Kentucky 4-H has experienced an influx of new hires over the past 2 years.  To ensure agent success, Kentucky 4-H developed the two-year onboarding process for new agents.  Our mission is timely, focused education, dedicated to 4-H agent success. We focus on three main areas: youth development, program development and youth development.  Education is offered through face-to-face trainings, personalized visits from specialists, monthly newsletters, and consistent and ongoing support through office hours and inservices that meet the needs of new agents.  

This past year 39 new agents were a part of this program.   Besides, new agent orientation, these agents attend a Survive Training their first year and a Thrive training their second year.  Each training session is 6 hours.  4-H Extension Specialists made over 78 visits via zoom and/or in person.  They also received a monthly newsletter highlighting upcoming events, youth development updates, volunteer development updates and program development updates and new agents.  Specialists are on call for phone calls and zooms if agents have any questions outside of these onboarding activities.  Ongoing and continuous surveys are sent out to new agents to ensure we are covering what they need.  

Evaluations have revealed that they loved the opportunity to meet with other new agents and the cohorts became support groups. One participant stated that their new agent training was one of the best trainings they had ever had.  We hope these training reduce 4-H agent turnover and help them make “the best better” in Kentucky 4-H.