Michelle Giovannozzi

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Know your resource: Clark College Corporate Education

By Michelle Giovannozzi in Corporate Ed

Know your resource: 
Clark College Corporate Education

Education program targets employee training  
to close the skills gap
 
By Scott Johnson

Editor’s Note: This is the most recent installment of a recurring feature highlighting accessible and often under-utilized resources that are available to the business community. More information about these resources can be found online at www.VancouverBusinessResource.com.

During a Vancouver City Council meeting this month, the focus was on economic development strategy. Lisa Nisenfeld, president of the Columbia River Economic Development Council (CREDC), made teamwork a focus of her presentation.“Economic development is a team sport,” she said.
 
In Vancouver, one of the team’s key players is Clark College Corporate Education. Working alongside organizations such as the CREDC and Southwest Workforce Development Council (SWWDC), Clark College’s Corporate Education Program provides a range of learning services to the local business community.
 
Training in demand
 
Michelle Giovannozzi, the program’s corporate relations manager, sees increasing demand for training at local businesses.
 
“Companies are running really lean, and are looking for increased efficiency,” she said. “They want to do more with fewer employees, so one way to do that is to skill-up the existing employees that they have, so they can produce more without adding headcount.”
 
According to Giovannozzi, companies are increasingly looking to cross-train employees so they can fulfill multiple roles.
 
“An example would be a welder who used to just be in a welding position. But now the company might need a welder who can also do some basic machining, or who can also read blueprints because they don't have a dedicated reader," she explained.
 
At Clark College, corporate training falls into four primary areas: Leadership training is focused toward front-line supervisors, middle managers and executive leadership. Technical training is available in IT disciplines, as well as manufacturing areas such as machining, welding and mechatronics. Process improvement training includes Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma and ISO 9001 preparation. The fourth area is healthcare.
 
Giovannozzi said healthcare “has the most potential, not only because of growing demand in the market, but because of the innovative things that we are doing in that area.”
 
PeaceHealth participates
 
PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center is one of Clark County’s largest employers, and is also a longstanding partner with Clark College. Rich Gibler, PeaceHealth Southwest’s director of education services and organization development, said that the company has benefitted greatly from the association.
 
“Clark College’s Mark Gaither got in touch with us because there was a grant through Washington state to assist incumbent workers in getting their certified nursing assistant certification, and also some college credit,” said Gibler. “These incumbent workers, who make $18 an hour or less, could then move on an enhanced career pathway in healthcare.”
 
According to Gibler, the result of the Clark College program was a more capable workforce, and increased employee satisfaction.
 
Grant opportunities
 
Gibler said the decision to participate in training was made easier through the availability of the grant. Clark’s corporate education program works with several organizations, including the CREDC and SWWDC, to subsidize training for businesses of all sizes.
 
Giovannozzi said that Clark College is dedicated to providing businesses with cost-effective solutions. Alongside grant opportunities, the corporate education program also brings companies together who have similar needs, allowing for cost sharing.
 
For business leaders, the process starts with a set of meetings to evaluate a company. The corporate education team then distills the results into a summary of missing skill sets.
 
Each corporate partner receives a customized training solution based on skills and budget requirements. Training is scalable, so it works for small as well large companies.
 
According to Giovannozzi, Clark College is an attractive partner for local businesses, not only due to the affordability of the program, but also due to its breadth and expertise.
 
“When it comes to corporate training, we know the resources and we've vetted the resources, so we can shortcut that process for the companies,” she said, adding that training can be tailored so that employees can do it on their own time.
 
Online learning
 
To help make personalized training possible, e-learning is a core component of the program. Mark Gaither, one Clark College’s instructional designers, is a big advocate of e-learning. He noted that online courses are designed to be engaging and collaborative. The e-learning environment includes team activities such as problem-solving sessions, in-depth discussions and direct interactions with the instructor.
 
At PeaceHealth Southwest, Gibler voiced his approval of the online learning process. “What was great about the online training is that we could do it right here,” he said.
 
Closing the skills gap
 
For businesses like PeaceHealth, there’s another factor that’s motivating employee training activities: an aging workforce.
 
“Over time, as the boomers age and move into retirement, we have to backfill quite a bit with a variety of health occupations,” said Gibler.
 
With approximately 75 million baby boomers across the U.S. approaching retirement age, businesses face significant challenges maintaining skill levels of their workforce. The healthcare and manufacturing sectors in particular tend to be composed of a greater number of older workers.
 
For many local businesses, training existing employees is the best solution. According to Michelle Giovannozzi, corporate education is about closing the skills gap, whether it is due to retiring workers, or the promotion of workers with incomplete skill sets.
 
