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January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

  • 1.  January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-01-2024 07:02 AM

    Happy New Year! We’re kicking off 2024 with another member-suggested resource drive focused on staff training & leadership development. Forum member @Sara Fitzpatrick (she/her) suggested this topic saying: “Some animal shelter professionals have traveled an unconventional career path or move up through the ranks on the merits of their dedication, focus, and natural talent but without a lot of traditional business experience for acquiring skills such as strategic planning, budgeting, public speaking, etc. I'd love to see roadmaps of how other shelters develop their leadership from within.”


    For this resource drive, members are looking for information on (but not limited to):

    • What type of training is required for staff?
    • How does your organization promote leadership development? Do you typically hire from within or provide internal training & education to help staff move up in the organization?
    • Share links or resources to training courses that help educate staff on best practices and protocols


    How to Participate: 
    1.  Reply on this thread with information about how your organization approaches staff training and/or leadership development. Share examples!
    2.  Reply with what type of training you’re looking for or would like to incorporate into your organization


    Where will the Staff Training & Leadership Development resources be stored? How do I view them? 
    All training & development resources shared on this thread will be accessible in the “Staff Training & Development” folder in the Maddie’s Pet Forum Library: https://maddies.fund/stafftrainingdevelopmentresources


    Share & You’ll Be Entered To Win $50
    Everyone who uploads a file, shares a resource on this thread or replies with information about staff training and/or leadership development in January 2024 will be entered to win a $50 gift card to Amazon, Petco or PetSmart (winner's choice).  Start sharing now!


    Pro-Tips for sharing resources: 

    • Use the "Upload File" button when replying to this thread to attach a file. We encourage you to attach the file versus hyperlinking to the file whenever possible. Files that are attached get automatically added to the Maddie's Pet Forum Resource Library so attaching helps make the resource searchable and improves accessibility within the forum.
    • Yes, you can share resources that your organization did not create. Sharing is caring and this applies to resources too! Make sure the creator allows the resource to be shared publicly and be sure to give credit to the creator or source organization.


    #EducationandTraining
    #OrganizationalManagement
    #PeopleManagement(includingVolunteerIntegration)

    ------------------------------
    Kim Domerofski (she/her)
    Community Manager
    Maddie's Fund
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-02-2024 08:46 AM

    Our organization actually went through a large leadership change back in May 2023, when our Board and interim CEO (with the help of HR) completely restructured things (for the better, we think!). After we lost our Director of Operations, there was talk about what would happen to that role, who would fill it, etc etc- to the point where everyone was kind of 'lost' in terms of their own positions. Our CEO decided to create four new Shelter Manager roles that basically comprised the duties that the former DO held. I was one of those people, and the way he described it was pretty great: "Promoting each of them into these Shelter Manager roles was an honor for me -- each has shown tremendous dedication to helping LHS be the great organization that it is. They have earned our trust through years of commitment to constantly improving their animal welfare knowledge and impact, as well as their willingness to grow in their skills and abilities as leaders and mentors within the organization. As they develop in these roles, the organization will have more seamless communication and collaboration between these departments, and LHS will be a healthier and stronger organization because of it." He made sure to let us know that he wanted to create leadership from within, by empowering those employees who have shown dedication to our organization rather than bring in some new person who 'might shake things up' after such a large change. Our new culture is immensely better than before I think. Leadership will actively share articles, classes, etc with other teams if it seems like a relevant topic or interesting read. We've started to become a much more integrated workplace that focuses on staff empowerment and growth, which I think is wonderful in this field.

    We just started using Paycor, which has all kinds of courses and such that cover various topics that staff can take, and we can see their progress/ when they completed the course/ etc etc. The starting staff go through a working interview before being hired, which helps give them an idea of the work they will be doing. For the majority of the staff, and the fast pace that our shelter can be, most new hires start in small groups and do a lot of on-the-job training. We've also recently started closing to the public one day a month for internal staff training and development that all staff attend and get training relevant to their position too!



