Yale’s Learning & Development Initiative highlights

Dear Colleagues,

We are excited to share with you some of the advancements made in the Operations Learning Strategic Initiative (LSI). LSI aims to integrate staff learning and development into Yale’s workplace culture while ensuring we have an efficient and effective structure and platform to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations. This summary provides an outline of the work in pursuit of these goals.

• Yale has implemented a new Learning & Development operating and governance model to facilitate stronger connections between the learning Yale offers and the skills and knowledge staff need. Business unit leaders, known as Authorities, determine what content will be available in Workday Learning for their respective functions and department. This approach applies newly established standards and business processes to ensure consistency and quality across all learning content.
• The Workday Learning application will replace the current Training Management System (TMS) in January 2024. To facilitate the implementation of our new operating model and to streamline the conversion of training content, we have set the launch date for January 2024. In the meantime, please continue to use TMS for your compliance and learning needs.
• A team of Learning and Development leaders from across the university, known as the Learning Council, now meets monthly to share best practices, develop innovative learning concepts and models, establish standards for learning categorization and provide a platform for exchanging ideas and resources to optimize our staff learning and development program at Yale.
• We are reaching out to the entire community to collect feedback on existing learning resources, identify important learning opportunities, and determine areas that require additional support. Your input is instrumental in guiding our priorities for staff learning and development at Yale; please consider participating in the survey that will launch this summer. In addition, we are researching insights and data from other organizations to help shape our approach to learning and development and ensure that our efforts align with the latest trends in the field.

We will update you on program developments and provide more detailed information on the Workday Learning application, training, and resources in future communications. 

More information and program updates are on the Learning Strategic Initiative web page. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to email us at learning@yale.edu.

Thank you for your support as we work together to achieve the benefits of this important work enabling Yale’s mission.

Regards,

Program sponsors; John Whelan, VP of Human Resources; Joseph Crosby, AVP for Academic Business Operations & Senior Associate Dean for Finance & Administration, Yale Law School; Jane Savage, AVP for Union-Management and Strategic Initiatives; and Deborah Stanley-McAulay, AVP for Employee Engagement and Workplace Culture and program leaders; Stephanie Gosteli, Director of Learning & Development, HR Programs; Deirdre Stowe, Associate Director, Organizational Development; and Ron Lipkins, Director, HR Innovation and Strategic Support