Fairfax CountyIt’s About Learning First of all, I want to thank Karrie Beckmann for inviting me to speak today about the topic of training, a subject I’ve written about for several years. Despite Hollywood’s vision of journalism as something where fearless reporters track down the truth while being sought after by cruel enemies, the sad reality is most of us labor behind a desk and spend our days on the phone talking to people. Deadlines and travel budgets do not always allow for much onsite interviewing or crime solving, to be honest. So thanks for moving me from behind my chair to behind a podium. I am also happy to be back in the region where I started my career. Twenty years ago I worked as a journalist in Montgomery County at a time when it aspired to be Fairfax County – or was it in truth the other way around? At that time, as now, Montgomery County had one the nation’s highest average incomes and my roommates and I were among the people dragging that average down. We had poor paying jobs and aspired to Potomac or Chevy Chase but could only afford Wheaton. As it turns out, my experience in Montgomery County has some resonance with my address to you today. As in many professions, my first position provided training by fire. Covering Montgomery County for a small newspaper with a great editor turned out to be the best training experience I ever had. I learned a great deal about county government, about how long and sleepy those county meetings can be, about how smart many officials that I reported on were and about the sensitivities of folks in the county’s tonier neighborhoods. The mere mention of a new traffic light in some neighborhoods would raise the ire of residents, a frightening percentage of them lawyers. I remain indebted to the editors I worked with back then for they gave me the best training I ever had. Today I’m going to talk to you about the importance of training, the benefits of it and what other counties around the country are doing in this regard. When I told a friend I would be addressing county government employees on the topic of the importance of training I heard this response: “That’s nice that you get to go out there to Virginia but what a boring topic.” A boring topic? I guess she, like too many employees, had sat through too many endless training sessions. And the word “training” in some circles has lost its cache. In corporate America, companies have changed the old training and development department to the “corporate university.” It’s hard not to like the fact your taking courses from a “university,” even if the university is down the hall, or across the street, and not on some ivy covered campus. More than 1,500 corporations, by last count, had created corporate “universities.” Corporate America is appointing chief learning officers to match results desired with training required while proposing to make themselves “learning organizations” and “knowledge factories.” Employees who take corporate university courses don’t get to spend their nights at keg parties, unfortunately, so I guess it’s only a “university” in name at this point. Call it what you will, training, or learning, is a key competitive advantage for corporations, organizations and institutions — indeed, to the country as a whole. The world changes so quickly that it’s hard for an individual employee to keep up without dedicated time to improving their skills. Education was once a way to escape the office for a few hours. Now it’s become a necessity to getting your job and improving your performance. The old statistic that Americans will hold five jobs during their career leads me to believe the only way to succeed in those positions is through progressively gaining more education. Even government employees who rise through the ranks are likely to hold more than five jobs by the time they retire. You don’t have to be much of a futurist to grasp that lifelong learning is a prerequisite in the 21st century, although the concept itself is as old as Aristotle. To NOT engage in learning is to shut the door of the mind, to close off the potential for being a more productive employee and more well-rounded individual. Learning, too, makes for more agile, adaptable and innovative organizations filled with individuals capable of handling new business challenges and sweeping new technologies which continually transform the workplace. (Slide) That’s why training is no longer the sorry stepchild of higher education. American organizations spend an average of $761 per employee per year on education, almost two percent of payroll, according to a recent study by ASTD, a training organization. It’s also why the average employee in companies surveyed spends almost 24 hours in educational and development activities ranging from classes to online learning. That’s why American organizations spend more than $54.2 billion last year on training. It’s also why educators, philosophers, writers and humorists express a love for education. And that’s education, mind you, not training, even if they are sometimes the same thing. Go look for education quotes on the web and you’ll find dozens. Ask for training quotes and you’ll find next to none. Here are a few of my favorite education related quotes. (Slide) “Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity.” Aristotle, speaking to county employees in Athens – well, its not really clear who his audience was. (Slide) "Skill is the new source of security in the 21st century." Communication’s Workers of American President Morty Bahr. (Slide) And my favorite. "If a person doesn't have the capacity that we all want that person to have, I suspect hope is