STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Fresh Steps Wows ABA Participants

Staff development is a key component of ABA’s goals to support staff success, and ABA promotes and encourages staff to take advantage of opportunities available on campus as well as externally.

In March, a new course offered at Sac State through the Human Resources’ Professional Development Workshop Series, Fresh Steps was attended by a number of ABA staff.

As Vice President of Human Resources, Christine Lovely explains, “Fresh Steps is an innovative, personal, and work development program which enables participants to review their professional progress to date, reassess their priorities and direction, and set and achieve new personal and work goals.”

The Fresh Steps program spanned six weeks, including a two-day workshop, followed by a one-day follow-up, and covered a variety of topics including:

• Successfully dealing with change
• Identifying what you want from the workplace and the work you do
• Mentoring/coaching
• Reassessing changing values
• Inter-generational workplace differences
• Personal goal setting

“The excitement from participants for the Fresh Steps program was palpable,” said Lovely.  “They were very engaged and left the program with specific action items that they could apply to their own careers.”
Daryn Ockey, director of facility operations, who attended Fresh Steps, agreed: “Not only do I have a better appreciation for balance in my personal/professional life, I am more interested and focused on the people around me.”

The program, designed for employees who have established careers and are looking to refresh themselves, was ideal for staff like Ockey. “I was feeling stagnant in how I perceived my career. I wanted to leave with renewed purpose, vigor, and passion for my job and our University.”

Ockey’s goal for self-improvement was shared by Adell Seibles, worker’s compensation manager in Risk Management Services. “The program helped us explore our personal space. If you’re not willing to open up and be honest, you won’t gain much benefit from this type of program.  Some may call these programs self-help, but I believe they are self-empowering.”

Self-empowerment and self-discovery were major takeaways shared by many of the program’s participants. “This training helped me develop a balance of work and home life as well as tools to deal with the challenges when the two worlds inevitably collide,” said Resource Analyst Elena Compo. “I learned methods for dealing with the combined stresses of job expectations and health concerns.”

Lovely reiterated the benefits of the program gathered from participant feedback: “They found the course beneficial. They were very engaged and left the program with specific action items that they could apply to their own careers.”

This was the first time the Fresh Steps training program was offered. While there are no future dates set at this time, Lovely stated it is certainly a possibility, and said that participants wanted to see more similar development opportunities made available.

If you are interested in learning more about the staff development training programs available on campus, visit Human Resources’ Professional Development and Training website.