STAFF DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY Purpose: To build the capacity required to deliver the planned strategies TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Definition of terms 2. Introduction 3. Core purpose, outcome, impact and value of the strategy 4. Governance and rules 5. Identification and Measurement of risk, audit requirements, other controls and cost where applicable 6. Budget application 7. External providers 8. Revision Cycle and Maintenance 9. Processes 10. Technology Requirements 11. Administration and Process Documentation 12. Design and Structure 13. Contacts 14. Bibliography 15. Appendix: Guidelines for the appointment of external service providers for Staff Development at UWC. 1
1. Definition Of Terms (GLOSSARY) WORKPLACE SKILLS PLAN: legislative requirement Indicating UWC s priority areas for capacity building. ETDP-SETA: Education, Training, Development Practices - Sectoral Education and Training Authority. A statuary body overseeing workplace training. SDC: Staff Development Committee - monitors internal training initiatives. STAKEHOLDERS: Institutional and ETDP SETA governance structures involved in the development and monitoring of Staff Development at UWC. This includes the Leadership at UWC, the staff at UWC and in some circumstances community members. IOP: Institutional Operating Plan. LEARNING NEEDS ANALYSIS: an institutional exercise where the Staff Development interventions are identified by the senior management of all faculties and executive units. COMPETENCY: Is a generic knowledge, skill, trait, self schema or motive of a person that is causally related to effective behaviour referenced to external performance criteria (WJ Rothwell and HC Kazanas: 1994) CAPABILITY: a complex bundle of skills and accumulated knowledge (competency) that enables firms (UWC) to coordinate activities and make use of their assets (Day, 1994). 2
The Staff Development Strategy is an information strategy with supporting process documents for Staff Development topics such as: Outsourcing of training and the appointment of external service providers attached PDS - attached Generic Staff Development initiatives: Leadership Capacity development, including formal Induction Programmes to leadership roles. General Orientation Talent Stewardship Project Career path development Learning Needs Analysis Evaluation of Staff Development Facilitation of training A design to foster collaboration between central and decentralized roles Specific academic staff development initiatives: Academic staff induction Generic Staff Development for academic staff roles Teaching and Learning initiatives Research support for staff 3
General staff development support Information management in Staff Development using IT-based system (i-enabler) Planning and Reporting to optimize learning as well as for the requirements of the ETDP SETA Process for the designing of Staff Development interventions Using external experts to deal with volume and selected challenges. 2. Introduction The importance of Higher Education in South Africa s continuing development has become a central feature to the planning of the public enterprise. The emergence of newly-introduced policies has increased and the performance pressures on Higher Education are reflected in growing demands from stakeholders. The new environment for Higher Education requires responses on organisational as well as individual levels, respectively. The University of the Western Cape (UWC), [hereafter referred to as the University], is committed to optimizing opportunities to improve new skills, knowledge, behaviours and service, at all levels in the workplace. The development of staff is a joint responsibility shared by the individual staff member and the leadership of the institution. Individual staff members and departmental or unit teams are developed internally, by the University, and/or by means of creating external opportunities. Staff development at UWC is designed to assist staff in meeting new demands of Higher Education in a time of knowledge extension, information sharing and opensystem thinking. 4
3. Core purpose, outcome, impact and value of the strategy. The University accepts the responsibility for the creation of a work environment which enables all members of staff to develop, apply their skills and abilities in order to support the mission of the University by building capability. UWC pursues the value of staff development in contributing to both the efficient and effective operation of the University as well as to the career and personal developmental goals of staff. Staff Development is deemed as an essential component of the work environment and is an important factor for the achievement of the University s goals. Staff Development at UWC specifically supports the achievement of the goals of the Institutional Operating Plan (IOP). These, in turn, support the regional and national Higher Education imperatives. The National Development Plan 2030 16 states that the plan focuses on the critical capabilities needed to transform the economy and society. The UWC Staff Development strategy is designed to facilitate a common understanding on the way in which Staff Development is positioned at UWC. It should thus be regarded as an information strategy which provides specific guidelines to further the strategic goals of the University, as stated in the Institutional Operating Plan. Staff development activities are reviewed annually. This is to ensure the relevance of the interventions to support the achievement of the IOP, which in turn supports national strategies. 3.1. Value add of Staff Development: The participation in Staff Development interventions is an opportunity and/or an incentive to develop competencies and capabilities relevant to the work place. 5
