coursecatalogue

Summit Performance Solutions LLC

Active Listening

Introduction:

Active listening is not a new concept. Unfortunately, it is one of those areas that is much harder to put into practice than it appears
to be on the surface. First, you will have the opportunity to evaluate your own listening skills, you will then learn how to improve
those skills, and finally you will put your skills to work in several listening skills practice sessions.
Sometimes there are barriers that get in the way of our ability to listen actively. Sometimes it’s also our habits that get in the way.
We will examine what some of the barriers and habits may be that cause us to not listen as well as we should.
The average person speaks at about 500 words a minute, but can listen to 135-175 words a minute. The difference between
listening speed and speaking speed is a listening gap. It’s during the listening gap that we have a tendency to exercise poor
listening habits!

Objectives:
When you complete this training, you will be able to:

• Evaluate your current listening skills
• Identify and provide examples of barriers to listening
• Identify common habits that promote inactive listening
• Practice listening skills

Length: 1/2 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Better Business Writing

Introduction:

Better Business Writing (BBW) is an interactive, customized program intended for business people who may not have taken a
writing course in several years, and who need an update on basic skills. Whether you need to write e-mail messages, memos or
letters, your writing skills will improve after participating in this program. Participating in BBW will help you gain control over the
basics, gain an understanding of your audience, and gain more confidence in your business writing skills.

Objectives:
At the end of this program, you will be able to:

• Edit your own and others’ writing.
• Use active voice in business writing.
• Identify the audience for your business writing.
• Remove excess wordiness in your business writing.
• Write a better business memo or e-mail message.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Communication Skills

Introduction:

As dedicated employees, we may spend the majority of our time on the technical aspects of our jobs. We may concern ourselves
with ensuring the accuracy of our work, thereby meeting our duties and responsibilities. In our efforts to ensure good work, we may
overlook the other portion of our job - communicating with others. We may ensure that the technical aspects of our job are done to
the best of our ability. But how often do we ensure that our communication with others is done to the best of our ability?
You may think that communication is not that important to emphasize in a training program. After all, we know how hear what
others are saying, and we know how to talk to them - we learned those skills when we were children. The reality is that knowing
how to communicate effectively can cause us to have satisfied internal customers or dissatisfied customers. If our customers are
satisfied, they will provide us good feedback, and ensure provide our boss good feedback about us. Satisfied customers provide
us job security. Effective communication may be more important than we at first thought.

Objectives:
When you have completed this training, you will be able to:

• Explain the importance of excellent communication in performing your job
• Specify the components of excellent communication
• Interview internal customers to gain information and build rapport
• Listen actively and effectively
• Recognize the impact image has on the communication process
• Effectively use body language to read and deliver messages
• Increase communication effectiveness via the telephone

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Conflict Resolution

Introduction:
• Do you avoid conflict?
• Do you fear making others angry?
• Do you find yourself upset or frustrated with your peers, but doing nothing about it?
• Do you have difficulty putting conflict to rest?
• Do you often discuss work problems at home, without resolving them?
• Are you uncertain whether you want to address work conflicts or not?
In this workshop, you will learn why we react negatively to conflict, the reasons for conflicts, how to resolve conflicts and
responsibly and ways to prevent conflicts.

Objectives:
At the end of the session, you will be able to:

• Work effectively with others
• Learn new techniques
• Learn how conflict can be positive
• Reduce your stress

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Professional Business Writing

Introduction:
Professional Business Writing (PBW) is an interactive, customized program that is designed for the needs of today’s business
world. Today’s business people want to read quickly; they want to understand readily, and they get bored easily with too many
details. PBW helps you meet the needs of these demanding readers. By practicing various types of writing for various audiences,
you will see the importance of writing with a strong sense of purpose. Participating in PBW will help you improve the readability,
organization, and persuasiveness of your business writing.

Objectives:
At the end of this program, you will be able to:

• Write clearly and succinctly.
• Aim your writing to the audience.
• Improve the organization of your business writing.
• Persuade others through your writing.
• Write professional memos, letters, reports, and evaluations

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Presentation Skills

Introduction:
Making presentations is critical to organizational effectiveness and is an important part of many jobs. Presentations can provide
information, persuade and can energize an audience to take action. This workshop provides participants with the skills they need
to make an effective presentation and to sell ideas in a persuasive, well-documented manner to management, employees and
customers and to present their ideas clearly and convincingly. A key component of the workshop is the videotaping of a
presentation with individual feedback.
Throughout the workshop, participants give each other verbal and written feedback on their presentation skills. The facilitator will
also provide feedback, and will model for participants how to give honest constructive and positive feedback. After the workshop,
participants will be instructed as to how to work with a peer coach to receive feedback on a “real-time” presentation they deliver.

Objectives:
When participants have completed the workshop, they will be able to:

• Describe the components and purposes of persuasive and informational presentations
• Develop a presentation.
• Organize a presentation into an introduction, body and conclusion.
• Use effective physical presentation skills.
• Use visual aids appropriately.
• Practice delivering a presentation.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Technical Writing

When information in documents such as manuals and user guides is poorly written or doesn't meet the audience's need,
performance suffers. This intensive workshop teaches a proven methodology for capturing and documenting technical and
procedural information in a way that is guaranteed to improve end-user performance. Participants learn to structure complex
information in a way that makes it accessible, modular, easy to read, and task-based. Participants create documents that enable
readers to perform.

Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, you will be able to:
• Improve comprehension
• Reduce reader errors
• Increase reader compliance
• Reduce access time to critical information
• Increase the readability of documents

Outline:
• Mastering the Architecture of Professional Documents.
• Getting to the point with any document, no matter how complex or how long.
• Creating a writing plan that will save you time!
• Designing one document that meets the needs of all your readers.
• Applying Templates and Patterns for memos, email, reports, and many other documents.
• Applying techniques for quick formatting and easier reading.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: Employees responsible for technical writing

Customer Protocols

Introduction:
Customer Protocols is an intensive immersion in the skills needed to work effectively with customers. The course is a fast-paced
skill-building workshop involving the use of videotaping and individualized feedback and evaluation by customer interaction
specialists. Completing an assessment is required prior to attendance, and follow up via a development strategies tool book and
management feedback is required as reinforcement. Participating in this workshop will dramatically improve your customer
interaction skills.