in the far distant future, if at all." — George W. Bush, May 22, 2001 If any one of you can tell me what the president meant, let me know. But I think he was talking about human potential. My personal favorite comes from the classic Animal House. The film’s first shot is of Faber College and a statue of its founder, Emil Faber. The statue carries the inscription: “Knowledge is good.” Indeed. Even John Belushi would agree. The good news is that employee education has become a big deal in the government. Governments are devoting time and money to training, and it’s not a moment too soon. I believe the resources spent on education will be a key in dealing with what I see as three looming issues. The first is the likely reality that governments face cutbacks and restructuring. Secondly, they face competition from private industry. And third, they face a huge loss of institutional knowledge when from a quarter to a half of all employees retire over the next decade. I’d like to take a moment to examine each of these issues. (Slide) Let’s start with budget crises. In my state, the deficit is more than $4 billion. In Virginia, it’s something like $2.5 billion. The overall total for the country is close to $100 billion. When corporate America has faced tough times, companies trim workforces, shed divisions, encourage early retirement and cross train employees to retain the best ones. Employers learn to do more with fewer people. Employees who aren’t relieved of their duties sometimes have to learn an entirely new job. I’ll grant you more learning opportunities are not going to solve the entire problem of fewer employees doing the work. But I think keeping staff sizes at where they are now is a dwindling option for many governments. Staff cuts are a likely part of the future and helping those who remain do their jobs more effectively should be among the goals of county officials. In addition, restructuring is occurring in a major way in many government agencies, either to cut costs or provide better service. I spoke to Liz Riley, the HR director of Monroe County, NY, home to Rochester. She told me of an aggressive plan underway to combine five social service departments into one agency. The restructuring requires the training of more than 1,000 employees ranging from social workers to mental health professionals. (Slide) The other reality is a little education goes a long way in helping employees assist managers in cost reductions. Employees are often the best sources of ideas for reducing spending. If they’re well-trained, they may see additional avenues for reductions. For example, a health care worker who takes a training course may learn from the instructor or other students in the class more effective ways to deliver services. She could share those insights with her supervisors and perhaps initiate some eventual changes. (Slide) A second reason to have a well trained staff is real competition from private industry which has been selling governments on the arguably dubious prospect that they can reduce costs while maintaining current service levels. Governments no longer run water departments or licensing bureaus or customer service or prisons in some states and cities, for instance. The jury is out on the privatization of government. But it is a looming threat. Maybe not today, or tomorrow. Business smells an opportunity to earn money and government officials see outsourcing as a way to offload expenses and look like they’re saving taxpayers’ money. (Slide) The challenge is for government to show they do offer the lowest cost, highest service option. They can beat private industry at the price game by pointing out their employees are already better-trained and more highly motivated than those who would work for private industry in the same positions. (Slide) The retirement of massive numbers of government employees is another cause for concern. Depending on whom you believe, as much as half the workforce in some states and counties will be retiring soon. Many governments are undergoing succession planning now to deal with the issue What that will leave is a relatively new group of supervisors, managers and employees. The new managers will have to deal with a different working style than the Baby Boomers had and a more richly diverse workforce — they’ll be immigrants of varying faiths and nationalities. In the county schools of Fairfax, twenty five percent of students speak a language other than English. That is the future applicant pool for county jobs. Managing the new crop of employees will take great talent. Training focused on dealing with religion in the workforce and generational and cultural differences should almost be a prerequisite for this new class of supervisors. Asking the old guy down the hall what to do will no longer be an option. (Slide) Once veteran employees have moved on new people who take over will require some soft skills training involving how to communicate, build teams, spur creativity, manage conflict and change. Roxanne Hill, the head of training for Oakland County, Michigan, a county outside Detroit, told me she believes soft skill training is a necessity for newer managers. “The new managers and employees and are going to need to know how to build relationships with the people left behind after all these retirements,” she told me. “If they don’t know how to communicate, work through conflicts and build teams they’re going to be in for a tough future.” (Slide) Finally, there are generic reasons to offer training, among them:
