The following is an email I sent out to PLCMC employees at the beginning of January. I thought it might be of interest to other trainers who are interested in metrics and benchmarking.

We at PLCMC have been very busy learning in 2008

In 2008, PLCMC employees attended a total of nearly 13,000 hours of training–and that’s only the hours we track through myHR. This figure does not count on-the-job-training, public computer classes that staff attend, or training outside the library or Mecklenburg County that our staff attend (such as conferences).

This averages out to approximately 26 hours of training per year per employee. This figure is well above the 17 hour average per employee of most organizations, as reported in the American Society of Training and Development’s 2008 State of the Industry Report.

As you can see, PLCMC is devoted to providing learning and development opportunities to all of our employees.

We provide opportunities such as:

• Professional membership reimbursement
• Tuition reimbursement
• Scholarships such as Carla Dupuy Scholarship and Friends of the Library David Howe Scholarship
• Job related and personal development through sessions listed on myHR
• Staff exchange program (In 2008 we sent two employees to Australia to live and work for a month)
• Opportunities to attend conferences, training, e-learning, and webinars provided by other libraries and organizations

We will continue to be busy learning in 2009

We are in the planning stages of creating a Learning Advisory Council in 2009 with staff representatives from each of the C.O.R.E. areas. The Council will recommend and help develop training and learning solutions. There will be more opportunities for staff to help train other staff.

In 2009 there will be onsite training at every location to prepare staff for Unified Services.

As you can see PLCMC is dedicated to developing staff including our front line staff who assist our customers each and every day and those who work behind-the-scenes as well. In the coming year, look for more opportunities to learn and develop. If you have a suggestion for training or a specific need please contact me by phone or by email.

Have a safe and happy holiday and make a resolution to learn something new in the new year!