753 Disc courses in Cardiff

Our Team Building Programmes are 'simply excellent' (quote from Unilever). They always deliver much greater energy' motivation and efficiently accelerates to a galvanised, integrated team for their Manager/Team Leader. They're great fun and very commercially orientated - the best of both key elements to a successful and long-lasting high performance team. A successful company is always made up of successful teams. Teams that can work autonomously with a clearly defined set of goals, roles, vision, responsibility and culture will always reach for and achieve far greater success than a team that works just as a group of individuals. Our team building solutions are individually built and geared towards teams at any level within an organisation, providing an independent and objective perspective to promote a common purpose such as the creation of a 'high performance team'. Out With The Old Traditionally, team building events have been restricted to certain levels of management where they head off site for a bit of archery, quad biking and paintballing or something along those lines. Then over some coffee and cocktails, business plans and more efficient ways to work are casually discussed. Whilst being out having fun instead of being at work may improve an individual person's mood, the effect will only be short-term, and will not go far in creating permanent and cohesive teams who are able to overcome challenges together and drive the business forward when back in the workplace. In With The New Today's business thinking is more strategic and certainly has to look for returns on the investment. That is why Dickson Training Ltd's team building programmes are bespoke and built to your requirements through research, understanding your business and, most importantly, what results and achievements you are looking to get out of the programme. Once "what success looks like" has been established, we create tasks and activities that will test your leadership, problem solving, communication and team work skills. When the tasks have been completed, the learning - both practical and theory - is debriefed to the group as well as how it will translate back in your business. Not only are our events great fun, but they provide participants with learning points they can act upon to improve or enhance the working practices/environment. Team Building That Gets Results We have a highly innovative team who design team builds to suit all budgets and time or space restrictions. Large or small, we will develop the perfect event to meet your commercial objectives, keeping in line with your values and company culture. More recently we have combined team galvanising events with ways to engage the participants with and support their local communities. This solution has proved extremely popular with our clients and we are continuing to develop more and more programmes doing exactly this. " Phil did everything in a very professional and focused manner, without losing sight of the overall aims or having 'fun'. When I moved to Airbus UK and subsequently European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), I had no hesitation in recommending Phil and the team to deliver the required training and team events.  Without doubt Phil and his team are excellent providers of training, to suit even bespoke requirements, and I would not hesitate in recommending the team to any business in the future. " Glenn Brown, Systems & Expertise Manager, Airbus Personnel Service Augmented Skills – an Essay by Phil Dickson All of you, who are reading this, and all the people you meet and work with will have – ‘Augmented Skills’. So – if you are an IT Engineer or a Pharmacist; perhaps you are, or know, a Departmental Leader and you work with a Logistics Project Manager; these roles will demand core skills, whether they be technical know-how or qualifications in the discipline. But to be that bit better; more reliable; more effective & productive and therefore more valuable and, frankly, marketable – capitalizing on ‘Augment Skills’ comes into play. The I T Engineer who was a Chess Champion at Uni, which would indicate that they possess some key ‘Augmented skills’ including how they plan 3 steps ahead and are always prepared for the unexpected. The Pharmacist, who is a keen sportsperson in their private life, will likely be tenacious, team-orientated and disciplined – again these are superb qualities to have in this – or any – role. Your colleagues, as well as yourself, will have ‘Augmented Skills’ that will be an asset if only they are explored and applied to their role and indeed, career. Everyone has their own 'Super-power' If they love gardening, they are probably strategic, patient and inclined to research; if they cook or bake, they are usually well organized and comfortable with multi-tasking. A big reader will tend to be considered and possess good critical thinking faculties, and an amateur mechanic or keen DIY person will often be practical, resourceful and very determined. I have observed that many new Parents discover they have ‘Augmented Skills’ they didn’t know they had... such as getting order out of chaos and displaying industrial amounts of patience and good grace when they really do not feel like it. They very often become far more compassionate and empathetic. Most people have their very own ‘Superpower’. Invite your team members to offer their ‘Augmented Skills’ to your work-place – and just watch as it elevates the motivation levels and improves results. It’ll be very rewarding for all concerned – and for meeting the Team’s objectives, to encourage the person who is a talented artist to be a sounding board on some of the marketing imagery and layouts; for the team member who is great at Maths or resolving crosswords to be asked for their input to solving a problem that is causing logistical or operational headaches. Never exploit a Team member’s unique special skills at their expense I would like to stress, however, that it must never be an area where a team member gets exploited by harvesting their unique special skills to coerce them into taking on greater responsibilities and tasks without providing them with the commensurate salary and status. To do so would be immoral and, ultimately, counter-productive as it would lead to resentment and disenfranchisement. This is about encouraging people’s capability and inviting their input to boost confidence and enhance the team’s capability. Often, we need to be more than what our Job Description says It is also important to highlight that whatever a person’s role or function is – they will definitely need to have additional capabilities to be effective. The best example of this is when we designed and delivered a range of ‘Advanced Customer Care skills’ training sessions for the Met Office a few years ago…we met so many remarkably super-bright Meteorologists, many of whom were having to make significant adjustments to answering questions from Customers that seemed to be illogical and often, obtuse. It wasn’t enough for these Meteorologists to be highly skilled at interpreting data and identifying patterns – they needed ‘Augmented skills’ to make that information accessible to members of the public (and Council workers and Air Traffic controllers and Shipping agents) and many other people, as to what that particular weather system was going to be like in their area and at what time. They have to know how to ‘de-jargonise’ the material and provide succinct, clear, and yet temperate, descriptions without ever appearing exasperated, impatient or judgmental in response to sometimes quite silly questions. For a highly trained scientist – that can be counter-intuitive. Being Philosophical... and a wee bit pretentious At the risk of being a little Philosophical (and probably a wee bit pretentious) – in my own role of Trainer – my core skills have to include – being a very good communicator, an active listener and have innovative and engaging ways to convert an idea, or a model, into practical application that my Delegates and Clients gain tangible benefits from. This is how it applies to me... I really enjoy composing short, light classical-style piano pieces. Now, to do this well, you need to be able to find a transition from one chord or melody to a different theme or key. It has to be worked out very carefully to have incremental transitions and pleasant-sounding developments as the piece unfolds. I think I have become better at this as I have honed my skills as a composer. But I have realized that these very same skills have ‘Augmented’ my ability to help a Manager, or a Team, move from a state of conflict; tension; disfunction; disenfranchisement; lack of confidence to a place that is more harmonious with far greater productivity. The very same process of careful listening, considering options, taking well-considered steps, having a creative, sometimes brave, move towards a resolution are at play in both Training and Piano Compositions! Scheduled Courses Unfortunately this course is not one that is currently scheduled as an open course, and is only available on an in-house basis. Please contact us for more information.

