To answer the question of what is CISSP certification you should know why it’s important.
CISSP certification is #1 on the list of the 8 most in-demand IT certifications, according to CIO.com.
And Burning Glass reported that “the demand for certified cybersecurity talent is outstripping supply. In the U.S., employers posted 49,493 jobs requesting a CISSP, recruiting from a pool of only 65,362 CISSP holders nationwide.”
This spells out huge opportunities for motivated IT professionals who want to work in the private sector and public sector because even the Department of Defense considers CISSP certification one of the lead qualifiers for getting hired in their department.
If you’re interested in earning this prestigious certification, let’s look at what CISSP is, how to get certified, and how to start preparing for the CISSP exam today.
What is CISSP Certification?
CISSP certification was developed by (ISC)² to be the world’s most-valued cybersecurity certification. According to (ISC)², employers prefer CISSP 3 to 1 over any other credential.
CISSP demonstrates that the certified holder can design, engineer, implement, and run an information security program.
A wide array of IT professionals choose to get CISSP certified, including:
CIOs.
IT directors.
Security systems engineers.
And many more.
Once certified, (ISC)² provides a number of member benefits.
From digital badges that let you show off your newly acquired skill set to a free subscription to the bi-monthly newsletter InfoSecurity Professional Magazine. CISSP certification benefits extend beyond just a new job title.
But before you can access these benefits, you’ll have to pass the exam.
The exam will take you 6 hours to complete and contains 250 questions. Some are in multiple choice, and some are in “advanced innovative” formats, which are drag-and-drop and “hotspot” type of questions. Here’s a preview of these types of questions from the InfoSec Institute.
There are 8 “domains” that you’ll be tested on, each carrying a different weight in the final score. For example, Security and Risk Management accounts for 15% of your final exam grade, as compared to Asset Security which only accounts for 10%. Knowing this will help you prioritize your study materials.
What Are the CISSP Requirements to Pass the Exam and Get Certified?
Out of 1000 points, you have to pass the CISSP exam with a score of 700 or higher.
You also need at least 5 years of full-time work experience in at least 2 of these 8 domains:
Security and Risk Management
Asset Security
Security Architecture and Engineering
Communication and Network Security
Identity and Access Management (IAM)
Security Assessment and Testing
Security Operations
Software Development Security
You can either receive this work experience prior to taking the exam or after. However, if you take the exam without meeting the required 5 years of work experience in at least 2 domains, you will NOT be certified.
Instead, you’ll receive the title Associate of (ISC)². You can leverage this title to gain greater employment and use it become a member of (ISC)² with all the benefits included. Then once you meet the other requirements, you’ll receive your certification.
The NY State Sexual Harassment Laws have been implemented to protect more employees than before.
Update: As of October 1st, 2018, the New York State Government has revised its sexual harassment training requirement deadlines. Each existing employee must have their initial training completed by October 9th, 2019, not January 1st. New employees hired after October 9th, 2018 must be trained “as soon as possible” – meaning within a reasonable amount of time from their hiring date. Learn more about the updated requirements by visiting the ny.gov FAQ.
Both New York City and New York State have passed new sexual harassment training requirements for all employers and employees, making it the most expansive in the nation.
Employers will have to abide by these new rules starting next month and beginning of next year.
We’ll go over all the dates, details, and requirements below.
What are the New York State Sexual Harassment Training Requirements?
The governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, signed the FY 2019 budget on April 12th.
It includes provisions for a variety of programs, including new sexual harassment training requirements for every single employer in the State of New York.
By October 9th 2019, employers must implement an annual sexual harassment training initiative.
Here’s a brief overview of requirements under the new law:
Sexual harassment guidelines that conform to State standards.
A detailed outline that shows precisely what constitutes sexual harassment.
A list of provisions and remedies available to victims of sexual harassment through federal and state agencies.
A display of employee rights under the law as well as access to the proper legal forms to file a complaint.
The policies you implement must conform to Section 201-g of the new labor laws.
Thankfully, the state of New York has released an initial draft of a model sexual harassment training manual that you can implement. These are the minimum requirements, so if you create your own manual, you have to meet or exceed these requirements.
Your training initiative must also be participatory, which could include interactive web-based training that:
Asks employees questions as part of the training.
Facilitates answering questions asked by employees.
Requires feedback from employees about the training and its materials.
Here are a few additional points New York employers should know:
Your employees should complete their sexual harassment training before October 9th, 2019.
Every year at any time during the year, each of your employees must complete sexual harassment training again.
New employees should complete their sexual harassment training within 30 days of starting work.
You should teach sexual harassment training classes in the language of the employees taking the training.
What Is the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act and Its Requirements?
Only a month after Governor Cuomo signed the NY state sexual harassment laws, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio signed the Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act on May 9th, 2018.
Any employer with 15 or more employees (which includes interns) is now required to provide them with sexual harassment training by April 1st, 2019.
Similar to the New York state sexual harassment laws, under this bill, employers will be required to conduct training for their employees every year.
While the law only requires training for employers with 15 or more employees, it allows employees working for any-sized business to file a sexual harassment complaint and be protected under this law.
Here’s what the training must cover:
A description of sexual harassment that explicitly refers to it as “a form of unlawful discrimination under city, state, and federal law.”
A list of sexual harassment examples.
A description of your process for handling sexual harassment claims.
A description of the sexual harassment claims process available to employees through the NYC Commission on Human Rights, the New York State of Human Rights, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
A list of what constitutes employer retaliation against an employee who files a sexual harassment complaint, and how retaliation is prohibited under the law.
A description of how bystanders can intervene if they see or suspect sexual harassment happening to others.
It’s not just employees who must undergo this training, supervisors and managers must be trained as well, especially on their responsibilities when a sexual harassment complaint is filed.
