Ask several public health employees what professional development means to them, and you’ll likely hear similar answers — activities and programs designed to help them grow their skills and advance their careers. But when it comes to how health departments deliver these opportunities, the answers can be quite varied.
In a world where available resources and how they’re allocated are always changing, ensuring equitable access to professional development is no easy task. PH WINS data can help health departments understand the unique needs of their team members and prioritize available resources.
Health departments use a mix of strategies to remove barriers and provide opportunities for skill and career development. Some offer their own training programs. Others provide financial or other support to employees who seek professional development on their own.
Address equity challenges
Providing training and professional development can help health departments retain public health workers. But ensuring that every employee can access professional development equitably isn’t always practical or realistic. Funding and policies may limit the number of available opportunities and program requirements may dictate which employees can capitalize on them.
One way workforce development teams can help ensure equitable opportunities is by curating and sharing professional development options across all levels of the department — especially those options that don’t require a budget. These may include:
- Online learning such as webinars and self-paced courses
- Presenting findings to colleagues or to external stakeholder audiences
- Writing abstracts, policy briefs, or peer-reviewed journal articles
Senior program managers who want to make the leap to executive leadership roles may need specific training to get there. Yet often, the professional development needed to progress to executive leadership is left to the individual. Workforce development teams can support employees by connecting them with information about leadership development programs available through federal agencies, academic institutions, and professional associations.
Some health departments partner with colleges and universities to increase professional development opportunities for their employees. For example, the Shelby County Health Department (SCHD) in Memphis, Tennessee, has partnered with the University of Memphis School of Public Health to offer certain professional development opportunities for its employees. (Read a case study about the SCHD training and development program).
Understand individual strengths
It’s important to remember that not every employee wants to manage a team or department — some may thrive in individual contributor roles. Some team members want to become known for their subject matter expertise. Offering a range of professional development opportunities that recognize these differences helps increase the likelihood that all employees continue to grow and feel satisfied with their career progression.
Mecklenburg County Public Health (MCPH) in Charlotte, North Carolina, helps level the professional development playing field by getting to know each employee’s strengths. According to Autumn Watson, MPH, REHS, public health organizational development director for MCPH, every employee takes a CliftonStrengths® assessment. MCPH has created a separate section related to employee strengths in its supervisors and managers resource hub, the organization’s online repository of reference information and guides for people managers.
“Each team is linked to a supervisor,” Watson said. “So, every supervisor gets to see the top five CliftonStrengths of each of their direct reports. Gallup provides supervisor, manager, and leadership trainings in a digestible way. Our supervisors have access to tutorials that help them understand the different ways their people learn best. We’ve incorporated those into trainings for managers and supervisors on how to develop and lead their staff and how to look at your team’s strengths and situate project groups based on strengths rather than job titles.”
MCPH also has three certified CliftonStrengths coaches within the department. “We knew if we had to rely on a contractor that wasn’t going to be sustainable for us for funding,” Watson said. “So, we got some internal staff certified and they offer quarterly trainings, as well as individual and team trainings. These trainers can tap into their Gallup resources to develop customized trainings.”
According to Watson, the trainings have helped supervisors and managers feel more confident in their ability to grow and develop the team members they lead. MCPH has also introduced optional lunch-and-learn trainings for employees who want to expand their skillsets in topics like data and evaluation. Each month, the department offers a training focused on a different CliftonStrengths theme. “They’re all optional, but they’ve been at capacity every time we’ve offered them,” she said.
Key actions to encourage employee development
To help make sure all employees have access to professional development:
- Ask and analyze. Review PH WINS data and complete internal assessments to learn which professional development opportunities employees want most.
- Reconsider requirements. Make sure program requirements and rules don’t limit access for certain employees. Be flexible wherever you can.
- Think broader. Not every professional development opportunity comes with a hefty price tag. Consider developing internal trainers to build sustainable programs.
- Remember: equitable doesn’t mean identical. Not every employee wants to climb the management ladder. Consider creating individualized professional development plans that reflect specific career goals.