Cross-Training Program

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2016

The Clerk of the Superior Court (COSC) in Maricopa County is the official record keeper and fiduciary agent for the Superior Court. Our office has nine locations, more than 650 employees and serves more than 157 judges and commissioners. The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) requires that all court employees obtain a minimum of 16 hours of training each year. This equates to over 10,000 hours. COSC provides much of the training in the areas of office policies, ethics, business processes and soft skills; however, specialized training related to specific job duties and tasks is often needed and performed by internal management such as a supervisor or lead. This method is resource intensive, lacks consistency and ultimately, negatively impacts operations. On average, it takes approximately four months to provide sufficient training to a courtroom clerk and enable assignment to a division and work on their own. Courtroom clerks are required to be present in a courtroom to take notes of court proceedings. This accounts for approximately 80 percent of their job, therefore limiting the amount of time they can obtain training. Identifying and approving training time is extremely challenging, as staffing resources do not provide sufficient clerks in reserve to cover during these training sessions. Generally, initial training provides for only one case type; in fact, many long tenured staff have only mastered one or two different case types. In order to allow greater flexibility and more versatile staff, the need for more fully-trained clerks was imperative. Another area targeted for the new training approach was the filing counters, as well as marriage licenses and passport delivery, which are processed at multiple locations. Increasing customer demand has resulted in longer lines and wait times. Cross-training of staff between filing counter responsibilities and marriage license and passport responsibilities creates a more unified approach, allowing customers to receive more timely service, while improving the overall judicial process. After considerable review, it was determined that two simultaneous projects to cross-train staff in multiple areas would be developed: One for the courtroom clerks and the other for customer service counter operations. The project’s goal for courtroom clerks was to increase the number of clerks available for multiple coverage assignments. Creating an off-hour Saturday training session allowed for the necessary time to train on multiple case types. In order to address the overtime costs that occurred outside of normal work hours, a Judicial Court Enhancement Fund (JCEF) grant was approved in the sum of $135,000. This grant allowed us to pursue this training effort without having to utilize general fund dollars. The pilot for training the courtroom clerks was implemented on October 1, 2016. The JCEF grant is currently approved until the end of the fiscal year (June 30, 2106); however, we plan to extend the grant until the end of the calendar year due to its success. As of January 31, 2016, we have offered six weekend classes in various calendars and case types. 37 clerks have attended the classes, which equates to approximately 25 percent of the workforce. Throughout the year, classes will continue to be held once a month and during dedicated training times. As for our customer service training plan, Saturday training sessions were also conducted for operations staff in January and February. The sessions resulted in 75 percent of staff at the regional facilities being cross-trained between filing counter and marriage license/passport functions. Another measurable, positive outcome was that the average marriage license/passport customer wait time at the Southeast Adult facility was reduced by approximately 50 percent in February 2016, as compared to February 2015, while customer demand increased by 10 percent.