Course Duration

Description of Target Population

Employee Development

1/2 day - 3 hours

20

The learner will be able to:

• explain the importance of their gate-keeper role;
• demonstrate the significance of tone of voice;
• write an appropriate greeting that’s is welcoming and concise;
• apply instantaneous stress-reducing strategies to maintain professionalism;
• select the desired characteristics of organization they wish to convey via the telephone;
• select words and phrases that present positive impression;
• eliminate words and phrases that mitigate against positive impression.

1 day-6 hours

Staff and Management

Learner will be able to:

• Understand the needs of the caller
• Communicate what can be done to address issue
• Recognize how to cope with difficult people
• Help people toward compromise solutions
• Deal with irate phone callers
• Address the needs of the customer first and last

Internal and External Customer Service

30

LEARNER WILL BE ABLE TO: Define the full range of customers one serves, including internal and external; State any existing Department customer service mission and/or definition; Demonstrate, by example, the three elements of Exceptional Customer Service;  List types of statements most commonly used by service providers that create frustration and/or discomfort on the part of the customer, identify those one has used, and learn effective alternatives; Describe communication phrases and styles which facilitate high quality customer service; Show the three types of listening techniques and describe the ramifications of each; Draw the communications' pie and explain its significance when providing service by phone and face-to-face; State three key areas of personal strengths and three areas for improvement, based on peer observations of ones performance during customer service simulations; Demonstrate a strategy to de-escalate an emotional customer service situation; Identify current blockages on the job , to internal customer service and formulate steps to remove them; Explain the steps to Service Recovery when a customer is dissatisfied with service provided previously; Demonstrate techniques for responding to customers who verbally attack or accuse; Discuss strategies for managing multiple managers as customers; Identify one's habitual service style(s), and prepare and implement an action plan for modifying that style to optimize the quality of service provided;  Select a customer service-related problem currently being experienced in the workplace and develop a plan for resolution. 

1 day- 6 hours

Staff and Management

Proven Skills for Administrative Professionals

35

Learners will be able to:

Maximize their personal potential
Use effective communication skills
Organize their time and their work for great efficiency
Develop skills for setting priorities and multi-tasking
Deliver quality customer service every time
Write effective emails and memos
Understand how to manage up and improve their work relationships
Bring back best practices into their workplace
 

1 day-      6 hours

Staff and Management

Coaching Skills-Teaching Others What You Know 

35

 Learner will be able to:
• Identify behaviors for a supportive coaching environment
• Demonstrate a variety of skill techniques to use when coaching
• Implement effective coaching strategies with different employees
• Plan effective coaching sessions in advance
• Practice giving and getting feedback with co- workers
• Communicate needs and expectations clearly
 

1 day-      6 hours

Learner will be able to…* identify their personal communication style; * recognize factors that influence personal and career satisfaction;           * identify communication barriers; * consider different approaches to interpersonal communication and their likely outcomes; * develop a personal toolbox for building communication bridges; * participate in activities that highlight successful communication strategies.  

1 day-      6 hours

All Employees

Effective Presentations
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Design and Deliver High Impact Presentations

20

Learner will be able to                  

• Benchmark current presentation preparation and delivery style.
• Apply an effective Six-Step Presentation Model.
• Set presentation objectives.
• Analyze and involve the audience
• Structure a presentation (open, body, close).
• Create impact using winning body language, voice tones and verbal skills.
• Communicate ideas with clarity and confidence.
• Use strategies for handling difficult situations and questions.
• Practice opportunities – develop skill and increase your comfort zone.
• Receive instructor and peer feedback on preparation and delivery.
• Learn in a supportive environment.

Engaging in Performance Evaluation-Effective EPRS Communication Skills for Employees

30

Learner will be able:
1) To be current with the EPRS Stages
2) To learn to have effective conversations through implementing good listening skills;
3) To increase awareness of the barriers to good communications between you and your manager or employee through Role Play;
4) To increase the use of strength based, solution focused approaches in performance evaluation.

5) Develop a learning plan for continued growth and professional development.
 

1/2 DAY OR FULL DAY

All Employees

Presentation Skills

12

Learner will be able to : Organize and deliver presentations for r maximum impact and results. Use proven techniques to overcome anxiety. Feel in control presenting one to one or o 200 people.  Dealing effectively with difficult audience members.  Build your image and credibility.  Add visual aides for impact.  Handle questions and keep control of presentation.  Understand the importance of four key presentation components including body language and voice tone.

1/2 DAY OR FULL DAY

All Employees

Coping with Organizational Change

26

The Learner Will Be Able To: 
Identify the key drivers of Change
Learn how to proactively change with "change".
Understand the phases of change and how to
manage these phase successfully.
Develop strategies for surviving organizational change
Cope with stress related to change.
Develop strategies for surviving organizational change
Utilize "outcome" thinking for positive change.
 

1 day  - 6 hours

All Employees

DEALING WITH TRANSITION

30

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE THE LEARNER WILL BE ABLE TO:
A) Identify the nature and process of transition and the direct effects of transition including physiological, psychological, and sociological implications for self and others
B) Better understand positive and negative coping behaviors associated with transition
C) Sort out and prioritizing the main issues associated with transition
D) Identify and practice tools for effectively managing transition including
important next-step activities and appropriate support systems
 

1/2 DAY OR FULL DAY

All Employees

Conflict Resolution-

35

Learner will be able to:
• recognize conflict and causes
• understand how to bring individuals together in problem solution
• work through actual conflict case and resolution
• construct a plan that foresees and minimizes the potential for destructive conflicts to emerge;
…apply successful communication techniques to conflict situations;
…write an action plan that capitalizes on individual strengths and overcomes shortfalls in resolving conflict.
…explain the differences between “big picture” and “hands-on” perspectives that often emerge in conflict situations.
… reframe conflict situations to acknowledge the positive benefits of diverse perspectives and the heightened energy that conflict generates.

