Enhancing Performance with Productive Conflict: In-House Training Most organizations have typically held the belief that workplace conflict is something that needs to be prevented, resolved, and/or mitigated. After all, conflict creates stress and leads to a variety of performance problems and very real costs. However, what savvy organizations have come to embrace is the understanding that when conflict is truly understood and harnessed, it can be utilized to not only add value to teams, but also enhance workplace performance. Conflict can be productive and make organizations better! Learners will explore the results of a formal, personalized, conflict-related assessment, uncovering targeted nuances of their conflict responses in action. Participants will learn to use basic strategies which allow them to transform destructive conflict responses into more productive ones, especially in the moment when they are happening. What you will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Apply different models for understanding the lifecycle and dynamics of conflict Describe a physiological response to conflict and its impact on communication Recognize the correlation between a person's conflict style and how they respond to conflict Identify your own default responses to conflict and catch them in action Reframe automatic negative thoughts to create more positive interpersonal outcomes Utilize various tactics and strategies to transform destructive conflict responses into productive ones Getting Started Introductions and social agreements Course goal and objectives Opening activities Module 1: The Dynamics and Anatomy of Conflict Conflict basics Dynamics of conflict The anatomy of conflict Module 2: Conflict Styles and Conflict Conflict through the conflict style lens Exploring your style in conflict Destructive responses to conflict Module 3: Changing Your Response to Conflict Changing your conflict response Three steps to productive conflict Choosing a productive conflict response
Writing Clear Business Communication: In-House Training This program is about learning about the writing process and covers the full spectrum of documents used when corresponding in the workplace. The ability to write effectively comes naturally to some people, but for the vast majority, it is a task often approached with a mixture of trepidation and dread. Effective writing seldom, if ever, 'magically materializes' on the spot. In reality, it is most often the product of planning, writing, and rewriting. This is why writing is called a process; it must go through a series of steps before it is clear and complete. This program is about learning about the writing process and covers the full spectrum of documents used when corresponding in the workplace. The ability to write effectively comes naturally to some people, but for the vast majority, it is a task often approached with a mixture of trepidation and dread. However, the ability to communicate in the written word, for whatever purpose, is an important part of our working and personal lives and can have a direct impact on our ability to persuade, gain commitment or agreement and enhance understanding. Good writing sounds like talking on paper, which is why this program is focused on getting the message across and achieving the desired results using the 'keep it simple and direct' approach. What you Will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Write effective e-mails, letters, memos, and reports Clearly articulate the message Achieve desired results from correspondence Organize content for maximum impact Format for enhanced understanding Choose the appropriate communication medium for each document Revise documents to increase clarity and impact Foundations Concepts Business writing as a form of professional communication How business writing compares to other forms of writing Characteristics of good business writing Challenges with business writing The Project Environment Business writing in the project environment The concept of art, science, and optics of business writing Art Economy Precision Action Music Personality Science Purpose, simple, compound, and complex sentence structures Techniques to engage the reader Point of view: tone, attitude, and humor Organization: opening, body, and closing Support and coherence Optics Visual optics Sound optics Feel optics Effective optics Efficient optics Email Formal vs. informal emails Suggestions for improving email communication Instant and text messaging Reports Common types of reports created Formatting of reports Guidelines for meeting minutes Contracts Types of contracts Common agreements Procurement documents Templates, Forms, and Checklists Templates Forms Checklists Other Formatting Good Documentation Practices Good documentation practices Data integrity in business communication
The ability to effectively manage conflict is a core competency in the 21st-century workplace.
Managers at all levels have to be able to introduce, lead and manage change to ensure the organisational objectives of change are met.
