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
Learn the basics of financial awareness and better understand the language used by accountants and how financial statements fit together within organisations. Course overview Duration: 2 days (13 hours) This workshop will provide participants with a grasp of basic financial awareness, to help them to better understand the language used by accountants and how financial statements fit together. Training is done in a jargon-free way that is aimed building attendees’ confidence in using financial terms and concepts within their organisation. Competent financial management has many aspects, it is wide reaching and requires multiple skills but if participants work to become organised and effective in planning, these skills can be easily acquired. There is a misconception that to be a good operational manager dealing with financial decisions people must be accounting or numerical geniuses. There are basic skills that attendees can easily learn that will support them in those areas. Objectives By the end of the course you will be able to: Identify the importance of financial management and its impact Identify the link between financial information and decision making Set, manage, monitor and review budgets Analyse financial statements Demonstrate the link between the statements, budgets and decision making. Content Financial Management Budgeting process (generic / client specific if possible) Forecasting and re forecasting process The need for accurate forecasting Accrual v cash accounting revisited Financial Objectives of the business Users of the accounts Financial Tools Depreciation and Amortisation Accruals and Prepayments Deferred and Accrued Income Costs, Opex and Capex Financial Statements The Income Statement The Balance Sheet Understanding capital employed The relationship between balance sheet and income statement The cash flow statement Profitability: gross, operating and net margins Review of client’s management information reports Building the Business Case Break even analysis Discounted Cash Flow Discount factors Net Present Value (NPV) Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
The aim of this course is to provide project managers, project engineers and project support staff with a toolkit they can use on their projects. The tools range from the simple that can be used on all projects to the advanced that can be used where appropriate. This programme will help the participants to: Identify and engage with stakeholders Use tools for requirements gathering and scope management Produce better estimates using a range of techniques Develop more reliable schedules Effectively manage delivery DAY ONE 1 Introduction Overview of the programme Review of participants' needs and objectives 2 Stakeholder management Using PESTLE to aid stakeholder identification Stakeholder mapping The Salience model Stakeholder engagement grid 3 Requirements management Using prototypes and models to elucidate requirements Prioritising techniques Roadmaps Requirements traceability 4 Scope management Work breakdown structures Responsibility assignment matrix 5 Delivery approaches Sequential Agile 6 Estimating Comparative estimating Parametric Bottom-up Three-point estimating Delphi and Planning Poker Creating realistic budgets DAY TWO 7 Scheduling Critical path analysis Smoothing and levelling Timeboxing Team boards Monte Carlo simulations Probability of completion 8 People management Situational Leadership The Tuckman model Negotiation Conflict management Belbin 9 Monitoring and control Earned value management 10 Course review and action planning Identify actions to be implemented individually Conclusion PMI, CAPM, PMP and PMBOK are registered marks of the Project Management Institute, Inc.
Running a successful project requires skills in planning, budgeting, tracking deliverables and stakeholder management. An area that can be neglected by project managers is the 'people side' - not the project team themselves but the end-users, those who will be affected by the project. Too often there is a single line at the end of the project plan that says 'Comms and Training'. If people are going to have to work differently and learn some new processes, then there is work to be done by the project team to help them through the emotional side of the change. This session explores why it's important to bring people along when a change is being made. It will provide project teams with the skills and knowledge either to manage the people change plan themselves or to secure the right resources for their project. Understand the importance of the 'people side' of change 8 'Golden Rules' of change management - overview How to create a simple but effective change plan Adoption Benefits of good change management 1 Introduction Objectives and agenda People and projects - why is it important? The Change Curve - the emotional side of change 2 8 'Golden Rules' of change management - including... Role of the sponsor Communication Resistance to change 3 Change plan Elements of a change plan Change impact assessment Alignment with the project plan 4 Adoption Who owns the change? The vital role of the manager Feedback and action loops 5 Benefits Estimating the costs / benefits 6 Next steps Summary of key learning points Reflection on next steps 7 Close
A thorough account of the UK and European legal framework and its requirements as regards managing environmental performance. This course will help staff to understand: The framework of UK and European legislation and its enforcement The principal features of the legislation as they apply to your organisation's activity/product/service The benefit of having an Environmental Management System such as ISO 14001 How their own actions and decisions can either expose or protect the organisation in relation to its legal obligations 1 Introduction and objectives 2 Introduction to environmental law and enforcement Sources of law (European and UK) Structure and enforcement Key legislation 3 Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) and Local Air Pollution and Control (LAPC) Pollution and Prevention Control Act 1999 EC Directives on PPC The meaning of BAT Transitional provisions Fit and proper persons Control of emissions to air National Air Quality Strategy 4 Packaging and producer responsibilities Who, what and how The Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations Obligations and exemptions Registration Recycling and recovery obligations Records Duties of the Environment Agency Offences Developments 5 Waste management National Waste Strategy Waste minimisation (re-use/recycling) Waste definition Disposal and recovery Controlled waste management Hazardous waste management 6 Proposed Legislation and EC Directives EU Commission's waste and resources strategies Implementation of ELV (End of Life Vehicles) Directive WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) Directive transposition into UK legislation Other producer responsibility initiatives Other proposals from the EU 7 Conclusion Open forum Summary Close
