Giving your political subdivision’s employees opportunities to grow their professional knowledge and further hone their skills can help increase their confidence, enhance leadership potential, improve work-life balance, foster greater innovation and creativity, develop diverse thinking and perspectives, and lead to greater retention and motivation (Forbes, 2021).

Whether you have an existing internal training program or you’re looking for a place to start, our online training platform LocalGovU can help! LocalGovU gives you access to thousands of online local government training courses for every department within your political subdivision – from HR and professional development to road maintenance, equipment safety, and POST certified law enforcement courses.

Any of your political subdivision’s employees can access these courses at no cost through your NDIRF membership. Registration takes only a few minutes, and you can even set up a curriculum specific to your employees’ needs, complete with automated email reminders. Think “set it and forget it!”

Join the North Dakota political subdivisions today who are already using LocalGovU to provide their employees with online, self-paced training courses that feature the latest information and industry trends.

To demonstrate the variety of courses LocalGovU offers, check out the top 10 courses our members completed in 2022:

*Course summaries provided by LocalGovU.

Anti-harassment in Workplace
Harassment in the workplace is a serious issue that requires a thorough understanding to promote awareness and ultimately prevention. Improper behavior in the workplace may have significant consequences for those involved, for yourself as an employee, and your employer. Recognizing the various types of harassment will help you to identify potential warning signs and take the necessary steps to report harassment.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
Improper behavior in the workplace may have significant consequences both for yourself and your employer. If you are a victim of sexual harassment, this may create a hostile work environment which takes a toll on your career, your personal life, and your health. Recognizing what sexual harassment is, both the subtle cues as well as the overt advances, will help you to identify potential warning signs and take the necessary steps to report sexual harassment.

Defensive Driving Basics
This course will dive into the basics of defensive driving, including its definition, purpose, and importance, as well as the factors that play an important role from the driver’s perspective. We will also discuss the equipment and judgment necessary for driving safely, as well as review the types of impairment that should be avoided to increase driver safety.

The NDIRF offers in-person and online defensive driving courses to our members through our partnership with the North Dakota Safety Council. To learn more, go here: North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund – Blog (ndirf.com).

Advanced Defensive Driving Techniques
This course concentrates primarily on advanced defensive driving techniques. You will be given instruction on how to drive defensively in adverse conditions including heavy rain, snow, and ice. We will further discuss how to share the roadways with other motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

The NDIRF offers in-person and online defensive driving courses to our members through our partnership with the North Dakota Safety Council. To learn more, go here: North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund – Blog (ndirf.com).

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
In previous eras, people often became caught in an “either/or” situation because employers were not always cooperative when individuals needed time for personal matters. Employees ran the risk of losing their jobs and benefits if they made the choice of putting their family first. Fortunately, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees to take the time they need to handle life events. We will go over the FMLA in detail to help you understand the basic provisions and how the FMLA can benefit you.

Workplace Bullying
When we think of bullying, we immediately associate it with the school yard, certainly not something we face as an adult. Unfortunately, bullying in the workplace occurs more often than you think. In fact, there are various forms of bullying, from overt forms to those which are quite passive. Workplace bullying may have significant consequences for those involved, for yourself as an employee as well as your employer. A thorough understanding of workplace bullying will help promote awareness and ultimately prevention.

Driving While Distracted
According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, every day 9 people die and over 1,000 are involved in a car accident as a result of distracted driving. No matter how long you have had your license, how good of a driver you are, or how safe the roads are, we are all susceptible to driving while distracted. This course will cover the different types of distracted driving, how to avoid each type, as well as evaluate examples of distracted driving in order to focus on how to improve your safety on the road.

The NDIRF offers in-person and online defensive driving courses to our members through our partnership with the North Dakota Safety Council. To learn more, go here: North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund – Blog (ndirf.com).

Successful Customer Interactions
There is a strong correlation between customer satisfaction and the success of a business or department. Welcoming customers means working to create satisfied customers from the inside-out. When local government creates satisfied customers, we create empowered and informed citizens. In this course, learners will discover how to interact as co-workers and service providers. We will also cover understanding the customer goal and how to create goals that will lead to successful customer interactions.

Diversity in the Workplace
Diversity in the workplace is an essential part of any workplace culture. As we live and work in a global economy, the diversity of those we interact with and who work alongside us must be both acknowledged and respected. Diversity is more than just a term; it is how individuals identify themselves as well as how others perceive them. Promoting diversity in the workplace should not be looked at as a requirement or a box to be checked. It is much more than that. Diversity in the workplace makes good business sense as a more diverse and inclusive workplace will be advantageous in recruiting, hiring, and maintaining talent within your organization. Beyond the benefits, it is important to effectively implement a solid program to manage and promote diversity in the workplace. And while there are challenges to implementing diversity in the workplace, the end rewards will certainly outweigh any obstacles along the way.

Ethical Behavior for Local Government
In this course, we will define ethical behavior, provide examples of work situations where a thorough understanding of workplace ethics may be applied, and ways in which you can determine if your decisions and behavior are meeting the appropriate standards.

Contact Director of Member Services Corey Olson at Corey.Olson@ndirf.com or (701) 751-9107, or visit www.NDIRF.com and click on Training to learn more about LocalGovU and get started today!