Developing a network of MHFA Champions is a key step in creating a mentally healthy workplace. The MHFA Champion one-day course will give you all the skills you need to be an MHFA Champion. This one-day course trains you as an MHFA Champion, giving you: An understanding of common mental health issues Knowledge and confidence to advocate for mental health awareness Ability to spot signs of mental ill-health Skills to support positive wellbeing 1 Introduction to MHFA and understanding mental health (3 hours 30 mins) About Mental Health First Aid About mental health and stress in the workplace Stigma and discrimination Depression Anxiety disorders Other mental health issues (eating disorders, self-harm, psychosis) Early warning signs of mental ill-health Alcohol, drugs and mental health 2 MHFA Champion in practice (3 hours 30 mins) Applying the Mental Health First Aid action plan Action 1: Approach the person, assess and assist with any crisis Suicide Action 2: Listen and communicate non-judgementally Action 3: Give support and information Action 4: Encourage the person to get appropriate professional help Action 5: Encourage other supports Recovery Building a mentally healthy workplace Action planning for using MHFA

This workshop-based bite-size will provide space to explore some practical tools and ideas on how to be more resilient when faced with challenging and tough situations. There is an opportunity to do a self assessment and bring it to the day as a means to identify areas to work on and begin to master skills that will enhance resilient thinking. There will be time to explore what resilience is and understand the range of practical tools and techniques available that can be used beyond the workshop itself. By the end of the workshop participants will be able to: Discuss and evaluate their personal strengths and areas for development in being more resilient at work Understand what resilience involves and how to identify and challenge their own beliefs that undermine resilience Understand the four aspects of resilience - confidence, adaptability, building support and maintaining a clear perspective Understand how to use resiliency tools to help to cope better with the challenge of change Review and evaluate their learning and have an action plan to take back and implement in the workplace 1 Welcome, introductions and objectives Breaking the ice 2 Identifying current challenges in relation to work How we handle these challenges 3 Defining resilience and how and why it helps our personal effectiveness and thinking 4 Resilience skills and how to develop them 5 Learning a resilience tool that promotes new ways of thinking / working 6 Review and evaluation of learning Action planning