3.2. Nature of Staff Development: Staff Development activities are planned to focus on the development of competencies. These interventions are aimed at developing both specific as well as transferable, portable abilities and skills. The development of abilities must contribute to roles that staff may undertake. Staff should be able to develop new knowledge, skills and behaviours while drawing on and consolidating previously acquired knowledge, skills and behaviours. 3.3. Staff Development for academic staff: Staff development interventions will be aligned to facilitate the implementation of the core roles and responsibilities of academic staff, namely; teaching and research. Staff development for academic staff includes opportunities for staff to: Enhance their research and publication endeavours Keep abreast with the best practices in teaching and learning in Higher Education. 3.4. Integrated Learning An integrated model for generic staff development is used at UWC. However, there is an acknowledgement that some Staff Development initiatives are specific to either the academic staff or to the staff in the administrative support sector. There is also an understanding that a degree of congruence, reinforcement of concepts and behaviours are based on the identification by staff member. These are critical to the development of an ideal organizational culture. 3.5. Aims of Staff Development: The following categories of staff development are recognized as being beneficial to the achievement of the University s Institutional Operating Plan when applied in a systemic and integrated manner: 6
3.5.1. Staff development required by legislation: including the Workplace Skills Plan; Annual Training Report and Advance planning for development to meet the EE-plan targets. 3.5.2. Staff development to support: new challenges such as the implementation of the new policies the UWC strategies, espoused culture and workplace values leadership and leadership development 3.5.3. Staff development interventions will be used to facilitate the implementation of change management and transformation. These mindset shifts will be aimed at both the individual and organizational levels, respectively. 3.5.4. Staff development supports the strategy and mission of the institution to create an alignment of purpose. 3.5.5. Interventions that develop the capacity of staff to effect and accomplish their current and/or prospective duties and roles more efficiently and effectively. 3.5.6. Staff development which furthers the promotion of best practices in Higher Education at UWC. (Staff striving to improve academic qualifications will be encouraged but will be managed via different and separate processes). 3.5.7. Staff development will play an integral role in talent management, to achieve fitness for purpose (capability to deliver and achieve the goals of the IOP). 7
3.5.8. Staff Development will form partnerships to achieve the goals of the IOP. 4. Governance of the Strategy The standing orders of the Staff Development Committee (SDC) are to affect the following: 4.1. A design to achieve integration of activities, used to ensure the optimal use of resources (duplication of cost and effort to be minimized). 4.2. Record keeping of Staff Development interventions. 4.3. A virtual pool of service providers that meet set criteria (as stipulated in the guideline for the appointment of external service providers); will form part of the team of external facilitators for staff development initiatives. 4.4. Regular reporting to departments/faculties/management to inform them of the participation of their staff in Staff Development interventions (this data is also available via the IT-based system). The following practices inform this strategy: It is expected that individuals will take responsibility for their own development. Attendance of certain interventions may, at times, be a requirement for certain duties, or for all staff in a particular department. This may occur, when for example, the induction programme for academic staff is formalized and the attendance of this programme becomes mandatory and therefore a condition of employment. 8
Another instance is when, for example, a specific type of training is made mandatory by legislation or when the university decides that all staff performing certain duties will have to attend a specific type of training. It will be expected that staff will co-operate with these requirements. All staff are expected and encouraged to participate in staff development activities. Access to appropriate staff development initiatives should, in principle, be available to all staff. Staff development should draw on the expertise and knowledge of internal resources as much as possible. Supervisors, Heads of Departments and Departmental Chairpersons support the development needs of their staff. They should play an active role in assisting staff to develop. The development of designated groups 1 as specified by the Department of Labour and aligned with UWC s Employment Equity Plan, must receive special focus by Heads of Departments, Departmental Chairpersons and managers. 5. Identification and management of risk Continual and continuous improvement of learning at the same pace or even faster than the rate of change, is critical to keep the University at a leading edge of best 1 Designated groups identified as: black people, women and people with disabilities EE Act 55 of 1998 9
practices in Higher Education. Therefore staff must be encouraged to participate in Staff Development interventions. The identification of learning needs which is co-created with key stakeholders must consider the leading edge principle to ensure UWC s standing as a Higher Education Institution. 6. Budget application The generic Learning Needs as agreed with stakeholders to support the collective UWC strategic thrusts will be funded by Staff Development. Unit specific training must be budgeted for by the unit/department and only in exceptional cases, and budget allowing, and Staff Development support the request for unit specific training. However, attempts will be made to incorporate unit specific training into the Staff Development budget, for those strategic needs that are timeously and adequately identified. 7. External Providers When using external providers, the guidelines as stipulated in the Appointment of External Service Providers document, will be followed (March 2013). 8. Revision Cycle and Maintenance An annual compilation of the ETDP SETA report to ensure the continuous review and improvement of: Learning needs The Staff Development strategy Related Practices Evaluation of impact of training initiatives. 10