New employees must be trained within 90 days of being hired, unless they received training at their last job.
All employees must undergo sexual harassment training each year, any time of the year.
Use This to Help Conform to the NY State Sexual Harassment Laws
Using the model manual New York provides is a great start to designing and implementing sexual harassment policies that conform to the law.
But if you want to go above and beyond the minimum requirements, or if you want a way to implement training quickly, we can help.
We’ve created NY State compliant courses on preventing sexual harassment for both management and employees.
These courses live in a full service learning management system (LMS) that provides assignment due date configuration, chasing email reminders, and full course completion status reporting on demand.
Check out a course sample below:
And if you want to find out more about these resources and many others, get your free consultation with Enterprise Training below.
Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!
If you qualify for safety grants, now is the time to cash in.
Want a cut of $10.5 million in safety grants?
Here’s your chance.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration just published a notice in the Federal Registrar that $10.5 million is available through Susan Harwood’s Training Grants.
There are 3 specific grants in total:
Targeted Topic Training Grants.
Training and Educational Materials Development Grants.
Capacity Building Grants.
We’ll go over each of these grants, who can access the funding, and how to get your hands on these funds.
But before we do, let’s define Susan Harwood Training Grants.
What are Susan Harwood Training Grants and Who Was Susan Harwood?
Susan Harwood Training Grants are awarded to “provide training and education programs for employers and workers on the recognition, avoidance, and prevention of safety and health hazards in their workplaces and to inform workers of their rights and employers of their responsibilities under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act.”
They’re run by OSHA, which established the original grant program in 1978, then known as New Directions.
In 1997, it was renamed in honor of the late Susan Harwood, a former director of the Office of Risk Assessment in OSHA’s Health Standards Directorate, who died in 1996.
For 17 years, Susan Harwood helped develop OSHA standards to protect workers exposed to bloodborne pathogens, cotton dust, benzene, formaldehyde, asbestos and lead in construction.
What Does the Grant Program Support?
The safety grants program supports the creation of educational programs and in-person training for the following:
Workers and employers in small businesses
Industries with high injury, illness and fatality rates
Vulnerable workers, who are underserved, have limited English proficiency or are temporary workers.
The purpose of the grants is to fund training and education for workers and employers to help them identify and prevent workplace safety and health hazards.
What are the 3 Types of Grants?
Susan Harwood Training Grants are provided for 3 distinct types of training:
Targeted Topic Training.
Training and Educational Materials Development.
Capacity Building.
Let’s look at each one:
Targeted Topic Training Grants
This type of safety grant is exclusively focused on training and educating workers and managers on identifying and preventing workplace hazards.
Training and Educational Materials Development Grants
This type of safety grant assists leaders in developing, evaluating, and validating training materials that cover specific OSHA topics that are high-quality enough to be used in a classroom.
Capacity Building Grants
This type of safety grant aids organizations in developing and expanding their capacity to provide safety and health training and education.
You can apply for either of these 2 types of Capacity Building grants:
Capacity Building Pilot.
Or Capacity Building Development.
Capacity Building Pilot grants help organizations assess their training and development needs so they have a clear plan before implementing a whole safety and health education program.
Capacity Building Developmental grants help organizations develop the capacity to effectively provide full-scale safety and health training and education.
Who’s Eligible to Get a Grant?
Unfortunately, not everyone who needs or wants these grants are eligible to receive them.
Here are the only organizations eligible for Susan Harwood Training Grants:
Nonprofit organizations, including qualifying community and faith-based organizations, employer associations and labor unions.
State and local government supported institutions of higher education.
How do you apply for the grant?
If you’re eligible and want to apply for a Susan Harwood Training Grant, simply visit Grants.gov and register your organization through the site.
The registration process typically takes 3-5 days to process.
After that, you can submit an application for the grant of your choice.
Want to Accelerate Your Safety Training Programs?
While in-person training has its merits, it also has its drawbacks…
They’re normally more expensive than other forms of training (which is why safety grants are so important).
They’re time-consuming and require all your employees to be in the same place at the same time.
And the training can’t be repeated or played over – if employees wanted to refresh their memories, they would either have to take excellent notes (which, as you know, doesn’t always happen) or you would have to hire someone for another training session.
But you can avoid all of this by supplementing in-person training with Elearning.
It’s much cheaper.
You’re employees learn faster (and retain more information).
And they can learn anytime, anywhere, and go back to the training whenever they want.
If you’re interested in seeing how Elearning can enhance your existing training and development program, get your free online training consultation below.
Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!
Local law 196 was created in order to protect workers through additional safety training
New Yorkers, are you prepared for unannounced safety checks at your construction site?
If not, you could be hit with a $5,000 fine or more.
This according to bill Intro 1447-C, otherwise known as Local Law 196, which was signed into law by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on October 16, 2017.
Later in this post, we’ll explain what Local Law 196 requires, who it affects, and how to comply with it so you don’t get hit with any fines.
Local Law 196 was introduced to prevent that number from climbing in 2018 and beyond.
It mandates that workers at certain job sites receive 40 hours of safety training, while supervisors at certain job sites receive 62 hours of safety training.
What are the Local Law 196 Requirements and Who Needs to Be Trained?
These are the people on your job site who must be trained:
New entrants to construction.
Supervisors such as construction superintendents, concrete safety managers, site safety coordinators, site safety managers, and competent persons.
Workers at job sites with a Site Safety Plan as well as job sites with a superintendent, site safety coordinator or site safety manager.
There are 3 phases of Local Law 196. We’ll cover each and explain exactly what is required of your workers and supervisors.
Phase 1
Phase 1 of Local Law 196 has already been initiated. It started on March 1, 2018.
That means all workers and supervisors at this point must have received a minimum of 10 hours of training. New entrants to your construction site are required to complete this training prior to working.
