Training Assessment Report Presented by: Teri Fisher —Insight Strategies Presented to: The AC Transit Executive Team

Date: April 10, 2014

Objective

To perform an organization-wide

training needs assessment that

includes evaluating the gaps between

the District’s current performance versus its desired or

required performance and making recommendations to better

equip employees to be part of a high performing organization.

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Framework: Strategies, Processes and People

Organizational high performance

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Strategies

People Processes

What prompted this effort?

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• Financial conditions required the District to cut both staff

and staff development activities

• The new GM’s goal – high performance organization

• Performance management and employee development

identified by Executive team as high priority goals in 2012’s

goal planning session

• Heightened employee expectations—productivity,

accountability and metrics-based

What prompted this effort (cont’d)?

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• MTC requiring that AC become more efficient

• New Supervisors—sink or swim

• ATU has requested joint training with management.

Mediation training in last ATU contract.

• AFSCME contract language includes a commitment to

employee development

• Staff development is an imperative organizational need

Process Research Included:

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1. Reviewed Internal documents

2. Conducted 23 AC interviews in Executive/Managerial positions

3. Conducted 16 AC focus groups by function

4. Interviewed 4 Transit Agencies for best practices

5. Interviewed 5 non-transit organizations for best practices

6. Analyzed ASTD 2013 Annual Report

7. Reviewed ISI/Eno Mid-Manager Skills Assessment

8. Researched local colleges and universities for offerings

9. Researched industry Associations, Consortiums & Institutes for

offerings

Approach 1:1 Interviews

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1:1 Interviews Number of Interviews

General Manager 1 Chiefs 6 Directors 6 Managers 4 Superintendent 1 Other Key Staff, i.e. SME’s, AFSCME 5

Total: 23

Approach Focus Groups: 16 Total

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• Administration • Analysts • Operations Supervisors • Maintenance Supervisors • Dispatchers • Finance • Training • Procurement

• Procurement • Information Services • Engineering • Planning & Grants • General Services • Customer Service

Consultant Observations

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Positive: • Managers updated and revised job specifications

• AC has adopted PM system—Cornerstone

• Mr. Armijo—goal/KPI focused and communication has improved

• Employees eager to learn, develop and excel at their jobs

• Strong desire to get learning and development back in the organization.

Limited understanding of basic organizational information

Lack of role clarity in given jobs

Lack of budget consciousness

Learning and development is not represented functionally in the Agency

Lack of organization-wide systems use and knowledge, i.e. PeopleSoft

Departmental business processes are lacking; limited knowledge outside/inside function

Learning occurs informally and is self-driven

Documentation is needed, i.e. processes, employee performance

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Summary of Key Findings:

No employee onboarding or orientation exists

Cornerstone underutilized and not leveraged

PM not common managerial practice

Organizational communication gaps exist—pockets of knowledge

Communication—the most highly requested professional skill needed

Leadership, Supervisory and managerial skills needed at all levels especially with heightened expectations of “high performance”

AC culture –opportunity to embrace professional growth =retention

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Summary of Key Findings (cont’d):

Findings – Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)

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1:1 Interviews

Professional Skills Needed to be Successful in Position

• Communication

• Creative Problem Solving

• Customer Service

• Project Management

• Time Management

• Team Skills

• Management Skills

Findings – BLUF

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1:1 Interviews

Technical Skills Needed to be Successful in Position

• MS Office

• Computer Skills

• PeopleSoft

Findings – BLUF

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1:1 Interviews

Knowledge Needed to be Successful in Position • Transit Industry Knowledge • AC Transit Knowledge • Principles, policies and practices of position • Pertinent local, state and federal laws, rules and regulations • Motivation • Business report writing • Conflict resolution • Team building • Leadership

Findings – BLUF

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1:1 Interviews

Management Support Needed to be Successful in Position

• Training

• Communication

• Financial support

• Embrace professional growth/development

• Support for departmental decisions

• Increased responsiveness/Timely responses

Findings – BLUF

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1:1 Interviews

Obstacles to Being Successful

• Short staffed

• Lack of support from management

• Resistance to change

• Lack of flexibility in workforce

• Lack of efficiency

• Lack of resources

• Purchasing and Procurement

Findings

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1:1 Interviews: Questions 6, 7 & 8 6. Method of acquiring skills,

knowledge, behaviors? 7. How Effective Is It?

