About us > Annual Reports > Community Impact Report 2005-2006
Smart Culture: Fostering Learning and Innovation
"Lifelong learning can help people to seize new opportunities, engage critically with change and shape their worlds by asserting some ownership and direction over their own lives, in work and beyond, through both individual and collective activity." - Learning for the 21 st Century, National Advisory Group for Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning
FSA Toronto sees training as a catalyst for organizational learning. With it, staff develop skills, have opportunities to exchange ideas and knowledge and can apply creativity to problem solving. Through it, FSA builds on the expertise of our most important asset - our people - and fosters a culture that values continuous learning.
Our Workplace Survey conducted in 2004 revealed that three out of four staff believe that learning is expected and encouraged at all levels of our agency. To build on these favourable ratings, we have bolstered our training programs and resources. A new Training Microsite enables staff to review all the training opportunities available in-house focusing on what we do: clinical expertise, leadership skills and technology skills. FSA delivered a total of 105 training hours, attended by 282 participants--averaging 1.9 training sessions per full-time staff equivalent.
We have also made efforts to increase opportunities for staff to access professional development opportunities outside the agency. By pooling together previously segregated pots of funds for training, FSA Toronto has made $300 available per full time equivalent for external development opportunities in addition to five days of professional development leave.
We are also undergoing an organization-wide change initiative that has introduced new technology and practices to staff. Accountable Information Management (AIM) is the client information database introduced in 2005 and designed to improve our reporting capabilities and information gathering processes. Considerable training has gone into the AIM rollout and evaluations completed by 80 of the staff who participated indicate that all found the training staff to be knowledgeable, 89.5% agreed that the AIM workshop topics were well-covered and 97.4% of employees agreed that the information covered was helpful. The positive benefits of this training are clear but there is also room for improvements in the AIM system and additional learning.
We believe that our commitment to staff training sets FSA Toronto apart among community service agencies and we will continue to drive our leadership in this regard.