    ------------------------------
    Shelby Bundy
    Shelter Manager- Programs
    Longmont Humane Society
    303-772-1232
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-12-2024 02:53 PM

    Hi, my name is Amelia Curtis and I am the Education and Training Manager at San Diego Humane Society. Here is a brief overview of our staff training:

    1. All new employees attend First Day Experience (in person) which includes a tour, service project, getting uniforms, scavenger hunt, and time for e-learnings. This program takes place once a week we have anywhere from 3-12 new hires each week.
    2. All new employees attend two days of New Hire Orientation (in person) which includes presentations about topics such as our culture, customer service, policies and procedures, safety, volunteer engagement, pathways, sexual harassment, supporting our community and more. This program takes place once a month.
    3. All new employees are assigned e-learnings through our LMS that vary in topics that are required for everyone to take and for those in certain roles to take. Please let me know if you'd like to see the list of topics.
    4. We offer a list of resources for staff to explore professional development:
      • Local workshops
      • Webinars and certificate programs from other organizations
    5. We have a learning request process for departments to request an e-learning be created about a topic we are missing training on. The department requesting the training works closely with our L&D team to create an engaging e-learning with accurate content. The e-learning is then assigned to the required departments and staff within them.
    6. We also have live in-person and webinar presentations and workshops for staff such as:
      • DiSC
      • CPR/ First Aid
      • Fire Extinguisher
      • Animal body language and handling (Humane Safety Training)
      • De-escalation with guests
      • Guest speakers on special topics
      • Pack Leader trainings and roundtables (supervisors/managers)
    7. We are in the process of creating onboarding checklists that all departments use as they onboard new hires.
    8. Departments often conduct their own micro trainings with their teams focused on specific tasks.


    ------------------------------
    Amelia Curtis
    Education and Training Manager
    San Diego Humane Society
    CA
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-12-2024 03:38 PM

    Dear Amelia, It seems like your employees are very busy 24/7, and they are highly dedicated to the organization they work for. Congratulations! I believe you've done a great job in keeping your employees enthusiastic.

    However, when you're putting in a lot of effort to appreciate and engage with your volunteers, which is commendable. However, it can indeed be challenging to maintain a consistent and committed volunteer base. 



    ------------------------------
    Myriam Martinez
    President
    Mujeres Latinas SC
    SC
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-17-2024 04:00 AM

    @Myriam Martinez I agree it is a challenge maintaining a consistent and committed volunteer base. I think a lot of these tips and trainings for employees could be applied to volunteers as well. We are a volunteer run farm and exotic animal sanctuary. Many of our animals are elderly and/or medically needy. We have extensive hands on training for our feed/clean crew and give each volunteer a printed "instruction" folder. While our new volunteers are always enthusiastic and careful, we are finding our hands on volunteers who have been here a long time (2+ years) have become lax and not following our guidelines when cleaning the animal areas and even feeding. This can be a question of the animals safety and wellbeing. We have tried talking to them in person, each has told us they would do better (there are three volunteers in question) but nothing changes. We regularly update our printed "instruction" books, and have installed metal signs with "To Do" checklists in each area.  We've even created continued learning instructional videos but most have not watched them. What we do is very labor intensive so we praise our volunteers regularly in person and through social media and give gas and restaurant gift cards as incentives. My question is how do you motivate volunteers to follow the sanctuary guidelines and when they continue to cut corners how do you "fire" someone who is giving you their time? 



    ------------------------------
    Lisa Burn
    Co-founder/VP
    Farmhouse Animal & Nature Sanctuary
    Myakka City, FL
    https://farmhousesanctuary.org
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-17-2024 05:53 PM

    Dear Lysa:  We strive to ensure that every volunteer comprehends the guidelines, but unfortunately, consistency among volunteers is a challenge. Consequently, we often find ourselves trying to onboard new individuals. It's a common issue faced by many organizations like ours.



    ------------------------------
    Myriam Martinez
    President
    Mujeres Latinas SC
    SC
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-16-2024 08:26 AM

    Hi Amelia,

    Would you be able to share your presentation on De-escalation with Guests as we're hoping to get our staff trained a little more on that topic? 

    Thanks,
    Swee Hart
    Peninsula SPCA
    Newport News, VA



    ------------------------------
    Swee Hart
    Humane Education Manager
    Peninsula SPCA
    VA
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-29-2024 09:10 AM

    Yes, I'd love to see this as well! 



    ------------------------------
    Melissa Robinson
    East Bay SPCA
    Oakland CA
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-18-2024 09:36 AM

    Amelia, 

    All of this sounds amazing.  I wish I could come and go through this training and bring all of it back to our employees.  I'm particularly interested in your de-escalation training.  I'd love to know what all is entailed in your First Day Experience.  That's something we've been working on (admittedly without much progress).  

    Thanks for your willingness to share.  I imagine it will be helpful for many of us. 

    Ondrea Johnson



    ------------------------------
    Ondrea Johnson
    Director
    Williamson County Animal Center
    Franklin TN
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-21-2024 07:09 PM

    Thank you for the great information. I run a small home based wildlife rescue. This will be helpful for growth in the future! 



