UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- For Penn State faculty and staff, finding, registering for and keeping track of professional development courses hasn’t always been a seamless process. A collaboration between the Office of Human Resources (OHR) and Information Technology Services (ITS) is about to change that.
Project WorkLion is a multi-year initiative to replace Penn State’s existing human resources (HR) and payroll systems with Workday; a robust human capital management solution that will unify HR and talent management processes, designed to attract, develop and retain employees.
As part of that initiative, Penn State has partnered with Cornerstone OnDemand, a Workday partner, to implement a learning management system for faculty and staff at Penn State. Cornerstone is a global leader in learning management and employee empowerment used by businesses and educational institutions around the world.
Talent management is a key strategic priority for Penn State’s Office of Human Resources. “As one component, professional development is critically important to our faculty and staff,” said Susan Basso, vice president for human resources. “We have always been committed to helping Penn State employees be more successful and grow professionally. Now with modern-day technology, there will be much greater opportunity.”
Once fully implemented, employees will have a single location – the Learning Resource Network (LRN) – where they can find everything they need related to professional development. The LRN will include easier access for registration for online and trainer-led learning modules and professional development transcripts in one location.
This is a technological solution that expertly brings together professional development offerings from around the University to create an efficient and more empowering learning management solution for faculty and staff.
Official planning began in January 2014, with a discovery phase that included survey of Training providers across the University. Team members are currently working in the design phase of the project, which includes configuring the system, and conducting user acceptance testing (UAT) preparing the system for go live.
The LRN is expected to go live the week of July 20th with business skills, technology training, and compliance slated as the first subjects initially offered. Other professional development offerings will follow, and additional functionality will be added as Project WorkLion leads the transition to a new human capital management and payroll system. Training on how to use the system will be available after the go-live date.