Phase 2
Phase 2 of Local Law 196 begins on December 1, 2018. All workers at this point will be required to carry at least a Limited Site Safety Training (SST) Card.
To obtain a Limited SST Card, you have to do ONE of the following:
Complete OSHA 10 and undergo 20 additional hours of training specified by New York’s DOB. This includes 8 hours of training about preventing falling-related fatalities.
All supervisors at this point must complete site safety training to obtain their requisite SST Supervisor Card.
Phase 3
Phase 3 of Local Law 196 begins on May 1, 2019.
At this point, all workers are expected to have their training complete, which could be any of the following:
OSHA 10 in addition to 30-45 hours of training approved by the DOB, which of course includes those 8 hours on the dangers of falling workers and objects.
OSHA 30 in addition to 10-25 hours of training approved by the DOB, including 8 hours of preventing falling-related accidents.
A 100-hour training program approved by the DOB.
And again, supervisors will have to complete site safety training to get their SST supervisor card.
How Can You Meet the Local Law 196 Requirements?
If you completed any of this training online before October 16, 2017, it will be recognized and accepted as valid.
However, any training you take after that date will have to be in-person training or actively proctored online training – meaning, a person oversees your online training to ensure you’re present for the entirety of the training course.
Once you complete the course, you should receive a wallet-sized Site Safety Training Card that must include specific information and security features, such as:
Unique identification card number.
Photographs of the person to whom it was issued.
Date of course completion.
Expiration date.
Name and address of provider of issuance.
Who is Exempt from Local Law 196?
Not everyone needs to undergo additional training or obtain a Site Safety Training Card.
Here’s a list of everyone exempt from Local Law 196:
Delivery persons
Flag persons
Professional engineers
Registered architects
Department-licensees and Department-registrants (excluding safety professionals)
Workers at job sites that only involve minor alterations or the construction of a new 1-, 2-, or 3-family home
What Happens if You Violate Local Law 196 Requirements?
As we alluded to earlier in this post, owners of job sites with workers who don’t meet Local Law 196 requirements will face stiff fines.
If the DOB discovers an untrained worker on a construction site, the owner of the site, the permit holder, and the employer of the untrained worker will each be given a $5,000 civil penalty.
And if the permit holder hasn’t kept a detailed log that demonstrates all the workers on-site are trained, they’ll be hit with a $2,500 penalty.
Recap of Local Law 196
Just to make sure you understand what you need and when you need it to comply with Local Law 196, here’s a quick recap.
March 1, 2018 is when all workers are required to have at least 10 hours of training to be able to work
December 1, 2018 is when all workers (old and new) need to at least have a Limited SST Card and all supervisors need to have an SST Supervisor Card
May 1, 2019 or September 1, 2020 is when all workers must have an SST Card
And so it’s crystal clear on how to get an SST Card, here are the requirements again:
How Workers Obtain an SST Card
10-hour OSHA training plus 30 additional SST training hours
30-hour OSHA training plus 10 additional SST training hours
100-hour DOB sponsored training
By the way, if you have 40 hours of SST training before December 1, 2018 you can simply obtain a full SST Card without getting the Limited SST Card.
How Supervisors Obtain an SST Card
30-Hour OSHA
8-Hour Fall Protection Course
8-Hour Site Safety Manager Refresher Training
4-Hour Supported Scaffold User Training
2 hours of each of the following topics:
Site safety plans
Toolbox talks
Pre-task meetings
General electives,
Specialized electives,
Drug & Alcohol Awareness
This card will be valid for a 5-year period and will require 16-hours of SST training to renew.
And there you have it.
Everything New York construction workers, supervisors, and site owners need to know about Local Law 196.
Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!Schedule Free Consultation
The Revit 2019 new features incorporated user feedback to upgrade and create their industry-standard tools
The Revit 2019 new features have been revealed…
And they’re better than everyone expected.
Revit’s official blog walked through all of the new features, but in today’s post, we’ll summarize some of the top features of Revit 2019, most of which were requested by users and delivered by Revit.
Revit 2019 New Features
“Or” in Filters
”Or” in filters was the #1 most requested new feature for Revit 2019, garnering over 1,000 votes.
Older versions of Revit limited users to only using the “And” rule when creating filters. In Revit 2019, you can create view filters with multiple rules and nested sets with a combination of the “And” rule and the “Or” rule.
Tabbed Views and Multi-Monitor Support
Tabbed views and multi-monitor support were some of the other top-requested new features of Revit 2019 and deliver a streamlined workflow for maximizing your workspace.
You can organize views exactly how you want, see which views are open at any time, and even draft views out of Revit and onto a second monitor for serious Revit users.
Double-Fill Patterns
Double-fill patterns was another top user-requested feature that allows you to apply foreground and background fill patterns to create more complex graphical renditions.
Double-fill patterns can be used on filled regions, object-level overrides, and cut settings of materials.
It also gives you access to realistic renderings such as metals, woods, carpets, and many more elements.
Complex Piping Networks
Complex piping networks in Revit 2019 improved the hydronic networks, enabling the design of more complicated piping networks.
Older versions of Revit required you to learn a lot about configuring connectors and knowing where to input data for common scenarios.
Not anymore.
You can easily create headered systems, hydronic bridges, and one-pipe primary loops. These improvements allow you to see flow and pressure drop on each pump throughout your network.
The split tool simplifies the creation and modification of railings with a single click of the mouse.
Previously, you were forced to copy and paste one railing, then modify both.
Now when you split a railing, you’ll see elements that display the path sketches independent of each other for faster designing.
Uncropped Perspective
Uncropped perspective allows you to deactivate the crop region and navigate in a perspective view on a full window.
Older versions of Revit wouldn’t allow you to deactivate crop region in perspective views.
This new feature lets you work faster in fullscreen mode using the uncropped perspective views which provide an immersive experience when viewing and working with your design model.
