Front-line service providers can be the origin of customer's perceptions about an institution, and these initial perceptions can color subsequent interactions. To improve customer service, institutions need to offer training and recognition for providers. Characteristics of effective service and providing effective training are discussed. (MLW)

To develop codes of ethics for their profession, college human resources personnel must first understand their primary job-related responsibilities. These include being alert to evolving organizational needs; coordinating needed training of employees; appreciating the nuances of psychology, communication, and motivation; and observing employee…

The Duke University (North Carolina) experience using adventure-based or wilderness learning programs for staff development is discussed, focusing on the program rationale, planning, common responses of participants and nonparticipants, and outcomes. Quotations from program assessments are included. A brief list of relevant industry resources is…

Successful human resource strategic planning at colleges and universities requires that: (1) outcomes contribute to the bottom line; (2) the plan is linked to the institution's long-term strategy; and (3) the plan is simple to understand and follow. Staff retreats are essential and should involve environmental analysis, departmental analysis,…

There is an urgent need to bring values into the college curriculum. College human resources personnel are uniquely qualified to train college faculty and administrators in ethics and to assist in development of curricula in each discipline incorporating ethics. (MSE)

Some practical approaches to implementing preretirement education programs for personnel at public research universities are offered, based on a program developed at Ohio University. Preretirement program goals are to educate employees about the critical components in retirement planning and to provide unbiased and impartial resource information…

College and university strategic planning works best when staff performance appraisal and development are used together to bring about both organizational and individual change. However, these must be more than bureaucratic exercises unrelated to daily staff management. Individual staff must be able to see themselves as important in carrying out…

The article examines reasons for the decline in use of quality circles in higher education. A 1988 survey of eight universities and colleges using circles in 1986 found that because quality circle principles were violated, similar problems (such as inadequate training, problematic group membership, and exclusion of supervisors) were encountered at…

Differences in men's and women's communication styles affect their interactions with each other. Organizations must be flexible enough to recognize situations in which traditional male values of competition may be most functional and those in which more collaborative, female strategies are more appropriate. Personnel training can help ensure that…

The evolution of an award-winning Total Quality Management (TQM) program for administrative and academic staff development at Oregon State University is chronicled. Special attention is given to application of TQM for faculty and corporate interaction, instructional improvement, and curriculum development. Special challenges for implementation of…

Human resource professionals who find themselves charged with selecting and conducting employee training are advised to use adult learning theory to develop effective programs. Tips for facilitating adult training sessions, questions to address before designing a training program, and pointers for successful flip chart use are offered. (MSE)

Kennesaw State College (Georgia) has developed initiatives to enhance leadership and team-building skills of classified employees. The programs include a staff leadership training course, open to 20-24 employees annually, and the Staff Training and Orientation Program (STOP) to provide new employees with information about the institution in an…

Because many available employee training tools are not suitable for the college or university environment, college personnel trainers must create their own. This article proposes an approach to developing such tools which is based on behavior modeling and is designed to maximize transfer of skills learned to the work environment. (MSE)

A staff development program at California State University at Long Beach trains faculty and other personnel to participate in earthquake-related search and rescue operations on campus if needed. Vendor-trained staff members prepared a campus training program in emergency operations, fire suppression and protection, casualty assessment, urban…

The two major cultures existing on a college campus, collegial/scholarly and administrative/corporate, can operate counterproductively. Campus human resource professionals have a role in reconciling the two cultures through orientation programs for new faculty and staff, promoting social and intellectual interaction of personnel, and communication…