Beyond closing the skills gap, Giovannozzi noted that corporate training can serve to create a common approach, unify the management focus, and get teams working from the same reference point.“This can be tremendously beneficial,” she said.

Developing Supervisors, Managers and Leaders

By Michelle Giovannozzi in Corporate Ed

I am often asked how supervisory training differs from management training, and how management is different from leadership training.   This can be a hard question to answer.  Not every organization makes a clear distinction among these functions.  That can cause confusion when discussing leadership development.  

According to businessdictionary.com, a supervisor “monitors and regulates processes, or delegates activities, responsibilities, or tasks.”  A manager is tasked with the “organization and coordination of the activities of an enterprise in accordance with certain policies and in achievement of defined objectives.”  Finally, a leader “establishes a clear vision and shares that vision with others so that they will follow willingly, provides the information, knowledge, and methods to realize that vision, and coordinates and balances the conflicting interests of all members or stakeholders.”

These definitions highlight the differences among the positions and the reason why the same leadership training does not necessarily work for all levels of an organization.  While organizations often see supervision, management and leadership as three separate levels of functioning, they should be progression points along a continuum.  Effective leadership training is geared to individual levels in the organization without one being separate and distinct from the other.  Successful training is designed to provide continuous, progressive development throughout all levels of job progression. True leadership development is strategic, comprehensive and integrated. 

When Clark College Corporate Education designs a leadership development program for a company, it integrates all levels of the organization, from frontline supervision to executive leadership.  It takes a systematic approach, designing and delivering it in a building block fashion.  Each level receives training that builds on the learning before it.  Employees participate in progressive skill development from pre-supervisory to middle management through executive leadership. 

Embracing a comprehensive approach to leadership development in this fashion affects the breadth and depth of organizational impact.  A multi-level development program provides common reference points and language throughout the company.  It creates consistent expectations to which employees at all levels of the organization are held accountable.  It provides a framework for both employee and career development.

Today’s businesses face critical, complex challenges.  To overcome these obstacles they need to leverage all of the human capital they have and capitalize on the synergy that comes from cross-organizational leadership.  Implementing multi-level leadership training enables organizations to maximize their resources and effectively face these challenges.

Tags: 
leadership
management
supervision
training
development

2012: The State of Economic Development

By Michelle Giovannozzi in Corporate Ed

“The idea here is simple: we want to make it easier to connect students looking for jobs with businesses looking to hire. We want to help community colleges and employers create programs that match curricula in the classroom with the needs of the boardroom”. 

– President Barak Obama, State of the Union Address, January 2012

President Obama referenced community colleges several times in his recent State of the Union address.  In fact, community colleges play a significant role in the President’s plan to retrain workers who have been displaced by the rapidly changing economy.  Community colleges are well positioned to meet the needs of both employers and potential employees.  They are generally flexible and willing to adapt to the educational needs of their communities.

Recent financial challenges call for innovation, agility and leveraging resources across platforms to create opportunity for economic growth.  One way to maximize the use of resources is through public-private partnerships.  By teaming together, community colleges and private businesses can equip the US to become better skilled, more productive and increasingly competitive in today’s global economy.

In some ways, it seems obvious.  Employers have jobs.  Colleges have education and training resources.  Students have potential.  Combined, these elements hold the future of our economy.  By providing input and feedback on real-time skill needs, employers can guide community colleges in developing and delivering relevant learning.  By teaching students the knowledge and skills that currently are in demand, colleges can prepare their students for successful employment. Together, companies and colleges can map ways to close skills gaps by developing and delivering the training in highest demand by today’s employers.

But like many things, employer-college partnerships are not as obvious as they seem.  Forming and maintaining such partnerships takes concerted effort, planning and communication.  Both parties have to take time away from other, core business efforts to collaborate and think together outside the box.  In some cases, individual needs must be set aside for mutual gain.  Bu as challenging as this may be, the results are worth the effort. 

Some see the President’s proposal as controversial.  Others feel it is difficult.  For me, it is obvious.  If businesses and community colleges trade will trade in a small part of their individual agendas for partnership, everyone will benefit:  workers will gain employment, companies will increase their capacity to grow, and our economy will begin to rebound.

Tags: 
public-private
partnership
economic development
job growth

Manufacturing Exodus: Strategies for Survival

By Michelle Giovannozzi in Corporate Ed

Ten years ago workforce planning experts were predicting dire shortages of manufacturing workers would occur in the United States.  Welders, machinists, maintenance workers and others were expected to exit the workplace en masse.  The baby boomers who had trained as skilled workers were going to leave a hole that could not be filled by the younger generation, as these jobs were less attractive to the Gen Y and Millennials than white collar jobs and other career alternatives.

