During the week of December 3-7, the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) encourages managers and directors across organizations to recognize the importance of connecting learning with the achievement of organizational results during Employee Learning Week. While investing time in ongoing professional development can often be a challenge for library staff, ELW raises awareness for the importance of addressing skills gaps and improving performance in the workplace.
The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County is encouraging their library staff to Become Champions of Learning this week by participating in ELW. Proposed activities for the week include highlighting learning opportunities and tips for staff in daily email messages, surveying staff on training they would like to have available in the coming year and prizes for participants.
You don’t need to be a member of ASTD to participate in ELW. Even if your library is not taking part in ELW this year, there are plenty of occasions to provide year-round learning opportunities for staff. The following tips and resources can give you some ideas for planning your own ELW and making workplace learning a part of your ongoing staff development initiatives. We look forward to recognizing ELW again next year and sharing some of your stories.
If your library is participating in ELW this week, we encourage you to share your story by commenting to this post or on our Community Discussion Boards.
Resources for Getting Started with Employee Learning Week
- ELW Fact Sheet
- ASTD sponsored events, background and FAQs
- Marketing Materials
- Getting Involved with ELW
Suggested Activities for ELW
- Introduce new learning opportunities during the week
- Communicate learning and development tips to your workforce each day of the week
- Institute an employee development recognition event to recognize individuals
- Host a brown bag lunch where staff can share expertise around a certain topic
- Implement a wiki page for staff to share knowledge and best practices around the workplace
- Plan a Staff Development Day or mini-conference for library staff
Planning for Staff Training Initiatives
- Help employees create individual development plans to increase and enhance their skills departments in your organization
- Creating a Training Program in Your Local Library
- Six Components to Consider When Developing a Staff Training Program
- Plan for Training
- WebJunction’s Blended Learning page offers tips, best practice and case studies from libraries that are blending face-to-face instruction with online training
- Library Success: A Best Practices Wiki – Staff Training
Resources for Year-Round Learning
- WebJunction Webinars & Archives
- Personal Learning Environments for Library Staff
- WebJunction Online Course Catalog
- Weekly Tips
- E-Learning Institute – resources for managers, trainers and learners who are engaging in online learning
this has been a great opportunity.
We learned what doesn’t work: those “do not disturb” signs are ignored, over-looked, or offend patrons.
Staying late does not work for everybody while coming in early works for me (my peak energy time, very few interruptions, and the desk is still clean! As a newbie, I appreciate the tutorials … I might make the transition from traditional classroom yet (maybe)…