Objectives:
At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Follow a professional communication process
• Plan for effective communication
• Establish rapport with customers
• Probe for further understanding, and to avoid miscommunication
• Communicate professionally with their customers
• Practice active listening skills and interpreting body language
• Ensure accountability for communication
• Avoid technical jargon and unnecessary detail
• Use the appropriate mode of communication (e-mail, voice mail, face-to-face, conference call), given the situation
• Ensure quality communication in all situations (written and email as well as face-to-face)
• Diffuse customer anger

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Telephone Techniques

Introduction:
As a professional employee, you may already have effective telephone techniques. This program is designed to enhance your
existing telephone SERVICE skills. Whether calls are internal or external, all callers should be handled in a way that spells S-E-R-V-
I-C-E.

Objectives:
The program covers each of the following skills:

• Successfully answering incoming calls and placing outgoing calls
• Efficiently gathering information and taking messages
• Responsibly handling the occasional “difficult” call
• Voluntarily leaving and answering voice mail messages
• Improving the use of holds and transfers
• Carefully concluding calls
• Effectively providing call coverage

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Leveraging Diversity

Objectives:
Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Describe the business rationale for leveraging diversity within the organization.
• Describe the current organizational context with regard to diversity.
• Identify the cultural makeup of the organization today.
• Identify the potential practices that hinder the organization from leveraging diversity.
• Identify the actions/behaviors that can be taken to overcome the practices that hinder the organization from leveraging diversity.
• Identify the cultural norms with regard to job performance of associates from diverse cultures.
• Use the appropriate behaviors/actions when assessing the performance of associates from diverse cultures.
• Use the appropriate behaviors/actions when conducting a performance appraisal/feedback discussion with associates from
diverse cultures.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Valuing Diversity

Objectives:
Upon completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Explain what is meant by “diversity”.
• Leverage the diversity of employees in order to obtain increased business results.
• Invite new ideas, information, and diverse perspectives.
• Explain diversity business rationale.
• Explain diversity business strategy.
• Explain the four planks of diversity.
• Follow the guiding principles of respect for individuals.

Length: 1/2 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Managing the Cost Bottom Line

Introduction:
The purpose of this program is to help you gain more control over costs you may feel you cannot control. You may feel that all
financial responsibility rests with the finance manager. This course will help you see how others impact and control costs.
Whatever your role in the company, you will find the skills presented in this module extremely helpful on the job.

Objectives:
Upon completion of the workshop, the learner will be able to:

• Balance the cost component with the other bottom lines
• Make financial decisions based upon factual data and analysis
• Describe their role and responsibilities as they relate to financial decision making
• Explain you role in the ABP/OBP process
• Explain the decision making process when making a capital purchase
• Prepare a budget you can manage

Length: 3 days
Recommended Audience: Individuals needing to understand financial concepts

Compensation

Introduction:
Our Compensation course provides the details for establishing, maintaining, and evaluating an effective Compensation Program.
This comprehensive course covers everything from the factors that influence compensation plan design to the various types of
compensation plans available, and even includes special sections on analyzing and evaluating jobs, performing market surveys,
writing job descriptions, and communicating and evaluating your plan.

Objectives:
At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Recognize factors that influence a compensation plan
• Cite the various compensation methods and uses (Executive Compensation, Sales Compensation, Incentive Pay, Bonuses, etc.)
• Establish an effective compensation philosophy
• Conduct job evaluations
• Collect survey data and perform market analysis
• Create job descriptions
• Develop salary ranges and grades
• Effectively communicate your compensation program
• Understand the basic ongoing tasks necessary to administer a compensation program
• Evaluate your compensation plan
• Define the laws affecting compensation

Length: 2 days
Recommended Audience: HR professionals

Creating a Great Place to Work

Introduction:
Once upon a time you might not have thought much about losing a talented employee. After all, you may have thought, there are
a great deal of workers available who would love to be a part of our company. Those days may be short-lived.
The facts are that multiple research studies suggest that the cost of replacing key employees is at least 70% percent of the person’
s annual salary. This cost can go as high as 200% of the person’s annual salary.
One study found that the top three reasons for implementing retention strategies are:

• Losing an employee costs between 6 – 18 months pay.
• Hi-tech workers, professionals and managers cost twice as much as other employees to replace.
• Many hidden costs are incurred through lost sales and lost customers.
• The impact on productivity can be drastic, because the employees who are thinking of leaving are not generally as productive as
they could be. Getting their replacements to be productive can take a great deal of time as well.

This half-day program helps managers learn how to determine what makes their employees want to stay with the company, and
then helps managers determine specific strategies for keeping employees. Alternative strategies are presented for different
generations of employees, whose retention drivers are different than those of generations past.

