For more than 30 years, HAI Group Online Training has helped more than 30,000 housing professionals earn certifications, advance their careers, and build high-performing teams across 5,000 organizations.
The platform provides a flexible, cost-effective alternative to traditional in-person training, with over 100 courses covering new employee onboarding, compliance, customer service, leadership, cybersecurity, asset management, risk management, and more. Learners can gain knowledge at their own pace, on their own schedule, from anywhere.
New Britain Housing Authority (NBHA) is one of Online Training’s power users, maximizing the platform’s features, from administrative tools and reporting to bulk purchasing and curated support from HAI Group’s customer success team. According to Yseline Gadson, executive assistant to the executive director at NBHA, Online Training has become the agency’s “first stop” for onboarding, compliance, and professional development.
NBHA also incorporates Online Training into its onboarding cohort program. In this six-session series, new hires, from janitors and maintenance workers to directors, learn how each role supports the agency’s mission of providing safe, affordable housing. The trainings, which are required between cohort sessions, are required to reinforce lessons learned about each department: Executive Office, Finance, Operations, Public Housing, HCV, and Resident Services.
Preparing employees for what’s next
At NBHA, employees are eligible to participate in an agency-led program called Prepare for My Next Role. The program educates them on growth opportunities, outlines full expectations of potential roles, and helps them prepare for interviews, whether they’re applying internally or externally.
According to Gadson, Prepare for My Next Role has been offered for the past two years and has shown great success with employees interested in expanding their skill set into other areas of work within the multifamily housing industry.
“We noticed that the employees who tend to use it are often those in entry-level positions who have an interest in housing but don’t really know what housing is all about,” Gadson said.
The program helps staff understand the day-to-day responsibilities of roles like occupancy specialist, property manager, or supervisor, and builds leadership skills such as interviewing, project management, conflict resolution, and teamwork.
“It’s not just about the role,” Gadson explained. “It’s also learning how to interview and how to de-escalate; not so much related to the role but also learning how to be a leader. Many of these roles, like property management, require you to be a leader and to manage projects, so it’s not always just about the day-to-day but how to be a team player.”
When the program launched in 2024, the strong employee response was exciting and eye-opening. While interest showed that employees were eager to grow, it also suggested that they might be exploring opportunities outside NBHA. That reinforced the agency’s commitment to investing in its people: to keep employees engaged, motivated, and moving forward within or outside the organization.
From left: Tracy Blackwell, Director of Operations; Cheryl Thibeault, Director of Finance; Benibel Carrion, newly hired Property Manager; Angela Reynolds, newly appointed Occupancy Specialist for Public Housing; Jasmin Gonzalez, newly appointed Occupancy Specialist for HCV; John Hamilton, Executive Director; Lee Anthony, newly appointed Maintainer I; and Maribel Aguilar, Director of HCV.
This cohort group of four, representing a variety of departments, learned together about the critical roles they play in providing housing. The goal of the Onboarding Cohort Training at NBHA is to ensure each member understands their responsibilities and how their contributions directly support the agency’s mission of delivering safe and affordable housing to the community.
The first stop for growth
According to Gadson, the breadth and depth of HAI Group Online Training’s course catalog has been instrumental in giving NBHA employees opportunities to grow in their current professions and to discover new career paths.
“It allows you to create curricula,” Gadson said. “I know the employees can access all this great knowledge, but they don’t necessarily use it. They’re busy at work, but when they know it will help them advance in their career, or if they’re in this program, they’re completing the courses.”
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For example, when an occupancy specialist expresses interest in property management, Gadson ensures they’ve completed all the trainings tied to their current role. Then, she builds a tailored curriculum with additional property management courses so they can see exactly what the next step looks like.
“It was helpful to me because I was able to create a curriculum for someone moving from an occupancy specialist to property management,” she said. “I was able to create a curriculum with specific courses that were instrumental.”
Gadson only contacted the Online Training customer success team a handful of times for assistance, which she credits to the platform’s ease of use.
“That is just a testament to the platform being very user-friendly,” she said. “I had one training, and there were only two or three times when I had to call for support.”
Exploring new paths, not just promotions
NBHA’s approach recognizes that not every employee’s growth is a straight upward climb. Through Prepare for My Next Role, staff have discovered new interests, like a bookkeeper who shifted toward occupancy specialization. Others realized that a promotion path wasn’t the right fit, like a maintenance worker who explored administrative roles, but came away with a stronger sense of leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills.
“One person started last year as an occupancy specialist and is now close to interviewing for a property manager position,” Gadson said. “Another employee with an accounting background realized she wanted to work more directly with residents—she found her place helping families in a new way. HAI Group was instrumental in helping them explore these possibilities.”
Investing in people to strengthen the NBHA
Outside of HAI Group Online Training, NBHA also provides employees with professional development and leadership programs through the city of New Britain, Transition to Leadership, and more. These opportunities help NBHA create clear career pathways, retain strong talent, and strengthen the agency.
“It’s always good to have someone who was an occupancy specialist now move into property management,” Gadson said. “It’s a smoother transition than bringing in someone from the private sector who doesn’t know our culture or our residents. At the same time, it keeps our employees happy because they’re not stagnant—they have goals, and we’re investing in them.”
NBHA’s Prepare for My Next Role program even earned the agency an award nomination with CONN NAHRO, recognizing its innovative approach to employee development.
“HAI Group was the little seed that was planted for us,” Gadson said. “It showed us there’s so much more we can do here to grow our people.”
Bottom line
By pairing its Prepare for My Next Role program with HAI Group Online Training, New Britain Housing Authority is building clear career pathways, boosting employee satisfaction, and strengthening its organization from within.
Want to explore how HAI Group Online Training can support your agency’s goals? Contact our customer success team to learn more and find the best plan for your organization.
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HAI Group® is a marketing name used to refer to insurers, a producer, and related service providers affiliated through a common mission, management, and governance. Property-casualty insurance and related services are written or provided by Housing Authority Property Insurance, A Mutual Company; Housing Enterprise Insurance Company, Inc.; Housing Specialty Insurance Company, Inc.; Housing Investment Group, Inc.; and Housing Insurance Services (DBA Housing Insurance Agency Services in NY and MI).