1 day-      6 hours

This course is intended for managers and staff who are directly experiencing conflict and communication difficulties or who supervise others who are experiencing similar problems and who are looking for more effective strategies to improve communication, rebuild trust within the work environment, and foster increased worker appreciation, teamwork, and productivity.

Dealing with Difficulty

26

The Learner Will be Able To: 
Learn to use emotional intelligence
Develop conflict management skills
Understand how to respond vs. react.
Demonstrate the application of Choice and Control Model
Practice strategies for working with difficult situations.
 

1 day  - 6 hours

All staff

Facilitating Meeting Effectiveness as a Participant

30

Conduct a self-assessment which defines ones meeting-participation strengths and development needs; Identify behaviors/personality types that commonly sabotage meeting success; List the problematic behaviors exhibited by the chairs/leaders of meetings one attends regularly; List the problematic behaviors of attendees for meetings one attends regularly.  Identify and demonstrate specific techniques for circumventing and responding to problematic behaviors commonly exhibited by attendees at meetings; Discuss approaches for diplomatically facilitating change with meeting Chairs/Leaders who are at higher organizational levels and/or with whom one has a direct reporting relationship; List strategies for correcting time management-related problems; Model the characteristics of an ideal meeting participant; Set objectives based on the development needs list from the personal assessment, and develop an action plan for achieving these and sustaining the results.  

1 days - - 6 hours

All Employees

Critical Thinking 

35

Learner will be able to:
• Examine evidence and information
• Understand facts, opinions, and inferences,
• Develop problem solving skills in practical applications 
• Recognize how to solve problems.
• Understand fallacies in the thinking process
• Develop your confidence in making sound decisions.
 

1 day-      6 hours

All Employees

Core Writing 

35

Learner will be able to:• Write basic  e-mails, memo, letter, and report
• Write more efficiently
• Understand punctuation and grammar
• Edit and proofread documents
• Understand  sentence structure
 

1 day-      6 hours

Staff and Management

• Recognize rules of grammar and usage in memos,  reports and documents
• understand how to proofread own writing
• complete a Writing Process Profile assessment instrument
• receive confidential feedback on writing samples
 

Intermediate Writing 

35

Learner will be able to:
• Know how to get started;
• Compose basic writing of drafts of major documents
• Organize information coherently
• Selecting and prioritizing subjects for presentation
• Write clear, direct, and understandable sentences
 

2 days-12 hours

Staff and Management

Speed Reading Skills

35

  Learner will be able to:
• Assess current reading speed
• Understand different speeds for different types of reading
• Use skimming as a reading tool to improve
• Develop better vocabulary comprehension and speed
• Understand tips on improving comprehension in reading
• Practice drills on different reading selections
• Chart reading progress over course of seminar
 

2 hours

For all personnel who communicate via e-mail.

"Write That Letter!" - Sharpen Your Business Writing Skills - Two-Hour Class

24

Learner will be able to improve his/her business writing skills.

3 hours

For all personnel who need to communicate in writing.

Facilitation & Consensus Building - Half-Day Course

24

Learner will be able to improve skills with the public and other stakeholders in communicating technical concepts and complex processes. Participants will gain skills in working with diverse groups to remove barriers that impede collaborative decision-making. We focus on defining goals, and identifying key issues. Our skilled instructors will help participants create an atmosphere that reduces conflict and creates opportunities for consensus building and trust. 

2 days - 12 hours

All Employees

CREATING A MORE SPIRITUAL                 
(NOT RELIGIOUS) WORK ETHIC AND    
WORK ENVIRONMENT: A COMMON VISION
 

30

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE THE LEARNER WILL BE ABLE TO:
A) Identify and better understand the nature of the spiritual work ethic and environment
B) Initially identify the nature and process of conflict and breakdown of trust including physiological, psychological, and sociological implications for self and others
C) Better understand positive and negative coping behaviors
D) Initially identify, understand and practice ways to reduce conflict, rebuild trust, improve communication, increase worker appreciation and foster teamwork.
E) Clarify individual job responsibilities in the context of renewed awareness and commitment to departmental mission and objectives
F) Develop an action plan for encouraging and facilitating a common vision and maintaining a spiritual work ethic and environment
 

1 day - - 6 hours

Team

Lateral Mentoring

25

Learner will be able to:   
Identify ways in which they can learn from others 
Understand barriers to learning from others and experience
Apply current action learning model to work and life 
Increase opportunities to learn from interactions with others
Increase capacity to develop self through learning from experience
Develop action plan for increasing learning opportunities and their impact
 

1/2 DAY OR FULL DAY

Team

Myers-Briggs-Work Relations

Managers and Staff

Staff  Development Retreat 

25

Reflect on the work group’s effectiveness and areas for improvement
Look back and look ahead, and build a shared picture of the work group
Experience a collaborative learning process
Develop stronger cohesion as a group/staff
Improve team communication skills
 

1/2 DAY OR FULL DAY

All Employees

CAREER DEVELOPMENT--ADVANCED 

This course is intended for managers and/or staff who want to comprehensively examine  their short and long term job and career/life goals or who supervise others who are looking for more effective strategies to deal with career exploration and development concerns. 

CAREER DEVELOPMENT--INTRODUCTORY

30

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE THE LEARNER WILL BE ABLE TO:
A) Be more knowledgeable of career development theory and the psychology of career/life choices.
B) Be more aware of their skills, interests, values, personality type, and other factors pertinent to career/life exploration, planning, decision-making, and self-efficacy.
C) Be more familiar with occupational environments and various clusters in the world of work including introductory identification of appropriate person/environment matches and relevant occupational and labor market resources useful for further research including use of the Internet.
D) Have a practical understanding of the “career/life” concept, the basic processes involved in problem-solving and decision-making, and useful techniques for balancing various life roles.
 

