Considering the number of city and county employees that have taken MDP workshops or the certificate program through Governmental Training, a joint department of the Georgia Center and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government (another UGA service unit), these individuals collectively working toward improvement through MDP have had a tremendous impact on the State of Georgia.
The Management Development Program, which holds its Tenth Anniversary Conference October 18-20, 1995 in Decatur, Georgia, has boomed from supervisory training to offering sessions on a host of topics and now features a three-level certificate program aimed at public employees in city and county governments. More than 5,105 employees have taken part in the program.
The training helps local governments by providing employees with skills they need right now. "The things we teach are readily applicable, and many are pressing issues for participants," Vivian Ashley, MDP's director for the past three years, said.
"We try to emphasize to employees that although things may be frustrating with a supervisor or co-worker, employees can still become more effective themselves, one day at a time, in their offices," Ashley said.
"The projects in each level are the investment the jurisdiction is hoping for when they send people through the program," Ashley said. "The managers must use the skills and training they have gained throughout the program, examine how their governments work and function, and choose a project within their jurisdictions that will benefit the governments."
The training is very practical, even experiential, and there's as little lecture as possible. "In Americus, they saw the words 'management' and 'The University of Georgia' and I think they were expecting a lot of lecture. After the first day, a lot of people came up to me and said, 'Oh, this is really good,'" Ashley said. "Oftentimes, managers will call and say they want to try an activity with their staff, and ask if they can replicate our materials. We think that's a compliment!
"We pride ourselves on extensive interviews with the jurisdiction before the training to find out what issues they're dealing with, so that we can offer examples related to those issues and make the training as relevant as possible, and be more direct in meeting their needs."
About half of the participants in the Management Development Program are working toward a certificate. In the past, entire counties or cities, otherwise called jurisdictions, have enlisted MDP for all of their employees at a certain level of management. Ashley said now, however, many jurisdictions have a small turnover rate, with one or two new managers per year, and so the program is seeking to provide more regional opportunities for individuals to attend.
"Our goal is to do two regional training programs per year," Ashley said. "This way, if a jurisdiction has two to three new people who haven't received the training, they can attend workshops in their region with participants from other jurisdictions. We've been working successfully with the Regional Development Commissions in the North Georgia Mountain area, and the Atlanta Regional Commission, and we're working on offering training regionally in South Georgia."
The certificate program takes 25 days to complete. Most jurisdictions offer two- to three-day sessions a month, so that over the course of a year, their staffs can complete the program without being away from the office for lengthy periods of time.
Management training for county and city officials is not state-mandated, but some jurisdictions require managers and supervisors at certain levels to complete the training. "It's up to the jurisdiction who goes to courses and who doesn't," Ashley said. "We work closely with them to recommend what level of managers would benefit most from training. We try to work out special arrangements so that everyone in a jurisdiction can receive instruction in some areas.
"For example, the city of Albany, Georgia, wanted to present 'customer service' to all 800 of its employees. The fee would have been astronomical. So we provided special training for managers, and then worked with the city to choose 10 to 12 people to go through our train-the-trainer program. Then their own staff actually trained the 800 employees, but they used our facilitator guides and handouts."
The city of Savannah, Georgia, also benefited from some cost-effective arrangements. When budgets were cut, MDP trained Jan Harman, human resources administrator for employee development with Savannah, to teach employees the first level, and then Governmental Training faculty trains employees in the second and third levels.
About half of the Management Development Program participants are in the program because of 51 individual special topic workshops, presented on a regular basis to groups of employees, at the request of the jurisdiction. Special topics include writing for results, communications, conflict management, creative thinking, customer service, ethics, interviewing skills, media relations, meeting management, public speaking, sexual harassment, strategic planning, stress management, time management, team building, Total Quality Management (TQM), and training the trainer.
The most requested special topics are currently sexual harassment and sensitivity and diversity training. "People are becoming aware that ignorance of all the recent rules and regulations is not an adequate defense against lawsuits," Ashley said.
Not only do city and county governments gain better-skilled employees because of the training, but once employees reach "Level 3" in the certification process, specific projects benefit the local jurisdiction.
"The program also helps people in their careers in the public sector. Many jurisdictions will give special consideration to people who have had the training when openings or promotions become available," Ashley says.
In addition to the content of the training, Kathleen Robinson, employment manager of recruitment and training for Cobb County, Georgia, noted that employees enjoy the chance to network with and meet other county employees. "It's really developed a sense of camaraderie over the years. Most of the employees never see or meet people from other departments, and coming together for training gives them that chance." Ashley said that most larger cities and counties have the staff and resources available to provide some in-house management training, and use the Management Development Program to supplement their own training. But for most smaller jurisdictions, the program is what they offer their employees.
Along with the certificate program and the special topics, the staff in Governmental Training are working on offering two regional programs per year for alumni of the program, providing additional training and networking opportunities. And, the Georgia state legislature has mandated that elected officials take part in special management training provided by the program, such as retreats and special topic presentations.
The Management Development Program is operated in partnership with the Georgia Municipal Association and the Association County Commissioners of Georgia. Staff from Governmental Training sit on the training boards of each.
The Covey Leadership Center will present the program, "Principle-Centered Leadership and Empowerment," based on The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey.
For more information, contact Vivian H. Ashley, Management Development Program, Governmental Training, Georgia Center for Continuing Education, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-3603, e-mail: ashleyv@gactr.uga.edu.
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