions), and the ordering process. Suggestions include placing orders and working with Graphics, Print Shop, and the Community Relations Department, managing and scheduling appointments on calendars, and AirParrot (Science Center).
College Policies: This category includes a range of policies related to the college. Respondents expressed interest in all types of policies, including external policies (federal, state, SUNY/State Ed regulations and policies), academic-related policies, administrative-related policies, and student-related policies. In this section of the survey comments from respondents include policies related to retirement, a breakdown of what is federally regulated versus state regulated and HVCC regulated, process regarding conflict with supervisors, Human Resources policies, classified staff and county hiring policies, update process on academic policies, student file policies, and handling complaints and concerns of students and how to resolve them.
The final category, Supervisory/Management Skills, consists of five topics: the evaluation process, which received the most interest, with effective supervisory skills (difficult people, conflict resolution, setting boundaries, etc.) next, followed by labor agreements, project management, and budget management.
The final item on the Training Needs Assessment survey provided an additional opportunity for respondents to make suggestions and offer comments related to training needs. A number of respondents across all employee classifications commented regarding when trainings are held and offered suggestions as to how to schedule them so that they are able to attend. Another suggestion that came from respondents across classifications was the establishment of an ‘onboarding’ or orientation process for new employees. Other respondents emphasized the need for Banner training. Additionally, the need for customer service training was stressed throughout the survey, not only in terms of dealing with external parties (students, parents, agencies) but with internal parties as well.
Again, thank you for your time and input. The results of the survey have been shared with the appropriate functional areas and discussion is underway regarding the development of new training opportunities as well as how to effectively market the availability of new and current trainings to the campus community.
Published: Thu, 15 Dec 2016 13:05:20 +0000 by m.geehan