An HR Dream Academy

• Allison L. Shaw is a Sacramento-based freelance writer
  First printed in The Sacramento Bee on March 28, 2004

CSUS College of Continuing Education teams up with CPS Human Resource Services to offer long-awaited training to experienced HR professionals in the public sector.

When human resource employees in the private sector need to brush up on their skills, the training outlets are virtually unlimited. For public sector HR employees, however, the training landscape has always been a bit bleak.

“We work in a really unique arena,” says Allison Picard, the deputy county administrator for Kings County . “In employment and labor law, there are significant differences between public and private agencies and we're much more influenced by politics and elections because so much of our funding is dependent on the state. We've seen advertising for HR programs that are fairly broad in their focus and opted not to attend.”

Graduates of the HR Academy Include (left to right) Pamela Ferrara, Superior Court of Contra Costa County Kisha Grove, Superior Court of Contra Costa County Christina Penland, Solano County Claudette Brown, City of Vacaville Brenda Luna, Sacramento Area Council of Governments Ann McNellis, Placer County Tina Kennett, City of Vacaville

So when Picard heard about the HR Academy, a public sector HR training program developed by CPS Human Resource Services and the CSUS College of Continuing Education, she jumped at the chance to bring the courses to Kings County .

“CPS and CSUS had already done the hard work of developing the curriculum and putting it all together. We're just the first to copy it shamelessly,” laughs Picard. “Why reinvent the wheel.”

She contacted the person who holds her equivalent position in Tulare County and between the two of them, worked out a plan to offer a contract version of the HR Academy courses in their region beginning in March 2004.

“The program is relatively low cost with no hotel, food or travel expenses so it's very manageable with our reduced travel and training budgets. I've committed to send two people from my office for all five courses and that's rare,” says Picard.

Picard isn't the only one to bring the HR Academy in house. When Michelle Daggett, the principle human resource analyst with Sacramento County heard about the program she opted to contract a version for her county as well. The Sacramento County track has already completed two of the five courses and even though some of the participants are experienced in their jobs, Daggett is still asking them to attend.

“It's good to tap into your roots, to see what's changed and what other agencies are doing,” she explains. “I don't want my analysts to say ‘This is how we've always done it so that's the way we're going to do it.' I think that's the kiss of death in this job.”

As for the original HR Academy, it's gearing up to offer its second track of courses beginning in April 2004 and is open to all public sector HR personnel with a few years experience under their belts.

“These courses are not aimed at the true novice,” says Judy Capaul, a manager in the consulting services unit at CPS. “They do require some knowledge of the field.”

Capaul is also encouraging attendance for people who are very specialized in their work experience and may need a broader perspective of how other areas are handled in order to do their job better.

“We're also finding that a lot of people are transitioning from the private to the public sector and may be very skilled, but need to know how the public sector is different,” she says.

Capaul was a driving force behind the HR Academy's development. After hearing from local chapters of the International Public Management Association (IPMA) that such training was virtually non-existent, CPS turned to CSUS to help make it happen.

“We wanted to lend prestige and credibility to the program and to get from CSUS the expertise in teaching and development because at CPS, we already had the content knowledge,” says Capaul.

Jan Geiger , the College of Continuing Education 's director of contract and corporate education, initiated the partnership between CPS and CSUS which led Capaul and Linda Robinson-McElroy , a program development specialist with the College of Continuing Education , put together an advisory board. This board, representing public agencies of all sizes, helped to identify the training needs, develop the curriculum and coach the instructors.

The result is an outstanding community partnership to provide public sector focused HR training to employees from all across California .

“I think this type of training is vital for the education of our workforce. It's not just pie-in-the-sky theories, but the practical kind of education that you get from a college like Continuing Education because you have real practitioners for instructors,” says Daggett.

The practical hands-on courses taught by experienced HR practitioners with extensive knowledge of the public sector have had a significant impact on the students.

“I was really able to get excellent information from the instructors,” says Jill Mindus, a staff services manager for Shasta County Social Services. “They were all extremely knowledgeable and realistic. They understood the politics involved and because of their own experience they were able to problem solve with the students when they brought up examples from their own agencies.”

Mindus was attracted to the HR Academy because of its subject matter and public administration focus. “I thought I could really expand my knowledge base because it looked like a very well rounded program,” she says.

Back on the job she sees the training paying off through a more global approach to HR. “Because this was such an overview experience for me, I'm looking at how things affect all areas of HR and not just my department. I have a deeper awareness now of how it all relates,” says Mindus.

Kisha Grove, a senior human resource analyst for the Superior Court in Contra Costa County , was inspired by the Employee Relations course. “Don Turko, the instructor, really gave me a lot to think about because when something happens at work, it can be new every time. It may be the first time that an employee has ever done that at your organization and you have to create the rules and a plan to deal with that,” she explains.

It's that kind of creativity that Daggett is hoping to instill in her employees through the HR Academy.

“When I hear someone say ‘Think outside the box.' that just gets to me because in a public organization, there are very serious consequences for being outside the box. We should really get credit for how creatively we are able to work within a very restricted box,” claims Daggett.

“This type of training allows people to be a little bit more courageous because they know they're not out there by themselves. When they have a complete understanding of the field, they can look at a set path and decide how far they need to follow it and at what point they can be creative within their box because they know the parameters. It keeps people excited about the field because otherwise it could get very boring traveling down the same little path all the time.”

The HR Academy consists of five courses (one or two days in length) focused on the Fundamentals of HR, Classification and Compensation, Exam Development, Recruitment and Exam Administration, and Employee Relations. Participants who complete all five courses within three years earn 4.9 continuing education units and a certificate from the CSUS College of Continuing Education.

Although all of the courses in the public track are held at CPS Human Resource Services in Sacramento , they are filled with people who hold different positions at agencies that vary dramatically in size and geographic location.

“Attending these classes, especially with a fairly consistent core group of people really gave me a network of contacts with other agencies and the reference points and places to find the information that I need,” says Pam Ferrara, a court services coordinator for the Superior Court in Contra Costa County .

Participants interested in registering for spring/summer 2004 courses should visit www.cps.ca.gov . Those interested in contracting an in house offering of the HR Academy should contact Judy Capaul at jcapaul@cps.ca.gov or (916) 263-3614, ext. 3153.

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