This training will provide an introduction and overview of the key elements of supervision, including delegation, coaching and communication. Lecture, discussion, and exercises will be used to demonstrate those key elements that guide supervisors.

We all have customers — and we worked extremely hard to get every one of them by providing excellent service. But how do we maintain that culture of service excellence? How do we help our employees remember “the customer comes first?” How do we help our internal customers? In this training, we’ll explore the basic elements of customer service and the steps that can be taken to ensure that everyone strives to maintain service excellence.

To be an effective manager, we must follow the Platinum Rule – “do unto others as they would have us do.” In other words, we must manage our employees, not according to how we like to manage, but according to how they need to be managed. But how do we do that? What if our style of management is vastly different? Is it possible to flex or change one’s management style? Yes, it is. This training will focus on the six essential building blocks of management. Using a combination of discussion and self-assessments, we’ll discover our own management style and learn ways in which we can change to work more effectively with our employees. (This course is a 6-hour session with lunch on your own.)

Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” If that’s true, then we, and our employees, can all achieve a level of excellence by learning new skills, acquiring new knowledge and possessing the right degree of desire. Based on the popular book by Dr. Stephen Covey, this training will explore the seven habits that lead to effective and productive lives, both in the professional world, as well as the personal world. (This is a two part course…part 1 held on 4/17 and part 2 held on 4/24.)

Many managers and supervisors believe they’re providing constructive feedback; however, to the employee it seems more like destructive criticism. If feedback isn’t given with a goal of maintaining openness and mutual respect, the employee will “shut down” and the feedback will be rendered ineffective. During this training we’ll practice both the action steps for effectively providing constructive feedback, as well as, what to do when we’re ones receiving feedback.

In such an ever-changing, fast-paced world, more and more organizations expect all employees in the organization to be leaders – regardless of title or position. Based on the popular leadership book by Kouzes & Posner, The Leadership Challenge, this training will explore the five fundamentals of leadership and provide simple action steps to help all employees meet the “leadership challenge.” (This course is a 6-hour session with lunch on your own.)

What is motivation? Is it more than just contests, awards, and bonus money? What motivates employees? What can be de-motivators? What does motivation have to do with anything at all? To successfully lead a team, every supervisor must also tap into and harness each employee’s internal “hot button,” determining what drives him/her toward success. In this training, we’ll explore various ideas of motivation, what it is and what it isn’t, and some tips and techniques to unlock the “treasure within.”

Preparation and quality questions are the keys to a good interviewing process. This training will provide guidance on the interview and hiring process (i.e., questions to ask and not to ask, interview etiquette, resume screening, etc.), as well as explore legal minefields and ADA issues associated with hiring.

Team building...so necessary to the success of every department and organization. But how do we get everyone on “the same page,” working for a common goal? How do we value and recognize individual strengths and differences, while still maintaining a group effort? How do we even form a team? Who is on your team? This training will explore who makes up your team, how to build stronger teams, and how each member can support each other.

A follow-up to the widely successful book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Covey introduces a new habit for the new challenges facing us today, the 8th habit, to move us from effectiveness to greatness. This training will introduce the habit of “finding our Voice,” a combination of our talents, passions, needs and conscience. And, after we’ve discovered our own Voice, we need to help others find their Voices. (This is a two part course - part 1 held on 10/23 and part 2 held on 10/30.)

We all have them in our lives, whether on the job or at home — those certain people that push our buttons. We can’t always ignore these individuals, yet we can learn to deal with them. In this training, we’ll explore “difficult” behaviors and practice various techniques to use while working with these difficult people — no matter where we find them.

Whether we want to believe it or not, substance abuse in the workplace affects every organization. The Department of Labor estimates that 10% of the workforce is affected by substance abuse. Supervisors may often suspect abuse problems, but are unsure of their responsibility. This session will provide assistance in identifying substance abuse in the workplace and guidance on how to deal with this sensitive subject.

The only thing constant is change. Yet resistance to change is normal human behavior. Thus, the management staff is faced with the ever-present challenge of how to implement new policies, procedures, and programs in a way that minimizes the negative feelings many employees have about change. This training will look at the process of change, how to move past barriers to change and your role in overcoming employee resistance.