The leader in total athlete development is excited to announce the launch of a Professional Development Suite for staff. Game Plan’s mission has always been to guide 100 percent of athletes through 100 percent of their journey, and athletic organization staff have always played a major role in that journey. This new suite of eLearning modules is designed specifically for those working in athletics and aims to provide professional development education for staff of all levels.
“We’ve seen a lot of turnover and burnout in the last year in college athletics,” said Tayler Onion, Head of Curriculum Development at Game Plan. “This suite of eLearning content is aimed at helping athletic organizations develop their staff in a way that helps reduce those things. The program itself furthers Game Plan’s mission by investing in the administrators who have a direct impact on athletes and their experience.”
It’s no secret that the workplace has adapted to new trends and changes dramatically in the last few years. Movements like “The Great Resignation” and “The Great Reshuffle” have made it difficult for many organizations to avoid turnover, and burnout is a word we’ve heard repeatedly. Professional development has emerged as a key–and controllable–solution that organizations can utilize to aid in employee retention and attrition.
“Our colleagues on campus are working harder than ever to provide a consistent, world-class student-athlete experience,” said Ted White, Vice President of Collegiate Partnerships. “While this obviously presents challenges, it also provides opportunities to unite and engage staff, recruit and inspire new team members, and establish stronger communication around shared values.”
According to LinkedIn’s 2022 Workplace Learning Report, 94 percent of employees said they would stay at a company longer if it simply invested in helping them learn. This type of learning for employees could include streamlined hiring and onboarding processes, financial education, personal and professional development opportunities, and more.
A recent McKinsey and Company article pointed to “lack of career development and advancement” as the top reason employees quit their jobs between April 2021 and April 2022. That same article also mentioned that 40 percent of employees said they planned to leave their jobs in the next few months.
The data we’ve seen globally does not exclude what we’ve seen in athletics.
“We worked with several athletic departments last year to gather candid feedback from coaches and staff about their department cultures,” said Jennifer Cross, Vice President for Professional Services at Game Plan. “The results provided valuable insight about variables that support staff retention, staff turnover projections, and even direct feedback to the AD about their leadership.”
“Our data shows that effective communication, a clear vision for the department, transparency of goals and priorities, and nurturing supervision models are all things that support staff engagement and retention,” said Cross. “When specific needs have been clearly defined and supported by internal data, it’s much easier for leaders to make micro-shifts in culture that can have a positive impact on the professional team.”
Professional Development Suite Overview
Game Plan’s new Professional Development Suite for staff focuses on the most important and most foundational development topics being discussed today. While the initial rollout includes key areas such as mental health, diversity, equity, and inclusion, emotional intelligence, communication, and identity, more content will continue to be added to the suite over time. Additional content, such as sports wagering education for staff, will also be available to those who subscribe.
Content for the Professional Development Suite will continue to be added over time, but existing partnerships with the U.S. Council for Athletes’ Health, RISE, and Penn Interactive have served to launch the initial curriculum. Each content partner has contributed eLearning modules that are specifically focused on staff development. Some initial topics that are included in the suite are mental health for administrators, diversity, equity and inclusion in college athletics, and sports wagering. Other, more foundational, leadership development content is slated to be added later this fall through the help of one of Game Plan’s newest content partners, WellsQuest.
In addition to the eLearning modules, athletic organizations will also have access to Game Plan’s My Content feature and survey capabilities. My Content can be used to create custom courses that are relevant to individual institutions or departments (e.g. new employee onboarding courses or internal education). Survey capabilities can be used to gain staff feedback on individual and departmental experiences within an organization.
Learn More
To learn more about Game Plan’s new Professional Development Suite for staff, existing customers can contact their Customer Success Manager. If you’re new to Game Plan, click here to request a demo.
ABOUT GAME PLAN
Game Plan’s comprehensive software platform integrates mobile-first eLearning as well as virtual mentorship and career services, uniquely designed for athletic organizations. Game Plan has over 300 athletic organizations with over 240,000 courses completed yearly. Our eLearning courses provide student-athletes ultimate access and flexibility while equipping both athletics departments and the conference office management tools and insight to ensure outstanding experiences and outcomes. To learn more about Game Plan, please visit wearegameplan.com.
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