Minnesota State Colleges & Universities

Human Resource Information Systems Training

Executive Summary

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MNSCU) was implementing a new web-based Human Resource Information System (HRIS) across its network of 30 colleges and seven universities. Dashe & Thomson created a blended learning solution to meet the wide-ranging needs of a diverse audience.

Challenges

The HRIS system would be deployed to a user base with widely varying levels of computer proficiency, based on both campus setting and role. At the beginning of the project, there was concern about how the complexity of HR decisions would be conveyed through the new system and, although the organization had previously produced and distributed a core set of training materials, there was still a lack of user confidence in the system.

Our Solution

Dashe & Thomson realized that as the system implementation progressed, more functionality was being delivered to a broader audience. The team determined that a more comprehensive, role- and process-based training program was needed, resulting in a blended learning solution to meet the learning needs of each audience. The solution included: foundational and basic skills eLearning courses for new users; instructor-led hands-on exercises, and scenario-based courses for tasks where problem-solving skills were critical. In addition, an ongoing support system was delivered, including feedback, mentoring, and coaching.

How It Helped

Dashe & Thomson was able to disseminate training and information to employees well in advance of periodic process or function changes, and to provide multiple training options for different learning styles. This process-driven training approach improved user confidence and process consistency. At project close, Dashe established best practices for training that could be re-used in the future, including classroom instruction, train-the-trainer, coaching, WebEx, and lab sessions.