As we enter a new year, with new challenges and opportunities, The American Management Association (AMA) Enterprise Government Solutions has noticed certain trends and recurring topics of interest among our government customers. We’d like to share our top five training tips for 2012 for government training and development organizations:
- Make telework training for supervisors and teleworkers a priority.
- Confirm training is included in your disaster preparedness plan.
- Invigorate your leadership development training.
- Review succession plans.
- Recognize the value of Emotional Intelligence.
Government organizations have been moving at different paces to implement telework programs since the passage of the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010. As we move through the winter months, many organizations are implementing lessons learned from last year’s ‘Snowmageddon,’ when telework often made the difference in an organization’s ability to continue to support its mission. An added bonus: surveys confirm that effective telework programs increase employee satisfaction.
The beginning of the new year is a great time to review an organization’s disaster preparedness plan. A well-thought-out plan includes training to ensure all members of the team understand the plan and their responsibilities, and can move swiftly to implementation as necessary.
Leadership development training is a crucial part of any organization. The best programs provide courses for managers and employees, and should focus on communication skills, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity – what we call the Four Cs.
Succession planning should be a key element addressed in 2012. An increasingly mobile workforce, in conjunction with high retirement rates, could lead to a higher turnover rate for your organization. Succession planning will ensure that the organization is prepared to deal with the sudden loss of a key employee.
Emotional Intelligence, or EQ, is the ability to understand and use emotions in a positive and constructive way to manage your emotions and the emotions of others. EQ is gaining traction as an essential tool and a required workplace skill for government leaders, supervisors and managers.
We believe these five training tips are crucial elements for a successful organization. We expect to see increased interest in each of these key areas throughout 2012.
Sam Davis, VP, AMA Enterprise Government Solutions, leads a team that is dedicated to working with government organizations to build solutions and provide the learning tools needed to transform enterprise-wide talent, fueling a culture of innovation, high performance and optimal organizational results. For more information visit www.amaenterprise.org/gov.