Understand the Mental Toughness model and look at how to improve your mental toughness with the 4c’s. Course overview Duration: 1 day (6.5 hours) Mental toughness is the ability to resist, manage and overcome doubts, worries, concerns and circumstances that prevent you from succeeding, or excelling at a task or towards an objective or a performance outcome that you set out to achieve. Our one day programme can help you to achieve this by using tools and techniques to help you perform under pressure and ensure your wellbeing. Objectives By the end of the course you will to: Identify the causes of stress and how to prevent them Assess your mental toughness using the MTQ48 measure Use tools and techniques to develop your mental toughness Content Understanding Stress, Pressure and Challenge The causes of stress How stress can manifest itself Threat response The Stress performance curve Stress, challenge and pressure Positive stress Mental Toughness, Stress Management and Resilience Defining stress management, resilience and mental toughness How they differ and how they affect each other Mental Toughness Understanding mental toughness The importance of mental toughness The benefits of developing your mental toughness The 4 Cs of Mental Toughness How we approach Challenge Control our emotions Develop Confidence Create Commitment MTQ48 Profile Understanding your MTQ48 profile Looking at your mental toughness Areas for development Developing Mental Toughness Managing physical energy to deal with stress Developing healthy habits for managing stress Multitasking and the ability to focus Identifying unhelpful thought patterns Positive and pragmatic thinking approaches Managing your approach to change and challenge Ways of developing mental toughness
If you want to be better at making to-do lists or managing time better this is NOT for you! The time challenges we all face at work need to be addressed with a different approach. This 'bite-size' session takes a fresh approach to how we deal with time personally and challenges the belief that we don't always have enough time. The workshop will be participative, interactive, and will cover the personal relationship we have with time and how this impacts on dealing with challenges and ever-changing priorities on a daily basis at work. The workshop will give you some practical tools and ideas on dealing with your thieves of time from a different perspective, including interruptions and emails. To enable participants to organise and use their time effectively, using strategies to help with both 'thinking' and 'doing' that are fit for purpose. This workshop will enable you to: Recognise the barriers to effective time management and set goals to overcome them and get things done Understand how their mindset affects how they use time and use better ways to deal with the inbuilt patterns of behaviour this produces when at work Plan for tasks and projects in a productive way Use some new tools and techniques to tackle time thieves, including email and interruptions Review and evaluate their learning and have an action plan to take back to work 1 Welcome, introductions and objectives Exploring your relationship with time and how you focus your mind on daily work pressures in relation to time Past, present and future - where do you focus your energy at work? Time thieves - exploring the results of the pre-workshop questionnaire and learning strategies to deal with the roots of your time thieves 2 Personal strategies and tools: having a new mindset Emails, interruptions and curve balls Review and evaluation of learning Action-planning
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
Meetings are a fact of working life - both virtual and physical meetings. Recording the key points from meetings is critical to making sure that accurate information is captured, and action points are clearly identified and allocated. This virtual training session will support members of staff to develop their skills in recording the key points from meetings and discussions. This course will help participants: Describe the different levels of note taking and pick the appropriate style for the meeting Prepare to take minutes in the virtual and the physical environment Liaise and work in partnership with the meeting Chair Use a template to enable the capturing of key points Set up the room ready for the meeting Identify key points to record, versus what not to record Interrupt the meeting confidently to check key points Take neutral, accurate and concise records Produce a well-laid out set of minutes. 1 Introduction Objectives and overview Introductions and personal aims 2 An introduction to minutes Purpose and use Different levels of notetaking 3 Preparing to take minutes Identifying the purpose of the meeting Working with the Chair Tips and techniques to prepare effectively Case studies, review and discussion The physical environment: setting up for a meeting 4 Listening and recording Tips and techniques to make the process easier How to interrupt a meeting What to record; what to leave out Recording in short-form using playscript and bullet-points Listening neutrally Activity: Minuting a Meeting The tricky ones and how to overcome problems in the meeting 5 Preparing the minutes Producing a set of draft minutes Tips on grammar, punctuation and layout Stylistic variation Managing feedback from the Chair 6 Review Summary of key learning points Action planning
Elevate your skills in designing, delivering and evaluating engaging and interactive training that will leave a lasting impact on your team or organisation Course overview Duration: 2 days (13 hours) This Train the Trainer workshop will enable you to gain valuable insights and practice helping you to feel more comfortable and confident delivering training sessions. We will look at some training best practice tools and techniques to ensure you can deliver the learning outcomes required. The workshop covers the training cycle but focuses heavily on interactive and practical training techniques to bring learning to life for participants. There will be opportunities to practice delivery of real work-based training and receive feedback on delivery style. Objectives By the end of the course you will be able to: Explain Kolb’s model of how adults learn Describe the 4 key learning styles and how to engage people with different learning styles Apply the training cycle to plan, design, deliver and evaluate your training Write SMART training objectives Use and select a variety of methods to make your training interactive, engaging and effective Describe ways to deal with difficult participants or situations that may arise Apply your training skills to deliver structured training sessions with more competence and confidence Content The Training Cycle Assessing needs Planning and preparing Implementing training Reviewing Assessing Assessing Needs Understanding the task Assessing the learner’s current ability Identifying the gap Planning and Preparing Having clear outcomes in mind What people learn: o Knowledge o Skill o Understanding How people learn: preferences and learning styles and methods suitable for each Planning a programme Planning a session – a systematic approach Assessing risk Writing and using SOPs in training Key Skills for Effective Training Explanation and Demonstration Questioning and Listening Observation and Feedback Facilitation and Debriefing skills Coaching Using questioning, listening and feedback to help learners solve problems and develop confidence Evaluation and Assessment How to measure reactions and participant satisfaction Use of tests and assessments to measure learning Organisational measures of learning transfer Leverage You will have the opportunity to deliver two training sessions on this programme and gain valuable feedback to support you in your ongoing training delivery. Participants are required to prepare a 15 minute training session. This can be something you have delivered before or something you’ve created for the course. Please prepare and include any visual aids you would usually use when speaking and bring them with you, f possible, please also bring your smart phone (with camera, and memory capacity for a short video clip to be added), and headphones.