Learning and Development
Learning and Development can vary from company to company or person to person. At Garver, Learning and Development (L&D) is a big part of our culture. Our internal L&D platform is called Garver U. Professional Development, which is one of the primary initiatives for our Beyond Strategic Plan. Garver U serves as a clearinghouse for all Garver training (including onboarding), educational lunch and learns, and available courses from partner resources such as LinkedIn Learning, RightNow Media and subject matter experts like myself.
Garver has set a goal for each employee to have at least 40 hours of Professional Development each year. As of the end of September, I was number 2 on the PDF leaderboard with 128.25 hours. Hats off to the person in the #1 slot, they are killing it so far this year. If interested, feel free to reach out to me when you read this to see where I am now.
The goal of each employee achieving 40 hours of professional development is anticipated to be a combination of up to 10-16 hours of classroom training or virtual courses, 20-25 hours of experiential learning, and 8-10 hours of self-paced learning. Attending industry-related conferences, on the job training, going to city council or client meetings, and being mentored by Garver's leaders. will also count towards your PDHs at Garver. Speaking of conferences, be sure that you check out my September AUGI World article that I wrote about the Importance of Industry Conferences.
Because Learning and Development is such a huge part of our culture here at Garver, I decided to reach out to our awesome Learning and Development team, Marla, Audra, Dominique, Katie and Jeremy. I asked them 5 questions about our Learning and Development program and Garver U. Here is what they had to say.
1. How does Garver U align with the specific needs and career development goals of employees across different departments, particularly in the AEC industry?
a. Garver U is the Learning Management System (LMS) for Garver’s professional development under the direction of the Learning & Development (L&D) team. It contains courses to assist staff with career development as well as learning plans (collection of courses) to help those looking to grow in their development. Currently, engineering staff have learning plans for each phase of their career including Engineering Interns, ENI (for those in their first 3 years), ENII (3-5 years depending on discipline and focus), PM (skills for project managers), and BTLs (focused on leadership and development of their teams). We also offer a 90-day new hire onboarding program that begins with a new hire welcome call where the CEO and CHRO attend to personally welcome each new hire to Garver.
2. What are the key metrics or indicators used to measure the effectiveness of learning programs at Garver U? How do these metrics influence the development of future courses?
a. After each of the programs offered by the Learning & Development team, we collect feedback using a survey. Some programs also have a live feedback session after the initial survey to allow us to hear directly from participants.
b. Feedback is used to improve existing programs, as well as identify areas of interest for additional courses or programs.
3. How does the Learning and Development team stay updated with the latest trends and technologies in the AEC industry, and how are these integrated into the curriculum at Garver U?
a. We follow the webinars offered by ACEC, PMI, ACC and other industry trade organizations. We share the information for sessions of interest, and we incorporate key takeaways into our Garver courses and programs when appropriate. We also connect with Subject Matter Experts in the business to understand the current development needs of staff within the business lines.
4. What opportunities are there for employees to provide feedback on Garver U courses, and how is this feedback used to improve future learning experiences?
a. See #2
b. We partner with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to develop courses for Garver on a regular basis. An example of such is the Environmental course which is a self-paced eLearning designed to educate staff on the Environmental Review Process. We worked with key staff to obtain content, get input on learning modules, and allowed them to lead in final review and guidance.
5. Can you share some success stories or examples of how Garver U has positively impacted an employee’s career progression or a project’s success within the company?
a. Our Project Management 101 (PM101) is a 30-hour program geared to new college graduate hires through their 3rd/4th year in the engineering field. The program’s goal is to provide a solid knowledge foundation for the life cycle of projects while identifying and discussing key tasks performed by that target audience as they move their careers toward becoming actual project managers. The three-part program includes:
1. Pre-work: A self-paced learning plan of courses to review or educate attendees on topics which will be discussed during the workshop. (8 hours)
2. Workshop: An in-person 2-day workshop consisting of 11 modules facilitated by experienced leaders and Subject Matter Experts. (16 hours)
3. Continued Development Series: Follow up sessions to enhance and reinforce the 6 primary topics of the program conducted as 1-hour sessions once per month for six months. (6 hours)
b. Our Insights Discovery Personal Effectiveness workshop is a personal development and team-building tool designed to help individuals and teams understand their communication preferences, working styles, and interpersonal dynamics. The tool uses a 4-color model to represent the four basic components of a person’s personality. Garver has adopted the program company wide and by having conversations around communication with others we see an improvement in work relationships.
