Upskilling Employees for Growth
RECRUIT TOP TALENT | DEVELOP YOUR WORKFORCE | BOOST RETENTION
Advancing strategic priorities by investing in employee development.
Background
After a federal client received a report about the current and forecasted status of its workforce, an internal work group convened to address two key areas of concern. Entry-level engineers were leaving the organization after two years to pursue other opportunities, and one-third of its current workforce was eligible for retirement within three years.
The Challenge
A recent survey of a federal work group’s staff highlighted critical skill gaps, an influx of upcoming retirements, and retention concerns. Investing in employee development was critical, though the org lacked internal bandwidth and access to expertise to design and execute a robust learning and development (L&D) program and complementary career planning processes that would attract, retain, and continually develop high-performing employees.
The Solution
The rapid evolution of telework presented a unique opportunity for the organization to address changing employee experience expectations and provide increased access to learning opportunities. Leveraging virtual, in-person, and hybrid facilitation to elevate the client’s employer brand and promote a diverse and inclusive community was critical for the organization’s ability to address their talent needs and achieve its desired objectives. To that end, Evans designed programs encouraging empowerment, networking, as well as career and learning development of interns and employees at all levels.
Evans delivered the following initiatives, based on client input during strategic planning sessions:
Strategic Analysis and Planning
- Improved efficiencies of learning data systems and provided weekly reports to team managers.
- Anticipated and addressed workforce needs focused on staffing, succession planning,and performance management.
- Developed leaders through training, coaching, mentoring.
- Built recognition and reward processes.
- Provided Repeatability and Reproducibility (R&R) statistics to team leads.
Project Management
- Coordinated and promoted career fairs to address open opportunities, and served as points of contact for job candidates, interns and managers.
- Improved the user experience (UX) of the organization’s tuition reimbursement program.
- Addressed the learning and development needs of the organization’s workforce.
- Implemented succession plans and performance management processes to manage current and future talent.
Human-Centered Design
- Provided strategic communication support to raise awareness with employees of new systems.
- Created a culture of learning that aligns with the goals and values of the organization.
- Coached managers in having meaningful career development conversations with their reports.
- Developed an internship program and on-boarding guide.
The Impact
Through this engagement, the work group gained access to an enhanced internal L&D site that improved access to training across the workforce. Team member achievements gained a spotlight through recognition in a new monthly newsletter. Regularly scheduled touchpoints have continued with the purpose of elevating the group’s employer brand, sustaining employee development efforts, and providing an inclusive space to share and act upon diverse ideas.