1 hour

All Employees

DEVELOPING COST-EFFECTIVE   
SYSTEMATIC CAREER GUIDANCE FOR AN 
AGENCY, SCHOOL OR COLLEGE SETTING
 

30

A) Become familiar with the purpose and uses of The National Career Development Guidelines and its use as a basis for justification of career services and the creation of a 21st century program.
B) Review and understand the application of several theories (including developmental, matching and career decision making) as a basis for program development.
C) Examine and learn about a cost-effective systematic micro-model within a career center utilizing multi-mode/multi-media approaches including group formats, professional and paraprofessional support staff, computer/multimedia technology and self-paced resources.
D) Examine and learn about the development of an overall institutional systematic macro-model including the creation of career modules to be infused in regular classroom instruction, specific orientation / advising activities for entering students and interface activities with libraries and learning centers.
E) Learn how to justify their career services programs including specific requests for funding personnel and equipment necessary for implementing program activities.
F) Learn to assess current career services programs and create approaches and implementation strategies (based on appropriate theory and National Guidelines) for a 21st century model that matches agency, school or college settings including creating a job description for a 21st century career services professional.
 

1 day-      6 hours

anyone in the agency’s workforce including contractors, temporary staff and interns.

HARASSMENT PREVENTION

30

On completion of course learner will be able to:
-   Identify and interrupt a range of harassing behaviors
-    Define sexual harassment
- Describe the business, legal and human impact of harassment
- Understand the necessity for a written harassment policy
- Select appropriate actions to prevent and/or halt illegal harassment and inappropriate workplace behavior
 

15 hours - 2.5 days

staff and managers at any level

Understanding and Preventing Sexual Harassment 

35

Learner will be able to:
• Understand definition of sexual harassment in workplace
• Know how to recognize examples of sexual harassment
• Understand Massachusetts Sexual Harassment Policy
• Know how to deal with incidents of harassment
• Understand how to report harassment
• Know role of Managers and Sexual Harassment Officer in Process
 

1 day-      6 hours

This course is intended for managers and/or staff who are directly experiencing tension and stress between work and family roles or who supervise others who are experiencing similar difficulties and who are looking for effective strategies to facilitate work/family balance. 

Creating Balance in the Workplace

55

Learner will be able to…* identify the culprits that influence and impact a healthy balanced lifestyle; * evaluate themselves, identify priorities, and how they connect within the workplace; * maintain a professional balance with interaction with staff and clients; * develop an action plan and evaluation to track their professional development; * participate in activities designed to guide immediate and future steps in the workplace. 

3 or 6 hours

All staff

Life Balance

1-100

Learner will be able to:   
Identify issues underlying balance between work and home
Clarify areas of control and influence  
Explore stress management and values clarification strategies
Understand current research on stress and trends in managing work and home
Develop action plan to effectively find balance between work and home
 

1 day-      6 hours

All staff

Professional Boundaries 

25

Learner will be able to…* develop a greater understanding of the multiple issues and factors that lead to unhealthy work environments, and stressful relations with colleagues and clients; identify the challenges involved with maintaining professional boundaries; * design creative strategies for consistent and appropriate interaction with staff and clients to gain productive and professional relationships; * creative individual action plans for consistent us of appropriate workplace behaviors; * participate in course-related activities and role plays. 

6 90 minute sessions for 9 hours total

Support and administrative staff, direct service providers, managers

Advanced Stress Management and Relaxation Skills

30

Learner will be able to:
1.) Display a basic understanding of advanced relaxation techniques, i.e. visual imagery and visualization.   2.) Identify two central concepts used in problem-solving.   3.) Demonstrate knowledge of three ways to counter the negative effects of stress.
 

1 day-      6 hours

This course is intended for managers and/or staff who desire to increase worker motivation, productivity and job satisfaction or who supervise others who are so inclined and who are looking for more effective strategies to bring out the best in individual and teamwork efforts in the work setting that results in increased job satisfaction and productivity.

Preventing Professional Burnout

30

Learner will be able to:
1.) Categorize one or more factors that contribute to professional burnout.  2.) Understand how to apply the concept of "detached caring" to increase effectiveness and motivation in a challenging work environment. 3.) Give two examples of techniques to manage work stress.


 

1/2 DAY OR FULL DAY

All Employees

STRESS MANAGEMENT                  

30

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE THE LEARNER WILL BE ABLE TO:
A) Identify main causes of stress
B) Identify results of stress including physiological, psychological, and sociological implications
C) Better understand positive and negative coping behaviors
D) Identify and practice tools for effectively managing stress
 

3 days-18 hours

 Staff and Management with English as a Second Language 

ESL English as a Second Language –Writing 

15

Learner will be able to:
• Understand basic written English usage and vocabulary
• Develop basic English sentence and paragraph structure
• Improve grammar and punctuation skills
• Write e-mails, memos and letters for workplace
• Practice written communication & receive instructor feedback
Learner will be able to:

Making the Transition to Manager

35

SUPERVISOR SEMINAR FOR EXPERIENCED SUPERVISORS AND MANAGERS

35

TECHNIQUES OF SUPERVISION

35

PERFORMANCE TRAINING FOR MANAGERS AND SUPERVISORS

35

Effective Performance Feedback and Criticism 

30

Authentic Leadership

25

Learner will be able to:     
Identify style of leading that best fits their personality, purpose, and interests 
Apply current findings and frameworks for leadership development  
Identify and apply understanding of emotional competencies that contribute to effective leadership and appropriate use of respective skills
Apply skills in ways that enhance their effectiveness as leaders and managers
Understand the difference between leadership and management
Create personal leadership development plan   
Mark their own development as leaders/managers using personally identified standards of success
 