9. Processes Staff development activities are reflected on the workplace skills report which is monitored by all stakeholders including the ETDP-SETA on an annual basis. 9.1. Individual responsibility: All staff members are expected to support and participate in staff development activities to ensure that their development takes place as aligned and agreed as relevant to personal, departmental and institutional needs. 9.2. Organisational responsibility: The leadership at all the organisational levels, have a responsibility for participating in, facilitating and delivering appropriate staff development for their staff. 9.3. The Staff Development Planning committee: The activities of staff development will be co-ordinated by the Staff Development Planning Committee. These activities will be based on the institutional Learning Needs Analysis exercise which is conducted with all units and departments. The generic needs which emerge from this exercise will determine the activities for the predetermined period of the Workplace Skills Plan Specific input resulting from Performance Development Discussions is also included where it relates to the generic learning activities at UWC. The Staff Development Planning Committee reports these activities to the Staff Development Committee on a quarterly basis, (See Fig 1, Pg. 10). Membership of this Committee is determined by UWC s Senior Management Committee. 9.4. The Performance Development System (PDS) will assist in the identification of the developmental needs of staff and for ensuring that these needs are appropriately addressed. Leadership is also expected to support the staff development activities by encouraging and enabling the participation of their staff, whether as participants, and/or organizers or course/activity leaders. The 11
responsibility of staff development is a key performance area for all staff in leadership positions. 10. Technology Requirements An integrated information system facilitates the registration for Staff Development initiatives and assists with the record keeping practices needed to report adequately, effectively and efficiently. This is also a tracking system to identify an individual s frequency of participation in Staff Development activities. The system will enable the leadership to analyse and monitor the participation rates in Staff Development interventions, of the staff members who report to them. 11. Administration and process documentation Strategy: At UWC, staff development is driven by the strategy. The Learning Needs which are identified in this process represent the training needs required to support the IOP. Process: A Workplace Skills Plan representing the above is compiled for set periods. Active leadership involvement is required when staff intend to register for staff Development interventions. This is the process where the HoD/departmental chairperson has a pre-briefing and post-briefing session with staff members who intend participating in Staff Development interventions (these phases are included in the registration process using the on-line registration system). This is also an additional development intervention relative to an individual s own and the unit s/department s key deliverables. This ensures that staff participates in Staff Development interventions with the support of their leadership (discussing the learning intervention relative to the individual s specific role). 12
Implementation: An Annual Staff Development Schedule is made available to all staff at the commencement of the academic year. Monthly reminders are disseminated electronically to all staff to optimize voluntary participation. HoD s, Deans and directors of units monitor the staff development activities and the participation of their staff in staff development activities. (These reports are available on the IT-based system). Administration will take place in a collaborative manner between the unit/department and Staff Development. Attempts are made to record all training and learning interventions in order to reflect these activities in the Annual Training Report. 12. Design and Structure To ensure operational effectiveness the following design principles are applied: 12.1. Staff Development design Learning specialists work in an aligned, collaborative manner to ensure integration of all initiatives to present UWC with integrated development experiences (Figure 1, pg. 13). 12.2. Principles: The staff development effort is related to the purpose of the institution and the people strategy. The UWC leadership plays an active role by encouraging participation in the planning of staff development activities. An annual review and communication takes place. 13
Duplication of cost and effort to be minimized by the implementation of an integrated approach (see Figure 1). Adult learning principles such as feedback, staff taking responsibility for their own development and continuous improvement applies. All Staff Development initiatives must be reported to Staff Development to ensure accurate reporting of the Annual Training report. Also all information relating to training needs must be provided to the Staff Development manager. External service providers must, in collaboration with the Staff Development manager, agree in writing on the scope, cost and delivery 13. Integration dialogues for Co-ordination and Integration, Fig-1 Conduct quality evaluations for impact with regard to learning and transformation interventions. Manage information and reporting to stakeholders. Integrate all learning interventions as appropriate to ensure optimization of resources (minimizing the duplication of cost and effort) Monitor the execution of the policy relative to the organizational culture and desired values for the institution. Align and/ or integrate initiatives that are similar as well as stakeholder collaborate Respond to feedback to ensure continuous improvement. 14