You can easily switch between the default 3D views and move around freely with navigation commands such as Zoom, Pan, and Orbit.
Custom Steel Connections
Custom steel connections give you new edit tools to modify structural framing and column elements with ease.
Now you can connect structural members together using plates, bolts, and anchors within the 3D model.
If you want to take your Revit skills to the next level, you can start with our on-demand Revit training.
Whether you’re a beginner to Revit Architecture or you want to sharpen your skills, we have a variety of educational modules to help you learn Revit quickly and effectively.
Access all of our Revit training materials by signing up for a free trial of Enterprise Training below.
Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by starting your free trial of our Autodesk Revit training today!
This large of an update raises many questions, such as:
What are the key changes in PMBOK Guide 6th Edition?
What are the differences between PMBOK 5th and 6th edition?
How can you prepare for the PMP Exam using PMBOK 6th Edition?
In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the answers to these questions so that by the end, you’ll know what makes PMBOK Guide 6th Edition different from the last edition and how to use it to become a better project manager.
But first, for those who are new to project management, let’s quickly review the definition and purpose of PMBOK.
What is the Project Management Body Of Knowledge (PMBOK) Guide?
PMBOK is an acronym for A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge.
It’s the gold standard for the terms, practices, strategies, and methodologies you need to know to be an effective project manager.
Since 1996 – when the first edition of PMBOK was published – the Project Management Institute has updated the PMBOK every 4 or 5 years to help keep all project managers up-to-date on the latest standards and practices in the industry.
To this day, the PMBOK Guide has provided industry-neutral guidelines to project management so that they can be applied across a wide variety of disciplines, industries, experience levels, budgets, and timelines.
What are the Key Changes in the 6th Edition of the PMBOK Guide?
PMBOK Guide 6th Edition has 362 more pages than PMBOK Guide 5th Edition.
That means a lot has changed.
We can’t go over everything here, but we’ll show you the key changes to the current edition you must know.
Let’s dive in.
New Structure of the PMBOK Guide
The PMBOK Guide is divided into 3 major sections:
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge
The Standard for Project Management
Appendix, Glossary, and Index
At the beginning of each Knowledge Area, you’ll see 4 new sections:
Key Concepts
Trends and Emerging Practices
Tailoring Considerations
Considerations for Agile/Adaptive Environments
Lastly, as far as the structure of the guide is concerned, Processes have been divided into 3 distinct categories:
Processes used once or at predetermined points in the project
Periodically used or as needed processes
Processes that are used throughout the project
The new structure of PMBOK Guide 6th Edition was designed to make it easier for you to both understand the material better and to use the information more efficiently.
Addition of the Agile Practice Guide
Agile project management has quietly gained acceptance and widespread adoption amongst project managers.
This prompted PMI to include an entire guide to agile best practices.
The guide is broken into 5 sections. The following comes directly from PMI’s website:
An Introduction to Agile – which describes the Agile Manifesto mindset, values, and principles and covers the concepts of definable and high-uncertainty work, and the correlation between lean, the Kanban Method and agile approaches.
Life Cycle Selection – which introduces the various life cycles discussed in the practice guide and covers suitability filters, tailoring guidelines and common combinations of approaches.
Implementing Agile: Creating an Agile Environment – which talks about critical factors to consider when creating an agile environment such as servant leadership and team composition.
Implementing Agile: Delivering in an Agile Environment – which discusses how to organize a team and common practices the team can use for delivering value on a regular basis.
Organizational Considerations for Project Agility – which explores organizational factors that impact the use of agile practices, such as culture, readiness, business practices and the role of a project management office (PMO).
The Agile Practice Guide is intended to give project managers an in-depth dive into the agile framework and demonstrate how it can be used to successfully complete projects faster, at a lower cost, and with less waste.
Changed Names of 2 Areas of Knowledge
Sometimes names have to be changed to accurately reflect the meaning of the names.
Such is the case with 2 major areas of knowledge:
Project Time Management
And Project Human Resource Management
“Project Time Management” was changed to “Project Schedule Management” to make it clear that PM’s don’t manage “time” they manage people’s “schedules.”
“Project Human Resource Management” was changed to “Project Resource Management” which suggests PM’s don’t just manage people, they manage equipment, supplies, materials, machines, etc.
Changed Names of 9 Processes
Old Name
New Name
Control Communication
Monitor Communication
Control Risk
Monitor Risk
Control Stakeholder Engagement
Monitor Stakeholder Engagement
Perform Quality Assurance
Manage Quality
Plan Human Resources
Plan Resource Management
Plan Stakeholder Management
Plan Stakeholder Engagement
Acquire Project Team
Acquire Resources
Develop Project Team
Develop Team
Manage Project Team
Manage Team
3 New Processes Added to PMBOK Guide 6th Edition
PMI consistently adds new processes to each edition of the PMBOK Guide.
The 3rd edition had 39 processes. The 4th had 42 processes. The 5th had 47 processes. And now the 6th edition of PMBOK has 49 processes in total (because in addition to adding 3 processes, PMI got rid of the Close Procurements process).
Here are the 3 new processes:
Manage Project Knowledge
This process was designed to facilitate a logically sound process of collecting, integrating, and converting raw data into useful knowledge for more informed decision-making.
It includes a “lessons learned register” as an output you can use to track your progress during projects and know when to change your tactics or strategies in the midst of a project.
The emphasis of this process is on continual learning throughout the project, and on capturing knowledge and information so that it can be reused and passed on without getting lost.
Control Resources
Project managers have to be able to assess actual vs. planned usage of people and any other resources.
This process separates resources into 2 categories:
“Team resources” which means human resources
“Physical resources” which means equipment, material, and supplies
Implement Risk Response
Every project carries with it certain risks that have to be weighed alongside the potential rewards.
