JJC Delivers Portable Software Training

Village of Shorewood employees learn a quick computer tip during their August training session held at Village offices. Portable computer labs and instruction was provided by Joliet Junior College.

Last August, employees of the Village of Shorewood were trained in beginning and intermediate levels of Microsoft Word and Excel in a portable computer lab delivered by Joliet Junior College (JJC).

"We have laptop computers ready to use for any client who wants on-site training but does not have their own lab or classroom," said Amy Murphy, director of Corporate and Community Services for JJC. "We've provided laptops to Pollmann North America and Midwest Generation, just to name a few, as well as a host of village governments including Plainfield and Shorewood. They all appreciated the convenience of training at their own locations."

The Village of Shorewood contacted JJC earlier this year as a result of an internal study to evaluate the computer skills of every village employee. "A couple of months ago we formed an information technology team," said Finance Director, Sue Berg. "We learned that what we needed was some basic training in computers. We did a search and found JJC."

The training was broken down into two sessions. The first was delivered over a four day period in August and taught beginning and intermediate levels in Word and Excel. Another four days are scheduled in September. This will allow all village employees to be trained including those in public works and the police department.

"Everybody was very positive," said Berg. "Some even asked for more training in other applications."

Two Village of Shorewood employees focus on a project as they explore new possibilities in Microsoft Word and Excel during the four days of training in August.

Part of that positive response is due to the quality of instruction. "While the convenience of our portable computer lab is important to the learning process, nothing is as important as the quality of the instruction," said Murphy. "Selma Chaney, who taught the classes at Shorewood, is a professional and a true expert in software applications. She knows how to transfer her skills to students."

"We all liked our instructor," said Berg. "She was very good about going at the right pace for all of the students."

Perhaps a comment from Village employee, Ken Hansen, says it best: "(Selma) did a good job of making dull subject material interesting."

"All our computer instructors are experienced, knowledgeable educators who really do care if participants learn," said Murphy. "They each have a reputation of patience and caring for every learner."

If you would like to know more about JJC's portable computer lab, call Amy Murphy at (815) 280-1418, or e-mail amurphy@jjc.edu. She will give you all the details and answer your questions.

Joliet Junior College Executive Honored by ICCEDA

Every year, the Illinois Community College Economic/ Workforce Development Association (ICCEDA) names one of their members "Professional of the Year." It is an honor given to someone who has a strong record of achievement and service. On September 11, 2008, the award was given to Amy Murphy, director of Corporate and Community Services (CCS) for Joliet Junior College (JJC).

Murphy has been a member of ICCEDA since 1994. From the beginning she took an active role in helping to make the organization a vital service to community colleges throughout the state. Since 1997, she has held a number of positions including Education Chair, Secretary/Treasurer, President-Elect, President, and Past-President.

One of her most notable accomplishments includes the work she did organizing ICCEDA's Training Academy, a three-day school designed to educate new members on the skills and knowledge needed to be contract training managers. She also developed courses for senior members including a Return-on-Investment Workshop and served as the liaison for ICCEDA on the Illinois Community College Council of Administrators (ICCCA) board.

Her accomplishments are not restricted to her ICCEDA membership activities. Since the realignment of Joliet Junior College in 2007, Murphy has been named the director of Corporate and Community Services with responsibility for delivering contract training, open-enrollment courses, and lifelong learning classes to the JJC business and residential communities. Under her leadership, the CCS division has nearly doubled its projected $1.2 million revenue budget for FY08 bringing in $2 million in total sales.

Murphy is also responsible for the Will County Traffic School which was recently recognized as one of the best traffic schools in Illinois by the National Safety Council. In addition to her membership in ICCEDA and the work she does for JJC, Murphy serves on the boards of the Grundy Economic Development Council and the Heritage Corridor.

Are you a Maven, Connector, or Salesman?

According to Malcolm Gladwell, a combination of two or more of these personality types working together can start a new trend.

Gladwell has written a book called The Tipping Point. In it, he writes about a number of trends that moved through society like epidemics. Some of them were planned; many just happened.

"I'm convinced that ideas and behaviors and new products move through a population very much like a disease does," says Gladwell in an interview published on his website www.gladwell.com. "This isn't just a metaphor...I'm talking about a very literal analogy."

In his book, Gladwell describes Connectors as individuals who not only know a lot of people, but know a lot of people who belong to a number of diverse groups.

The other players include Mavens and Salesmen. While Gladwell distinguishes between these two personalities, one person can often be both.

The Maven is an expert, someone who others acknowledge as the "authority" on a particular subject. Salesmen are not necessarily experts, but they know how to connect with others and sell an idea or product.

For information about Malcolm Gladwell and his book The Tipping Point, go to http://www.gladwell.com/tippingpoint/index.html.

Worker Shortage Not a Problem Says New Survey; Isolation between Generations is Bigger Issue

According to a new survey published by Atlantabased Randstad USA, the four generations working in America rarely interact with one another resulting in a shortage in job knowledge – not workers.

The survey identifies the four generations as Generation X, Generation Y, baby boomers, and matures (those born between 1900 and 1945). It reports isolation between these workers causing a severe lack of communication and knowledge transfer.

Randstad conducted the survey last December and January. They sampled 3,494 adults; 1,295 were employers and 2,199 were employees.

The study found that boomers and mature workers have a great deal of knowledge to share with Gen Y and younger employees, but had little or no interaction with them. Fifty-one percent of the boomers and 66 percent of the matures reported little or no interaction with Gen Y and younger co-workers.

In an article written for Workforce Management Online by Mark Larson, Eric Buntin, managing director of Marketing and Operations for Randstad said, "Given this scenario, businesses are faced with cultivating more interaction among generations in their workforce. The starting point is for employers to acknowledge and communicate to employees that there is a lack of interaction in the workforce."

One way a company can encourage generational interaction is to form teams made up of one member from each generation. This would force more interaction and collaboration. Another solution might be to write a detailed procedural manual on how a company does business.

"Employers are beginning to feel the pain left by retiring workers," said Joseph Giunta, contract training manager for Joliet Junior College's Corporate and Community Services Division. "These workers not only remove themselves from the workplace, they take all their knowledge and experience with them. Sometimes, the best way to retain some of this knowledge is to write procedural manuals that become reference tools for all employees to use."

Procedural manuals can be written by individuals or small teams. These teams can be made up of workers across generational lines to help improve interaction and produce a more relevant product.

"Companies that take the time to write procedural manuals may even experience a bump in productivity," said Giunta. "Writing forces people to evaluate how things get done which can bring outdated and inefficient practices to everyone's attention."

If you would like to teach your employees how to write procedural manuals and begin the process of retaining experience and knowledge, call Joseph Giunta at (815) 280-2729, or e-mail jgiunta@jjc.edu.