1 DAY - 6 HOURS

New and Experienced Managers

Leadership Skills         

18

Learner Will Be Able To: Identify  qualities
and characteristics for leadership development.
Utilize tools and facilitative skills to help teams
work at their best. Apply a leadership model for
gaining commitment and achieving results.
Adapt leadership style to needs of the performers.
Guide and effect positive change. Develop the mindset needed to lead in today's environment.
Learn keys of successful leadership strategies
 

Coaching Skills for Leaders

35

 Learner will be able to:
• Identify behaviors for a supportive coaching environment
• Demonstrate a variety of skill techniques to use when coaching
• Implement effective coaching strategies with different employees
• Plan effective coaching sessions in advance
• Practice giving and getting feedback with workers
• Communicate needs and expectations clearly
 
 

Customized Leadership Development

1

Learner will be able to:      
Understand different assessment tools such as MBTI, 360 multi rater, Firo-B and appropriate applications
Use findings of assessment tools to identify areas of strength, development, and blind spots
Apply data from reports in creating personal development plan   
Understand limitations of various instruments    
work with instructor to create customized leadership development plan  
Monitor own progress through specific success markers and in alignment with job and personal goals 
Work with instructor in ongoing support/guidance capacity as needed  
 

DECISION-MAKING STRATEGIES

30

UPON COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE THE LEARNER WILL BE ABLE TO:
A) Identify main factors that inhibit effective decision-making
B) Identify results of poor decision-making including physiological, psychological, and sociological implications at work and out-of-work settings
C) Learn and practice tools for effective decision-making including the planful and intuitive decision-making approaches
 

Employee Recognition and Rewards

30

Learners will be able to:
• State the goals and objectives of employee recognition and reward initiatives
• Identify the primary reasons that more than 50% of employee recognition and reward programs fail
• Recognize that constraints in state government due to policies, practices, budgets, collective bargaining, etc., do not preclude development of successful employee recognition and reward programs within one’s own work unit
• Identify the specific needs and goals behind  development of recognition and rewards for one’s own employees
• Discuss any previous efforts one has made with such programs, and the results
• List the criteria for determining the likelihood that a particular initiative will be successful for a given group of employees
• Provide examples of creative, no-cost and low cost rewards and recognition options
• Generate several no-cost and nearly no-cost reward and recognition ideas for one’s own employees and measure them against the criteria to determine their likely degree of success
• Explain the steps to take to build receptivity to and enthusiasm for the program
• Explain the importance of employee involvement in the development of the program, and the typical problems that occur when this is not done
• Describe the on-going monitoring process, and the evaluation cycle and evaluation tools needed to ensure that the program is effective and continues to be so over time
• Demonstrate how to conduct a positive and productive employee meeting to introduce the concept
• Describe the steps for forming an effective and efficient reward and recognition employee committee, roles of the members and the objectives of the meetings. 
• Develop a practical, easily implemented action plan for forming the committee and launching the program.
• Identify potential obstacles to success and strategies for mitigating them
 

Human Resources: Dealing with Personnel Issues

25

Learners will be able to deal effectively with common personnel issues including supervising in a unionized environment, progressive discipline and equity.

EPRS Training for Supervisors and Managers

35

Learners will be able:

A. Understand how the systems works and what their responsibilities are under the system.
B. Write clear job duty statements and criteria to measure individual performance towards attainment of those duties.
C. Fairly evaluate employee performance.
D. Give employees direct feedback on their job performance in relationship to the evaluation.
E. Use skills and techniques for communicating in difficult situations.
F. Effectively use the critical role of Reviewer in the performance evaluation process.
 

Interviewing Skills for Managers

35

Learner will be able to:
• Conduct a successful interview
• Understand five different kinds of questions
• Control interview-content of questions
• Develop effective interview planning
• Structure useful interview questions
• Understand how people speak--non verbal language signals
• Practice interviewing skills with videotaped feedback
• Engage in self reflection and collaborative learning.
 

HIRING THE BEST: SELECTING THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THE RIGHT JOB

35

Learner will be able to:
§ Identifying the core skills necessary for an individual to be successful on the job.
§ Preparing appropriate interview questions that accurately assess a candidate’s knowledge, skills and abilities.
§ Conducting a fair and legal interview.
§ Assessing the candidates based on established evaluation criteria.
§ Utilizing a constructive decision-making process.§ name the competencies, experience, credentials, education and qualities needed for particular position
§ plan a comprehensive search strategy that addresses posting, screening resumes, interviewing, and successful integration of hired candidate into organization
§ write interview questions that test the candidate’s experience to determine match for needed competencies and skills.
§ Prepare an interview session
§ Construct a plan that integrates the successful candidate into the organization,  including measures of success, expectations, key players, organizational culture, communication mechanisms etc.

 

Leading and Motivating Your Staff to Success

35

Participants will learn effective ways to:

Ø Understand the important role managers and supervisors play in the public sector.
Ø Assess their own leadership style and the effect leadership style has on employee performance.
Ø Adapt their leadership style to best meet the needs of their staff and the situation.
Ø Demonstrate effective leadership on the job.
Ø Identify motivating factors in the workplace and understand the impact of supervision on individual performance.
Ø Increase employee motivation and morale in the workplace
Ø Develop and use their leadership skills to improve employee performance.
 