The addition of this process will help project managers be aware of the risks they’re undertaking with each project.
“Implement Risk Response” also includes a new risk response called Escalation, which will help PM’s identify risks that fall outside the scope of the project so they can be transferred to the right person on the outside.
Expanded Role of the Project Manager
The role of the project manager is constantly changing as projects become more complex and demanding.
To keep up with the changing nature of projects and their managers, PMI included a new section on defining the ever-expanding role of the PM.
The section also addresses PMI’s “Talent Triangle” which covers the leadership, strategic, and technical skills that every modern project manager should possess (or develop).
Let’s take a look at each segment of the triangle.
Strategic and Business Management
The head of the triangle is called Strategic and Business Management.
In addition to managing the triple constraints of a project, you need to understand how it aligns with overall business goals (which equally applies to government agency goals).
Which means you’ll be expected to develop these skills:
Benefits management and realization
Business and organizational acumen
Business and organizational models and structures
Competitive analysis
Customer relationship and satisfaction
Industry knowledge and standards
Legal and regulatory compliance
Market awareness and conditions
Operational functions
Strategic planning, analysis, and alignment
Leadership Skills
The bottom right of the triangle is called Leadership Skills.
PMBOK Guide 6th Edition gives much greater emphasis on leadership skills than the 5th edition.
The leadership skills you should possess as a project manager are:
Brainstorming
Coaching and mentoring
Conflict management
Emotional intelligence
Influencing
Interpersonal skills
Listening
Negotiating
Problem-solving
Team building
Technical Skills
The bottom left of the triangle is called Technical Skills.
This means you should possess the skills required in your industry along with these skills:
Agile practices
Data gathering and modeling
Earned value management
Governance
Lifecycle management
Performance management
Requirements management and traceability
Risk management
Schedule management
Scope management
Time, budget, and cost estimation.
Where Can You Buy PMBOK Guide 6th Edition?
By now you’re probably wondering where you can buy PMBOK Guide 6th Edition.
It’s pretty simple. Go here to buy it directly from PMI.
How Can You Download the PDF Version of PMBOK 6th Edition?
Since PMBOK Guide 6th Edition has added 3 new processes, put greater emphasis on the dynamic role of project managers, and focuses heavily on agile and adaptive environments (Scrum, Kanban, etc.) the PMP exam will no doubt be more difficult.
Which means you’re going to need a study guide that will help you navigate these complexities with ease.
So what study guide should you use?
Well, we have several that you can start using today.
We offer a complete track of PMI/PMP 6th edition certification prep training including self-paced courses and exam prep materials. That includes 30+ one-hour courses.
In addition to that, we’ll give you access to an essential PMP study guide:
Achieve PMP Exam Success, 6th Edition: A Concise Study Guide for the Busy Project Manager.
Plus, we’ll give you the PMI Institute’s PMBOK Guide 6th Edition.
So how do you get immediate access to these courses and guides?
By signing up for a free 14-day trial of Enterprise Training below.
Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!
California SB 396 updated and expanded the anti-harassment training requirements of AB 1825
Do you know what California SB 396 is?
You should if your an employer in California.
Senate Bill 396 (SB 396) updated California’s harassment prevention law on October 15th, 2017 by amending Assembly Bill 1825.
The new amendments went into effect on January 1, 2018.
To help you quickly understand SB 396, we’ll go over exactly what amendments were made to AB 1825, what are the terms you should know, and what specifically you have to do now to comply with the law (or face the consequences).
By the end, we’ll give you a simple checklist for easily implementing these changes.
Let’s dive in.
What Does SB 396 Mean for California Government Agencies?
To answer that question, let’s make sure we understand what AB 1825 is.
AB 1825 mandates agencies with over 50 employees to provide at least 2 hours of training and education regarding sexual harassment to all supervisory employees within 6 months of assuming a supervisory position, and once every 2 years thereafter.
SB 396 makes multiple amendments to AB 1825 and further requires agencies with over 50 employees to include training inclusive of harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.
Let’s take a look at the SB 396 amendments to get crystal clear on the specific changes to the law.
What Amendments Did California SB 396 Make to AB 1825?
California SB 396 made 5 amendments to AB 1825.
We summarized those amendments for you below:
Section 1
Section 1 of SB 396 states that employers must “amend its current poster on discrimination in employment to include information relating to the illegality of sexual harassment.”
This means your new sexual harassment and discrimination posters must affirm the rights of transgender and gender-nonconforming employees.
Section 2(c) of SB 396 is what requires employers with 50 or more employees to include training that covers harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation as part of the required 2 hours of training for supervisors.
Section 2 expands on this mandate and states that your sexual harassment training and education curriculum must include practical examples of harassment based on gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation.
You must also include “prevention of abusive conduct” as part of your training and education curriculum.
Abusive conduct is defined as “conduct of an employer or employee in the workplace, with malice, that a reasonable person would find hostile, offensive, and unrelated to an employer’s legitimate business interests.”
The section goes on to say that any “repeated infliction” of verbal abuse, physical misconduct, or sabotage of a person’s work environment can be construed as “abusive conduct.”
Section 3 also adds transgender and gender nonconforming individuals to the list of “individuals with employment barriers” which guarantees them access to employment “programs of rigorous and high-quality education, training, and other services” that do all of the following:
Align with the skills and needs of industries in the economy of the state or regional economy involved.
Prepare an individual to be successful in any of a full range of secondary or postsecondary education options, including apprenticeships.
Include counseling to support an individual in achieving the individual’s education and career goals.
Include, as appropriate, education offered concurrently with and in the same context as workforce preparation activities and training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster.
Organize education, training, and other services to meet the particular needs of an individual in a manner that accelerates the educational and career advancement of the individual to the extent practicable.