We all tend to have challenges throughout our lives that cause varying levels of pressure. It is healthy and essential that people experience such challenges because up to a certain point an increase in pressure improves performance and quality of life. Too much pressure can be harmful and affect our health and wellbeing. This participative half-day workshop will explore the causes and impact of stress and provide an opportunity to learn some new ideas and techniques to cope with it. Practical tasks and exercises will be used to promote discussion and participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences and approaches. By the end of the workshop participants will be able to: Understand the causes and symptoms of stress and how to spot them Become more aware of personal habitual behaviours and approaches that get in the way of dealing with stress productively Learn ideas and approaches that help you to cope with the thoughts, emotions and physical feelings that happen in stressful and difficult situations Review and evaluate learning and have an action plan to take back and put into practice at work 1 Welcome, introductions and objectives Breaking the ice 2 Stress Its sources and effects on you Defining stress, its signs and symptoms 3 Exploring your 'default' habits Their consequences in stressful situations 4 Dealing with perception Strategies and approaches for coping with stress 5 Setting goals with positive outcomes Review and evaluation of learning Action planning

This course follows the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health's syllabus. A one-day programme, it is suitable for all people at all levels in the workplace and gives a basic introduction to the principles of environmental management. On successful completion of the course, participants will be able to: Understand the terms 'environment' and 'pollution' Understand the terms 'hazard' and 'risk' related to the environment Better appreciate environmental issues generally, and specifically in respect of their organisation Identify hazards to the environment from working practices Outline the procedures/controls necessary to prevent damage to the environment 1 What is the environment? - putting the environment in context Key environmental issues and how we contribute Definition of the environment 2 Working with the environment What is pollution? Sources, receptors and pathways Environmental consequences workshop - identifying the environmental consequences of our working practices Environmental risk assessment Effective control mechanisms 3 Protecting the environment - Environmental Management Systems What is an Environmental Management System (EMS)? What are the benefits of having an EMS? EMS structure and models Identifying what elements of EMS your company has and how they work Roles and responsibilities 4 Choice of module Option 1: Organisation-specific moduleThis module can be used to introduce environmental concepts that are specific to your activities and operations, and will be compiled through discussion with your organisation Option 2: Environmental best practiceIf no organisation-specific module is required, or if participants from a number of organisations attend, generic operational environmental best practices can be covered instead. Areas covered include waste management, fuel storage and use, hazardous materials, emissions to air and water and environmental incidents

Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM) is commonly used to help establish safe minimum levels of maintenance, determine changes to operating procedures and help establish maintenance regimes and plans. Successful implementation can result in cost savings, machine uptime and improved risk management. But the devil's in the detail - how can you achieve these benefits and successfully implement RCM in your organisation? This programme will help you do just that. Note: this is a purely indicative outline. The content, duration, objectives and material used can all be adapted to match your specific requirements. To provide a better understanding of RCM, particularly: What, why, how and who? Opportunities and benefits Risks Cost effectiveness Note: this is a purely indicative outline. The content, duration, objectives and material used can all be adapted to match your specific requirements. 1 What is maintenance? Why maintain? Traditional maintenance methods Common current practices and trends 2 What is Reliability Centred Maintenance? Its history Its development Current usage Where can it be cost-effective? 3 How does it work? Basic features Key criteria Maintenance options Key outcomes 4 Making the business case and preparing the strategy Identifying and quantifying current risks Identifying and quantifying current costs Motivating decision-makers Identifying and empowering those who have to deliver the results Educating / gaining buy-in from interested parties 5 Implementation Identify business functions Prioritise functions Verify correct usage Identify failure modes Identify the consequences of failure Understand the failure process Specify the appropriate maintenance action(s) 6 Ongoing requirements Monitoring Recording Analysis Continuous re-evaluation 7 Open discussion Sharing experience and addressing specific issues of interest to participants Course review Close

Agility has become a prized business attribute. Although Agile methods were once most associated with software development, they are now applied in a host of different areas. Agile continues to find new applications because it is primarily an attitude. This programme delivers a solid grounding in both the Agile mindset and Agile methods. It covers three methods, illustrates the benefits of each and shows how they can be integrated. It includes practical techniques as well as background knowledge. By the end of the session, participants will be able to: Apply Agile concepts to self-manage their work Understand the roles people take on in Agile teams Use a variety of techniques to help deliver customer satisfaction Focus on delivering against priorities Employ a range of estimating techniques 1 Introduction Overview of the programme Review of participants' needs and objectives 2 The basics of Agile What makes Agile different Agile Manifesto and Principles Using feedback to deliver what is needed 3 Agile teams Multi-disciplinary teams Team size and empowerment Agile values 4 Agile at the team level - Scrum Scrum roles Scrum 'events' Scrum 'artifacts' 5 Agile for teams juggling multiple demands - Kanban Taking control of the work Improving throughput Dealing with bottlenecks 6 Agile in projects - AgilePM The phases of an Agile project Managing change requests Delivering on time 7 Estimating T-shirt / Pebble sizing Yesterday's weather Planning poker 8 Pick 'n' mix - some useful techniques The daily stand-up User stories Retrospectives Work-in-process limits Burndown charts Minimum viable product A / B testing 9 Review and action planning Identify actions to be implemented individually Conclusion

