Vol. 38, No. 18

3-17-2004
By: Abigail Wagner

MAPS program helps professionals improve job performance

Ohio State faculty and staff don’t have to go far to get management training. The John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy offers training seminars to build leadership and management skills for top executives, mid-level managers, front-line supervisors and administrative support staff.

A program with a 30-year history, the Management Advancement for the Public Service (MAPS) program allows public sector employees to learn how they can improve performance and leadership skills and develop as professionals. The program offers more than 50 seminars during the academic year covering a wide variety of topics, including communication, employee development, supervision and work relationships. More than 1,800 professionals attend the program annually.

“MAPS offers you tutoring, assistance and support in doing your work, especially with respect to working with others, supervising others, building a team and moving an organization forward,” said Cindy Holodnak, director of management development programs for the Glenn Institute. “It does that in a condensed way so you can come for a day and leave with tools that allow you to do your job better.”

The MAPS program fulfills the Glenn Institute’s mission to train public officials and provide support for public employees. The institute’s other goals are to engage students in public service and create and disseminate high-quality policy research.

MAPS was developed by John Stanley in 1970 as a subscription-based program that evaluated what organizations wanted and offered classes to meet those needs. Each year the member organizations, which are made up of university departments and external companies, are surveyed to find out what type of training they anticipate needing for the coming year. The MAPS calendar is then developed to meet the member organizations’ needs, Holodnak said. Custom training seminars also can be developed for individual organizations to meet their unique needs.

“We use the MAPS program quite extensively for staff development — a very high priority in our department,” said Tally Hart, director of student financial aid.

With an average enrollment of 35 people per class, university employees make up about 15 percent of the total enrollment of the courses, Holodnak said. Supervisory classes such as “Key Fundamentals of Management” and “Effective Delegation” are among the most popular.

“The composition of the class is a benefit to university employees because you are in a class with people from other organizations who are able to contribute the insights of those organizations to the discussion. It allows for a broadening experience,” Holodnak said.

“Our staff consistently reports that the classes are excellent and an efficient way to improve their understanding of a wide array of topics,” Hart said. “I have taken the class about the intergenerational workforce, which was helpful in my efforts to optimize staff engagement and productivity.”

The courses are taught by instructors from diverse fields and backgrounds, including Ohio State faculty and professional consultants in the public and private sector. Interactive learning is used to give participants insights they can take back to work and apply the next day. This participatory nature allows attendees to share their knowledge with each other and learn from one another, Holodnak said.

“People should not think about it as being away from work. Rather it is an opportunity to step back and reflect upon job performance in a way that we don’t often take time to do anymore,” Holodnak said. “Staff can be productive when they step back and say, ‘Is there a different way for me to do what I’ve been doing?’”

Most courses are one-day sessions, and are held from 8:30 a.m-4 p.m. at the Fawcett Center. Lunch is included. Fees are based on the number of courses purchased. For more information or to view a list of upcoming classes, visit the Web at www.glenninstitute.org or call 292-3242.

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