Training Employees to Stay: T&D in Retaining Talent

The employee-driven market and “war for talent” demand organizations be increasingly competitive in maintaining the best workforce possible. Furthermore, factors such as millennial “job hopping,” employees leaving because of fears of layoffs and downsizing, and exiting the company without documenting valuable knowledge are all reasons to seek methods to decrease turnover. Organizations can use strategic and evidence-based training and development (T&D) practices to retain talent and prevent the loss of institutional knowledge. This session will discuss how T&D can be used to reduce involuntary turnover in organizations and cover how self-paced training, error management training (EMT), and the use of feedback and self-assessments can be used to enhance training outcomes. Ways that these T&D designs and methods may apply to millennials and tenured employees to best reduce turnover and prevent the loss of institutional knowledge will also be covered. By understanding the connections between T&D and the varied workforce, employers can have an the advantage in the ongoing “war for talent.” During this session, you will learn: - About evidence-based practices and how evidence-based T&D can improve employee retention. - How self-paced training, error management training, and feedback and assessment improve training outcomes. - Why different employees respond to different T&D techniques and which T&D methods to use with various employee groups

Finding the early talent: Factors predicting early advanced math enrollment

Early exposure to advanced math classes have shown higher levels of college readiness for students. However, there is evidence of a discriminatory gap among students of marginalized backgrounds in placement of these advanced courses. To examine this, three years of data from approximately 10,500 student will be used to develop and validate predictive models that examines both enrollment and performance in advanced math courses in the eighth grade. Data will come from a longitudinal study taking place in rural North Carolina. This research will use the predictive models to determine which students will be selected for eighth grade advanced math and if there is a selection bias for which eighth grade students are chosen to begin advanced math classes

Choice consequences: salinity preferences and hatchling survival in the mangrove rivulus (Kryptolebias marmoratus).

In heterogeneous environments, mobile species should occupy habitats in which their fitness is maximized. Mangrove rivulus fish inhabit mangrove ecosystems where salinities range from 0 to 65 ppt, but are most often collected from areas with salinities of ∼25 ppt. We examined the salinity preference of mangrove rivulus in a lateral salinity gradient, in the absence of predators and competitors. Fish could swim freely for 8 h throughout the gradient with chambers containing salinities ranging from 5 to 45 ppt (or 25 ppt throughout in the control). We defined preference as the salinity in which the fish spent most of their time, and also measured preference strength, latency to begin exploring the arena, and number of transitions between chambers. To determine whether these traits were repeatable, each fish experienced three trials. Mangrove rivulus spent a greater proportion of time in salinities lower (5-15 ppt) than they occupy in the wild. Significant among-individual variation in the (multivariate) behavioral phenotype emerged when animals experienced the gradient, indicating strong potential for selection to drive behavioral evolution in areas with diverse salinity microhabitats. We also showed that mangrove rivulus had a significantly greater probability of laying eggs in low salinities compared with control or high salinities. Eggs laid in lower salinities also had higher hatching success compared with those laid in higher salinities. Thus, although mangrove rivulus can tolerate a wide range of salinities, they prefer low salinities. These results raise questions about factors that prevent mangrove rivulus from occupying lower salinities in the wild, whether higher salinities impose energetic costs, and whether fitness changes as a function of salinity

Choice consequences: salinity preferences and hatchling survival in the mangrove rivulus (Kryptolebias marmoratus).

In heterogeneous environments, mobile species should occupy habitats in which their fitness is maximized. Mangrove rivulus fish inhabit mangrove ecosystems where salinities range from 0 to 65 ppt, but are most often collected from areas with salinities of ∼25 ppt. We examined the salinity preference of mangrove rivulus in a lateral salinity gradient, in the absence of predators and competitors. Fish could swim freely for 8 h throughout the gradient with chambers containing salinities ranging from 5 to 45 ppt (or 25 ppt throughout in the control). We defined preference as the salinity in which the fish spent most of their time, and also measured preference strength, latency to begin exploring the arena, and number of transitions between chambers. To determine whether these traits were repeatable, each fish experienced three trials. Mangrove rivulus spent a greater proportion of time in salinities lower (5-15 ppt) than they occupy in the wild. Significant among-individual variation in the (multivariate) behavioral phenotype emerged when animals experienced the gradient, indicating strong potential for selection to drive behavioral evolution in areas with diverse salinity microhabitats. We also showed that mangrove rivulus had a significantly greater probability of laying eggs in low salinities compared with control or high salinities. Eggs laid in lower salinities also had higher hatching success compared with those laid in higher salinities. Thus, although mangrove rivulus can tolerate a wide range of salinities, they prefer low salinities. These results raise questions about factors that prevent mangrove rivulus from occupying lower salinities in the wild, whether higher salinities impose energetic costs, and whether fitness changes as a function of salinity