So it’s nearly impossible to say training isn’t a good thing, like milk and honey and democracy and world peace. It’s a given. But it does require the participation of employees who shouldn’t need a kick from their boss to attend a class and who have that all too rare ability to detect what they’re not good at — and then do something about it. Employees are being forced to direct their careers either by management or the economy, just as they have their investments. And for those of you who have 401Ks which have become 201Ks, my condolences. I know how you feel. But consider this – you may be more successful managing your own career. (Slide) There are other reasons to learn. First, youngsters in the audience have an unprecedented opportunity for advancement in government. As retirees leave you’ll be captain of the ship. Show initiative by taking courses and you’ll impress the management. Secondly, you’ll likely learn something, and there’s never anything wrong with that. It may be something that helps you out in your personal life, as well as at work. Thirdly, The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in the early 1990s that salaries were higher among employees who sought and received training. Those who continually learned on the job averaged $80 a week more in pay in 1991, a figure sure to have increased since that time. And in the pay for performance world of Fairfax County using that education on the job will matter all the more in your performance reviews and in your relationship with other employees and supervisors. (Slide) So what do we mean by employee education? In Fairfax County, as in other counties, learning options range from interactive computer-based training to classroom instruction to a blend of both options. I would add a few other options. Employee education should encourage mentoring, coaching, team training and and volunteering. Most of the more progressive organizations have programs in these areas. They’re not called training but they do the same thing – they help frontline managers, supervisors and employees learn how to face the challenges of their jobs. Consider the role of on-the-job training. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the vast majority, 70 percent, of all job related training is provided informally, on the fly, by bosses and co-workers. The message? Formal training is not always required. Or consider the concept of volunteering. General Mills, for example, suggests employees who want to improve certain skills take a course but then volunteer in the community. An employee looking to improve communications’ skills might join the communications’ committee of a non-profit organization. I volunteered on the board of a local theater company in St. Paul for several years and learned more about public relations, marketing and even finances than any formal class I had ever taken. It also taught me how to deal with a number of difficult characters – and I’m not talking about those on stage, but rather backstage. I didn’t think of that experience as “training” per se. Yet it was. Of course, Fairfax County does a good job in educating employees and has a national award to show for it. Your supervisory training program received an award in 2002 from the International Personnel Management Association. Still, I figured you could learn a few things. I called around to other IPMA winners and to counties cited by Governing Magazine as having good training programs and told them I’d be talking to you. “How can we help them? They’re one of the best run counties in the country” is a refrain I heard. But counties are competitive by nature and they all had a few ideas to pass along. Many of them — Maricopa, where Phoenix is located, Hennepin, home to my neighbor, Minneapolis — would tell you flat out they’re as well-oiled a machine as Fairfax. Alas, there’s always room for improvement. I’m going to address how counties are addressing managerial training, mainly, rather than professional training specific to the police, or health care workers. Hospital and police departments often have their own skills training programs or contract with universities or other providers of this sort of training. My only observation would be that these agencies should seek training sooner rather than later in time of crisis. Last year Minneapolis had a spate of shootings involving the police and mentally ill residents. I think it took four or five deaths before the police sought training from the Memphis department, which has a national reputation for dealing with violent, mentally ill citizens. Could better training have saved a life or two? Training advocates would be wise to force their organizations to move when trends like that become apparent. It beats litigation. (Slide) The nation’s leading counties first align their educational efforts with the goals of the county and then assess what’s missing in the puzzle. Broward County’s commissioner establishes goals, for example, and the employee development department groups the courses under each individual goal. Hamilton County, home to Cincinnati, uses leadership surveys, like the Leatherman Questionaire, and 360 assessments to help its managers and supervisors select courses where they need improvement. Other counties use what’s called the competency model – Oakland County has established 12 competencies it would like managers and supervisors to learn, ranging from understanding government regulations to optimizing performance. (Slide) Hennepin County also did something else interesting. With a lot of management employees on the cusp of retirement, the county created two academies, a Leadership and Management Academy and an Advanced Academy. The county identifies mid-level managers and supervisors who may be higher