1 Management Innovation Award City of Tyler: City University

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1 1 Management Innovation Award Summary After just four years of existence, the City of Tyler s City University training program has saved the City of Tyler $540,900, with $391,340 saved between October 2011 to May City leadership knew that it was not enough to simply offer classes. It needed to be a robust, branded, and well marketed program that would excite the employees and prepare them to offer even better, more efficient service to the citizens of Tyler and enhance employee engagement. City University was born in September 2008 after extensive research of best practices and determining the vision: to have a well-trained, highly-skilled workforce that embraces opportunities for life-long learning and growth. The result of the program needs analysis guided the decision to create four education tracks in the first year: Leadership Development Track, Professional Development Track, Innovation Track, and Core Competency Track. The next year saw the creation of addition program offerings including: Leadership Academy, Lean Six Sigma and a City employee Toastmaster club. Customer service training program tailored to Tyler was rolled out in 2011 and a fifth track was added in October 2012 the most unique of all Life Management.

2 2 Management Innovation Award Why the project was needed: Prior to the launch of City University, the City of Tyler had no formal comprehensive training program. All trainings were handled departmentally and external trainings were primarily utilized. There was very little sharing of resources between departments. Additionally, the need to enhance skills was growing daily and costs to send employee to outside training was rising. Additionally, communication between departments and on overall sense of City team-spirit was waning. City University sent an initial needs analysis survey to department leaders to assess departmental training needs. To ensure that staff could access training when needed, City U asked what barriers typically prevent employees from attending training. Time constraints were the major barrier to training. Cost constraints and proximity of venue also played a role. Other barriers included shift work, lack of consistent training, routine training practices, operating hours and relevancy of training topics. When asked what skills and competencies were most needed for their departments, leaders said employees most needed training on computer skills, supervisory skills and customer service. Other responses included evaluation, budget and purchasing training. How the goals were accomplished: A free-standing computer lab and classroom was established. A logo was designed along with a brochure describing the programs tracks and course offerings, an intranet page and branded s to promote the program. City U s secret to fulfilling the mission of providing high-quality training to enhance the productivity of the employees was the four education tracks, including: (1) the Core Competency Track, which provides training in the operations of city government; (2) the Innovation Track, which increases employees technology skills (3) the Professional Development Track, which builds better practices in subjects such as communication, coaching and customer service, and (4) the Leadership Development Track, an educational segment to develop the skills of current and future staff leaders. The Core Competency Track addresses the basic training needs shared by all employees of the City of Tyler. Courses within this track include New Employee Orientation, Retention, Disease Exposure and Cash Handling. New Employee Orientation is held the second Wednesday of every month and new hires meet with several different department representatives to learn about the City s history, mission, values, policies and procedures. New Employee Orientation gives new hires the opportunity to attend a City Council meeting to see their City s government at work. During this Council meeting, the new hires

3 3 Management Innovation Award are acknowledged by the Mayor and Council Members and receive a City of Tyler lapel pin. The Innovation Track provides professional development coursework to employees who have a desire to enhance their technology skills. City employees have varying ranges of computer knowledge, therefore City University offers beginning classes while also allowing people who are more computer literate to take intermediate and advanced level computer courses. Classes are taught by continuing education teachers from the local college and include basic and intermediate Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, Publisher, PowerPoint and Outlook 2010; along with web page editing. The Professional Development Track provides continuing education for employees to enhance their professional skills. City University utilized both employee subject matter experts and contracted with outside training agencies. Some of the classes offered include: Customer Service Made Easy; Pruning Negativity; Business Writing; Creating Collateral Material; Open Records; Media Coaching; and Legal Preparation for Court Appearances. The Leadership Development Track provides continuing education for employees who are currently in supervisory roles or those who wish to transition into a leadership role. The City contracted with outside trainers. Some of the classes offered include: Building Trust; The More Effective Leader; Discovering Your Blind Spots; Leading by Example; Coaching Style Management; and Transitioning from Peer to Team Leader. In August 2009, City University added two additional components--leadership Academy and Lean Six Sigma. Leadership Academy is a selective program that focuses on the next generation of leaders at the City of Tyler. This program is limited to 15 to 18 employees per year who are selected through a competitive application process. The Leadership Academy class spends one year together

