SCC Supervisors,

The Leadership Team announced a new training requirement for all staff in our Leadership Team Bulletin. This requirement, Crucial Conversations training, is one of the building blocks toward a shared understanding of what it means to have a respectful workplace. It will form the expectations for the way we engage with one another and our partners and guide our communication during difficult conversations. We are also going to talk about this new requirement during our All-Staff meeting on Monday and send out a follow-up email to staff next week about the new training requirement.

We’ve put together an FAQ for you ahead of our announcement. If you have further questions, please feel free to reach out directly to me, and I will do my best to address them.

What is the required training?

It’s called Crucial Conversations training, and it’s a common training in state government. Some of our staff may have already taken this training. We are asking that they take it again as a refresher.

Where is the training located?

The training is located online through the DES learning platform and is an online-only training. This helps meet the needs of our mostly remote workforce. You can register at this link: Activity Details - SumTotal

How long is the training?

The training is a day long, so staff should plan to block out a workday to take the online training.

Will the cost of the training come out of my professional development budget?

The training cost will not come out of your training budget. The agency will pick up the cost of the training.

Who needs to take this training?

As mentioned above, we are asking that all staff take this training, even if they’ve taken in before.

When do I (and my staff) need to take this training by?

You need to complete this training by Jan. 31, 2026.

Why are you requiring this training?

SCC has a “Respectful Workplace Policy.” Staff need to understand what the expectations are around how to engage in difficult conversations. This training is a first step toward ensuring staff have training but isn’t the only solution. We will be developing more tools and resources over the coming months.

What actions do I need to take as a supervisor?

You will need to communicate this requirement to your staff and help them prioritize taking a day for the training in their workload. You will also need to approve their training request in the DES system- this request will come via email. You can click on the “approve request” link to approve the training.

Thank you for your time and attention to this new training, and please reach out to Jessica Wilson should you have any other questions.

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