MANAGING IN THE 21st CENTURY 

25

On completion of (three-day course) learner will be able to: 
- Explain principles of modern supervision
- Exercise improved listening and communication skills
- Plan for effective communication at multiple organizational levels
- Translate organizational goals into performance expectations
- Take a leadership perspective
- Delegate productively
- Motivate staff through coaching and feedback
- Develop and guide work teams toward productive, timely results
- Leverage diversity for workplace results
- Prevent and handle workplace conflicts
- Apply modern approaches to monitor employee performance
- Apply Situational Leadership model and concepts
- Apply a tested problem solving method to management challenges
- Foster staff development
- Conduct productive meetings
 

Professional Skills for Administrative Staff

35

In this dynamic seminar participants will:
• Design his/er own learning objectives;
• Define the skills, roles and responsibilities of administrative staff in the public sector;
• Gain an understanding of supervision and the skills necessary to effectively supervise others;
• Learn ways to close the commitment gap and increase motivation and morale in the workplace;
• Assess and develop the strengthens of their communication practices;
• Communicate more clearly and concisely in person, on the telephone and in writing;
• Develop more assertive communication techniques for effective feedback; Use the three critical communication skills for reducing the differences;
• Approach conflict constructively using effective problem solving skills;
• Understand the basics of effective time management practices and how to organize themselves and their job;
• Learn how establish and translate career goals into action;
• Develop a plan for using their new knowledge and skills back on the job.
 

SUPERVISOR COMMUNICATION

35

Learner will be able to:
• understand the influence of values and perceptions;
• listen to enhance problem solving;
• reduce conflict by improving your communication with difficult people;
•  engage in constructive disagreement and solution focused discussions; learn to be specific for effective expression;
• recognize individual communication styles and their impact;
• understand the sent message;
• give and receive feedback to improve understanding; use performance evaluation to improve performance
• use positive criticism to influence behavior;
• implement your action plan to use new skills and specific techniques to change your communication behavior today!
 

Supervisor Development

20

Clarify the role of a supervisor in the organization
Reflect on your work group(s) and identify your biggest challenges
Explore strategies to make the supervisor’s position between managers and employees work best for you and the organization
Improve the flow of communication up and down, as well as across, the group you work with
Develop support for supervisors in your organization
 

The Manager as Coach

20

The learner will be able to:

§ Define coaching as component of successful manager
§ Apply coaching competencies such as: Coach as listener, partner, champion, trust builder, co-explorer and self-manager in one-on-one meetings with staff.
§ Choose when to manage and when to coach
§ Define measures of success as coach
 

FEEDBACK

25

Learner will be able to:    
Distinguish between feedback and criticism   
Apply methods for effective feedback and feed forward delivery 
Feel more confident incorporating feedback into leadership practices on regular basis
Apply methods for receiving feedback   
Build work culture that supports and effectively utilizes feedback  
Identify strengths, areas for development, and blind spots in feedback delivery
Develop personal action plan to improve capacity to work with feedback
 

Communicating for Influence and Impact

25

Learner will be able to:   
Apply framework of spheres of control, influence and let go in relation to communicating
Identify ways communication can be most effective 
Understand social networks and assess own potential to have influence
Apply techniques that create resonance between speaker and receiver
Identify areas of strength, development, and blind spots as a communicator
Develop personal action plan for enhanced capacity to have influence and impact
Identify ways to assess effectiveness at having influence and impact
 

Audit Report Writing 

35

Learner will be able to:
o Improve the quality and effectiveness of audit reports 
o Develop skills in organizing, drafting, revising effective letters, memos, and e-mails.
o Develop oral skills in questioning, listening, summarizing, and evaluating in audit interview sessions.
o Receive individual feedback on audit writing process and products.
 

Effective Communication

18

Learner Will Be Able To: Define goals and most
effective way to deliver message. Identify and develop
methods to break down communication barriers.
Learn how to positively influence another person's behavior
Adapt delivery style to the style of the other person.
Improve ability to listen for understanding and express
without provoking to when in conflict situations..
 

Focused on Customers

20

The learner will be able to:

§ Define his/her customer base whether external, internal or both
§ Connect customer relations to agencies’ mission and goals
§ Describe how to apply Meet and Exceed Customer expectations to state government
§ Apply customer service philosophy to internal systems, processes and procedures for continuous improvement
§ Choose communication strategies that enhance customer relations
§ Write a continuous improvement plan to improve customer service
 

Public Speaking

10

The learner will be able to:

§ Design a presentation with the audience in mind
§ And, design the presentation from “authentic self”
§ Write presentation’s key messages
§ Construct a presentation that flows logically and is easy to follow
§ Choose props that support the presentation’s message
§ Deliver strong presentation that uses verbal and non-verbal language
§ Prepare for questions and challenges 
§ Manage fears
 

1 day-      6 hours

Managers

Managing Change 

35

Learner will be able to:
• Understand what problems change brings about
• Recognize different ways employees react to change                 Develop skills to coach and manage change with individuals and team.
• Practice getting group members to change
• Understand how to explain changes [step by step] in the workplace
• Understand how to deal with the impact of change
 

Collaborative Problem-Solving

15

Learn and practice a positive problem-solving method
Explore different points of view with an open mind
Identify common ground and work together to solve difficult issues
Leave with clear agreements and identified next steps
 

Resolving Conflict

20

The learner will be able to:

…construct a plan that foresees and minimizes the potential for destructive conflicts to emerge;
…apply successful communication techniques to conflict situations;
…write an action plan that capitalizes on individual strengths and overcomes shortfalls in resolving conflict.
…explain the differences between “big picture” and “hands-on” perspectives that often emerge in conflict situations.
… reframe conflict situations to acknowledge the positive benefits of diverse perspectives and the heightened energy that conflict generates.

 

Constructive Disagreement

18

The learner will be able to:

…construct a plan that foresees and minimizes the potential for destructive conflicts to emerge;
…apply successful communication techniques to conflict situations;
…write an action plan that capitalizes on individual strengths and overcomes shortfalls in resolving conflict.
…explain the differences between “big picture” and “hands-on” perspectives that often emerge in conflict situations.
… reframe conflict situations to acknowledge the positive benefits of diverse perspectives and the heightened energy that conflict generates.
 