Avg. Rating 8. How efficient is it?

Avg. Rating # of

mentions/ 23 total

(Method) (You see the skills/ behaviors back OTJ)

(Occurs when needed and value for the money)

Conferences, i.e., APTA, Eno, Trade related

4.1 3.7 9

OTJ Exposure 3.7 2.9 7

Go outside company as needed--training

4 4.2 5

Reading and Research on own 4 3.4 4

Certifications and Colleges 4.8 4.4 4

Networking 3.3 2.7 3

Findings

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1:1 Interviews: Questions 6, 7 & 8 (Cont’d.) Volunteer on Task Force, Teams 4 3.5 2

Go to SME’s for help 4.5 3 2

State, County, Federal Regulatory Training--webinars

2.8 3.5 2

Formal Education 3 3.5 2

Cornerstone OnDemand training--internal

4 4.5 2

Self-taught 4 4 1

Webinars, i.e., APTA 3 3 1

YouTube Video Tutorials 2.5 3.25 1

Findings

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Focus Groups: Skills, Behavior & Knowledge

Knowledge of AC Transit

Professional/Managerial Skills

Managing Up

Supervisory/ Management Skills

Performance

Management

Goal

Setting

Accountability

Leadership

Coaching

Motiv-ating Other

Individual Skills

Time Manage-

ment

Project Manage-

ment

Critical Thinking

Creativity

Systems and Computer Skills

Prima-vera

PeopleSoft and

Office

Share Point

Findings – BLUF

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Focus Groups

Training Needs • Computer Skills • Cross Departmental Training • Job Specific Training • Management Training • Training at industry conferences – to stay current on trends and for

networking purposes • Customer service – internal and external

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Focus Groups Focus Groups: BLUF

Management Support • More communication from management • Acknowledgement/Appreciation/Recognition • More inter-departmental communication • Performance reviews/Feedback • Technical support • Direction on prioritization • Provide consistent opportunity for education and training

Best Practices & Offerings

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• Public Transit

• Non-Transit

• APTA

• American Society of Training & Development Annual Report

• Transit GM/CEO Mid-Level Manager Survey Findings

• Colleges and University Offerings

• Associations, Consortiums, Institute Offerings

Best Practices

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Public Sector Transit: • OCTA

• UTA

• LACMTA

• WMATA

• APTA

Kirkpatrick’s 4 Levels of Evaluation

Level 1: Reaction

Level 2: Learning

Level 3: Behavior

Level 4: Results

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Findings:

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Public Transit - Summary:

Consistent: Each agency was fully committed to employee development strategically

and financially.

• Each agency desired to provide a “blended” learning approach but none had truly embarked on it as of yet.

• Most programs’ success was based on “smile sheets” (Level 1).

Exception—OCTA: use 360 feedback pre/post to gauge behavior change back on the job, retention, internal promotions (Levels 3 & 4)

Inconsistent: Approach to employee learning and development.

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Transit Practices Highlights: OCTA: Succession Planning—LDA & MDA

UTA: Decentralized, ADDIE Framework (Analyze, Design,

Develop, Implement, Evaluate) LACMTA: Customized/Intact Team Support; Multi-Agency

Exchange Program (MAP) WMATA: Comprehensive Leadership Program—top to bottom

(2014 start)

ASTD State of the Industry Report

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Data Reflects ASTD’s Best Award Winners: • Organizations with 500 to 9,999 employees invest on average $964/employee

annually. • Percentage of payroll is 3.6% • Annual average number of training hours per employee is 30.3. • Employees per Learning and Development staff member= 299:1

Expenditure Distribution (Consolidated)

Overarching Recommendations:

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• Create and fund a staff development unit at AC Transit • Address pressing needs immediately • Continue to evaluate needs, revise and expand staff development capabilities • Institutionalize learning and development (DNA) versus “check the box” • Create an on-boarding process for new employees

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Recommendations AC Transit Training and Development Needs

Year 1 •Addressing pain points and

creating the foundation.

Years 2 and 3 •Crafting professional

development for long-term success. Current job

focused.

