Operations Professional Development Initiative

About the Program

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

Year: 2015

Henrico County Public Schools’ (HCPS) theme “The Right to Achieve, the Support to Succeed” captures our belief that all students are entitled to a positive and productive learning experience, regardless of where they begin. This theme also applies to our employees. To support this theme, it’s essential to ensure that our operations team – our school division’s backbone – has ongoing professional development opportunities. Consequently, the HCPS Operations Professional Development Initiative was implemented. The initiative is an in-house professional development program for the pupil transportation, construction and maintenance, custodial services and technology departments. It was developed by the human resources department in collaboration with Henrico County Legal Services. Human resources and operations leaders used a team survey to identify the most needed areas of training: candidate interviews; investigations and documentation; the U.S. Family and Medical Leave Act; social media; the Americans with Disabilities Act; sexual harassment; Google Docs; and the PowerSchool online portal. Using the survey, a program was developed and is being implemented during the 2014-15 school year. The program has yielded cost savings in training; improvements in the quality of candidates hired; documentation in discipline-related matters; and efficiencies in managing data. Using in-house expertise has enhanced relationships among our teams.