Mission • Philosophy • Objectives • Implementation
Mission
To make the University of Georgia a great place to work and learn.
Philosophy
Our philsophy encompasses the following concepts:
The challenge of workforce development is the highest immediate priority
of business leaders throughout Georgia, who see an accelerating shortage
of personnel possessing:
- Sufficient skills in the utilization and application of information technology
- Sophisticated analytic, synthetic, and compositional skills
- Language skills (Spanish and Asian languages in particular)
- “Emotional intelligence,” including the ability to thrive in the increasingly "team," work-group oriented, and culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse work environment of the 21st century (UGA's Institutional Strategic Plan, 2000).
"....everything we do should be aimed at improving the ultimate experience
for each student. The University's central purpose for being is to give
our students maximum opportunities to grow intellectually, emotionally,
and socially" (UGA President Michael F. Adams, State of the University
address, January 1999). Directly or indirectly, every employee contributes
to the student experience, and Training and Development promotes excellence
in everything we do.
Managers can do many things to improve their organizations. They can bring
in advanced technologies, streamline production and service delivery processes,
introduce new products and services, and change work rules dramatically.
But when all is said and done, what ultimately determines the success
of such efforts is the abilities of individual employees (Jacobs &
Jacobs, 1995).
The new economy demands increased flexibility in production and service
delivery, improved use of advanced technologies, and increased responsiveness
to the requirements of customers, and these demands have made expertise
more highly prized than ever before (Carnevale, 1991).
The competitiveness of many organizations is determined largely by the
knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the people in them (Kotter and Heskett,
1992).
In the workplace of yesteryear, employees were expected to know their
craft or trade and to perform within a relatively stable and unchanging
system. Expertise, the human state that enables individuals to consistently
achieve outcomes and meet and exceed requirements placed on them (Jacobs
& Jones, 1995), was assumed to be developed through the experiences
of the individual. These assumptions of implicit development simply do
not hold up in today's workplace (Ruona, W.E.A., & Swanson, R.A. (1998).
Foundations of human resource development. In B.R. Stewart &
H.C. Hall (Eds.), Beyond tradition: Preparing HRD educators for tomorrow’s
workforce (pp. 1-31). Columbia, MO: University Council for Workforce
and Human Resource Education..
Top of page
Objectives
KEY OBJECTIVE
Through a systematic human resource development process, provide effective programs and services to enhance expertise and improve the performance of the University of Georgia's diverse and distributed workforce, thereby supporting the University's commitment to excellence in instruction, research, and service. This process will be well-executed, fiscally responsible, respectful of individual learning styles, and based on individual and organizational performance improvement goals.
OTHER OBJECTIVES
- Promote human resource development as an integral part of the University of Georgia's strategic plan.
- Foster an environment of organizational and individual lifelong learning.
- Sustain a responsive, well-executed, and fiscally responsible approach to individual and organizational development.
- Assess individual and organizational performance to determine ways human resource development efforts can improve effectiveness.
- Design, develop, and implement programs and services that provide new knowledge, new skills, innovative thinking, and motivation, thereby contributing to significant improvements in the University's services and processes.
- Evaluate training effectiveness and make changes to maximize financial and time investments.
- Promulgate workplace harmony, effectiveness, and job satisfaction by providing programs that encourage appreciation of and sensitivity toward all persons.
- Promote the concept of human resource development as an ongoing, shared responsibility among faculty, staff, supervisors, administrators, and the Training and Development Department.
- Encourage management practices that enhance performance and morale.
- Assist managers and administrators in identifying appropriate human resource development activities to facilitate the highest level of performance by faculty and staff.
- Facilitate partnerships between University departments to increase the sharing of the Institution's expansive knowledge and skills.
- Promote an understanding of complex University policies, state and federal laws, health, safety, and other environmental procedures by collaborating with other campus units to provide training programs and resources on these critical topics.
Implementation
The Training and Development Department provides numerous quality human resource development programs and services, announced on the Training and Development Web site at: http://www.busfin.uga.edu/staff and in training schedule booklets mailed quarterly to all regular employees. Employees may register for courses by submitting a registration form located in the booklet or online at the address listed above.
Supervisors and administrators should develop comprehensive departmental orientation and on-the-job training programs for their faculty and staff. Training and Development can assist departments with this process.
The Training and Development Department will maintain records of departmental-sponsored training when requested. The Training and Development Department can also assist departments in coordinating in-house departmental training opportunities to meet their specific needs. Departments should provide accurate records of attendance at departmental training sessions to the Training and Development Department for inclusion in employees' transcripts.
Employees should develop, with their supervisors, plans to enhance their skills and prepare for continually evolving responsibilities. The most desirable time to identify an effective plan for employee enhancement is during the annual performance evaluation conference. At this time, the supervisor and employee can mutually determine the most beneficial training needs for the upcoming year. Transcripts of individual participation in programs offered by the Training and Development Department are available to participants and their supervisors, upon request, for use in the development of ongoing professional development plans.
Certain
individuals and positions require more training to achieve goals. Some
employees may require up to forty (40) hours of training per year and
in some cases exceed this amount in any given year. Even when long term
employees require less training to effectively perform their job responsibilities,
they should be encouraged to attend programs which provide personal and
professional growth consistent with organizational goals.
Since effective training contributes to performance improvement, supervisors
should plan for and allow release time from work for training programs
mutually determined to be beneficial to employees and the Institution.
Such release time should be granted in a fair and equitable manner, regardless
of experience, educational background, or job title.
Although
University-sponsored programs are the most cost-effective way to meet
human resource development needs, some faculty and staff may also benefit
from attending programs offered off campus and through participation in
professional associations and organizations. Whenever such participation
constitutes a benefit to the University and the individuals involved,
participation should be supported in a fair and equitable manner, to the
extent possible within departmental budgetary allowances.
Top of page
training@uga.edu
706-542-7062
Human Resources | The University of Georgia
Last updated: December 18, 2003