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ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT
Date: May 18, 1995
TO: Vancouver City Council
FROM: General Manager of Human Resource Services,
in consultation with Corporate Management Team
SUBJECT: Evaluation of Staff Training and Development
Initiatives
RECOMMENDATIONS
A. THAT Council receive the attached *"Evaluation Report
on Staff Training and Development Plan" for
information.
B. THAT Council approve additional funds of $375,000 in
each of the next 3 years (1995-1997) to further the
implementation of the Staff Training and Development
Plan; funding for the 1995 instalment has been provided
for within the budget approved by Council on April 27,
1995.
C. THAT Council instruct the General Manager, Human
Resource Services to provide an annual report to
Council on the effectiveness of training and
development initiatives.
GENERAL MANAGER'S COMMENTS
Training and development of current and future City
employees is key for enabling the City to be responsive to
changing needs. The implementation of the 5-Year Plan is
well underway and is achieving the desired results.
Continued funding for this program is strongly supported by
department heads and the Corporate Management Team.
COUNCIL POLICY
In July 1993, Council established staff training as a high
priority, approved in principle the training program outlined in
a Five Year Training and Development Plan, and allocated
additional funds in the amount of $375,000 to begin implementing
that Plan. Council further requested a report-back on a yearly
basis but specifically requested an evaluation of the first
year's experience before committing funds for additional years.
In addition, Council established training as a core program not
subject to budget reduction in ordinary circumstances. Further,
in December 1994, Council approved a major corporate change
program for City services which re-emphasize the need to have
staff trained and developed for the future.
*LIMITED DISTRIBUTION TO COUNCIL: On file in City Clerk's
OfficePURPOSE
The purpose of this report is to provide Council a summary
evaluation for the first full year of the new staff training and
development initiatives and to seek funding for the completion of
the implementation of the 5 Year Staff Training and Development
Plan.
BACKGROUND
The City of Vancouver's objectives emphasize the importance of
having a diverse, skilled and motivated workforce. In October
1991, Council approved in principle a properly funded staff
training and development program. However, to identify the
funding required, a detailed program needed to be developed.
In 1992, an interdepartmental team carried out a full review of
the City's training programs. The team identified the resources
being spent and how they were allocated, and evaluated the
effectiveness of those programs. This review identified a small
number of programs which were not targeted to City needs, and
confirmed that the majority of the programs were effective. The
review team also proposed a revised training and development
program that was aligned with the City's mission, values, and
objectives. The program was needed to achieve enhanced quality
of service provided to the City's customers, build effective
internal working relations, and improve overall performance. The
project team presented the results to Council in July 1993 which
Council endorsed.
In approving the revised training and development plan, Council
requested staff report back on the effectiveness of these new
initiatives.
DISCUSSION
A formal evaluation of the training plan was carried out during
the first quarter of 1995. The evaluation focussed on the
program design and delivery as well as the implementation of the
Staff Training and Development Plan. The evaluation methodology
included:
follow-up workplace evaluation
immediate post-session evaluations
demographics of program participation
return-on-investment (ROI)
benchmarking
The 5 Year Plan identified several Strategic Training Areas. The
initial implementation concentrated on designing and delivering
workshops in the following areas:
Leadership
Adaptability (Embracing Change and Valuing Diversity)
Communication
City operations (Safety and Emergency Preparedness)
Therefore, the evaluation concentrated on the above. It should
be noted that some of the delivery of these programs, and most
of the development work for new programs to start in 1995 was
suspended in mid-1994. This occurred due to City staff working
in these areas being re-deployed during the job action by the
VMREU.
Evaluation
1. Follow-up workplace (results and behaviour)
Council was informed in July 1994 that a structured questionnaire
would be administered, plus a random sample of one-on-one
interviews, to determine if the participant had been able to
apply the learning on the job. This is the most effective
evaluation tool and is used to determine if the skills and
knowledge received during the training are transferred into
action in the workplace. To do this, information was solicited
from both the participants and the participants' supervisors
approximately 3-6 months after the training session.
Questions were asked in relation to the "Working with Change" and
"Leadership" workshops. The target population for these 2
workshops was the approximate 600 managers and supervisors
throughout the City system.
Approximately 300 (50%) of the above target population was
surveyed; of this number, 30% (90) completed the written survey.
This is considered a very good response rate as an acceptable
industry standard is 5-10%. Of this number, 70% were
managers/supervisors and 30% were employees. The results
indicate that over 50% of training received was directly
applicable to the workplace. Many indicated that the new skills
and knowledge were effectively transferred. However, there were
several barriers identified where the skills and knowledge were
not transferred. These include the person's workload, no
"learning/practice" time allowed on the job, lack of support
from the supervisor to try new things.
