employee Training and Development
In response to a changing labor market, MSD established a Core Competency-Based Human Resources (HR) Management System in 2009. By identifying the skills, knowledge, and abilities that our workforce needs, the new system addresses the two primary aspects of maintaining a qualified MSD workforce: staff training and recruitment.
Staff Training
In 2009, MSD employees logged 11,830.1 hours in training courses to maintain or enhance skills needed for job performance, career advancement, or required licensing and certification. The training courses cover a wide range of topics including:
- Technical certifications for wastewater treatment plant operators
- Health and safety courses such as CPR and first aid and forklift handling
- Customer Service skills training
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) training
- Diversity and equal opportunity training
The figure at right shows the breakdown of staff training hours among MSD’s divisions.
Note: Click figure for larger view.
MSD is currently developing a training plan that identifies gaps and feeds into the career development process for our workforce. The plan will establish training benchmarks for MSD as well as training targets.
MSD's Transformational Leadership Program
The Transformational Leadership Program (TLP), was developed in late 2009 by MSD’s leadership team and Xavier University’s Leadership Center. For high-performing employees with strong career development potential, the program offers collegiate-level education in leadership, communications, systems analysis, customer service design and delivery, critical analysis, and business systems. MSD employees were invited to apply for the program on a competitive basis. Out of 60 applicants, 19 individuals were accepted into the 8-week program. The first class graduated June 2010.
Recruitment
From 2006-2009, 101 of MSD’s staff retired. MSD’s challenge is not unique – all over the U.S., the wastewater industry faces a shortage of workers who have engineering and operations expertise.
In 2006, MSD chartered a succession planning team to identify critical positions and/or people who would be retiring within this timeframe. The plan included many strategies, such as showcasing employment opportunities at various college career fairs, advertising the positions with professional firms at conferences, automating the application process, and hiring interested professors who are on sabbatical.
The two strategies described below provide a “pipeline” to MSD’s future staff and augment the current capabilities of MSD personnel.
Student Intern Academy for High School Students
In 2008, with support from City of Cincinnati administrators and local school districts, MSD became the host site of the Student Intern Academy. The Academy is a paid program for high school juniors and seniors that provides skill-based employment and professional development training during the summer break. MSD professionals lead students on various projects, and the training curriculum is facilitated by leaders experienced in youth development. MSD student interns gain hands-on experience, job readiness training, professional development, and the opportunity to explore careers. In 2009, 25 students participated in the program; since 2008 (first year), 96 students have taken part, with a total of 315 applicants.
While the program is generally successful, we are constantly learning ways to strengthen and streamline it. We need to ensure that time and funding are set aside for succession planning, and that there are enough staff to manage the increased number of resumes that we receive from year to year. In addition, we are working to improve the tracking, monitoring, and reporting system, which will help us evaluate and improve the recruitment program.
Co-op Program for Students from Local Universities and Colleges
In support of the recruitment program, MSD also provides a co-op internship program, in which college students are able to take temporary positions at MSD to learn more about the types of positions available to those students who pursue careers in water resource management. In 2009, MSD’s recruitment strategy included visits to several universities and colleges. As a result, MSD received approximately 155 resumes from college students who applied for summer co-op positions. MSD’s goal was to hire 12 students; however, 20 were hired because of their excellent qualifications. Four of the co-op students had participated in the MSD Student Intern Academy program as high school students and were returning as college apprentices. Three of the four declared a major in the area of water resource management operations, saying that their choice was influenced by their experiences at MSD. In total, 31 students participated in MSD’s program throughout 2009.
MSD’s co-op students added value by working on the following projects in 2009:
- NPDES mapping
- Investigation of property account errors
- Preparing permits
- Providing sewer information to the public
- Assisted with the sewer plant maintenance
- Compiling a spreadsheet of all pressure release valves at the plants
- Making maps of priority areas