by Nancy Aldrich, M.A.

Dead Wood or Darn Good?
Encouraging Long-term Employees' Skill Development

Most public agencies usually have a few long-term employees on staff. Park departments and districts, forest preserves and recreation agencies retain employees because they provide good wages and benefits, opportunities for advancement and greater job security than private-sector employers. In turn, public agencies value long-term employees because they're well acclimated to their Jobs, familiar with their organizations and are undeniably loyal. These agencies also benefit from the valuable job skills their long-term employees have developed during their tenure.

But what do you do if you find the opposite to be true: your long-term employee has made little — or no — effort to update his job skills? Are you stuck with this "dead wood," or can you make this employee "darn good?"

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The Road to Dead Wood
Long-term employees become dead wood for a number of reasons. Typically, they fear change. Because new skills are an unknown, long-term employees may avoid learning in order to remain in their comfort zones. Some long-term employees avoid gaining new skills because they know they can't learn as quickly or as easily as they'd like. They may also be threatened by new ways of doing things, so they'll resist any attempt to change the status quo. Supervisors can help long-term employees overcome their learning anxiety by supporting their employees' learning efforts, encouraging their continuous skill development and reaffirming their ongoing value to the agency.

Agencies may also be responsible for encouraging the development of dead wood. It's very common for public agencies to create a culture in which long-term employees are led to believe they're untouchable (i.e., can't be fired). Since these employees realize they'll suffer no dire consequences if they don't update their job skills, they don't. When skill shortcomings are finally identified in long-term employees, the agency's allegiance to these employees usually prevails over its desire to make the necessary performance demands on them. As a result, these employees become accustomed to getting away with doing less, because the agency accepts that they "don't know how" to do certain things. Is it any wonder that in this environment long-term employees will resist any attempts to change what have become comfortable - and probably easy - work routines?

Dead wood also develops when agencies devalue ongoing skills training.

Consider your agency's commitment to staff development: Does it encourage and provide ongoing skills training? Are incentives, such as pay for performance or tuition reimbursement, in place to promote skills enhancement? Agencies that don't support and reward employees' ongoing skill development quickly create a demotivated, incompetent workforce. Developing employees should be an integral part of your agency's operational plan because your employees' job performance is directly linked to your bottom line. When agencies invest time and resources into growing their employees, they create an efficient and productive workforce that is not only willing - but also able - to get the job done.

Moving from Dead Wood to Darn Good
Once you understand how a long-term employee may have become dead wood, you can successfully address his or her performance problems. First, identify the job skills your long-term employee is lacking. Review the job description to ensure the essential Job functions and required job skills are current. In most agencies, job descriptions are written once and never updated. But how agencies conduct business changes constantly and supervisors must regularly revise job descriptions so they accurately reflect the skills needed to effectively perform the job today. Update job descriptions every two to three years, not only by looking at the positions in your agency, but also by comparing them to similar positions at other agencies. By benchmarking your job descriptions, you'll be able to identify the key job skills your employees may be lacking.

Next, develop and implement a Skills Enhancement Plan. The Skills Enhancement Plan is a document that establishes skills-based performance expectations for your employees. Specifically, it's a curative (rather than punitive) tool that identifies the skills needing development; the timelines for acquiring those skills; the expected, measurable skill outcomes; the resources to be used to obtain the skills; and the incentive for completion. Skills Enhancement Plans are successful staff development tools because they clearly establish your employees' expected job skills. More importantly, the plans define the performance standards against which you measure your employees' future job performance and determine wage increases. Page 25 shows a Skills Enhancement Plan for a front office registrar who needs to improve his skills using registration processing software.

To implement a Skills Enhancement Plan, meet with the employee to discuss the performance problems you've observed. Expect the employee to challenge your assessment and be prepared to describe specific situations where he or she demonstrated a lack of skills. Review the training that will be provided and the time lines for completion. Explain the expected post-training skills outcomes and how they will be measured. Keep the discussion positive and supportive and restate the employee's value to the agency. Remind the employee that you'll be available to provide assistance and support, as needed. Before ending the discussion, make sure the employee clearly understands he or she will be held

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accountable for acquiring the skills that are lacking. Then, have the employee sign the Skills Enhancement Plan to confirm his or her understanding of the plan and to demonstrate his or her commitment to taking the steps needed to improve Job skills.

While Skills Enhancement Plans are in place, meet regularly with your employee to review progress. Use the meetings to coach for success and to acknowledge your employee's growth. Your meetings should provide a safe environment in which your employee is comfortable discussing any difficulties he or she has encountered. While going through the steps of the plan, your employee will still be very apprehensive and resistant to change. Continue to be supportive and strive to provide an environment where both successes and failures are recognized as vital steps in the overall learning process.

Because people have different learning styles, you may recognize the need to adjust your employee's Skills Enhancement Plan, such as pushing back the time lines or providing additional training. As long as skill development continues to occur, be flexible in adapting the Skills Enhancement Plan to the individual learning needs of the employee. Also, remember that change doesn't occur overnight and, on occasion, your employee may revert back to old ways of doing things. Overlook your employee's minor setbacks and continue to reinforce emerging skills whenever you can.

True "Dead Wood"
Sometimes, a long-term employee truly is dead wood and, despite your best efforts, he or she refuses to update his or her job skills. When this occurs, you must meet "with the employee; discuss the training opportunities that were provided; restate the agency's performance expectations; document his or her ongoing performance inadequacies; and render disciplinary action. It's very hard to discipline a long-term employee, especially for performance shortcomings. But it will be even more difficult for you to handle the poor morale and lack of productivity that will arise when your other employees realize your ineffective, long-term employee is getting away with being dead wood.

Public-sector park and recreation agencies aren't resigned to operating with dead wood. By establishing attainable, measurable performance expectations, providing ample learning opportunities and expecting ongoing skill development of their long-term employees, agencies can turn their dead wood into darn good employees. And what agency can't use another darn good employee?

Nancy Aldrich, MA, is superintendent of human resources with the Arlington Heights Pork District and director-elect of the Administration and Finance Section of IPRA. She also serves as adjunct faculty with Roosevelt University. Contact Aldrich at naldrich@ahpd.org.

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