Annals of Reengineering

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Annals of Reengineering

Training Policies and Administration Recommendations

The project team charged with reviewing MIT’s training policies and administration has issued its recommendations in a printed report, which is also available on the Web at <http://web.mit.edu/reeng/www/hrpd/>. (Reports with suggestions for improving other aspects of MIT’s human resource practices are also available at this site.) It’s important to note that all of the recommendations are under review and have not yet been approved for implementation.

Rationale

The rationale for this project team’s work is that "if MIT is to remain an organization whose workforce is characterized by high performance and continual learning, then equal access must be provided to training and development opportunities. Training policies and procedures must promote efficiency, equity, flexibility, and safety. Currently, there are no standards for training budgets, release time, or minimum requirements, nor is there a strategic plan for addressing these issues."

Definitions

For the purpose of the report, "training" is defined as courses designed to develop basic and job-related skills, core technology skills and core competencies, and to promote career development. "Competencies" are defined as knowledge, skills, and behaviors necessary for successful performance in a role or position.

Methodology

The project team did research and conducted surveys on the best practices in higher education and industry and also reviewed MIT’s current practices. In addition, the team surveyed MIT administrators and support staff and also held focus group sessions.

The recommendations include the following components:

minimum standards for training (dollars, time, courses, or percent of budget)
the process for setting Institute training budgets, sources of funding (central vs. departmental), and fees (including Tuition Reimbursement)
the use of technology to track Institute training needs and training received, and
policies about required courses and certification for certain jobs/roles.

Although the team was able to identify more than $3 million currently being spent on training, it was impossible to calculate the total amount MIT spends annually because there is no single line item in departmental budgets for training. Consequently, these overall costs are not accounted for in any systematic, easily identifiable way. Essentially, this means that MIT is spending a considerable sum of money for training without being able to clearly break out this cost so that it can be managed effectively. Developing a way to track training costs is therefore the team’s first recommendation.

Here are the six specific recommendations:

MIT should develop a single budget line item for training costs in departmental budgets.
Strategic changes to maintain and develop a staff of high performers and continuous learners should be implemented.
Every employee should have an annual plan that specifies performance goals, including training needed.
Departments need to implement employee development plans, including adequate resources for training.
Training should be easily accessible and of the highest quality.
MIT should offer training through a variety of learning experiences and delivery systems.

More details about the recommendations are available in the complete report.

Team members came from the following areas: the Center for Real Estate, the Department of Biology, the Division of Bioengineering and Environmental Health, Information Systems (from both the Training and Publications and the Finance and Administration areas), the Performance Consulting and Training Team, Physical Plant (now known as Facilities), and the Professional Learning Center.

The Training Policies and Administration project team worked under the auspices of the Performance Consulting and Training team and was a component of the Human Resource Practices Development Project. Joan Rice, vice president for Human Resources, is the project’s sponsor.

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