Re-Imagine Training: Learning Through Conversations

About the Program

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

Year: 2014

The world of training is changing. Traditional learning conventions are increasingly under pressure. Learners want answers “just in time,” and are accustomed to searching online for information quickly and inexpensively. In contrast, it is costly and time consuming to design classroom training. Additionally, traditional training is frequently “content” driven rather than culture-focused – a concern at the brink of 2012, when Henrico County was experiencing a massive culture shift due to an unprecedented number of long-term, high-level employees retiring, including our County Manager of 20 years. To meet these challenges, County staff developed an agile, responsive initiative which involved far less development time and created an interactive forum for participants to exchange organizational wisdom. By incorporating panels of experts in our classes, facilitating leadership discussion cohorts, and sponsoring classes and town halls led by our own upper managers, we reached a new audience of learners while sparking powerful conversations about our organizational culture. Over 600 employees participated, and surveys indicated that 81% improved in the competency of Understanding the Business of Henrico County. Most importantly, this initiative is learner-focused, easily adaptable to future organizational learning needs, and key to engaging the workforce in conversations about our culture as we navigate change.