Objectives:

At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Recognize the business need for retention.
• Recognize retention opportunities.
• Develop and prioritize unique retention strategies for individual employees.
• Use effective two-way communication skills.
• Provide on-going feedback and coaching for employee retention.
• Identify when retention is not the best choice.
• Act on agreed-upon retention strategies.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: Supervisors, Managers, Directors and Vice Presidents

Handling Sexual Harassment Complaints

Introduction
Why do we need this program?
• Review of sexual harassment policy and process
• Repercussions to major corporations
In-house investigation following a complaint
• Duties of the investigator of sexual harassment claims
• Documentation procedures
• Interview of the complainant
• Interviewing the accused
• Interviewing the witnesses
• Role plays – interviewing practice
Governmental agencies and the courts
• The role of governmental agencies: The charge process
• The settlement process – the first time around
• The agency investigative process
• The determination
• The settlement process – the second time around
• The courts
• Practice (mini case studies)

Length: 1/2 day
Recommended Audience: Supervisors, Managers, Directors, and Vice Presidents

Hiring the Best

Introduction:
Research has proven that up to 75% of new hires will not meet management's performance expectations if traditional "gut feeling"
interviewing is used. Behavioral interviewing can dramatically raise your hiring success ratio. Better hires mean increased
productivity, lower turnover, higher morale, less training time, higher morale, and better quality and service for customers.
Behavioral interviewing is a structured interviewing strategy built on the premise that past behavior is the best predictor of future
performance in similar circumstances. This workshop will show you how to design and conduct behavioral interviews to hire the
best people for your organization.

Objectives:
At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Follow the interviewing process model: a step-by-step interviewing guide
• Use behavioral interviewing questions
• Define key success factors and behavioral characteristics required for top performance in a position
• Develop behavioral interviewing questions and follow-up probes
• Play the Interviewing Game
• Assess candidates against competencies
• Conduct practice interviews
• Recognize interviewing problems
• Review legal guidelines for interviewing

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience:
• Those new to interviewing
• HR professionals needing a general refresher in the area

Introduction to Benefit Plans

Introduction:
How benefit plans are designed and administered can play a key role in attracting and retaining your employees. Having trained
staff that can effectively answer health care and group benefit plan questions is essential.
This course is designed to provide you with a solid introduction to the basic issues of group health medical benefits.

Objectives:
At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Differentiate various types of group health medical benefits available and how they evolved into what they are today.
• Distinguish between group insurance and self-insurance
• Detail characteristics of the different types of health care group plan sponsors
• Describe how managed care options work to control costs
• Identify the different tax-advantaged plans available
• Describe defined contribution and consumer-driven health plans
• Detail effects and requirements of ERISA.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience:
• Those new to the health care and group benefit plan field
• Benefits/HR professionals needing a general refresher in the area

Preventing, Identifying and Resolving Sexual Harassment Issues

Manager Session
Introduction
•What is sexual harassment?
• Assessment – How well do you know your responsibilities for managing sexual harassment situations?
• Why does it matter to us?
• Repercussions to major corporations
Sexual Harassment Policies
• Understanding Sexual Harassment
• Code of Conduct
• Sexual Harrassment Policy

Identifying and Responding to Sexual Harassment
•        Employee Role and Responsibility
o        Employees Role
-        Discussion of Employee’s Role
o        Policy Requirements
-        Personal Incidents
-        Incidents in the workplace
-        Discussion/practice responding to sexual harassment incidents

•        Manager Role and Responsibility
o        Manager Role
o        Discussion of the Manager/Supervisor Role
o        Policy Requirements
o        Response Procedure
-        Who, what, when, where
o        Responding Vs Emulating
-        Impact of establishing an environment of non-harassment

Setting the Stage for Proactive Prevention
o        Proactive Vs Reactive benefits
-        You, direct reports, organization
o        Steps to gaining a proactive atmosphere

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: Supervisors, Managers, Directors, and Vice Presidents

Identifying and Resolving Sexual Harassment Issues

Employee Session

Introduction
•        What is sexual harassment?
o        Assessment – How well do you know your responsibilities for managing sexual harassment situations?
•        Why does it matter to us?
•        Repercussions to major corporations

Sexual Harassment Policies
•        Understanding Sexual Harassment
o        Common Bond
o        Code of Conduct
o        Sexual Harassment Policy

Identifying and Responding to Sexual Harassment
•        Employee Role and Responsibility
o        Employees Role
-        Discussion of Employee’s Role
o        Policy Requirements
-        Personal Incidents
-        Incidents in the workplace
o        Discussion/practice responding to sexual harassment incidents

Length: 1/2 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Preventing Violence in the Workplace

Introduction:

This course is intended to increase awareness of workplace violence and understanding of how to identify and respond to
troubled employee behavior and troubling situations. You will also increase your understanding of when and how to refer, report,
consult, and monitor these situations. Participants learn a process to use in referring employees, and practice using this process
in a variety of situations.

Objectives:
At the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Recognize the critical signs of troubled employees.
• Recognize the supervisor’s role in recognizing and referring troubled employees.
• Provide appropriate resources to troubled employees.
• Follow the steps in the referral process.
• Identify troubling situations.
• Use practical ways to defuse potential violence.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Recruiting The Best

Introduction

Recruiting the Best enables organizations to quickly integrate pro-active, consultative recruitment techniques into their existing
recruitment matrix. Additionally, Recruiting the Best offers an outstanding value proposition, enabling organizations to improve all
aspects of the candidate acquisition process, while also realizing tremendous return-on investment.

Objectives:
At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Devise a search strategy that considers a broad array of candidate identification and acquisition techniques
• Implement consultative recruitment selling methodologies
• Present your organization’s compelling story
• Construct intriguing voicemail messages
• Make cold calling a strength
• Construct "no-pressure" call scripts
• Assess and validate candidate motivators
• Use referral acquisition techniques

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: Recruiters

Strategic Leadership

Introduction:

Strategic Leadership is a highly interactive learning experience designed specifically for managers and those in leadership
positions throughout the organization. The program is focused on helping leaders understand the strategic value of team
leadership within divisions/departments and across the organization.
Strategic Leadership will provide managers with the knowledge and skills required to carry out their unique roles as team leaders.
These roles include aligning associates to the goals of the division, which are linked to the goals of the corporation and working
effectively as team leaders across the organization to achieve sales, profitability and customer satisfaction targets. This workshop
also will provide senior/middle managers with an understanding of the dynamics of decision-making in a team environment and
provide them with the information necessary to reinforce effective team leadership behaviors with other members of
management.