    ------------------------------
    Cheryl Aguiar
    Executive Director
    Roadside Wildlife Rehab Inc
    MA
    ------------------------------



  • 11.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-15-2024 08:47 AM

    We're getting closer to where we want to be! Our Executive Director assumed her role after a turbulent leadership change and managed to rally existing leaders within the organization while recruiting new employees with specific expertise to fill the gaps that were roadblocks to future growth.  With her team in place, SOPs were created, hiring standards were formalized, job descriptions were put into writing, and transparent processes for decision-making became the norm.  Individually, when department managers identify development opportunities within their teams, the efforts are met with support and encouragement. It doesn't sound nearly as specific and impressive as some of the responses I've seen so far, but building a strong foundation has been a meaningful experience for new leadership, as well as those that survived the difficult transition after Covid.  We're positioned perfectly for additional growth, especially since securing a Director of Administration, Director of Ops, and Director of Development last year.  We're even in the midst of strategic planning for the first time  in the organization's 100+ year history.  To start, we are updating our mission statement so that it reflects our commitment to grow and adapt with the community that we serve.  That's good stuff. 



    ------------------------------
    Sarah Callahan, DVM
    Director of Veterinary Services
    Humane Educational Society of Chattanooga
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-15-2024 09:40 AM

    Cat Adoption Team has a master training checklist that we use to create training checklists for all of our staff in each position. We use this to create the onboarding checklist for new hires, as well as the tool for our 30, 60, 90, and annual reviews (we call them check-ins instead of reviews). Our managers and supervisors use the training checklists to ensure our staff are getting the training they need in a timely manner.

    As managers, we also send training opportunities as they arrive by email. We assist staff with covering shifts to watch a webinar. When they do this, they take notes and then present a shorter version back to the team. Since they often take screenshots with their notes, we save them on our shared drive so others can go and review them at any time. 

    We do a lot of cross-training during our slower season to give staff the opportunity to see what happens in other departments, to build the relationship between departments, and to also see if they might be interested in a position if one opens up.

    We hold quarterly training for staff and volunteers on aspects of sheltering that we often see, like URI, RW, socializing kittens or adults, bottle baby training, etc. 

    Speaking of volunteers, each position has a training checklist, just like our staff. We also have additional training opportunities via video for them to watch. We sent out national webinars and other articles in the weekly email that goes out. We level our volunteers and train them accordingly. Most of it is in person. 

    When we hire, we post jobs internally and externally, looking for the right candidate. We have learned that if you want to add diversity to your organization, you must post externally. We do promote from within as well. For example, we have lead positions for all of our main areas (shelter, hospital, and thrift store). We mentor our employees to learn more about becoming a lead as we discuss this in their check-ins. If someone is interested, we are willing to train and mentor them. Sometimes you have an employee on your bus but in the wrong seat, so moving them to fit their skills and passion better helps them want to stay with your organization. 

    If you have more questions about our training doc, how we conduct our hiring process or anything else around this topic, please feel free to reach out. 

    Kristi Brooks

    Director of Operations

    Cat Adoption Team

    Sherwood, OR



    ------------------------------
    Kristi Brooks
    Cat Adoption Team
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-16-2024 09:31 AM

    The more employees we get we find it harder to train them consistently as things get lost in games of telephone, more people to juggle and much like other industries it can be hard to pass on info at shift change and things get overlooked or are not compared with the same eyes. . This year our organization has seen a major change in worth ethic, ability/inability to handle stress, mental health struggles and so much more which has been shown in large amounts of turnover as people are not always prepared for what a job with animals well being being their responsibility.  The end results of inability to hire and train effectively can resulted in higher wage costs and stress on the workers who remain and have to pick up the slack or fill gaps when spending so much time trying to train and develop staff who leave.  We are always looking for ideas, options to work within this workforce shift. 



    ------------------------------
    Kristine OBrien
    Owner and Certified Professional Trainer
    Paws Republic Centre for Pets
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-23-2024 05:54 AM

    Your post make so much sense as it is difficult to find reliable staff who have a heart for what they are expected to do.  We continually look for staff and volunteers and with every staff change comes more training and less focus on dogs while they are in training. It sometimes seems like a vicious cycle.  Thanks for sharing 



    ------------------------------
    Laura Coan
    Volunteer
    Novastar Rescue
    AR
    ------------------------------



  • 15.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-19-2024 10:02 AM

    Hello - I am a new board member working on grants for our small, rural rescue and refuge. i would like guidance on finding grant opportunities and writing compelling grants! Glad to have found this forum. :)



    ------------------------------
    Amy Canter
    Board Member - Grants
    Wimberley Adoption Group & Rescue (WAG Rescue)
    TX
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-20-2024 11:48 AM

    I used to write major grants for a living. The Foundation Center has exceptional resources for grant writers and nonprofits. Although much of their information is behind a paywall, most major libraries contain access to the Center's database of foundations that fund nonprofits. It is labor intensive, but quite rewarding to search area foundation 990s to see what they have funded in the past. Many will distribute specific grant requirements. When writing, always remember that grantors prefer data over stories. For example, "We rescued a lot of dogs," is not as effective as, "Last year we rescued 50 dogs and placed them all in loving homes. Next year, using this grant money, we can increase the number to 75." And then be SURE to send annual reports to the funders!!!