Fig.1: Co-ordination and Integration of Staff Development SD interventions for Academic Staff: (eg. Post graduate, Teaching and Learning, MAS, SASi, e-learning Special Learning projects involving all staff Academic Staff: representation Administration and Support Staff : representation Staff Development Interventions for Admin & Support Staff (eg. e-learning, SASI, MAS) Faculty Initiatives Staff Development Committee (Strategic Role) INTERGRATION SDC Staff Development Planning commitee (Implementation Role) SETA Reporting and Initiatives Linking and Merging Service Providers WELLNESS: Employee Assistance Programme MINDSET: Integrated decisions making to optimise delivery for Staff Development 13.1. Evaluation of training and quality of impact. 13.2. Leadership will be involved in the Staff Development of their teams and individual staff members. 13.3. Application of sound governance practices. 13.4. Align institutional performance with training needs. 15
13.5. Facilitate the development of communities of best practices to institutionalize networking and benchmarking. 14. Contacts Policy owner: HR, Staff Development Manager. 15. Bibliography Adapted from Staff Development Policy of the University of New South Wales. Adapted from staff development policy statement, University of Western Australia. 16
APPENDIX Annexure 1: Appointment procedures for external consultants DRAFT: May 2013 GUIDELINES FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF EXTERNAL SERVICE PROVIDERS FOR STAFF DEVELOPMENT AT UWC. Purpose: To ensure an integrated use of service providers so as to prevent duplication of cost and effort for UWC 1. GUIDELINES FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF SERVICE PROVIDERS FOR STAFF DEVELOPMENT AT UWC. The preference would be to use internal service providers. The cost-benefit analysis is used to guide decisions regarding the appointment of providers. The appointment of providers will be to ensure consistency of service per topic/intervention in order to develop congruence of concepts that would facilitate the enhancement of a collective culture. 17
1. WHEN TO USE AN EXTERNAL CONSULTANT: 1.1. The workload associated with the intended Staff Development intervention cannot be absorbed within the relevant department/unit. 1.2. The department/faculty/unit does not have the required skills(s) and/or experience required to achieve the intended outcomes of the identified training need. 1.3. A consultant is a cost-effective medium to maintain the quality or improve the standard of the intended outcome of the training and developmental need. 1.4. An external resource is required to maintain objectivity and neutrality in the identified training/developmental need. 2. PLANNING TO USE AN EXTERNAL CONSULTANT 2.1. A department/unit that plans to use an external consultant must collaborate as follows: A proposal, comprehensively outlining the purpose, the intended outcome of training/developmental need(s) and the time frame is submitted to the HoD at least a month before the intended date. The HoD informs the dean/line manager of the proposal. The HoD submits the proposal to the Staff Development manager. The proposal should include a prospective external consultant, the CV as well as a quotation for the training. Should any audio-visual equipment be required, these needs must be included in the proposal. When the department required an external consultant to be sourced, the HoD and the Staff Development Manager consultatively identify an appropriate consultant. 18
The costing of the entire training session must be calculated. Agreement from the Staff Development Manager, as well as the Dean/Executive member must be secured before the HoD may confirm the services of the external consultant. Workshop delegates must have confirmed attendance before a service provider is confirmed. 2.2. The procedure outlined above will ensure that work and cost are not duplicated and provide opportunities for the development of resources and external service providers. It will also serve to make certain that one service provider has one point of entry into the institution. 3. SELECTION CRITERIA FOR CONSULTANTS 3.1. Selection process for unit specific training/developmental interventions 3.1.1. The consultant must be an expert in the field. (This may be established by following-up on reports from their client base which should be included in their CV). 3.1.2. The consultant must personally meet with the HoD to discuss and plan the Staff Development intervention. This meeting will provide the HoD with an opportunity to determine the consultant s alignment with UWC S mission. The initial meeting will also reveal the consultant s depth of understanding of the purpose and outcome of the training session. 19
3.1.3. Prior to the confirmation of an appointment, the consultant must be able to produce examples of training material as well as a draft outline including time frames, for the envisaged training. 3.2. Selection for generic training/developmental interventions for the UWC constituency 3.2.1. Staff Development manager sources consultants. 3.2.2. Meetings with the external consultants are scheduled to negotiate courses, clarify logistical arrangements and the costing of the training interventions(s). Preferably, a clear contract stating the deliverables should be entered into with the service providers. 3.2.3. Reports of these meetings are tabled at Staff Development Planning Committee meetings before the appointment of the consultant is confirmed, where possible. 4. RESOURCES AND REPORTS All external consultants must agree to submit a copy of the training material to Staff Development before and in a post-training evaluation report. 5. COMMUNICATION All staff development activities will be reported on at the quarterly SDC/EE committee meetings. 6. CRITERIA 6.1 UWC reserves the right to give preference to service providers from the previously disadvantaged sectors of society. 20
6.2 Service providers with credible track records will be entered into a contractual agreement. 6.3 The values of the service providers must be aligned to UWC s mission. 6.4 Preference will be given to service providers who have a competitive edge in the prospective fields, where they will work. 21