This very practical workshop is designed to enable participants to improve the impact, clarity and accuracy of their business documents - both internal and external.: This workshop will help participants: Identify the purpose of writing their documents - to themselves and to their readers Recognise and meet the needs of their readers Plan documents systematically and improve the layout, flow and structure Express the content more clearly, concisely and correctly Adapt the tone and style of writing to the circumstances Proof-read and edit work effectively, using formal marks and techniques Improve visual layout, format and appearance 1 Course objectives Welcome and Introductions The problems now - group discussion 2 Writing better business documents What points to highlight / exclude Starting off Introductions Conclusions Executive summaries 3 Rules and standards George Orwell's famous maxim Why write? - clarifying your aims and objectives A seven-step method for better preparation The three-stage process for writing well Grouping information for your reader 4 Proof-reading and editing The difference between proof-reading and editing Proof-reading methods and strategies Proof-reading marks and techniques Training your eye for detail Knowing what to look for 5 Effective editing Grammar and English standards Words - usage and spelling Sentences - units of thought Paragraphs - themes Punctuation - spotting and correcting common errors Say what you mean - active v passive language 6 How's your English? Grammar quizzes and punctuation test Spotting spelling errors Rephrasing jargons and clichés Common error's and mistakes 7 Document layout House style Use of white space Fonts and effects 8 One-to-one workshops These are practical sessions with one-to-one consultation with colleagues and the trainer They are held at key points to consolidate the learning from different sessions 9 Course summary Summary of key points Action plans

Meetings are a traditional and essential component of local government. For both elected members and officers, meetings serve as a forum for discussion and agreement, planning and monitoring, communication and leadership, and decision-making. Used appropriately, meetings can challenge, inspire, illuminate and inform. And while they are not the only meetings that elected members will be asked to attend, committee meetings, in particular, are a mainstay of the political management process. Effective chairing is important because it can provide clear leadership and direction, ensure that debates are focused and balanced, enable decisions to be reached and ensure that resources are used to best effect. This two-hour 'masterclass'-style workshop will help elected members to understand their role, offer some approaches and ideas that will help to tackle typical challenges, and help to generally improve their effectiveness as a chair. To understand the skills and qualities of a good chair To learn ideas and approaches for chairing a successful meeting that is on time and achieves its outcomes To understand the protocols and boundaries for appropriate meeting etiquette and the chair's role in managing this effectively To appreciate how to manage yourself and others appropriately To take away personal actions to apply to your role 1 Welcome and introductions Objectives What's the challenge for you? 2 We can't go on meeting like this Common meeting challenges for chairs and why they succeed or fail Consequences and impact for the Council What's the context? 3 Roles and responsibilities of an effective chair Activities and input that explore the role, skills and qualities needed Role of the chair: what is it and how to do it well 4 Chairing for success - ideas and approaches to meet the challenges Managing time and boundaries Preparation and planning Creating the right environment Self-management Challenging personalities and good meeting behaviour 5 Final plenary session What's your plan? Take away actions

How to protect your cash flow In the current economic climate more and more companies are finding that their customers are taking longer to pay - or are not even paying at all. As cash flow is key to the survival of any business, effective debt collection tactics are vital for all businesses. This workshop concentrates on the telephone skills and techniques you can use to achieve the most positive outcome in any debt collection situation - payment of money owed, as soon as possible, whilst keeping the collection cost as low as possible. The course will help you: Understand your debtors and communicate with them accordingly Develop a strategy for more effective debt collection Make every call count Handle difficult calls Reduce the amount of time you need to spend on chasing payment Increase your collection rates 1 The debt collection process Understanding the reasons behind payment default Looking at the debt situation from the customer's point of view Developing a strategy for effective debt collection 2 Advanced telephone communication skills Techniques for speaking to the person responsible for paying the debt How to gain the customer's trust when discussing debt Telephone collection skills best practice Key phrases that keep the conversation positive and open 3 Questioning and listening skills for gathering information Different types of question Using high-gain questions to uncover key information Active listening that will help you understand what customers are really saying Leading with examples and high-impact questions Summarising and restating 4 Overcoming objections and excuses Identifying objections Preparing suitable responses Probing objections and ways to overcome them 5 Gaining commitment and ending the call Learn how to negotiate an agreement to suit both parties Summarising actions for you and the customer Ending the call professionally 6 Dealing with difficult and challenging situations Understand different personality types The correct way to respond to an upset customer Ways to calm angry customers (and handle verbal attacks) 7 Action plans Course summary and presentation of action plans