My organization has recently transitioned to using G Suite as a way to manage much of our information. G Suite has huge ability to serve us as a team and make us more effective, not only in how we share information with one another, but how we share it with clients. We already use Google Sheets for sign out sheets, Google Docs for meeting minutes, and Google Drive for sharing resources.

As we have transitioned from personal Google accounts to the organizational G Suite there are some differences in how data is shared that has caused some confusion. Furthermore, prior to this switch, we had staff who did not engage with the data we had on Google Drive, and struggled to learn why this was a benefit. As we have fully transitioned, the use of G Suite is no longer optional for staff.

This development plan seeks to help staff transition to using G Suite by incorporating some of the principles of andragogy, and it seeks to help promote citizenship behaviour, co-creation and innovation amongst the staff.

Outline of Employee Development Plan:

  • Announce at staff meeting why we have transitioned to G Suite. During this time we will explain some of the benefits of G Suite, why we think using it is important, how it can help us be more effective, and give time for space for staff to ask questions regarding this decision. This allows staff to give feedback and helps them understand why they need to learn how to use this new technology (Merriam & Bierma, as cited in Castellon & George, 2017).
  • After having a time of feedback from staff, we will announce that there will be a survey sent to them. The survey, which will be sent using Forms on G Suite, will ask staff questions to help identify the top three areas they feel they need more training in to use this technology well. This will allow staff to have input into what they will be learning (HR Development Info, n.d.).
  • A workshop will be planned that will provide further training to staff in these three areas.
  • After the workshop is offered, a feedback survey will be sent out that will ask questions to evaluate staff competency with this new technology. It will also ask staff to identify areas they feel they need further training in. This allows staff to then become self-directed in what they need further training in (Castellon & George, 2017). This feedback survey will also ask staff how they envision this technology could be used within our organization. This will encourage co-creation and innovation as we “acknowledge the importance of engaging and nurturing the creativity of their [our] employees” (Kandampully, Bilgihan & Zhang, 2016, People as core resources for hybrid organizations section, para. 3).
  • Based on this feedback, staff that demonstrate competency with this new technology will be paired with staff that still have questions or need help. These staff will be asked to meet together, and the staff that show competency will be asked to help further train staff who need further training. The goal of this is to help promote organizational citizenship behaviour as staff work together towards the common goal of making our communication and information sharing more efficient and accurate.

References:

Castellon, A. & George, I. (2017). In Penfold Navarro, C. (Ed.), Leadership 500: Unit 6 notes [course materials]. Retrieved from https://create.twu.ca/ldrs500/unit-6/unit-6-notes/

HR Development Info. (n.d.). Malcolm Knowles and the six assumptions underlying andragogy. Retrieved from https://hrdevelopmentinfo.com/malcolm-knowles-and-the-six-assumptions-underlying-andragogy/

Kandampully, J., Bilgihan, A., & Zhang, T. (Christina). (2016). Developing a people-technology hybrids model to unleash innovation and creativity: The new hospitality frontier. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 29, 154–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2016.07.003