March 11, 1999

To:Corporate Services Committee

From:Executive Director, Human Resources

Subject:Retraining for Employees in the New City

Purpose:

The proposed retraining strategy is intended to:

meet the Corporate financial targets while minimizing negative impact on people;

optimize workforce effectiveness by affirming and building on employees' talents, skills and experience;

work in partnership with departments to meet their emerging operational staffing needs and objectives

foster ongoing workplace learning, with an emphasis on the joint responsibility of the employee and the organization

provide specific skills and knowledge to enable workgroups and individuals to carry out their work effectively.

Funding Sources, Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

In 1998, $500,000 was allocated for retraining from the Workforce Reduction and Retraining Reserve fund. In 1999, $2,000,000 has been budgeted by the Chief Financial Officer subject to approval of the strategy by Council.

Recommendation(s):

It is recommended that:

the attached Re-training Strategy for Employees in the New City be approved; and,

Human Resources report to the Corporate Services Committee periodically on the success of the Re-training Strategy.

Council Reference/Background/History:

Retraining to support redeployment of Staff

Council requested that staff develop a retraining strategy to support the Corporation in redeploying staff during the amalgamation period. Redeployment is an extremely complex process in a unionized environment undergoing amalgamation and downsizing. For this reason, the Human Resources Division is developing a separate strategy to address redeployment issues.

While retraining will support redeployment, the focus of this report is on a retraining strategy which enhances the existing skill sets of individuals and work groups in their current positions. This was also approved by Council in its consideration of the Human Resources Principles for Transition.

Comments:

Retraining is dependent on the needs of the organization and resources available from the organization to devote to this initiative. Given the demands of time and budget in the new city, retraining programs in this instance will be available to individuals and workgroups who already have a set of core skills essential for their current or new city positions. Retraining will be available for those who require additional skills and/or knowledge to strengthen existing competencies. Retraining is not meant to create an entirely new career direction. Examples of retraining could include CAD upgrading course for a newly merged workgroup; a new audit procedure for the department to help meet the new demands; and business process redesign training to support the service rationalization efforts in departments.

Retraining will be a co-operative effort which will include the department /division, the affected employee(s), and Human Resources. As the strategy is implemented, Human Resources will be consulting with the unions and management groups.

The strategy is attached as Appendix I

Conclusions:

Human Resources recognizes that it is essential to build a vision for the future which will encourage excellence and creativity in the workforce. The retraining strategy is one element in developing a skilled and committed workforce.

Contact Name:

Barbara Freedman

Director, Employee & Organization Effectiveness

392-5342

_________________________________

Brenda Glover

Executive Director

Human Resources

_________________________________

Margaret Rodrigues

Commissioner

Corporate Services

Appendix I

Retraining Strategy for Employees in the New City

1.Introduction: Our Approach to Training and Organization Development in the City of Toronto

The importance of ongoing training, learning and competency development to the success of an organization has been widely recognized in both the private and public sectors as a wise and prudent investment in its future health and competitiveness. The City of Toronto is no exception; we are committed to working with managers and staff to develop their knowledge and range of skills required to deliver services in ways that are effective, efficient, safe, and valued.

We are creating new learning partnerships between employees and the organization. The Employee and Organizational Effectiveness Unit (EOE) within Human Resources is committed to working with departmental managers and staff to provide a variety of quality educational services, including this Retraining Strategy. Our goal is to support employees in their ongoing competency development and enhance the organization's capability to deliver service.

Employees' responsibilities in this new partnership include:

planning and pursuing educational opportunities which enhance their existing skill sets and

preparing for future job requirements and job possibilities through on-the-job-training, self study courses, career coaching and counselling, special project assignments, and training courses.

The organization' s responsibilities in this partnership include:

support from managers in planning or creating on-the-job learning opportunities

support from managers in helping employees' develop learning plans

time for employees to attend job-related or developmental educational events

providing a variety of educational programs, courses and services including tuition assistance and funds for professional development to employees

Furthermore, in order to achieve maximum training impact, Human Resources is developing a competency-based approach to training and skills development. This approach will more closely link the new corporate performance management system, succession planning , career development services, corporate and departmental educational programs, with specific skills and knowledge staff need for service delivery.

2.Principles and Assumptions about the Retraining Strategy

it forms part of the corporate training and organization development strategy

it is targeted to work groups or to permanent or temporary staff who because of amalgamation, downsizing, or downloading require enhanced or new skills

it assumes employee have the basic skills required by the job

it is designed to enhance employees' existing skill sets; it is not designed to support significant career changes

it is most successful when linked to business needs

it is most successful when managers support the concept, acknowledge the need for ongoing learning, and actively support employees requiring re-skilling

retraining processes must be simple to access, administer and evaluate

responsibility for ensuring retraining takes place lies primarily with the appropriate manager in consultation with Training and Development

Retraining Work Groups

Rationale:to address the particular circumstances brought about by amalgamation where work teams from seven different municipalities have come together and have a need to establish common standards, norms, work practices and procedures

Objective:to assist managers to provide staff with additional skills or knowledge needed to meet new standards and work practices which will result in a set of common skills and knowledge bases within the work team

Eligibility:individuals or work teams who because of amalgamation and the changes to standards, work practices and procedures within a Department need to upgrade and refine their existing skills and knowledge in order to perform their current jobs

Process:Retraining will be conditional on

identifying the skills or knowledge needed for the job

assessing the current skill set of the individual or work group

identifying the gap between "what is" and "what's needed"

providing training and evaluating impact

Roles:Departmental managers identify immediate needs for retraining due to amalgamation within their units, and contact a Training and Development HR consultant for assistance

The Training and Development HR consultant will work with the manager to clarify training priorities, assess skills or knowledge gaps, design a training plan, complete a "Retraining Fund Application" form, access the EOE Retraining Fund to pay for external training services if required, broker or deliver the training required, and assess training impact.