High quality specifications are of paramount importance in achieving the right technical performance and value for money. This long-established training programme has been developed to help those involved in producing specifications to create high quality documents in an organised and effective way. It provides a sound foundation for those new to the topic whilst at the same time offering new insights to those with more experience. The programme emphasises the need for a clear definition of requirements combined with the ability to communicate those requirements effectively to third parties. A structured method of preparing specifications is provided, and a range of practical techniques is presented, to enable participants to put the principles into practice. The commercial and contractual role of specifications is also addressed. The objectives of the workshop are to: Provide a clear understanding of the role and purpose of specifications Present a framework for organising and producing specifications Define the key steps involved in creating effective specifications Demonstrate methods for assisting in defining requirements Provide tools and techniques for scoping and structuring specifications Show the role of specifications in managing variations and changes to scope Present methods to assist the writing and editing of specifications Review how specifications should be issued and controlled DAY ONE 1 Introduction Review of course objectives Review of participants' needs and objectives 2 Creating effective specifications The role of specifications in communicating requirements The costs, benefits and qualities of effective specifications Understanding the differences between verbal and written communication The five key steps of 'POWER' writing: prepare-organise-write-edit-release Exercise: qualities of an effective specification 3 Step 1: Preparing to write - defining readership and purpose; the specification and the contract Designing the specifications required; applying BS 7373 Defining the purpose, readership and title of each document Effective procedures for writing, issuing and controlling specifications The roles and responsibilities of the key players Understanding contracts; the contractual role of the specification Integrating and balancing the technical and commercial requirements Writing specifications to achieve the appropriate contract risk strategy Deciding how to specify: when to use functional and technical specifications The role of specifications in managing variations and changes to scope 4 Case study 1 Teams review a typical project scenario and identify the implications for the specification Feedback and discussion 5 Step 2: Organising the specification content Defining the need and establishing user requirements Deciding what issues the specification should cover Scoping techniques: scope maps, check lists, structured brainstorming Clarifying priorities: separating needs and desires Dealing with requirements that are difficult to quantify Useful techniques: cost benefit analysis, QFD, Pareto analysis 6 Case study 2 Teams apply the scoping techniques to develop the outline contents for a specification Feedback and discussion DAY TWO 7 Step 2: Organising the specification content (cont) Deciding what goes where; typical contents and layout for a specification The three main segments: introductory, key and supporting Creating and using model forms: the sections and sub-sections Detailed contents of each sub-section Tools and techniques for outlining and structuring specifications 8 Case study 3 Teams develop the detailed specification contents using a model form Feedback and discussion 9 Step 3: Writing the specification The challenges of written communication Identifying and understanding the readers needs Choosing and using the right words; dealing with jargon Problem words; will, shall, must, etc; building a glossary Using sentence structure and punctuation to best effect Understanding the impact of style, format and appearance Avoiding common causes of ambiguity Being concise and ensuring clarity Choosing and using graphics to best effect Exercises and examples 10 Step 4: Editing the specification Why editing is difficult; how to develop a personal editing strategy Key areas to review: structure, content, accuracy, clarity, style and grammar Editing tools and techniques 11 Step 5: Releasing and controlling the specification Key requirements for document issue and control Final formatting and publication issues; document approval Requirements management: managing revisions and changes 12 Course review and action planning What actions should be implemented to improve specifications? Conclusion
Hiring the right staff is one of the most important management and HR skills and it is critical to get it right. This course is designed for managers and HR specialists who either want to improve their interviewing skills or who are just now starting a recruitment role in the organisation.
What you Will Learn Plan and prioritize each day's activities in a more efficient, productive manner Establish strategies to execute priorities and overcome procrastination Understand how to make trade-offs when faced with fire drills How to set and communicate boundary conditions Getting Started Introductions Course orientation Participants' expectations Foundation Concepts Exercise: A day in your life Resources to implement change Mind-set Tool-set Skill-set What is your time really worth? The dynamics of procrastination The myth of multi-tasking Brain Rules - how to optimize your efficiency Organization and Prioritization Time management best practices Goal setting Exercise: Identifying your priorities The importance of organization Time management framework Prioritizing time Time Management Techniques Tips for managing time Nine ways to overcome procrastination The STING technique Managing your time o Handling unplanned urgencies o Dealing with information overload Delegation and managing others' time Creating your personal action plan Summary Course summary and next steps Applying what you have learned
Managing Stress and Building Resilience: In-House Training Stress has an impact on all of us at some point in our professional lives. Learning how to manage stress and build resilience will result in higher professional productivity, better health, and more sustainable living habits. It will also help us create a physical - and emotional - work-life balance. In this one-day workshop, you will learn practical solutions to sustain behavior change that can positively impact your life on both a professional and personal level. When you are able to reduce the level of negative stress that affects you, your performance improves, along with your health and happiness. The objective of this course is therefore not only to create awareness around emotional well-being in a work context, but also to help participants create a better overall balance between the investment they make in their personal and professional lives. This course covers how our perceptions affect our beliefs and how our beliefs affect our actions. You will learn a host of stress-reduction techniques, while exploring your own stress triggers and responses. Highly interactive, the sessions cover a blend of theory, discussions, and exercises. You will explore concepts with fellow participants within a safe environment where skills and habits can be developed, sharpened, and improved. What You Will Learn At the end of this program, you will be able to: Identify what stress feels like and what the typical symptoms and reactions are to stress Analyze your own responses to stressful events and the consequences of those reactions Organize your work structure to reduce stress and build resilience Recognize activities that drain you and those that give you energy Generate relief from stressful events Cultivate a mindset of resilience Better manage your time, work commitments, and personal boundaries in order to be most effective at your job Getting Started What is stress? Beliefs and thinking errors Work-life balance Drainers and energizers Stress reduction techniques Time management Summary and Next Steps
Basic Life Support (BLS) and Safe use of AED training
This course presents an approach for dealing with security and privacy throughout the entire software development lifecycle. You will learn about vulnerabilities that undermine security, and how to identify and remediate them in your own projects.