Teambuilding Using the MBTI

10

The learner will be able to:

…explain their MBTI profile and its strengths and shortfalls
…write an agreement plan that respects diverse strengths and differences
…names the stages in team development
…develop a work process plan using MBTI problem-solving model
…apply learning to this team’s mission
 

Teambuilding: Together We Can Make a Difference

20

The learner will be able to:

§ explain attitudes and behaviors that build trust and consensus
§ apply team building strategies to work processes and projects
§ construct individual action plan that strengthens communication and team building
§ recognize and capitalize on differences
§ name the stages in team development and plan for them
§ write a “leader plan” that utilizes strengths and compensates for shortfalls
 

Communicating with Special Populations - Half-Day Class

24

Learner will be able to plan and implement positive  strategies in reaching out to and communicating with special populations, including how to identify intermediaries, message considerations, and how to select communication channels.

Crisis Communications Training - Full Day Class

24

Learner will be able to plan and implement positive communication strategies in dealing with reporters, news producers, and editors in crisis situations or in emergencies.  They will learn effective strategies for dealing with interviews and learn the "do's" and "don'ts" of preparing for and giving interviews.

Crisis Communications Training - Half-Day Class

24

Learner will be able to plan and implement positive communication strategies in dealing with reporters, news producers, and editors in crisis situations or in emergencies. They will learn the differences between routine and crisis situations in terms of message development and interviewing skills.  They will also learn the "do's" and "don'ts" of crisis interviews.  Participants will also be able to develop coherent messages and to effectively communicate oral and written materials with internal and external stakeholder groups following catastrophes and unexpected events. 

Crisis Communications Training - Two-Hour Seminar

24

Learner will be able to plan and implement positive communication strategies in dealing with reporters, news producers, and editors in crisis situations or in emergencies following catastrophes and unexpected events.  Participants will learn how to develop effective strategies and basic interview skills for responding in crisis situations. 

Media/Spokesperson Training - Full Day Class

24

Learner will be able to plan and implement positive communication strategies in dealing with reporters, news producers, and editors.

Media/Spokesperson Training - Half-Day Class

24

Learner will be able to plan and implement positive communication strategies in dealing with reporters, news producers, and editors, including how to develop effective messages and those critical skills for managing interviews.

Media/Spokesperson Training - Two-Hour Seminar

24

Learner will be able to plan and implement positive communication strategies in dealing with reporters, news producers, and editors.

Planning for Public Meetings - Half-Day Class

24

Participants will be able to effectively plan for public meetings and learn a model for how to effectively respond to "tough questions."

Risk Communication - Advanced Level - Full Day Class

24

Learner will be able to plan and implement various risk communication strategies for a variety of risk-related situations.  Senior Managers and officials are often put in situations that are emotionally charged. Class participants will gain skills to help them deal with the challenges facing spokespersons in a high concern environment and the skills and knowledge needed to respond effectively. Participants will learn the principles of effective risk communication focusing on identifying and understanding target audiences; the importance of risk perception; developing messages; selecting the right communication channels; and – importantly - spokesperson preparation. In addition, they will learn interview, public meeting and presentation techniques and the do’s and don’ts of effective risk communication. The course involves exercises for responding to difficult questions. Our training programs include the extensive use of case studies combined with interactive, practical exercises designed to give participants the opportunity to integrate the knowledge acquired, practice key skills, and increase their proficiency in communicating complex or sensitive information. We videotape individuals’ presentations and role plays of meetings or other client specific scenarios and provide individual critiques. Training courses are always tailored to the organization’s needs.

Risk Communication - Advanced Level - Half-Day Class

24

Learner will be able to plan and implement positive communication strategies in risk situations.  See description above for full-day risk communication class. 

Risk Communication - Basic Level - Full Day Class

24

Learner will be able to plan and implement positive communication strategies in risk situations.  Senior Managers and officials are often put in situations that are emotionally charged.  The course will help participants understand the challenges facing spokespersons in a high concern environment and provide them with the skills and knowledge needed to respond effectively. FOCUS GROUP develops and provides comprehensive risk communication training to its clients. Participants will learn the principles of effective risk communication including identifying and understanding target audiences; the importance of risk perception; developing messages; selecting the right communication channels; and spokesperson preparation. Using a series of interactive case studies, participants will learn public meeting and presentation techniques; and the do’s and don’ts of effective risk communication. They will be given exercises in responding to difficult questions that serve both the audience being addressed and the spokesperson’s organization. 

3 hours

Management Personnel who must deal with the public and/or media in situations of high concern and low trust of organization(s) involved

Building High Performance Teams

25

Learner will be able to:
- Describe team developmental process
- Describe small group dynamics
- Use tool kit for managing team dynamics to bring out the best in people
- Learn by doing learn about teams being in teams) and have fun
 

Consulting Skills

25

Learner will be able to:
- Define goals and the role of the consultant
- Assess the participant's strengths and weaknesses in relevant technical, interpersonal, and consulting skill areas
- Understand a theory of intervention, including contracting, data collection, feedback, implementation, and completion
- Understand a theory of organization
 

Convening Breakthrough Public Conversations

25

Learner will be able to:
- Identify challenges of convening public conversations
- Explain design principles and applications of Future Search Conferences
- Explain design principles and applications of Real Time Strategic Change events
- Explain design principles and applications of World Cafes
- Explain design principles and applications of Grounded Visioning
- Explain design principles and applications of Open Space Technology forums
- Apply a process methodology to a real work challenge
 