management material and sends them to one of the academies. Kelly Tanzer, who runs the training department for Hennepin, uses peer coaching circles during training sessions. This gives managers a chance to share issues and hear feedback. They learn from instructors, then they learn from one another. Rising management stars in Hennepin also get to work on county projects outside their fields so they’ll have a chance to meet county administrators and showcase their talent. (Slide) Counties use other techniques to move people to education. Oakland County and Broward makes it mandatory for supervisors to take county-designed management courses. San Diego County rewards departmental bonuses to those who meet its goal of spending 1 percent of their budgets on training. Trudy Gerald, who leads up that county’s training, says the every department reaches that milestone annually. (Slide) County administrators who champion education help, too. Shelby County, home to Memphis, had a county mayor and veteran of the training industry who relentlessly pushed employee education. His goal was to have at least half the county’s 7,000 employees take one course a year and he achieved it before leaving office recently. David Smith, Maricopa County’s chief administrative officer, addresses every new orientation class and encourages participants to “be a genius at your own job.” If only I could be a genius at my job. (Slide) Counties are moving education on to the radar of management and employees in intriguing ways. Hennepin’s training manager sits on the strategic leadership team and Maricopa county makes employee development part of every performance management plan. And the training departments are insinuating themselves into the fabric of every county department. Hamilton County has 41 training coordinators in 16 departments who plan and advocate education. Another 33 supervisors teach courses. “That’s 74 people advocating for what the training and development department is doing,” says Joe Gunterman, who leads up that department. (Slide) Counties hammer home the message of education by using the usual marketing techniques – email, newsletters, electronic catalogs and registration and so forth. Not all counties put the training menu on their public internet site, but I think it’s a good idea because it lets applicants see the county’s commitment to training. A great number of counties also have tuition reimbursement, educational leave, return to school initiatives and so forth. And they work hard to create programs that appeal to employees who seek a little recognition with their learning. Monroe County in New York developed in-house a supervisor training course which gives participants three college level credits. Maricopa County, meanwhile, groups courses together and creates certificate programs. Employees like that and it’s a richer educational experience – instead of one-off courses you take several and get something to hang on your wall. Finally, education’s no good unless you can measure outcomes. That’s hard, I’ll tell you that upfront. Perhaps the best system I found was in Hennepin County. After you take a course you fill out a class evaluation concerning how well the information, exercises and so forth was presented. You also fill out another form where you rate what you knew before you took the course and what you learned from it. Let’s say you rate yourself a 2 on one aspect of listening before taking a listening class and now you rate that a four. You learned something specific, in other words. Many organizations end it there. But after the course you have to establish two or three goals in writing describing how you will use the learning over the next three months. You supervisor gets a copy. Three months down the road, HR follows up with a questionaire asking if those project management skills you may have learned were put to use. And your supervisor does the same. “We want to make sure our employees are transferring learning from the classroom to the workforce,” says Kelly Tanzer. “We are beginning to see shifts in employee behavior.” That is what education is about, in the end – making employees behave in a new way. These examples show how county governments are responding to educational needs of employees. And employees are responding favorably, generally. One training manager spoke of the challenge of getting supervisors into training, especially those with seven to 10 years under their belts and who believe they know what they need to know. But that attitude will change. It will have to. Supervisors will demand managers serve their employees and internal customers better. Managers will have to learn new processes to meet the challenges I noted earlier – the likely budget squeeze and potential for restructuring, the competition from private enterprise and the retiring employee base. Education will have to be part and parcel of everyone’s future. The good news is Fairfax and the nation’s other leading counties offer plenty of education options. Your employer understands life long learning is no longer an aspiration, it’s a necessity. In America, the land of self-improvement, the concept of performance improvement shouldn’t be difficult to swallow. And engaging in a class ever so often can open your mind to new ways of doing things. It should be a welcome respite from the daily grind. The learning century, the knowledge century, has begun. Counties and state governments have joined it in a rich way. I pray budget crises won’t kill what could be a golden age for professional education in county government. Thanks for having me and I’ll answer any questions you might have. |