Objectives:
When participants have completed the workshop, they will be able to:

•        Set clear direction for their division/department
•        Align associates to the goals of the division/department and the corporation
•        Understand how division/department goals link together to achieve overall corporate objectives
•        Apply different modes of decision making
•        Implement teamwork concepts within individual divisions/departments and across the organization
•        Apply and reinforce the main elements of the leadership model; these elements include communication, trust, participation,
feedback, win-win agreements and information

Length: 2 days
Recommended Audience: Managers, Directors, and Vice Presidents

Leadership Skills

Introduction:

Leadership is predicated on vision, energy, and relationships. It is a function of an individual’s ability to move people and the
organization forward. Leadership Skills provides managers with the techniques tactics and skills needed to manage and achieve
organizational and individual goals, build team support and accountability, effectively introduce change and work across
boundaries to get buy-in for implementation.

Objectives:
When participants have completed the workshop, they will be able to:

• Set clear direction with their employees
• Align associates to the goals of the division/department and the corporation
• Understand how division/department goals link together to achieve overall corporate objectives
• Lead change throughout the organization
• Leverage partnerships within individual divisions/departments and across the organization
• Apply and reinforce the main elements of the team leadership model: setting direction, aligning to goals, leading change,
leveraging partnerships across the organization, and fostering teamwork.

Length: 2 days
Recommended Audience: Managers, Directors, and Vice Presidents

Business Planning

Introduction:

Business Planning is more than a concept. It is a set of skills for looking at the future, developing strategies, and selecting tactics
to achieve success in business. No matter what your time horizon is, there are always unknown elements in front of you that can
make your operational goals difficult to achieve. Looking ahead to define the unknown is the first key step in Business Planning.
Business Planning is a workshop designed to develop your skills by using proven tools and techniques to examine and plan for the
future. Business Planning is based on a solid understanding of your role and responsibilities in preparing and executing solid
business plans. Each group and department within your company is linked to other groups and your customers. Your group
provides value in the chain of services that serves the marketplace. Understanding that value is key to implementing your role.
The new skills you will learn in this course include analyzing the roles of your business partners and identifying the value-added
activities of your business units.

Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Conduct a Value Chain Analysis to relate corporate goals to business unit goals.
• Define key aspects of supplier relationships.
• Isolate the critical elements of people, resources, services, and funding that are needed for their tactical plan.
• Write a business plan based on sound strategies and tactical actions.
• Establish milestones and metrics for executing the plan.

Length: 2 days
Recommended Audience: Managers, Directors, and Vice Presidents

Coaching for Success

Introduction:

To be effective, supervisors must feel prepared and comfortable in a challenging, fast-paced, stressful environment. Supervisors
come out of this training not only motivated themselves, but having the ability to motivate their associates. The training is very
upbeat, motivational, and enjoyable for everyone.

Objectives:
Skills and knowledge is acquired and developed throughout the program using the following approaches:

• Participants are requested to bring to class some specific performance situations with which they are presently faced. They will
use these situations to be acted out as real-life case studies.
• To ensure participants know the areas they as individuals specifically need to work on, they will complete a self-assessment. This
assessment is based on each of the specific skills that comprise the COACHing model.
• The training is designed to allow participants to practice their coaching techniques. In order to effectively provide feedback, the
facilitator will need to videotape each participant as he or she is practicing coaching skills.
• The critical skill of redirecting is used to help participants learn new skills. Redirecting means to stop the action at critical points
to provide coaching. Redirecting will allow participants to increase their skills and benefit more from the role play experience if they
receive coaching on the spot so they can improve the situation rather than waiting until the end of the role play to receive
feedback.

Length: 2 days
Recommended Audience: Supervisors, Managers and Directors

Continuous Performance Management

Introduction:

The program uses a “pull-it-all-together theme” that functions as a hook, but also as a reminder of the key ideas they need to
improve performance. This theme is based on the PERFORM model. Each letter in the PERFORM model represents a key skill
managers need:
P - Preparing through goal setting
E - Effectively observing behavior
R - Recording behavior
F - Feedback
O - Offering recognition
R - Remembering to coach performance
M - Managing through evaluation
The model can also be represented on job aids - business card size reminders of the components of the PERFORM model.
Participants can use these once they return to their jobs as easy, quick reminders of what they need to do to improve performance
Emphasis is placed on the need for continuous performance management, rather than end-of-year performance appraisals. This
theme of continuous performance management can be reinforced through a graphic showing performance management as an
ongoing cycle. This cycle is replicated throughout the program - as a cover graphic, an element in the corner of each overhead,
etc.
Another “tie-it-all-together” concept is that at the end of each module, the participants will complete the portion of an action plan
that relates to the particular skill in that module. At the end of the training, participants will complete one action plan for the course.

Objectives:
At the end of the program, participants will be able to:

•determine how the component skills of the performance management cycle interact with each other and directly affect the
performance of their business units
• use key skills/behaviors in each component of the PERFORM model

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: Supervisors, Managers and Directors

Corporate Civility (Business Etiquette)

Introduction:

This workshop focuses on the most important essentials of business etiquette. In the business world, relationships are developed
quickly – or not. If employees treat each other with respect they will treat the customers with respect. Your investment in training
your staff will be immediately visible to you – and to your clients.

Approach:

This no-nonsense, real-world, training program teaches all forms of business etiquette: It is specifically designed for groups who
want to polish their skills and improve their professional image. Information is presented in a humorous and relaxed style that cuts
to the heart of today's etiquette concerns. Hands-on activities are used to reinforce learning points.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: all employees

Delegating for Results

Introduction:

Delegating tasks and responsibility is a critical skill. In any organization, regardless of size, no single person
can, or should expect to personally accomplish every task. Some tasks must be delegated to others who can complete them.
Effective delegation can enable you to improve the results you achieve through others and dramatically increase your own
effectiveness.
Your ability to effectively delegate can increase motivation, confidence, and professional and personal
growth in others while allowing you to focus on top-level duties. In this workshop, you will learn how to use delegation as an
effective tool. Learn what delegation is and isn’t and understand why, what and to whom
you should delegate. You will also be able to recognize the symptoms of inappropriate delegation. Using
the delegation strategies outlined in this workshop will help you create and maintain a more effective and
smoother-running environment.

Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Explain what effective delegation is and is not.
• Establish roles and responsibilities for each party involved in delegation.
• Avoid the “I can do it better myself” syndrome.
• Follow a process to delegate effectively.
• Determine what to delegate to whom and why.
• Examine obstacles to effective delegation.
• Use two-way communication to ensure understanding.
• Handle emotional situations that may occur.
• Get necessary feedback throughout the process.

Length: 1/2 day
Recommended Audience: Supervisors, Managers and Directors

Effective Performance = Effective Results

Introduction

Effective performance management is the key way to help your teams, your organization, and yourself become more successful.
Becoming a more effective employee involves the key skills of performance planning, performance coaching and performance
assessment. An effective manager also knows how to provide feedback and receive feedback on a continuous basis. Effective
Performance = Effective Results provides participants
with the techniques, tactics and skills needed to develop each of these key skills and more.

Objectives:
At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Follow their specific roles in each phase of the performance management process.
• Write clear performance goals that are linked to goals and to competencies.
• Manage direct reports who are not performing at their potential, as well as those who are top performers.
• Provide timely, effective coaching and feedback to direct reports.
• Improve the quality of discussions with direct reports.
• Provide performance feedback and coaching to direct reports.
• Reward and recognize direct reports’ good performance.

Length: 2 days
Recommended Audience: All employees

Managing Flexible Work Arrangements

Introduction:

Managing Flexible Work Arrangements requires different types of management ability than traditional work arrangements. A key
element is a lower level of face-to-face contact. This requires the ability to manage remotely. Both employees and managers
have many of the same types of needs, but they also have unique needs driven by the nature of the flexible work arrangement. It
is not enough to know the guidelines and policies for flexible work arrangements. Managers must create a specific set of practices
to help ensure success. These practices may lie outside their normal habits of communication and management practices.
This course provides a process for looking at each flexible work arrangement as an opportunity to achieve results through creative
management. Participants will learn tools and techniques by applying them first to scenarios and then to their own situation.

Objectives:
At the conclusion of the course, participants will be able to:

• Define the key aspects of managing remotely.
• Synchronize your expectations with employees’ expectations.
• Use tools and techniques to achieve results through flexible work arrangements.
• Implement a Personal Action Plan for managing flexible work arrangements.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: Employees who manage flexible work schedules

Navigating Change

Introduction:

Leading Through Change enables employees to use change management tools to strengthen personal and organizational
effectiveness in the midst of change. The workshop is highly interactive, and it encourages individual and group initiative and
creativity.

Objectives:
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Assess their ability to deal with change effectively
• Identify the impact of change on four levels: individuals, working relationships, your organization, and the marketplace
• Identify the transition phases during change and strategies for each phase
• Recognize the need for continuous adaptation in a changing marketplace
• Understand and apply tools to strengthen their capacity to deal with change

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Streamlining Priorities

Introduction:

Being active and being productive are worlds apart. People may have a lot of work going around them daily, yet others seem to
generate better bottom-line results.
The reason is simple: Merely being active is not the same as being productive.
“I wish I’d spent more time at the office.” History has never recorded these as anyone’s last words. “I wish I’d spent more time with
my family” is a much more likely deathbed sentiment. The course centers on the concepts of First Things First, by helping you to
focus on the most important activities, rather than those that deter from productivity. Delegation, paper management and handling
interruptions are also covered by this insightful program.

Objectives
At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Create a vision of successful time management.
• Identify the skills required to focus on organizational priorities.
• Identify the organizational priorities that must be focused on.
• Use an urgent/importance grid.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: all employees

Successful Telecommuting

Introduction:

Successful Telecommuting requires a different set of work habits than being in an office. The office environment provides a
support structure and shapes working habits. Telecommuters must identify the elements of the office environment that are critical
for their success and develop alternative methods to achieve the same results. These elements will vary according to the
employee’s job tasks and work habits. A key element is a lower level of face-to-face contact. This requires the ability to
communicate effectively, obtain necessary inputs remotely, and stay on task without supervision.
This course provides a process for looking at the telecommuting arrangement as an opportunity to develop specific practices to
ensure that the quality and quantity of work will meet or exceed the level achieved in the office. Participants will learn tools and
techniques by applying them first to a scenario and then to their own situation.

Objectives:
At the conclusion of the course, participants will be able to:

• Describe the key policies and procedures for telecommuting.
• Define the key practices of successful telecommuting.
• Identify necessary components of their Telecommuting Plan.
• Write and implement a Telecommuting Plan.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: Employees who telecommute

The SUCCESSful Supervisor

Introduction:

The SUCCESSful Supervisor is a two-day interactive workshop that helps participants build supervisory skills. The program uses
the SUCCESS mnemonic to emphasize the core skills required to be a successful supervisor, and it features the use of a skill-
building simulation which enables participants to use each of the core supervisory skills within a realistic setting.

Objectives:
At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Staff, plan and prioritize.
• Understand and facilitate teams’ ability to meet goals.
• Communicate expectations clearly.
• Consistently manage performance.
• Encourage teams’ to make decisions and resolve problems.
• Seize coaching opportunities.
• Strengthen skills through empowering others.

Length: 2 days
Recommended Audience: Supervisors and Managers

Problem Solving and Decision-Making

Approach

Lecturette: Problem-Solving/Decision Making model - Linking the Turnaround experience with the behaviors required for
successfully solving problems and making decisions, participants explore the concepts embedded in the model. Participants are
encouraged to link the elements of the model with their experience in Turnaround and their own working environment.

