2002-977-Minutes for Meeting June 20,2002 Recorded 6/26/2002DESC
COUNTY OFFICIAL
JT E S C MARYHSUESPENHOLLOW , COUNTYCLERK
Q2002N977
COMMISSIONERS' JOURNAL 06/26/2002 03:41:25 PM
0iA AA' -C
Board of Commissioners
1130 N.W. Harriman St., Bend, Oregon 97701-1947
(541) 388-6570 • Fax (541) 388-4752
www.deschutes.org
Tom De Wolf
Dennis R. Luke
MINUTES OF MEETING Mike Daly
COUNTY TRAINING COMMITTEE
THURSDAY, JUNE 209 2002
Present were Dennis Luke, Marty Wynne, Becky Jackson, Debbie Legg, Mike
Maier and Mark Amberg.
The meeting began at 9:30 a.m.
1. Purpose of Committee.
Dennis Luke gave an overview of the purpose of the committee. Its goals are
defining the needs and developing long range planning of employee training. He
observed that departments like to send employees to training, as their budgets
allow. $50,000 has been allocated this year for internal training.
2. Background of County Training.
Mike Maier said that there are two types of training needs. One is in -department,
specialized training; this is not the concern of this committee. The basics of
overall employee training need to be defined, and scheduled annually.
Typically training has not been done in an organized fashion, and there has been
little monitoring as to who attended what. There should be a checklist for all
employees, and training schedules should be developed and then tracked, with
regular updates going to the Board. It was suggested that training be scheduled at
least six months out.
Minutes of Training Committee Meeting Thursday, June 20, 2002
Page 1 of 4 Pages
Quality Services Performed with Pride
3. Survey Results.
The committee indicated an interest in reviewing the results of the recent
department surveys, which may indicate more about training.
4. Training Issues.
Mark Amberg agreed that this program would be very worthwhile and would save
the County money. Debbie Legg said that the classes that have been offered so far
were well received and appreciated.
A training coordinator needs to be established. It was suggested that the new
Communications person oversee this, with the assistance of the Commissioners'
staff and Personnel. A handbook for employees should be developed, and a
checklist put into place for each employee detailing the training they are expected
to complete within a specific time frame. This would become a part of the
employee's personnel file and the department head would be responsible for
making sure the employee complies. A lack of compliance would not be taken
lightly. Training would be tracked centrally so that Personnel, department heads
and the Board could access it and make sure training is being completed.
A general discussion occurred regarding holding classes in-house instead of
sending people out of the area. Regarding bringing trainers in, Mike Maier
observed that in some cases local cities could participate, which saves on the
overall cost. There may be opportunities to expand training opportunities through
Central Oregon Community College. Also discussed was training specific persons
in each department so they can share their knowledge with others in their
departments.
The committee indicated it is important to learn what training is being done now,
what the department heads feel is important, and what the Commissioners, Legal
Counsel, Personnel and Risk Management feel should be mandatory for all
employees or for specific groups of employees. Budgeting is also an important
consideration.
Mike Maier suggested that directors be interviewed at different times to obtain
their ideas and suggestions, but that suggestions from everyone should be
considered. He said it might be best to concentrate on the basics for the first year,
and expand the program gradually.
Minutes of Training Committee Meeting Thursday, June 20, 2002
Page 2 of 4 Pages
Some of the training ideas that were suggested were:
■ The interviewing and hiring process
■ New and ongoing supervisor training
■ The discipline and discharge process
■ Completing evaluations
■ Suggesting work improvement plans
■ Risk management issues - harassment, ergonomics, violence in the workplace,
first aid, personal safety, Drive 2 Survive, etc.
■ Customer service
■ Achieving effective meetings
■ Equipment purchasing and utilization
■ Effective use of e-mail, the web and the intranet
■ Completing County forms
■ Using the HTE system
■ Specialized orientation of department heads
■ Dealing with difficult people
■ Completion of payroll
■ Implementation and training regarding new personnel rules
■ Ongoing computer software training
■ Dispute resolution
■ "Training the trainers"
■ Effectively handling of the front desk
■ Grant writing
■ Understanding PERS
■ Basic writing skills and business grammar
■ Developing and working within the budget
■ Handling contracts and other agreements
■ Training video libraries in each main County location (both off the shelf
purchases and those professionally produced in-house)
■ Working with the media
■ Family medical leave issues
Minutes of Training Committee Meeting Thursday, June 20, 2002
Page 3 of 4 Pages
Training could be classified as basic, intermediate and advanced. Some of the
training ideas would be required, depending upon the duties of the employee.
Other training would be optional, at the discretion of the department head; and
other training, specific for the department, and/or requested by the employee, could
be added. Some training classes might include two or more departments for
specialized training (i.e. Mental Health and Health).
5. Deadline.
The group was reminded that a draft of the training program should be in place by
August 31, and it was suggested that two more meetings take place prior to that
time. The Chair of this committee, Marty Wynne, indicated he would set this up.
6. Next Meeting time.
Meetings will be coordinated according to everyone's availability. It was
recommended that Tom Anderson and Mike Viegas be requested to be on the
committee as well.
Being no further discussion, the meeting ended at 11: 00 a. m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bonnie Baker
Recording Secretary
Minutes of Training Committee Meeting Thursday, June 20, 2002
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