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Human Resources Launches New Learning Management System
April 18, 2013
SHSU Media Contact: Jennifer Gauntt, TJ Bittick
In order to keep Sam Houston State University competitive in a challenging hiring environment, the Human Resources Department unveiled on April 1 the first phase of a new professional development initiative for employees designed to connect staff to the training they need to succeed.
To kick off this initiative, HRD launched a new learning management system, Talent Management.
Available online through the MySam portal by clicking on the “Employees” tab and going to the “Human Resources” channel, Talent Management can be used to search, request and track training opportunities with only a couple of clicks of a mouse, according to David Hammonds, associate vice president for Human Resources and Risk Management.
“The system maintains training records for all SHSU employees, both staff and faculty,” he said. “Most past training classes have already been transferred into each employee’s transcript.”
Users can view their transcripts and, if they are managers, the transcripts of direct reports.
“The aim is to help employees make better decisions about career planning by providing centralized access to training and by simplifying record-keeping,” Hammond said.
“It’s fairly easy for end users to navigate the system, but Information Technology trainers will offer Talent Management general navigation classes for all end users in April,” Hammonds said. “Eventually our goal is to have all staff training, both online and in-class, find its way into the learning management system so that users can see their training records in one easy-to-access place.”
SHSU’s professional development initiative is part of an overall process for employees to chart a course for growing their careers. The next phase of the professional development initiative is to establish a learning academy for staff and management employees. There will be two tracks for “The Academy:” one for staff and one for leadership, with crossovers possible for each track.
In the leadership track, called Leadership Academy, managers, supervisors and administrators will engage in training that develops both foundational management and advanced leadership skills. The motto for this track will be “Creating Effective Leaders.”
The staff track, known as Training University, or Training U. for short, will focus on role-related and productivity skills, skills related to communication and teamwork, and personal development. The motto for this track will be “Maximizing Employee Potential.”
Talent Management will organize and centrally locate access to The Academy’s curriculum.
“While there will be plenty of learning opportunities to choose from, we want to minimize the confusion and standardize opportunities across the board,” Hammonds said. “The goal is to go from a maze to amazing.”
For more information about SHSU’s professional development initiative, or to inquire about putting your training into Talent Management, contact TJ Bittick, human resources specialist, at 936.294.2328, or Cindy Bradfield, human resources senior manager, at 936.294.2329.
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