Turnaround Simulation - Turnaround is a simulation which helps supervisors and managers learn how to deal with and change
employees’ attitudes and solve production problems. Individual and group performance during the simulation reflects the level of
managerial knowledge and experience of participants and successful scores depend on effective communication and teamwork
skills. The simulation has four parts.

Application: Real-World Impact         - In this group discussion, participants begin to understand what specifically they need to do
differently to ensure effective problem solving and decision making. Participants identify what specific problem solving and
decision-making skills contributed to the success of turning around the Grindtown Plant.
Based on their experience in Turnaround they are asked to identify some of the actions they can take to reach results like those
attained in the simulation. The facilitator debriefs this discussion and relates it to the Turnaround experience.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Creative Thinking

Introduction:

Creative Thinking introduces the creativity process, and the kinds of techniques and interactions that promote a more innovative
culture. People learn by doing, working on actual job-related challenges in small group and individual exercises. The workshop
gives people an understanding of idea generation, idea evaluation, association, brainstorming, checklists, storyboarding, multiple
voting and prioritization. These new skills enable participants to take part productively in any initiative calling for new and different
thinking.

Objectives:
At the end of this workshop you will be able to:

• Differentiate between the kinds of behaviors that encourage and support creative thinking vs. those that present barriers to
innovation.
• Contribute innovative ideas and take part in productively tackling key issues and challenges to the organization.
• Develop new skills in creative thinking and being open-minded to others’ ideas.
• Work on tough organizational challenges.
• Experience increased job satisfaction through exercising creativity.

Length: 1/2 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Developing Quality Relationships

Introduction:

Developing Quality Relationships is an interactive one-day workshop that strengthens the vital links between customers, suppliers
and employees. It develops relationship skills that build strong business partnerships with both internal and external customers
and suppliers. The program is intended to help the organization improve both the quality of work relationships and the quality of
work processes. Introductory quality concepts are learned through simulations and experiential learning. In the workshop,
participants then apply what they have learned to their own work situations.

Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Describe the relationship between value, quality and price.
• Describe the importance of internal customer/supplier relationships in satisfying the ultimate customer.
• Build strong customer/supplier partnerships on the job.
• Map key business processes that need improvement.

Length: 2 days
Recommended Audience: All employees

Self-Motivation

Introduction:

• Do you feel like you are not in charge of your career?
• Are you getting satisfaction from your work?
• Do you know what motivates you and de-motivates you?
• Does your management know what motivates you and de-motivates you?
• Do you know what your values are?
• Are your values consistent with your work priorities?
• Do you know when you are achieving success?

In this workshop, you will learn how to take control of your career, determine actions you can take to become more successful and
influence management to motivate appropriately.

Objectives:
At the end of the session, you will be able to:
• Develop your own personal affirmations
• Identify your internal and external motivators
• Verbalize motivators to others
• Reduce de-motivators
• Examine your values and relate these values to your work
• Recognize successes and verbalize them to others

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Self-esteem and Winning Attitudes

Introduction

Self-esteem and Winning Attitudes is an interactive course that examines the role self-esteem plays in organizational success. The
program is intended to assist participants in determining values and attitudes that relate to the working environment. The course
reinforces the vital links interconnecting attitude, values, and self-motivators that affect the way we interact with customers and
colleagues. Concepts are learned through interactive exercises and experiential learning that the participants can then apply to
their own work situations.

Objectives:
At the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Define self-esteem and describe the role it plays in the workplace.
• Recognize where and how we develop self-esteem.
• Examine the differences between self-esteem and self-confidence.
• Recognize self-esteem characteristics and self-defeating behavior in the workplace.
• Examine their own self-esteem and how it has affected their success.
• Realize that we have control over the way we feel and think.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Stress Management

Introduction:

This course will allow participants to examine the true causes of stress in our lives, clarify the ways in which stress affects us, and
increase our ability to create well-being and reduce stress in all areas of our lives.

Objectives:
At the end of the course, you will be able to:

• Exercise greater control over the processes that generate stress in your life
• Recognize and respond to specific sources of stress in your life
• Use immediate, brief techniques to reduce stress on a daily basis, both at work and at home
• Include ongoing practices to reduce and prevent stress in all areas of your life
• Use more effective methods of planning, prioritizing and participating to increase satisfaction
• Think and communicate in ways that reduce stress and promote greater well being in life
• Be more committed to reducing stress and creating well-being in your life

Length: 1/2 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Account Management

Introduction:

As business becomes more multi-national and as more products connect to or communicate with each other over international
borders, customers will seek suppliers who can meet their needs and with whom they can build long term business partnerships
that will span many months and even years.
These needs are likely to cover technology, product development, support over a large geographical area, training and
consultancy. Orders will be large, but often placed less frequently, with unsuccessful suppliers being locked out of the account for
many years.
Suppliers must have a strategy to deal with large accounts, otherwise the result is an invitation to tender which has been written in
conjunction with a major competitor and slanted in their favor.
What makes the larger account more difficult is that it needs to be 'managed'. This means thinking 'strategies' rather than 'tactics'.
An important factor is that it does not necessarily take ten times as much effort to get an order for 100,000+pounds as it does to
get an order for 10,000 pounds. But there will be less large prospects than small ones, so making sure you win business and do
not come a "good second" is important.

Objectives:
At the end of the training, you will be able to:
• Use the key elements of selling company products and services to corporate accounts and manage the accounts over time.
• Recognize what prospects and customers expect from Account Managers.
• Apply the supplier sales cycle and the complimentary prospect/customer buying cycle.
• Analyze the total ‘product’ and ‘company’ offering and communicate specific factors in a persuasive manner.
• Plan and prepare for visits to prospects and customers to meet defined objectives.
• Handle multi-level decision processes in large organizations and develop strong business relationships via a partnership
approach.
• Review communication processes and mechanisms to ‘add value’ the company's products and services.