    It may also be worth looking at 990s by state as there are family funders with their own foundations that don't advertise their existence. If  you don't have access to The Foundation Center databases online, you'll have to do the 990 research manually. Also check with your area Community Foundations.

    Information about 990s can be found here: https://guides.loc.gov/nonprofit-sector/form-990#:~:text=The%20990%20is%20a%20public,organization%20or%20from%20the%20IRS.



    ------------------------------
    Lou Meyers
    Trainer/Foster Home
    Dog Training & Behaviour
    NE
    ------------------------------



  • 17.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-20-2024 10:40 AM

    I'm fortunate that I retired from a large public  health nonprofit and had the opportunity to become proficient with Direct Action Organizing. While most of my professional experience with DAO was public policy campaigns with a city council or state legislature, I've found the core components are incredibly useful now as a non-profit horse sanctuary founder.  Applying these principles with available volunteer resources and Board potential, I feel I'm able to take steps to help horses with efficiency.  If anyone is interested, check out https://midwestacademy.com/about-us/.   



    ------------------------------
    cindy roragen
    ceo
    bixro horse haven
    KS
    ------------------------------



  • 18.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-24-2024 02:41 PM

    Hello

    Thank you for askig this question.  It has been very enlightening to read all the suggestions and to know what we are not alone in this.  So often animal welfare peeps feel isolated in what we do.

    We have the luxury of having a certified instructor on our staff here and we are able to attend the various classes he puts on at pretty much no cost to our organization.  Everything from basic animal control to compassion fatigue workshops.  The compassion fatigue workshops are opened to anyone in the animal welfare world from municipalities to private groups.

    Lately we have had to look for training that we can attend in one day without staying the night - this is due to budgetary constraints.

    We have wildlife groups in our area that offer workshops and those are most interesting as it is not the 'normal' workshops we get in our animal control conferences.  For example: next month some of our animal control officers will be attending a bat rehab class presented by Bat World.  We are looking forward to this as normally in animal control we are not rehabbing wildlife but often handing them over to others.  So in a sense, it will be interesting to see how the other side lives per say.

    This is probably a huge ask, but online classes that offer continuing education credits in our state would be most beneficial.  For example. here in Texas, certified animal control officers are required to complete 30 hours of CEUs every 3 years.  With more and more budget restrictions, online courses that offer state accreditations would be loved by many.

    I will continue to check back to see what everyone else writes.  Thank you.



    ------------------------------
    Chun Mezger
    Animal Services Officer
    North Richland Hills Animal Adoption & Rescue
    TX
    ------------------------------



  • 19.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 02-05-2024 12:38 PM

    Congratulations, @Chun Mezger! We randomly selected YOU as the $50 gift card winner of this month's Resource Drive giveaway!  Please check your DMs for a message from me about claiming your prize. 

    Thank you for contributing to this thread and throughout the forum. We appreciate you! 



    ------------------------------
    Kim Domerofski (she/her)
    Community Manager
    Maddie's Fund
    ------------------------------



  • 20.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 02-05-2024 12:41 PM

    Thank you for this card.  We will be putting it to great use.  Thank you that shared their ideas too.



    ------------------------------
    Chun Mezger
    Animal Services Officer
    North Richland Hills Animal Adoption & Rescue
    TX
    ------------------------------



  • 21.  RE: January 2024 Resource Drive: Staff Training & Leadership Development

    Posted 01-30-2024 10:00 AM

    What a timely topic! Right now I am the one and only doing all the work for my horse sanctuary.  That said, I have two Board members who are great advisors and that is invaluable. Given this, I'm in  need of motivating Board members to do a bit more.  I'd also love to see #EducationandTraining for shelter director organization; tips and tricks from the field! Thank you!!



    ------------------------------
    Cindy Roragen, CEO
    BixRo Horse Haven
    Girard, KS
    https://BixRoHorseHaven.org
    https://facebook.com/bixrohorsehaven
    ------------------------------