4 4 Management Innovation Award developing skills that will help prepare them to fill critical leadership roles within the City. Leadership Academy curriculum includes monthly leadership training classes, a leadership book review with the City Manager and one-on-one mentoring with a City department leader. Since their involvement in Leadership Academy, nine out of 60 participants have been promoted into leadership roles. Lean Six Sigma pairs Lean practices with the Six Sigma methodology. Six Sigma is a business management strategy that seeks to improve the quality of processes by identifying and removing the causes of defects (errors) and minimizing variation. It uses a set of quality management methods and creates a special infrastructure of people within the organization (Blue Belts, Green Belts and Black Belts), who are taught to become experts in these methods through targeted training and project completion. The City currently has 180 Blue Belts, 35 Green Belts, seven Black Belts and one Master Black Belt. To date $3.4 million of hard and soft savings has been realized through this program. Participants from both programs and those who have attended at least six classes within one track at City University are rewarded at the end of the year with a Graduation celebration, certificates, plaques and a luncheon. Those who complete Lean Six Sigma projects are eligible for monthly certification pay. 108 employees have graduated since City U was created; 84 graduating since In October 2009, City U added a Toastmasters Club for employees to voluntarily join in order to improve their public speaking and leadership skills. Since the club was chartered, 31 employees have joined and earned 51 educational awards. In , City U delivered Called to SERVE Customer Service training to all employees by going to each department and presenting the class at 26 locations. This course continues to be offered in the Professional Development Track. In 2012, City U created a fifth track called the Life Management Track. City leadership knew the importance of not only teaching employees the skills they could use on the job, but also information that would help in their personal lives. Some of the classes offered include: Stress Management; Increase Your Self Confidence; Reach Your Financial Goals; Dining Etiquette; and How Not to Become a Victim. Who benefits: The entire workforce benefits from having an on-site training facility. Employees have the freedom to choose classes they want to attend and therefore have the

5 5 Management Innovation Award freedom to learn and grow. Departments no longer have to find appropriate training or pay for the training, travel and associated costs, and the on-site facility means employee transit and down-time is kept to a minimum. Ultimately, the citizens of Tyler receive superior products and services from a better-educated workforce. Citizens are interacting with not just employees, but highly trained servant leaders. It is also understood that a workforce that receives regular training is more motivated and is more likely to stay with their employer for a longer period of time, which again benefits the tax payer. Level of cooperation: City University has been a great success due to the level of cooperation exhibited by the leadership team at the City of Tyler. It is not only permitted, but it is encouraged for employees to take courses to better themselves and their professionalism and leadership qualities. According to City Manager Mark McDaniel, one of the greatest outcomes of City U has been the breaking down of silos within the organization. All classes intermingle attendees from Departments throughout the City, said City Manager McDaniel. Having an opportunity for police officers to discuss training with a solid waste employee has catapulted our organizational communication to a whole new level. This is invaluable. Class attendance in fiscal year was 704, which almost doubled to 1,401 in and is set to hit another record this year with 1,039 in attendance for October 2012 through May Time and money savings: The below estimated savings does not include in the additional costs of travel, lodging expenses and lost time from work that would have been incurred to access this assortment of coursework. City University Results Oct May 2013 FY FY FY FY TOTAL Financial Savings: $134,980 $117,000 $139,360 $72,040 $77,520 $540,900 Employees Trained: 1,039 1, ,544 Hours Trained: 3,084 4,635 2,350 2,814 2,392 15,275 Classes: Cost: City University prides itself on offering high-quality courses taught by wellqualified instructors. Training is provided by a myriad of professionals and award-winning agencies, including: Summit Solutions; Core Insights; University of Texas at Tyler; Leadership Institute; Tyler Junior College; Strategic Government Resources;

6 6 Management Innovation Award TurnAround Training Solutions; and, NetStrategies. The City of Tyler was able to negotiate discounted rates with these local trainers. Each year the budget for classes and materials remains the same at $46,887; even though we find ways to offer more classes. Improvement to quality of service: To foster a culture of life-long learning and professional excellence, City U offers courses that are relevant and timely. But no effort can be effective unless there is regular evaluation of value to the user. To measure employee buy-in and participation, a year-end survey is sent to all employees who attended at least one class. When asked if they had taken more, the same amount, or fewer classes than before the launch of City U, the majority of respondents noted that they had attended more training. When employees were asked if they felt that the courses being offered were helpful in developing professional skills, 97 percent of respondents overwhelmingly answered yes. Future impact on the city: Employees are now able to access professional training on-site and at no cost to them. They are able to develop skills (technical, professional or leadership) that will benefit the City and its citizens. Ultimately, the citizens of Tyler receive better products and services from a better-educated workforce. Better training and more efficient methodology of offering training results in cost savings to the city as well. It is also understood that a workforce that receives regular training is more motivated and is more likely to stay with the employer for a longer period of time. News of City University courses reaches hundreds of employees each month via , the City s Blueprint employee newsletter, the employee Intranet and brochures. Via the Intranet, employees can research each of the four tracks, access City University s calendar and course listings and register for courses. Inventories of cutting-edge leadership and self- improvement books housed in the City University library can also be located on the Intranet. Employees are encouraged to check these books out for their own educational advancement. Adaptability for other cities: City University demonstrates that status quo limitations should be no barrier to developing excellence in the workforce. The City of Tyler ignored the fact that most in-house educational programs are only in cities much larger in population. Despite funding limitations, the City of Tyler forged ahead; therefore, making this program adaptable to small, medium or large cities.