Length: 2 Days
Recommended Audience: Employees who are responsible for account management

Negotiation Skills

Introduction:

Effective negotiation underlies the most successful business and personal encounters. Whether dealing with a client, family
member, staff, a billion dollar deal or a car purchase, there are measurable differences in results between those who negotiate
well and those who do not.
This course offers skill-building practice in helping participants learn and apply techniques and processes to be more effective in
negotiating for a win/win solution to any situation. The course will also include a framework within which to constantly improve, long
after the course is over. The course is designed to be intense, enjoyable, highly interactive and immediately practical.

Objectives:
At the conclusion of the course, you will be able to:
• Use new negotiation tools, and processes to increase collaboration
• Systematically prepare for negotiation sessions.
• Develop an understanding of the others’ point of view.
• Collect information more quickly and effectively.
• Using standards effectively.
• Use information and understanding to develop win/win solutions.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All individuals involved in negotiations with internal or external people.

Negotiation Strategies

Introduction:

Effective negotiation involves more than knowing numbers or facts. Good negotiators understand the negotiation process – as
separate from substantive knowledge of the subject at hand. Perceptions, trust, relationships, style, constituencies and emotions
are at least as important as the substance. Experts in any area can gain significant competitive advantage by learning persuasion
skills to enhance their basic expertise.
This course provides high-level sales negotiation strategies and tools to become better negotiators. The course will also include a
framework within which to constantly improve, long after the course is over. The course is designed to be intense, enjoyable,
highly interactive and immediately practical.

Objectives:
At the conclusion of the course, you will be able to:

• Develop value-enhancing skills.
• Deal effectively with hard bargainers and power imbalances
• Find other parties’ interests and hidden agendas.
• Find creative options to overcome impasses.

Length: 2 days
Recommended Audience: All those involved in internal or external negotiations with others.

Strategic Positioning through the Value Proposition

Introduction:

This training will enable participants to increase understanding of the Value Proposition, to be introduced to Value Proposition
presentation materials, and to be able to customize the Value Proposition for use with specific clients.

Objectives:
Upon completion of the workshop, the learner will be able to:

• Clearly articulate the Value Proposition for their products.
• Explain the value of their products in terms of strategic advantages for customers.
• Customize the value proposition for a specific customer.
• Team with others within their organization in order to present a full package to the customer.
• Structure an offering for a customer.
• Use Value Proposition presentation materials appropriately for a specific customer.

The training is provided in a workshop setting, including lecturettes and interactive exercises. The Participant Guide is self-
contained, providing all participant materials.

Length: 3 days
Recommended Audience: All salespeople and sales managers

Key Account Planning

Introduction:

Key account planning enables salespeople to define short-term and long-range goals for high potential accounts and planning
how you will reach those goals. More specifically, key account planning will help you analyze sales and marketing-related factors
within high potential accounts and design courses of action aimed at penetrating, acquiring, and/or increasing business in those
accounts. For existing accounts, key account planning provides a systematic approach to acquiring a more profitable share of the
business. For prospective accounts, key account planning provides a map for gaining access and acquiring business.

Objectives:
When you have completed this training, you will be able to:

• Analyze accounts according to:
o Decision-making structure
o Need fulfillment
o Competitive position
o Sales/product penetration
o Account and marketplace trends

• Identify major opportunities and establish short-term and long-range goals.
• Develop strategies.
• Design action plans.
• Implement action plans, modify and expand.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: Salespeople, Employees who are responsible for account planning

Trade Show Selling

Introduction:

Trade Show Selling will increase the number and quality of leads generated. To accomplish this, the training must respect the
special nature of the tradeshow environment. Even highly effective sales people must recognize that this is a unique selling
situation.

Objectives:
The training prepares the tradeshow staff to succeed by:

• Familiarizing them with the tradeshow environment
• Identifying that the “sale” is now to obtain a qualified lead for follow up
• Creating personalized “sound bytes” that get attention and start a conversation
• Developing a flexible, “just in time” training system that can be used for any show, at any time.
• Orienting learners to the tradeshow selling environment
• Identifying techniques for maximizing sales effectiveness. Specifically:
o How to engage show attendees in a business focused conversation
o How to qualify prospects and develop leads
o How to establish a follow up game plan for leads developed at the show
• Securing quality leads at each show they attend while presenting a strong, positive image to all attendees and the industry.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: Those who work at trade shows

Facilitating Work Teams

Introduction:

This workshop is highly interactive and experiential in nature. People learn by doing, so we place participants in situations that
replicate the work environment. We then ask them to apply the learning to these work situations.

Outline
• Introduction
• The Role of the Facilitator
• Effective Communication Skills
• When to Intervene
• Motivating the Team
• Developing the Team
• Closure
• Intention Groups

The following additional modules are offered as reinforcing modules. If you prefer, they can be combined into the existing
workshop:

• Developing Team Mission Statement
• Developing Team Ground Rules
• Leader/Peer Feedback
• Developing Team Performance Measures
• Resolving Team Conflicts

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: Employees who are responsible for facilitation

Working Together Works!

Introduction:

Working together is the key way to help your teams, your organization, and yourself become more successful. Becoming an
effective supervisor is predicated on alignment, building partnerships and empowering teams. An effective supervisor knows how
to resolve conflicts, develop teams, and provide feedback on a continuous basis. Working Together Works! provides supervisors
with the techniques, tactics and skills needed to develop each of these key skills and more.

Approach:
Working Together Works! enables participants to practice the specific skills necessary to help supervisors grow and develop their
teams. Through a pre-course assignment, interactive exercises, movie clips, and role-plays, participants are immersed in the
various skills necessary to become proficient in their important role. The workshop causes participants to embrace the importance
of their job, thereby helping to create increased job satisfaction, motivation and productivity.