Enable an individual to attain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, and at least one recognized postsecondary credential.
Help an individual enter or advance within a specific occupation or occupational cluster.
Section 4
Section 4 and 4.5 of SB 396 authorizes the appointment of “community-based organizations that serve transgender and gender nonconforming individuals” to the California Workforce Development Board.
Section 5
Section 5 of SB 396 affirms that section 4.5 of Sb 396 will go into effect if AB 957 is approved by the Governor on or before January 1st, 2018 (which it was).
What are the Terms and Definitions You Should Know Regarding Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Individuals?
As you update your training manuals and courses, it’s important to understand the terminology of topics related to transgender and gender nonconforming individuals.
“Gender expression” means a person’s gender-related appearance or behavior, or the perception of such appearance or behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s sex assigned at birth.
“Gender identity” means each person’s internal understanding of their gender, or the perception of a person’s gender identity, which may include male, female, a combination of male and female, neither male nor female, a gender different from the person’s sex assigned at birth, or transgender.
“Sex” has the same definition as provided in Government Code section 12926, which includes, but is not limited to, pregnancy; childbirth; medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding; gender; gender identity; and gender expression, or perception by a third party of any of the aforementioned.
“Sex Stereotype” includes, but is not limited to, an assumption about a person’s appearance or behavior, gender roles, gender expression, or gender identity, or about an individual’s ability or inability to perform certain kinds of work based on a myth, social expectation, or generalization about the individual’s sex.
“Transgender” is a general term that refers to a person whose gender identity differs from the person’s sex assigned at birth. A transgender person may or may not have a gender expression that is different from the social expectations of the sex assigned at birth. A transgender person may or may not identify as “transsexual.”
“Transitioning” is a process some transgender people go through to begin living as the gender with which they identify, rather than the sex assigned to them at birth. This process may include, but is not limited to, changes in name and pronoun usage, facility usage, participation in 2 employer-sponsored activities (e.g. sports teams, team-building projects, or volunteering), or undergoing hormone therapy, surgeries, or other medical procedures.
What Rights Do Transgender Individuals Have in the Workplace?
DFEH issued guidelines for transgender rights in the workplace in 2017 – meaning, you need to include them on your posters and in your training.
Here are the highlights:
Employers and interviewers should not ask questions designed to detect a person’s gender identity
Employers should not ask questions about a person’s body or whether they plan to have surgery.
An employer who requires a dress code must enforce it in a non-discriminatory manner.
Transgender or gender non-conforming employees may not be held to any different standard of dress or grooming than any other employee.
All employees have a right to safe and appropriate restroom and locker room facilities. This includes the right to use a restroom or locker room that corresponds to the employee’s gender identity, regardless of the employee’s assigned sex at birth.
Where possible, an employer should provide an easily accessible unisex single stall bathroom for use by any employee who desires increased privacy, regardless of the underlying reason.
All single-user toilet facilities in any business establishment, place of public accommodation, or state or local government agency must be identified as all-gender toilet facilities.
In addition to the above guidelines, employers are required to address a transgender or gender nonconforming individual by their preferred name and pronoun, as detailed in the Fair Employment & Housing Council Regulations:
“If an employee requests to be identified with a preferred gender, name, and/or pronoun, including gender-neutral pronouns, an employer or other covered entity who fails to abide by the employee’s stated preference may be liable under the Act.
An employer is permitted to use an employee’s gender or legal name as indicated in a government-issued identification document only if it is necessary to meet a legally mandated obligation, but otherwise must identify the employee in accordance with the employee’s gender identity and preferred name.”
Quick Checklist of What You Need to Do to Comply with SB 396
To make sure you don’t get bogged down by the details and can simply enact the changes set forth by California SB 396, here’s a checklist of the changes you have to make to your training courses and manuals:
Train employees to use the proper terminology when discussing gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation
Train employees to use a coworker’s preferred name and pronoun
Train supervisors to identify and prevent harassment related to gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation
That about covers it for SB 396, but here’s something you should think about…
How comprehensive and up-to-date is your current harassment and discrimination training program?
An outdated program could teach your employees, supervisors, and managers information that is no longer relevant, or is even frowned upon or illegal.
The last thing you want to do is make it easier to incur a lawsuit or liability.
That’s why we created “Smart Workplaces: Sexual Harassment Prevention for Office Managers & Supervisors California AB 1825 and all 50 States.”
It’s a full-fledged sexual harassment program that covers everything you need to know about identifying and preventing sexual harassment in your office or agency.
You can check out that program and thousands more for free today.
How?
By signing up for a 14-day trial of Enterprise Training below.
Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!
You can improve the effectiveness of eLearning in your agency by applying the right strategies.
Have you implemented an eLearning program in your agency but aren’t seeing the results you expected?
We understand how frustrating that can be.
You probably see all the obvious advantages eLearning offers your agency – low cost, easy to use, available on-demand, etc. – yet you still struggle with optimizing the program’s usage and adoption.
Why?
Because implementing a program alone isn’t enough.
You have to work with your employees and managers to set forth the right plans, policies, and procedures to improve the effectiveness of eLearning in your agency.
In today’s post, we’ll help you do just that.
We’ll give you 5 tips for making your eLearning program effective both for learning and productivity.
By the end, you’ll be armed with proven strategies for building a long-lasting eLearning program that delivers the results you’re looking for.
5 Tips to Improve the Effectiveness of ELearning
Create Individual Development Plan Goals
Individual development plan goals are part of a formal agreement between the employer and the employee regarding how the employee will grow within your organization.
These goals establish the expected results that your employees will accomplish over a set period of time.
One of your employees’ major goals should be the development of their skills and knowledge.
Once identified, you can help your employees put together a concrete learning plan that will teach them the information and abilities they require to reach their goals.
