Local Nonprofit Regains Company Culture Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many of the traditional interactions among coworkers and the consumer changed forever. Business culture had been shell shocked, and organizations were trying to reestablish the foundation they once had. The Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A) was no different, and their leadership quickly started righting the ship.
Mike Donohue
NEI3A Chief Executive Officer Mike Donohue recognized these changes and took action. Having spent 25 years in the Dubuque community, he knew there were training opportunities that could assist in rehabilitating his organization’s culture.
“As I transitioned to this nonprofit organization,” Mike said, “I quickly identified opportunities to better equip our supervisors as well as organization-wide training opportunities while we worked to build a new agency culture.” Starting in fall 2022, NEI3A participated in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion training through Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC). Just under a year later, Donohue noticed their foundation was even stronger as a result of the training and development. “Communication and engagement have increased significantly,” Mike said, “and I give a lot of credit to the training we have been able to engage NICC around and our team's ability to embrace the concepts we've introduced.” NICC instructor Gina Weekly has led the training for NEI3A. Mike credits her for helping create a safe, welcoming and nurturing culture, along with making herself available for NEI3A members who want to discuss issues outside of training. “Our NICC instructor clearly walked the walk through her own life, and this created immediate credibility in the eyes of our team,” he said. Gina has met with the organization four times since their initial training. NEI3A has reestablished their organization’s culture and rebounded from the pandemic. Mike sees the value in NICC trainings and recommends others take advantage.
“Every organization, profit and nonprofit, must recognize the importance of investing in your human capital,” he said. “The customized offerings through NICC are both effective and affordable, and best of all, delivered by people who have a vested interest in your success.” NICC Business and Community Solutions trainings can be customized to the needs of the businesses they work with. Whether they need career development opportunities, information technology, health and safety or a different area, the NICC team will help craft the necessary trainings for the business' employees.
Contact Amy to Learn about Customized Solutions for Your Business. Amy Green Director of Sales and Training greena@nicc.edu 844.642.2338, ext. 3130
nicc.edu/business-community / 844.642.2338, ext. 1399
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