Objectives:
Upon completion of the workshop, the learner will be able to:

• Align associates to the goals of the division/department and the corporation.
• Build partnerships within the team and between your team and other teams.
• Empower teams by encouraging participation and decision-making, as appropriate.
• Resolve team conflicts.
• Develop teams by identifying strengths and weaknesses, and building on strengths while reducing weaknesses.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees. Best for in-tact work teams

Exploring Social Styles and Motivators

Introduction:

Forget the Golden Rule. In today’s competitive environment, you must treat customers as THEY want to be treated!
In this workshop, you will learn about four different styles, how to recognize each style, and how to communicate with customers
flexing to THEIR style. You’ll learn your own style and the style of some of your colleagues (and your manager). Use your
knowledge of social styles to give you a competitive advantage!

Objectives:
As a result of participating in this workshop you will be able to:

• Define four different social styles.
• Identify these styles in others.
• Apply techniques for increasing your effectiveness when communicating with all types of customers.
• Identify your own social style and be able to flex as appropriate.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Developing and Instilling Trust

Introduction:

In the Developing and Instilling Trust workshop, participants will experience the consequences of win/lose in teams and between
teams through experiential exercises, role-plays and simulations. Participants learn through self-discovery and application of
techniques. This workshop makes the intangible tangible by focusing on the skills required to build trust. Participants learn the
components of trust through the trust model; these components are: win/win, openness, honesty and consistency.
Participants explore how to move from a win/lose position to a win/win position in the workplace through using trust as a strategic
tool.

Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Identify the impact of lack of trust on work relationships and on departmental success.
• Apply and reinforce the main elements of the trust model: win/win, openness, honesty and consistency.
• Implement trust-building skills throughout the organization.
• Determine how to build trust with specific individuals.

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Imbedding Trust throughout the Organization

Introduction:

This follow-up session is intended to help participants continue to imbed trust throughout their organization. This session should
be used as a follow-up to the workshop “Developing and Instilling Trust.” Ideally, this follow-up session should be held 3 – 6
months after attending the training. Preferably, all the participants from the original training will attend.
Talk is cheap with regard to trust. We don’t build trust by telling people “trust me.” We do not build trust by talking about the
importance of trust. We do not build trust through talk, but through our actions.
We build trust through win/win actions, through openness, honesty and consistency. We build trust by fulfilling our promises and
acting in a consistent and predictable manner. We build trust by showing concern for others, particularly when they are in need of
our support.
According to Robert Bruce Shaw, author of Trust in the Balance, “Trust is the organizational glue that is going to replace loyalty as
the bond employees have with the company. As we know, there is no longer an implicit bond an employee has with the company
when he or she is hired. Rather, that loyalty is constantly in question when it comes time for layoffs, downsizing or re-engineering.
Employees do not feel that they need to be loyal to a company that is not loyal to them.”
In this workshop, participants learn to imbed trust throughout the organization by practicing specific skills and techniques and
putting these to work everyday on the job.

Length: 1/2 day
Recommended Audience: All employees

Accelerated Learning

Introduction:

Conservative, technically-oriented organizations have long relied on conservative, traditional ways of learning. In today’s
environment, learners are searching for ways to stretch beyond “tried and true” methods in order to ensure that the learning is
truly understood and can be immediately applied.

Objectives:
Accelerated Learning offers techniques, principles and new ideas to help people learn more and learn faster. Accelerated learning
will enable you to:

• Assimilate information faster
• Truly understand the subject matter
• Retain the material over time

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: All employees in a training organization

Designing and Developing Effective Training

Introduction:

This workshop gives participants the skills and techniques they need to design and develop effective instruction applying proven
methods and a systematic development approach. From front-end analysis to piloting the finished product, this course uses
extensive hands-on activities and cases to teach the fundamentals of good instructional design.

Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Use essential needs analysis, design and development tools
• Use proven methods to design professional training
• Apply their skills to their own instructional design cases and receive detailed feedback

Length: 3 days
Recommended Audience: Anyone who participates in the design and development of training programs, including: SMEs who
develop their own courses, HR practitioners seeking to specialize in training, instructors who must design training, developers who
want proven methods to develop courses, and training managers looking for training tools and standards.

Job Aid Design and Development

Introduction

Are you tasked with designing job aids to leverage training in a variety of environments and for a range of needs? You will review
the characteristics of seven types of job aids and their expanding role in the workplace. Explore examples and participate in design
exercises to clarify the characteristics of different job aid formats. And, you’ll have the opportunity to apply the design process to
your own job-related projects

Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, you will be able to:
• Determine when to use job aids.
• Select a job aid format.
• Select media.
• Select the appropriate job aid formats:
o step
o worksheet
o look-up table
o decision table
o flow chart
o checklist
o combination

Length: 1 day
Recommended Audience: Trainers, course developers and project managers involved in development, editing or testing of
training programs

Train-the-Trainer

Introduction:

Everyone knows that being a "learning organization" can improve a business' competitiveness. Yet for most companies, training is
only an added cost of doing business. Even if you can't track every dollar, you know that training cuts into production time, is often
uneven in quality, and that timing is a big headache.   Our train-the-trainer program:
• Enables employees to design the training they need when they need it
• Provides training and re-training "just in time"
• Translates into higher productivity and reductions in errors and waste
• Helps new employees quickly climb the learning curve to full productivity
• Maximizes learning achieved in formal classrooms training as well as one-on-one coaching and group problem solving
• Trains a wide range of employees to be better trainers and learners

Most train-the-trainer programs teach in-house staff to present a specific program, often designed by the vendor. We guide your
staff in being able to present content that you specify, but more importantly we prepare your staff to develop more effective
training no matter what the content. They also learn to identify and promote learning for themselves and others whenever
necessary.

Length: 2 days
Recommended Audience: Trainers