The results from 1994 form the benchmark for future evaluations.
Further, from the information that was provided, additional data
will need to be gathered in order to measure the effectiveness in
the future.
Information on barriers will be useful in the design of further
initiatives which would assist in ensuring that appropriate
support and follow-up occurs at the workplace in the future.2.
Immediate post-session
This type of evaluation, commonly referred to as the "smile
sheets" or "happiness index," collects input from the program
participants on the training experience at the end of the
particular session. This form of evaluation was used for the
first 6 months of delivery (through June 1994); 95% of the
participants responded. Of these responses, 90% felt workshops
had positive value for them. What was particularly noteworthy is
that these same respondents expressed appreciation for the
efforts and opportunities the City was providing in helping them
adjust to the new workplace. Some of the more specific comments
included:
"Structure and content applies to everyday happenings
at workplace; activities gave us an opportunity to practice
what was instructed."
"The City is making an effort to make us feel part of the
team."
"The City seems committed to bringing about change in
the workplace."
"I was particularly pleased with the overall emphasis of
the course. They portend a new attitude and approach
I find very helpful and useful.
The participants provided very useful information to ensure that
the workshops were refined to fit the objectives of the
workshops.
Immediate post-session evaluations are being used in 1995 and the
data will be used in next year's evaluation.
3. Demographics of Program Participation
The following table and graphs show the overall participation in
the corporate training offerings.As is noted, close to 3,000
registrants participated in some form of corporate training.
Since many of these registrants were the same individual in two
different workshops, the total number of individual employees who
accessed training opportunities was about 2,000. This represents
22% of the employee population and well exceeds the goal of the
plan for the first year of implementation.
4. Return-on-investment (ROI)
Many organizations have attempted to assess the value of training
initiatives through an ROI approach. Staff involved in this
evaluation project contacted BC Tel, ICBC and BC Hydro to
determine the usefulness of an ROI approach. These organizations
indicated that they did not use an ROI approach as it would be
too costly in terms of both people and dollars. The
organizations had determined that they would rather spend the
dollars elsewhere.
Information received from other organizations across Canada
supported not using an ROI approach to evaluating the
effectiveness of training and development initiatives.
5. Trends in Other Organizations: Benchmarking
The following table demonstrates that the City of Vancouver
record has improved compared to 1991. The average number of
training days per employee in 1991 was 1.0 compared to 1.23 in
1993. However, it also demonstrates that the average number of
days devoted to training and development for all organizations is
increasing (3.5 days in 1991 compared to 4.0 days in 1993).Future
Needs
Year 2 of the Staff Training and Development Plan contemplated
increasing funds for job-specific training. In order to determine
the specific needs and to do so on a consistent basis and to
avoid duplication, each department in the latter part of 1994
prepared a Departmental Training Plan. Although job-specific
training is delivered at departmental levels, the plans were
reviewed by corporate staff. This exercise successfully provided
departments the opportunity to review current and future needs,
and determine how best to meet training needs specific to jobs.
There were also needs identified which either are or could be
part of the corporate offerings.
The development of departmental training plans determined that
approximately $260,000 of the requested $375,000 would be devoted
to job-specific training with the remaining being used
corporately to coordinate or deliver job-specific training that
crosses several departments. Examples of the additional job-
specific training are: equipment operator training; computer
mapping; applied electrical controls; commercial leases; real
estate litigation; gas appliance repairs; first aid; diversity;
conflict resolution; and construction management.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
In total, the Staff Training and Development Plan would add $1.5
million to the Operating Budget in instalments of $375,000
annually until 1997. Based on Council's approval in 1994, the
first instalment has been allocated to training programs in the
1995 estimates. Funding for the 1995 instalment is provided in
the Operating Budget approved by Council on April 27, 1995, and
this report recommends it be allocated to the identified training
needs. With Council approval of recommendation B, the balance of
the funding will be provided as part of the 1996 and 1997
Operating Budgets.
SUMMARY
Overall, the feedback for the first year of the Staff Training
and Development Plan was very positive and confirmed the need for
continued commitment and funding. Much of the offerings in 1994
provided the foundation for the City to embark upon the
organizational change program in December 1994. Most
importantly, the training was shown to be relevant to the
majority of participants surveyed, and to demonstrate the value
the City places on the continual training and development of its
employees.
A copy of this report has been provided to all civic unions and
employee group representatives.
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