Wellpoint Care Network’s Commitment to Continuous Learning and Its Value for Employees

By Rachel Frye | Posted on September 26, 2024

At Wellpoint Care Network, our mission is to help children and families thrive by restoring connections that promote equity, learning, healing and wellness. Bringing this mission to life are nearly 350 employees working daily to create impactful change for thousands of people across southeastern Wisconsin.

Our leadership recognizes that in order to continue to create this impactful change and fulfill our mission, the organization must support this amazing team of employees and offer opportunities that help them develop and grow not only professionally, but personally as well. This includes creating wellness opportunities that help everyone connect, relax and celebrate their work, their impact and each other.

“The Learning and Talent Development Department works hard to hone in on what exactly that means for each individual,” said Shameka Phillips, Professional Learning & Development Consultant. “What kind of learning opportunities do our employees seek? What do they need to become successful or more efficient in the roles that they’re in? We want to cultivate a culture of learning and wellness, and make sure that it’s ingrained in everything that we do.”

“For decades, Wellpoint Care has prioritized staff training and staff development,” said Ann Leinfelder Grove, Wellpoint Care Network President and CEO. “All our current programming requires technical training on best practices, but also professional development to support employees to grow new skills.”

Setting Aside Time to Learn

One of the unique learning, wellness and connection opportunities that takes place at Wellpoint Care is the annual Day of Learning, a required training for all employees that began during the pandemic as a way to ensure connection and agency progress. It offers employees the chance to engage in several sessions of their choosing to help advance their understanding of core concepts.

“From the organization’s lens, the Day of Learning allows us to feature things that we believe are very important to the success of our organization,” said Leinfelder Grove. “It’s a time to pause your regular routines, put on your thinking hat and explore concepts and ideas that strengthen the individual. And by doing so, strengthen our organization.”

Wellpoint Care Network is at the forefront of Trauma Informed Care, a healing practice based on brain science and delivered here by caring and highly-trained staff. Trauma Informed Care training is one of the core concepts incorporated into each Day of Learning, with additional opportunities occurring throughout the year.

“We know that many applicants and many new employees tell us they came to Wellpoint Care because of our focus on Trauma Informed Care,” said Leinfelder Grove. “The diligent attention to that practice helps our work in the community be more valuable, more authentic and likely more transformative.”

Previous years’ learning opportunities included Implicit Bias Training, Understanding Trauma, Motivational Interviewing and Talking to Children About Racism.

Something for Everyone

Each September, the Learning and Talent Development Department conducts a survey to determine which topics interested staff members most. The overwhelming response is for more Wellness and Well-being Trainings where employees can learn tangible techniques to help alleviate some of the stress of their everyday work.

For instance, a recent addition was a Wellness Training aiming at enhancing participants’ understanding and practice of self-care and mindfulness, with a focus on promoting personal well-being and professional effectiveness.

“The newest offering is our Cultural Humility session,” said Phillips. “It really gets at how to be culturally competent, what that looks like in the work we do and how to apply it. Not only with the people that we serve, but with our colleagues as well.” Phillips hopes to have all staff experience this training over the next few of years.

“Both of these new additions were direct results of feedback from and collaboration with employees,” said Phillips. “It shows our commitment not only to learning and professional development, but to the overall well-being of our staff.”

LEARNING OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

Though the Day of Learning and other trainings allow employees to explore and expand their interests and abilities in a more formal setting, Wellpoint Care Network also features Lunch n’ Learn sessions, monthly educational events and celebrations, and more.

“When people think about learning, they think about the formal setting of a classroom with an instructor standing up in front of you talking,” said Phillips. “We really want to get away from that idea. Learning can happen anywhere, even a conversation in an elevator. You don’t have to sit down and write something to learn.”

Wellpoint Care’s Learning and Talent Development Department works to capitalize on the strengths and abilities of our employees by partnering with various departments within the organization.

“We really make an effort to connect with staff across all levels of the organization, so they can share their knowledge and expertise with others,” said Phillips.

“Instead of always reaching out to outside organizations to facilitate a training, we are mindful to tap into our own folks. I think that’s important when we talk about retention and employee engagement because it shows people that not only are you a valuable asset to the organization, but you can also develop professionally here. A recent example of this is that we now offer regular arts-based open studios hosted by our art therapy clinical interns. It’s a welcoming space for employees to create and explore artmaking in the company of colleagues. Our staff also gets that hands-on experience, which is great.”

The Benefits of Lifelong learning

According to the Institute of Data, an organization’s commitment to ongoing and lifelong learning enhances employee engagement and satisfaction. Employees with access to learning opportunities report feeling valued and supported by their organization.

“Ongoing learning is important for employees to add skills and knowledge to their toolkit in the work that they do,” said Leinfelder Grove. “Possibly for their existing role, but also to prepare them for a promotional opportunity. Employees always tell us that one of the things they like is to be learning.”

“We live in such an innovative world,” added Phillips. “Things are fast evolving, and people want to keep up with the latest trends and happenings — not only personally, but professionally as well. Because of that, people are always looking to learn something new, and our organization can be the perfect fit for anyone seeking a new job opportunity.”