Productivity allows us to make progress on and complete necessary tasks. However, due to time

constraints, competing responsibilities, stressors, and personal tendencies such as procrastination,

we often are not as productive as we would like to be. To enhance productivity skills within the local

community and assist individuals in learning strategies to maximize their time and output, especially

in the workplace, the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service developed the Time

Well Spent: Productivity Skills for Success program.

Because employee productivity ultimately strengthens both individual workplaces and the economic

viability of communities at large, the Pike County Extension Service partnered with Pikeville Medical Center, to offer Time Well Spent: Productivity

 Skills for Success. The program consisted of four individual lessons delivering objective-based learning through interactive learning

activities, including Productivity vs. Procrastination, Organizing Your Time and Workspace,

Establishing Priorities and Building Focus, and Work-Life Balance. Pikeville Medical Center is the region’s largest employer. They recognized a disconnect between hiring and employee retention. As part of a new employee on-boarding program for patient care technicians and office workers, a 6-week training course was implemented. The training staff reached out to the Family & Consumer Sciences Extension staff for help with employee soft skills training to make newly hired candidates more equipped to handle the stress of home and work, improve organization, productivity and focus. During the Spring of 2022, three separate training sessions were held with a total of 29 participants each receiving 4 hours of direct, hands-on education as part of their on-boarding employee education. Participants were surveyed following the classes (feedback still pending.) There is great success in both the training partnership formed between the Extension Service and PMC, as well as the ability of PMC to retain highly trained employees for a greater length of time.