Cherokee University Evolves

How has this idea enhanced your club's operation, etc.?

As a result of our last employee engagement survey we able to identify common key drivers from our employees, our Millennials in particular. We looked at how we as an organization could build onto our existing training programing to facilitate the need for continual learning. Cherokee University provides the resources for our employees that would offer the mentorship and development that they were asking for and could offer soft skills outside of their current field.

We asked our employees and managers what topics they need and wanted and have come up with the menu of course options to satisfy their hunger for learning. These included software skills and presentation skills- a wide range of offerings.

How was this idea implemented, and what have been the club members' reactions?

A course syllabus (menu) was developed for both frontline employees and managers. All employees are able to select a minimum of 8 hours of training they want for the year with a few predetermined courses that are mandatory. The curriculum offerings will be ever evolving. Trainers can be anyone in good standing with an expertise in a specific course study once they have gone through a Train the Trainer program. The concept will be in a credit hour schedule similar to a University and new classes will be added quarterly to keep employees interested. This system is allowing us to offer 112 Employee classes and 124 Manager classes that address the common key drivers our employees asked for in our employee engagement survey.

As we know club members have come to enjoy seeing familiar smiling faces of staff that they know and that know them. Remaining relevant in our employees future is our goal, this investment will return by investing in us and our membership.