50 Years. 50 Stories., Community Stories

Story 21: EdenU: A Platform for Success

July 7, 2018

Eden Housing’s Talent Development department is committed to advancing the professional growth of Eden’s staff. In 2015 Eden launched a comprehensive training program, “Eden U,” to ensure that everyone gets the personalized training they need to do their job and thrive.

Talent Development staff provide training across various formats including in-person conferences, classroom training, webinars, eLearning, interactive task checklists, and “microburst learning”.

Staff engage in microburst learning sessions through a platform called Axonify that tests familiarity with the employee handbook policies and procedures. Eden Housing has an impressive participation rate of 98% to date, with people entering the system an average of 12.6 times per month!

The Talent Development Department also provides fun opportunities to celebrate staff while putting their skills to the test. At the 2017 annual Maintenance Appreciation event, staff had the opportunity to build and race mini soapbox derby cars using supplies commonly found in our Maintenance shops.

Eden acknowledges the importance of leading by example and has developed an “Eden Leadership Training Program” for its middle and upper management team. The program complements organization-wide succession planning efforts by providing training for the next generation of Eden leaders — helping to ensure continued growth and success.

Another way that we have planned ahead for Eden’s future is by creating a “Community Manager Apprenticeship Program.”Three students from CSUEB just began on-the-job career training in the field of property management.

Annually, Eden Housing hosts an all-company meeting that provides an opportunity for cross-departmental staff to collaborate and learn as a group. According on one employee, “Company trainings are by far the best at Eden!”

At this year’s meeting, guest speaker Devin Hughes led a discussion about inclusion in the workplace. This provided an opportunity to explore many dimensions of identity that make our workplace diverse, along with ways to create inclusive work relationships.

Through these robust programs and events designed by the Talent Development Department, Eden is able able to further its commitment to the success and growth of our staff. In the words of one Eden employee, “Eden really cares about its employees. The training program is just one of many ways they support us in our jobs.”

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