CORPORATE UNIVERSITY BUILDS TEAMWORK, SKILLS, AND CULTURE.

How do you motivate employees, increase their skills, and reinforce a corporate culture? Perhaps by sending employees to seminars? Bringing in speakers? Holding brown bag lunch programs?

For a Dallas, Texas company, JPI, the solution was not that simple. The company claims that employees are a "customer group" and that meeting and exceeding employee expectations is as important as serving residents of their apartment communities. So, JPI management took a serious look at how they could fulfill their commitment.

The employees provided one avenue. In 1998, JPI conducted its annual employee satisfaction survey. A large number of employees responded that employee training was needed. The respondents were aware that the property management staff received training; the rest of the company wanted the same benefit. The survey also showed that the associates in property management were the "happiest" employees in the company, which could, in part, be attributed to the training they received.

Therefore, JPI's management developed an internal university. JPI University is comprised of seven colleges, each specializing in a different department--Property Operations, Market Research, Investment Services, Culture & Tradition, Finance & Accounting, Technology, and Construction. A dean, typically the vice president in charge of that department, oversees each college. The university includes a training staff who provide coursework at the Dallas head-quarters and on-location in JPI's offices across the country. The goal is that each employee should receive no less than 40 hours of training per year.

Employees may choose courses with the approval of their managers. For example, an employee may choose one course in market research, one in technology, one in finance and accounting, and one in construction. The university also includes the College of Culture & Tradition, a specialized curriculum designed to reinforce the values and beliefs of JPI's partners. The curriculum includes the Value of Leadership course, which helps employees understand JPI's corporate culture.

"The company is decentralized, so it's especially important to maintain consistent cultural and philosophical beliefs," JPI's Chief Learning Officer, Lori Dearnbarger, says. "Courses like the Value of Leadership and Real Estate 101 and 201 reinforce the history and beliefs of the company, including the values of the owners."

It is no small task to manage and coordinate a university of 1,200 employees located across the United States. A course calendar is e-mailed every month. If an employee needs a specific course that is not available in an upcoming regional schedule, they can sign up to attend the Dallas session. JPI's training staff go out to each region at least once a month. In addition, four programs that have come out of this year's curriculum have been circulated to each region: The Value of Leadership; the Performance Enhancement Program (PEP), a six-month course four hours a month; JPI Real Estate 101; and JPI Real Estate 201.

All courses are provided during normal work hours. Typically, each course lasts from two to four hours. Real Estate 201 lasts five hours. Computer consultants come to the College of Technology to teach eight-hour courses in specific software applications.

The full university of seven colleges was unveiled last January and employees are responding enthusiastically. In fact, a recommendation has already been approved and funded to add a College of Human Resources next year.

"The important thing is that JPI is all about employees," Dearnbarger says. "We strive to do our best and build the best, quality product. JPI owners believe in giving the employees what they ask for. The whole JPI university concept exists because of the employees. It was born because of them and continues to grow and improve because of their input."

The corporate university concept is typically found in major international firms who have the budgets and staff to support such an effort. JPI has shown that the concept can be incorporated into mid-sized firms. The firm's management believes that the program will pay for itself through improvements in employee attitudes, skills, knowledge, and understanding.