WIthout clear learning goals, your employees may jump from one resource to the next, educating themselves haphazardly, and never making any real progress.
That’s where managers come in to help employees align their skill gaps with the necessary courses and resources for achieving their objectives.
Use Microlearning
While long-form learning is critical for educating your employees about big and important subjects, microlearning is useful for most other subjects – and makes learning more productive.
According to Bersin by Deloitte’s infographic Meet the Modern Learner, The average employee only has time to devote 1% of their work week to professional development. That means only 24 minutes a week or 4.8 minutes a day can be allotted for training in a normal 40-hour work week.
Microlearning maximizes your employees’ retention by delivering bite-sized concepts in an easy-to-consume format – enhancing the effectiveness of eLearning.
Also, microlearning makes it easy for you to organize training within the context of the work your employees actually do.
For example, if one of your employees needs to brush up on microsoft network security, they can watch a short video and get back to work in a few minutes. The same is true if they need to read a short white paper or flip to a certain chapter in a book.
Giving your employees microlearning resources they can access and consume quickly will make your eLearning program more effective and engaging.
Increase Employee Engagement
According to Wikipedia, an engaged employee is a person who is fully absorbed by and enthusiastic about their work and who takes positive action to further the organization’s reputation and interests.
Engaged employees work harder without being asked. They stay late because they genuinely want to perform well for their department and agency. They don’t complain about playing catch-up on work because their coworker was out sick – they gladly shoulder the load.
The engaged employee is the person who lives and breathes your agency’s mission because they’ve made it their own.
By increasing employee engagement in your agency, you’ll make it more likely that your employees will take your eLearning initiative seriously, contribute to enhancing the program, and work hard to achieve their goals.
Cultivate a Culture of Continuous Learning
A culture of continuous learning means that all of your employees are teaching themselves and helping each other be better, achieve more, and advance their careers.
This type of culture will encourage your employees to optimize the effectiveness of your eLearning program and maximize their results.
Also, continuous learning is key for well-executed Government succession planning by making it easier for leadership and institutional knowledge to be passed on and absorbed by the employees filling the vacant positions within your agency.
Here are a few ways to create a culture of continuous learning:
Establish policies for ongoing training, supportive management, specific office hours dedicated to learning, etc.
Tell your employees about your goals to create a continuous learning culture and encourage them to adopt the values and principles of ongoing education.
Turn your managers into coaches and teach them how to help your employees solve problems, motivate themselves, and stay focused.
Align each employee’s goals with the goals of your organization to stay on track and work together for a common purpose.
Find a Platform that Delivers Everything Your Employees Need
If you don’t want to commit to the hassle of designing your own courses, the best thing you can do is find an eLearning platform that delivers the information you need.
There are plenty of eLearning platforms available, but very few that cater specifically to Government agencies.
Even fewer that provide a wide enough breadth of courses for every one of your employees to choose from.
If you want a platform that puts their Government customers first and will tailor an eLearning program to your organizational requirements…
We can help.
Maximize the Effectiveness of Your ELearning Program
With courses for every level of employee, from leadership training to technical IT exam preparation, Our eLearning platform will allow each of your employees to advance their skills and upgrade their knowledge at their own pace and in their own time.
Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!
A culture of continuous learning will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your agency
How do you get the best out of your employees?
By creating a culture of continuous learning.
Your employees are the most valuable asset in your organization, and by giving them the tools and opportunity to sharpen their skills and knowledge, you’ll help your agency perform at its peak potential.
The private sector is already using this strategy to empower their companies.
Corporate spending on learning rose to 10% in 2015 according to Global Human Capital Trends 2016. These companies realized that they could maximize the efficiency of their businesses by giving their employees the ability to learn what they needed when they needed.
The same can happen in your agency.
We’ll show you what a culture of continuous learning is and how to cultivate one in your organization for smarter, better, and more dedicated employees.
What is a Continuous Learning Culture?
For individuals, continuous learning is the process of keeping up with ever-changing trends, insights, and tools for better performance and higher achievements in your job.
For organizations or agencies, continuous learning is the process of empowering and encouraging your employees to upgrade their skills and knowledge at their own pace while helping their fellow employees do the same.
A culture of continuous learning means that all of your team members are teaching themselves and helping each other be better, achieve more, and advance their careers.
The benefits of a continuous learning culture are that your employees may offer ideas that you never considered before, or implement strategies and tactics that you didn’t know existed.
Your agency will gain a considerable advantage over other departments because your employees will become more mature, confident, and intelligent as a result of continuous learning.
Also, continuous learning is key for well-executed Government succession planning by making it easier for leadership and institutional knowledge to be passed on and absorbed by the employees filling the vacant positions within your agency.
So, how do you create a continuous learning culture?
5 Ways to Create a Culture of Continuous Learning
There are plenty of things you can do to make learning a large part of your agency. We’ll give you 5 ways to create a continuous learning environment in your organization today.
Define Your Goals
Before you implement a training program for your employees, you need to know why you’re implementing a program in the first place.
What’s your goal for your agency?
What do you hope to achieve?
How do you hope to improve?
How much money are you willing to spend?
Create a broad vision for your organization that keeps you and your employees on track, while at the same time allowing your employees to follow their own path to personal and professional development.
Provide training for new tools, software, and work methods, along with training that matches your employees’ individual goals.
Which brings us to the next tip for creating a culture of continuous learning…
Without them, it’s difficult for individuals to stay on track, and it’s hard for you to hold your employees accountable.
When your employees know what they’re learning and why they’re learning it, they’re more likely to finish their education and apply what they’ve learned.
But beyond the “why” of their learning plan, you should help them create an action list so that they implement the things they’re learning effectively.
Get Your Employees Onboard
A shift in your agency culture is only possible if everyone is onboard. The first thing you have to do to implement a culture of continuous learning is to tell your employees what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.
