Why Training Is Important and How to Manage Training Using MITC

WHY TRAINING IS IMPORTANT AND HOW TO MANAGE TRAINING USING MITC

FROM THE LEADER IN AGENCY WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS

INTRODUCTION

WHY TRAINING IS IMPORTANT AND HOW TO MANAGE TRAINING USING MITC Training is an essential part of an agencies ability to fulfill its mission. Apart from compliance, the greatest benefit is better, more motivated employees who are more likely to be retained.

All agencies have to ensure that compliance training takes place as employees need to know laws, regulations, and agency policies that apply to their day-to-day job responsibilities.

Agencies engage in compliance training to accomplish several goals: To provide consumers with the quality of care they deserve,

1. Avoiding and detecting violations by employees that could lead to legal liability for the agency

2. Creating a more hospitable and respectful workplace 3. Laying the groundwork for a partial or complete defense in the event that employee wrongdoing occurs despite an agency’s training efforts

all agencies need to address the need for standardized procedures for direct support staff through organized, effective training programs to manage turnover and improve retention.

Turnover rates above 50% undermine the ability of any agency to provide quality services. In addition, turnover creates added expenses in recruitment, orientation, and training. Estimates for the cost of replacing direct support staff vary from $1,000 to $5,000 per employee. Better training is a key factor is boosting retention rates and minimizing compliance risk.

Services are critical to the quality of life of elders and people with

The kind of training an employee receives is very important.

disabilities. Consumers of long-term care cherish independence,

Allowing an employee to pass through a basic “101” training

which is often only made possible by a paid caregiver who

course does not ensure improvement. Excellent training

provides support and assistance. Not surprisingly, consumers

programs emphasize a correlation between personal

frequently identify their relationship with their caregiver(s) as

development and official evaluations. Direct support staff

the most important factor in the quality of care they receive.

need to understand that career growth and success come from

Unfortunately for consumers and agencies, high rates of

improving their skills with training.

turnover among direct support staff interferes with establishing

The combination of high turnover, needing to maximize

consistent, ongoing relationships with staff. Often, direct

retention, and complying with regulations makes effective

support staff have a high turnover rate, leaving consumers

training central to any agency. Well-organized training

to cope with a new direct support person just as they have

programs use workforce management solutions to minimize

become comfortable.

paperwork, improve communications, and track compliance.

WHY TRAINING IS IMPORTANT AND HOW TO MANAGE TRAINING USING MITC

1

1. USING TIME AND ATTENDANCE TO TRACK ATTENDANCE AT TRAINING CLASSES Many agencies are still using paper forms to track employee attendance at training events. Sign-in sheets are no longer necessary with MITC. Agencies can set up Training Classes as Jobs and require employees to clock-in and out from training sessions. In one stroke, paper forms are eliminated, a permanent record of attendance created, and the employee gets paid.

Optionally, the payroll cost can be automatically applied to the employee’s home job cost center.

2. MAINTAINING TRAINING RECORDS & EXPIRATIONS Maintaining accurate training records is a major burden for

Employee training requirements and renewal dates can

agencies. Training records are not often integrated into time

all be maintained using MITC HR Manager. Training class

and attendance. Some agencies maintain separate databases

attendance and tracking of certifications are integrated into all

of employees for payroll, human resources, scheduling, and

other workforce management functions. Unlimited history is

training. Maintaining training records in a separate database

retained.

with limited functionality causes duplicate employee data entry and increases risk.

Reports of future expiring training certifications can easily be generated, ensuring that class schedule matches demand. In

This plethora of systems has usually evolved over time in

addition, employees and their managers receive automatic

response to problems or regulatory challenges, emphasizing

email reminders of upcoming training requirements and

the need for agencies to ensure compliance with training

expirations. If employees use MITC Employee Self-Service, Web

regulations. Fortunately, training records can be integrated into

Clock, or Telephone Timekeeping, alerts regarding expiring

a single workforce management solution.

licenses or upcoming training needs are made each time the employee clocks in. This helps ensure attendance while minimizing compliance risk.

2

3. ORGANIZING TRAINING CLASSES Training classes can be organized in MITC HR Manager, where employee performance can also be tracked. If the employee passed the Training Class, Training Records can be automatically updated.

HR Manager supports mass email merges to employee populations (employees who work in residential), employee groups (employees who work at a day program), employees by zip code (alert employees of a training class at their center or

4. EMPLOYEE SELF-SERVICE ENROLLMENT

near where they live), and more.

An important element of a workforce management solution

Employees can use MyMITC Employee Self-Service to track the

at many agencies is employee and manager self-service.

status of their training records and enroll themselves in classes.

Executives should consider deploying self-service where

Rules can be established to prevent employees enrolling too

employees have access to computers, smartphones, or tablets.

early, too late, or in classes that are already full. Automatic

Direct cost savings come from improved enrollment accuracy and significant reductions in the cost of managing enrollment processes manually. The indirect savings are caused by greater employee satisfaction, less interruption, less manager time

notifications of upcoming classes and cancelled classes are generated. Employees and managers receive two automatic reminders in advance of the class by email or text at times determined by the agency.

spent on administrative duties, and lower employee turnover.

Managers receive an automatic notification if one of their

Not only does self-service make life easier and allow employees

employees enrolls in a class. Managers and schedulers also

to focus on more productive efforts, it also enforces consistency

have access to training class enrollment records. HR receives an

and compliance because rules can be built into the enrollment

automatic notification if a class is full.

process without emails or voice messages.

Integrating training into a single workforce management solution helps ensure that this vital agency function is managed as effectively as possible with minimal compliance risk.

ABOUT MITC MITC provides modular workforce management solutions and services to support all the needs of agencies — time and attendance, advanced employee scheduling, service documentation, payroll rules and reporting engine, workforce analytics, payroll and billing integration, and more. For 25 years, MITC has grown to serve over 1,500 organizations (with anywhere form 5 to 10,000 employees) in the USA, the UK , Africa, Australia, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. They have selected MITC to help control costs, save time, improve productivity and ensure compliance.

Visit www.mitcsoftware.com to learn more.

WHY TRAINING IS IMPORTANT AND HOW TO MANAGE TRAINING USING MITC

3