Leading Effective Group Planning Sessions

25

Learner will be able to:
- Describe and apply various:
• Tools for identifying problems in groups
• Tools for generating alternative solutions in groups
• Tools for deciding on the best solution(s) in groups
• Tools for action planning in groups
 

Results-Driven Supervision Seminar

8

Learner will be able to:
- Identify a good breakthrough goal which is results driven and measurable, relevant to the supervisor's current job and job performance goals, achievable but challenging within 60 days, achievable with existing resources and authority, and focused on what people are willing and want to do
- Develop an action plan to accomplish the breakthrough goal
- Overcome barriers to success
- Receive peer support as an aid to success
 

Strategic Planning

25

) Learner will be able to:
- Describe a model for strategic planning
- Apply tools for strategic thinking
- Understand processes for creating strategic plans
- Apply models to design of a real world strategic planning process
 

Career Resiliency

20

The learner will be able to:

§ Describe “bad hair days” and choose how to manage them
§ Develop strategy to use creativity in the workplace
§ Demonstrate the value of collaboration in maintaining resiliency
§ Operate from an “expert” perspective
§ Calculate the cost of stress and burnout on self-satisfaction and organizational requirements
§ Maintain focus on what really matters
§ Understand the complexity, challenge and richness of diverse perspectives
§ Design a strategy to maintain resiliency in his/her career
 

Creating Balance in the Workplace

55

Learner will be able to…* identify the culprits that influence and impact a healthy balanced lifestyle; * evaluate themselves, identify priorities, and how they connect within the workplace; * maintain a professional balance with interaction with staff and clients; * develop an action plan and evaluation to track their professional development; * participate in activities designed to guide immediate and future steps in the workplace. 

Effective Group Facilitation Skills

20

Learn how to plan and run effective meetings
Understand more about group dynamics
Develop facilitation skills for leading difficult discussions
Acquire tools to facilitate group decision-making
Active, hands-on practice facilitating discussions 
Group problem-solving skills
 

Effective Meeting Facilitation 

35

Learner will be able to:
• Understand five types of meeting attendees 
• Utilize effective  behavior skills for successful meetings
• Deal with  participant negative behavior at meetings
• Reading and utilize non-verbal communication skills
• Set meeting ground rules and objectives with attendees
• Utilize support  equipment and materials effectively
• Recognize  five stages of meetings
• Coordinate role as facilitator/leader
 

Effective Meetings

20

The learner will be able to:

§ Choose when a meeting is the right format and choose which people are right for the meeting.
§ Define the core meeting process to include pre-meeting planning, meeting design and meeting follow-up.
§ Define the desired outcomes for the meeting
§ Demonstrate the use of effective tools: brainstorming, voting, affinity diagram, stakeholder analysis, action planning report, etc.
§ Develop effective responses to deal with difficult behaviors
§ Apply leadership skills to effective meetings
§ Evaluate meetings for continuous improvement.
 

Ethics: Doin The Right Thing

55

Learner will be able to…* explore ethical questions and the relationship between personal morals and business ethics; * develop an ethical self-awareness; * identify acceptable behaviors; create guidelines to effectively handle difficult ethical situations; * understand how to be a leader with integrity; and *participate in group discussions about ethical dilemmas and resolutions.

Introduction to Project Management

35

Learner will be able to:
• Plan, staff, budget, and administer a successful project.
• Deal successfully with outside vendors on project 
• Deal with changes and adjustments in any project.
• Understand triple constraints of time, resources and budget
• Train personnel to function cooperatively
• Demonstrate cost management techniques
• Conduct a post project assessment of lessons learned
 

Professional Boundaries 

25

Learner will be able to…* develop a greater understanding of the multiple issues and factors that lead to unhealthy work environments, and stressful relations with colleagues and clients; identify the challenges involved with maintaining professional boundaries; * design creative strategies for consistent and appropriate interaction with staff and clients to gain productive and professional relationships; * creative individual action plans for consistent us of appropriate workplace behaviors; * participate in course-related activities and role plays. 

Time Management 

25

Learner will be able to…* identify the culprits that impact healthy balance and successful time management; * examine their personal values and experiences and how they affect their workday effectiveness; * identify time robbers – imposed and self-inflicted; * evaluate and discuss common excuses; *build an effective planning tool box.

1 day-      6 hours

supervisors, managers and executives

Thriving in a Diverse Workforce

30

Skills inventory for working within a diverse workforce
Exploration of race/culture as the basis for self-reflection and broader learning
Greater understanding of one’s impact on others
Learn how diversity can become a group’s strength or become an obstacle
Build a greater comfort level managing issues that involve diversity
Identify next steps back at work, and areas for further learning
 

Understanding and Preventing Sexual Harassment 

35

Learner will be able to:
• Understand definition of sexual harassment in workplace
• Know how to recognize examples of sexual harassment
• Understand Massachusetts Sexual Harassment Policy
• Know how to deal with incidents of harassment
• Understand how to report harassment
• Know role of Managers and Sexual Harassment Officer in Process
 

Instructional Design and Course Development

15

Learner will be able to…* develop resources for training message and determine appropriate delivery strategies for intended participants;        * build a lesson plan for a specific training message; * write specific learning objectives; * develop an instructional outline and slides * prepare facilitator notes and learning materials; * * develop evaluations to receive significant feedback about the topic.

Instructor Development

15

Learner will be able to…* identify what training is and develop a specific training message in a lesson plan; understand how credibility impacts the training and how it is developed; understand the principles of adult learning; construct training goals and objectives; organize the training message using a variety of organizational formats;  effectively communicate a training message utilizing a variety of training methods; understand the role of “listening” in communicating the training message; manage challenging participants; develop evaluations; develop and deliver a training message which is videotaped and critiqued by peers and instructor

Train the Trainer

15

The learner will be able to:

§ Define participant needs and expectations
§ Write behavioral objectives to meet participant requirements
§ Develop training program that meets diverse learning styles (Kohl model) and modalities
§ Write measures of success for each section of the training program
§ Complete a curriculum planning sheet
§ Write a curriculum outline with adult learning theory in mind
§ Design a program that is creative, engaging and impactful
§ Write an evaluation plan to measure training for next steps or ongoing improvements.
 