The recent recession slowed this transition, as layoffs occurred and workers opted to delay retirement and stay in the workplace longer.  However, this did not solve the problem; it merely provided a temporary reprieve.  Eventually, those workers will retire and the staffing gaps will emerge.  A recent national study conducted by Deloitte Consulting, The Manufacturing Institute, and Oracle showed that of America’s 11 million manufacturing employees, 2.7 million (25%) are 55 years of age or older and likely to retire in the next 10 years. (see source)

What is an employer to do?  There are steps that can be taken now to counteract this wave and improve your chance of maintaining your skilled workforce.  Some strategies include:

  • Succession planning:  Mapping out current positions and potential retirements can help determine where vacancies will arise.  Determining which current employees have potential for development and charting their growth relative to upcoming openings will help determine which positions can be developed internally and which need to be recruited from outside.
  • Employee development:  Gather the subject matter expertise from retiring employees before they leave and use it to train other workers.  Record their knowledge in training manuals, standard operating procedures or eLearning.
  • Supervisory training:  Develop a leadership pipeline.  Identify high potential employees and begin to build their skills in preparation for taking leadership when the current supervisors transition.
  • Mentoring:  Pair experienced workers with those who are less experienced to facilitate the transfer of knowledge.
  • Partnership:  Partner with your local community college.  Hire recent graduates who are trainer in the technical and mechanical skills you need.  Or employ current students as interns while they are still in school to recruit them prior to graduation. 
  • Education:  Participate in career fairs and other community activities designed to educate youth about manufacturing jobs.  Your participation can help increase awareness that manufacturing careers can offer stable, family wage jobs.

 


    

 “People And Profitability - A Time For Change: A 2009 People Management Practices Survey Of The Manufacturing Industry,” Deloitte Development LLC, The Manufacturing Institute, Oracle, Inc.  2009.

 

Tags: 
manufacturing
baby boomers
succession planning
skills gap

Take your Team from Struggling to High Performance

By Michelle Giovannozzi in Corporate Ed

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself”      - Henry Ford

Is your team riddled with conflict or marching forward together?  Do your team meetings consist more of clashing than collaborating?  Do you have some team members who dominate group conversations, while others don’t speak up at all? 

Working in teams has become increasingly prevalent in modern business. Both individual and organizational successes rely on effective teamwork. Teams come in many forms, from project teams to cross-functional teams to virtual teams.  Yet while teams are prevalent, they aren’t always effective.   According to Michael Mankins and Richard Steele, the average team achieves only 63% of the objectives of their strategic plans.  (“Turning Strategy into Great Performance,” Harvard Business Review.  August 2005.)  Why is this?  And what can you do to ensure your team reaches a higher percentage of its objectives than average?

Most work teams consist of members with diverse styles and approaches.  These differences can cause friction and impede progress.  However, what may seem to be personal conflict might just be an inability to understand and work with varying styles.   When team members learn how to understand, communicate and interact with individuals who think, act and speak differently than they do, the group’s results of the group are often more than the combined contributions of individuals. 

Synergy does not occur organically.  Individuals view work through from their own perspectives and need to learn skills in order to understand and work with others whose styles vary from theirs.  That’s where training comes into play.  Team Styles training teaches individuals how to recognize and understand both their own and others’ styles, and then how to interact and communicate successfully with individuals whose styles differ from theirs.  Conflict resolution training such as Crucial Conversations can equip teams with the skills necessary to navigate challenging times and constructively resolve conflict, even in times of high stress and frequent change.

Recently, I was called in to assist a local manufacturer improve its team dynamics.  When I asked for an example of the challenges the team was facing, the Human Resources Director replied, “It is not uncommon at a staff meeting for team members to stand up and yell in each other’s faces to make a point.  This conflict causes stress for some employees and incites further anger in others.”  I was astonished to hear that this could occur in a professional environment! 

Clark College brought in a trainer to assess the individual team members’ styles and to help them learn how to work with and communicate with others on the team.  After just a few training sessions the team went from yelling to constructive conversation.  As a result of the training, the team significantly improved its focus and productivity.

As this example illustrates, training can help your team develop the building blocks of effectiveness:  trust, commitment, mutual accountability, and clear and complete communication.  Developing your employees with team training can help your work groups evolve from struggling to high performance.

Tags: 
Team building
conflict resolution
team styles
crucial conversations