1. We have built the tool into several other training programs including our New Hire Onboarding Program and our leadership workshop Manager’s Essentials. Leaders have reported the tool is easy to use and helps with 1-1 conversations and well as teambuilding. Staff have also advised that it has allowed them to have better communication and relationships with co-workers and their leader.
Garver U is a great LMS that has a variety of different interactive courses. If your company does not have its own Garver U, lots of software resellers offer instructor-led training for the software they sell or your company could utilize other LMS tools like Global eTraining, CADLearning or Pinnacle Series to help with your employees’ learning and development. Most learners these days are DIYers. DIY learners in the AEC industry are individuals who take a hands-on, self-directed approach to their education and skill development. They often rely on a mix of online resources, tutorials, and practical experience to learn new techniques and stay updated with industry trends. As a subject matter expert, you will need to cater to the different ways that DIYer’s learn. I will tell you that I am definitely a DIYer.
DIY Learning
Videos
Videos can come in varying lengths and from a variety of sources. They can be in the form of 45–60-minute webinars, short tutorials or a series of videos. If you are creating videos on a specific task or workflow, you should keep those videos to less than 10 minutes, but ideally less than 5 minutes. This ensures that you have their attention for the whole duration. If your video is longer than that, the person watching is more susceptible to distractions and may miss key points. You should also have access to a decent video editing program like Adobe Premier Pro, Camtasia (this is what I use) or Clipchamp. Obviously, there are many more programs to choose from that you would have to evaluate for yourself to figure out what will meet your needs.
Another thing to consider for video training is to record any training sessions you will be doing and make them available for your staff. With Garver U, we can upload our own videos. I have several recorded training sessions available for our staff to watch.
Step-by-Step
Step-by-Step written instructions are probably the most common way to learn something. Instructions (or quick start guides) are included with just about everything you buy. For the AEC industry, the programs, tools and add-ins we use daily have help center/wiki pages that walk someone through how to do specific things. Even some of those pages contain videos. For Autodesk, it starts at https://help.autodesk.com, for BricsCAD you would go to https://help.bricscad.com. For tools like CTC Software or Ideate Software, they have links to videos and written instructions built into their tools or AEC Simple has a series of wiki pages with instructions on how to use their tool.
Over the years, I have created my fair share of written instructions. At one point I had a 200+ page word document outlining various workflows and standards. It proved to be quite painful to update and add new sections. I still have a copy of it but no longer use it. Nowadays I am using OneNote, which offers way more flexibility, for all my workflow/process documentation which is being linked from our BIM SharePoint page that I maintain. Some of the instructions I have written have truly been step-by-step while some of the more advanced instructions take some liberties and assume that those that are utilizing these instructions know more about the program than most and do not need to be shown every step.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Learning and Development at Garver is not just a program but a core part of our culture. Through Garver U, we provide our employees with a comprehensive platform that supports their professional growth and career development. With a goal of 40 hours of professional development each year, our employees are encouraged to engage in a variety of learning experiences, from classroom training to experiential learning and self-paced courses.
We recognize that people learn in different ways, and Garver U caters to these diverse learning preferences. Some employees learn best by watching videos, which can range from short tutorials to longer webinars. Others prefer step-by-step written instructions, which are commonly used in the AEC industry and are available through various help centers and wiki pages. Additionally, there are those who thrive on hands-on, DIY learning, experimenting and discovering through trial and error.
The success stories and positive feedback from our staff highlight the effectiveness of our programs and the impact they have on both individual careers and the overall success of our projects. As we continue to evolve and adapt to the latest trends and technologies in the AEC industry, we remain committed to fostering a culture of continuous learning and development. Together, we are building a brighter future for our employees and our company.