Math Skills for the Workplace

12

Learner will be able: Use basic math skills in the performance of the job duties.  Learners will know how to solve problems using prime factorization, operations with rational numbers, operations with integers, equations, properties of real numbers and basic statistics and how you can Use these as tools in your everyday work.

Project Management Certificate Program

Min: 6
Max: 12
 

Learners will be able to• Use standard software to facilitate project planning and tracking
• Create and edit Gantt Charts
• Work with critical path, WBS and standard reports
• Estimate project cost, schedule and resource allocation
• Optimizing schedule, scope and resources
• Managing multiple projects
• Examining resource allocations over time

Project Management Certificate Program

Min:8
Max: 24

Learners will be able to:
• Use templates to quickly and effectively document a project
• Create deliverables that meet the expectations of stakeholders
• Complete a project according to project parameters
• Work effectively with sponsors and project team members using communications and interpersonal skills and techniques
• Prepare a Work Breakdown Structure and Network Diagram that effectively defines the project
• Anticipate and respond effectively at each phase of the project to the information needs of sponsors, senior management and stakeholders
• Determine the critical path, calculate slack, resolve over-allocated resources and accelerate schedules
• In a Microsoft Project Standard 2003 computer lab, create and edit a Gantt Chart, work with tasks and resources, optimize costs and schedule, and produce reports
• Understand the concerns of senior managers as related to quality, costing and managing multiple projects
 

Project Procurement Management

Min: 6
Max: 24

Learners will be able to:
• Formulate ‘Make or buy’ decision
• Understand buyer / seller relationships
• Understand contract types
• Make source selection decisions: evaluation criteria, weighting and screening
• Follow the 6-step process for managing the procurement process: Procurement Planning, Solicitation Planning, Solicitation, Source Selection, Contract Administration and Contract Close-out.
• Extend the skill mix requirements beyond the performing organization
• Understand new techniques in outsourcing the procurement department that will reduce procurement expenses by at least 15%
• Use of the three most popular web-based vendor search engines to find the best suppliers to send RFPs as part of their procurement process
• Conduct contract closeout decisions: change control, performance reporting and formal acceptance
 

Business Management Skills

2-days

Project managers, team members, service industry professionals, information technology professionals, production engineers, staff members and other managers who affect project success

Integrated Project Management

Min:8
Max: 24

Learners will be able to:
• Integrate “soft skills” involved with team management, interpersonal and communication with basic project management techniques needed to manage a project.
• Learn to manage a project in a normal corporate business context
• Learn “best practices” for tollgate reviews - critical business conversations up, down and across the organization
• Learn project management process and concepts and be able to describe a project in terms of its phases and parameters.
• Define a project in terms of Project Overview, deliverables, resources requirements and parameters.
• Learn the roles and responsibilities of positions related to the effective communication and management of projects
• Understand the allocation of scarce resources
• Describe a project in terms of Work Breakdown Structure and Network Diagram
• Understand and apply the Critical Path Method
• Apply risk management techniques
• Learn to track and manage a project during implementation
• Set project baselines for schedule, scope and resources
• Participate in role play discussions to learn techniques for collecting project status
 

Project Risk Management

Min:8
Max: 24

Learners will be able to:
• Define risk as it applies to project management
• Apply two process models for identifying, qualifying, quantifying, preparing risk response, and risk control
• Understand Expected Monetary Value, Failure Mode Effects Analysis, use of Monte Carlo Simulations, Decision Trees, and Wideband Delphi Estimation techniques
• Able to define four types of risk response techniques
• Understand how to set risk triggers
• Understand the link between project risk management and Six Sigma
• Integrate risk management tasks into a project

Hardball Planning and Budgeting

Min: 6
Max: 24

Learners will be able to:
- Understand planning models: Strategic Planning, Operational Planning and budgeting. Use the planning format to create, discuss and present their ideas to senior managers.
- Prepare an operating plan to guide their department’s activities.
- Translate their operating plan into an operating budget for their resources and assets
- Track and monitor their expenses on a monthly basis
- Understand financial roles and responsibilities
- Provide a framework for decision making
- Forecast year-end-actuals
- Respond effectively to monthly variance reports
- Set a baseline for future discussions and learning about fiscal responsibilities.

Multiple Project Management

Min: 6
Max: 24

Learners will be able to:
• Use project software to create resource pools and to “stack” multiple projects on one Gantt chart for examination
• Determine over-allocations across the portfolio
• Determine the point at which critical projects may be delayed
• Deal with the resulting effects of over-allocation of resources, schedule delays or cost over-runs, negative impact on revenue, reduced customer satisfaction or quality 
• Allocate scarce resources and match workload to organizational capacity
• Assess the value of individual and portfolio project and maximize the return on investment
 

Project Management Executive Overview

Min: 6
Max: 15

Learners will be able to
• Understand the basics of project management terminology and concepts
• Understand how to integrate strategic and operational planning process with the management of projects
• Understand the necessity to estimate project return on investment
• Understand their current and planned Competency Maturity Model levels
• Create an environment for the successful management of projects
• Understand the roles and responsibilities of sr. managers, sponsors, project managers, team members and stakeholders
• Understand the critical nature of senior managers and project teams working together to reach the expected results, project ROI and strategic goals
• Create requirements for project reporting
• Understand portfolio management and resource allocation