You need to get all your employees to adopt similar values and principles, the same as you would when trying to increase employee engagement, for example.
Make learning a top priority, and consider revising your mission statement or internal agency slogan or “Values” to include continuous learning as a core tenet of how you run your organization.
You and the rest of your managers should lead by example and demonstrate your own commitment to continuous learning while helping your employees improve their continuous learning plans.
But you should be much more than just a manager…
Turn Your Managers into Coaches
A culture of continuous learning is dependent on managers and employees being open and honest with one another about learning goals, challenges, and achievements.
You should discuss those 3 things with your employees on a regular basis.
Like a coach, you need to be in their corner, ready and willing to help them solve problems and overcome obstacles when necessary.
Regular check-ins can provide the “push” that employees need to succeed. It also lets them know that you genuinely care about them and what they’re doing to better themselves.
Plus, by regularly checking in, you can course correct employees who may be studying or focusing on the wrong things, or help employees shift their priorities to be more productive.
The most important thing you can do as a manager/coach is to give them ample resources for continuous learning.
Give Your Employees Learning Resources
A continuous learning culture relies on constant access to learning resources.
Some of your employees will prefer long-form, formal training, while others will prefer microlearning that’s self-directed.
Sometimes, instructor-led training (ILT) is unavoidable and necessary.
But most of the time, all your employees need is access to relevant information for their specific job roles and goals.
The ease of access and cost of ELearning makes online education the most budget-friendly and employee-friendly option for all types of learners.
With the right ELearning platform, you employees can watch videos, read books, and listen to audio recordings on-demand.
It allows them to learn at their own pace, on their own time, when they’re ready to learn – as opposed to being forced to learn alongside everyone else in a group training session.
But where will you find a central database of resources that cover everything from IT exam preparation to project management and conflict resolution?
The low cost of eLearning has helped organizations worldwide save money while learning faster
After Trump initiated his hiring freeze on January 23rd, it was clear he was serious about trimming down agencies in Government.
On April 12th, Mick Mulvaney sent out a memorandum to the heads of executive departments and agencies requiring them to reduce their workforce and maximize employee productivity.
By now, you’re probably trying to figure out how to create a competent and cost-effective plan to meet the memorandum’s stringent requirements.
If you’ve performed any type of succession planning, you know that you need to train your existing employees to handle the tasks of your retirement-aged staff.
Unfortunately, you might not have enough money to pay for instructor-led training (ILT), or, at the very least, you’re going to need to supplement ILT with something more cost-effective.
Well, an alternative to ILT does exist that allows you to save time and money, and allows your participants to learn faster.
It’s called eLearning, and it’s a booming industry.
According to Global Market Insights, the eLearning market size was valued at $165 billion in 2015 and is likely to grow at 5% from 2016 to 2023, topping $240 billion.
The public and private sector have been quick to adopt eLearning for a variety of reasons that can benefit your agency.
First up in benefits: how much money you can be saving by switching from ILT to eLearning.
The (Low) Cost of eLearning
Caterpillar University (CU) created a helpful model for calculating the total cost of eLearning as compared to ILT and their results demonstrate why eLearning is the preferred training and development vehicle for agencies with heavy budget cuts.
CU found that the cost of eLearning was almost always much less than ILT, regardless of the participant size.
For example, if you were training a group of 100 people for just 1 hour, eLearning was over 40% less expensive than ILT ($9,500 vs. $17, 062).
When they modeled much larger group sizes and longer programs, the cost of eLearning is even more pronounced with savings as high as 78%.
If you need to train your employees without overspending, eLearning is your best option.
But the financial cost of eLearning isn’t the only benefit…
The Educational Cost of elearning
ILT is definitely the preferred form of learning when you have to train your employees in advanced skills and complex subjects.
But not all skills and subjects require in-depth, long-form training sessions.
For simple topics, broad concepts, and straightforward skills, eLearning can provide all the content required to train your employees quickly and efficiently.
If you have created individual development plan goals for your employees, eLearning can accelerate their professional development by allowing them to learn at their own pace without the pressure of group training sessions.
Ultimately, the cost of eLearning is not only measured in dollars, but in the value it provides to your employees.
The Benefits of an eLearning Program
Flexible Training Design
When operating on tight budget constraints, you need to be able to deliver the education your employees require at the cost your budget demands.
ELearning programs can be deployed as prepackaged courses–ready to teach a specific subject–or you can design a course yourself using an eLearning format, which will make course creation much easier.
Multi-Device Learning
Today’s learner needs to access knowledge wherever they are, on any device. Not only on computers at work or at home, but on tablets while commuting, or on their phones at lunch.
The cost of eLearning is dramatically reduced because of the increasingly low-cost of high-quality technology which makes it easier to deploy learning programs and train employees.
Microlearning
Instead of slogging through hours or days worth of training, microlearning delivers the most important information in bite-sized lessons for a more effective and more enjoyable learning experience.
In fact, one study found that microlearning resulted in 20% higher information retention than long-form learning.
Is the Cost of eLearning Worth It?
To answer that question, consider what eLearning provides:
Faster training for employees
Lower cost than ILT
Easier to deploy on any device, anywhere
That certainly makes it seem worth it to us.
If it seems worth it to you, then it’s time to find a proven eLearning company who specializes in Government training and development.
And guess what?
You just found one.
Let’s Jump Start Your eLearning Program Today
We have over 6,000 online training programs designed specifically for Government agencies and employees to refine their skills, upgrade their knowledge, and perform their jobs better. You get 24/7 access to all of our courses and they can be viewed on all devices. Best of all, we understand that budgets are decreasing, which is why every Government agency we’ve worked with has benefited immensely from our affordable eLearning programs.
Experience the proven, easy-to-use, and cost-effective benefits of online training by scheduling your free online training consultation today!