Year 4 + •Ensuring employees have

the skills to be successful today and into the future.

Future job focused.

Institutionalizing Employee Development

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Recommendations Year 1

Systems and Software;

PeopleSoft • Define business

processes, streamline and improve

• Maximize People Soft potential to analyze and run the organization

• Core training • Select

departmental subject matter experts

Onboarding/ Orientation

• Initial integration of new employees

• Identify tasks that must be done prior to new employee's first day and first 30 days

• Discern what new employees need to know in order to be successful

• This also pertains to all AC Transit employees

Managerial/

Supervisory Skills • Executive leaders

take the lead on skills development

• Provide consistent supervisory experience for employees

• PM: Cornerstone; writing/delivering performance reviews; developing employees

• Focus on addressing quality of work, productivity, and the attitude of the employees they direct

Professional Development Staff

• Training and Development Manager to oversee programs and requests

• Administrative person to handle registrations and tracking (possible later phase)

• Oversees Professional Development Advisory Committee

Internal Communication

System and Structure • Process-map how

information flows in the organization

• Implement structured systems to ensure consistency and timeliness of information

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Recommendations Year 2-3

Curriculum Development

•Compliance • Individual

professional skills • Functional

professional skills • Internal and external

offerings

Continuous Improvement

•Organized and structured

• Increasing quality and productivity

•By department, process mapping key activities to identify ways to improve and become consistent

Institutionalize Leadership

Competencies

• Implement Leadership Program built around the competencies

Employee Development as a Strategic Initiative

• Incorporated into strategic plan

• Level 4 measures (bottom-line) identified and tracked

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Recommendations Year 4+

Succession Planning

• Identify bench strength to three levels down in the organization

• Implement succession planning process

• Formalize development for key talent

• Access industry development sources

Learning Management System

• Implement tracking and functionality of system

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Process Connection Optimizing Cornerstone OnDemand Performance Management System

2014 Continue using Goal

Setting and Performance Review

system

Align individual goals to business strategies

Train Managers on using KPI Dashboards during performance

discussions

Institutionalize performance

discussions by tracking them

2015-2016 Create customized

Leadership Competency 360

assessment - roll out with all executives

Implement Competency-based

Development Planning

2017-2018 Roll out Leadership

Competency 360 assessment down to

managers and supervisors

Implement Succession

Planning system to track talent and maximize development opportunities

Begin implementing Compensation Modeling and

Budgeting Modules

Costs/Budget Estimations for Year One: $260K: Two Staff Development employees (duties combine high level and

administrative responsibilities) $10K: Training software implementation costs – one time $10K: On-going training software license fees $20K: Supervisory performance management skills training programs $15K: Miscellaneous materials, etc. $25K: On-line $15K: Off-site computer skills training $20K: Consultant for joint ATU/Management training on mediation and conflict

management $35K: Purchase of continuous improvement related training materials and tools

including train the trainer for delivery. TBD: Consultation to develop Onboarding process, Orientation program, Internal

Communication process mapping, Executive leadership 360 process and coaching, Assisting HR with Staff Development integration and roll-out (roles, responsibilities, success metrics, etc.)

Total: $410K +

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Benefits: Creates a workforce that has the skills, knowledge, and abilities to

execute and achieve.

Engages employees and holds them accountable to measurable performance goals.

Raises the bar in terms of expectations.

Drives performance in the organization.

Retains the best and brightest.

Secures long-term viability and success of AC Transit.

Instills a sense of pride and motivation. Sends the message that continuous improvement is expected at all levels

and in every job.

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Final Thoughts—From the GM

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“As leaders of AC, here are what I ask of you…insist that you and your teams take a higher view of what’s possible and be accountable for all of your decisions. Be adaptable and not stuck in old ways of thinking. Encourage people to think critically and debate all sides of an issue. Insist on cross-functional decision making versus silo’d. No fence sitting allowed. CHOOSE, COMMIT and ACT with URGENCY. Do more than what’s asked of you, even if it means extra hours. Recognize and appreciate daily those employees who make us great at what we do. Grow and develop your people. Take on your role as a people manager first and foremost. People don’t leave organizations, they leave bosses.”

Thank You!

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