HR Strategic Development Team

Training Courses 2014

Through discussions with Faculties and Services and requests that the HR Strategic Development team have received to date, a series of one day workshops have been organised to help staff meet development needs identified as a requirement.

A particular aim of the courses is to equip staff with the skills they need to help provide a good standard of customer service, enhancing the student experience.

If a member of staff would like to attend the courses listed below please could they complete the Individual Learning Needs template attached to this document. Places will be allocated in relation to information provided on the document.

If you have any queries about the content of any of the courses detailed please do not hesitate to contact Natalie via the following contact details.

Natalie Bell – , ex 3440

To book a place on any of the courses please contact Isabel Hunt at , ex 2431

Best wishes

The HR Strategic Development Team

MINUTE TAKING

4th March, Edinburgh 312

Duration – 9.30am-4.30pm

Overview

During this practical course you will learn how to take effective minutes at meetings. You will develop a note-taking strategy that will help you decide what to note and what to leave out. It will reduce the amount of notes you take and ensure all the important details are noted. As a result it will reduce stress and anxiety.

You will learn to plan and prepare for the meeting and examine an agenda that benefits you, your chairperson and the members. You will determine how to produce minutes that are easy to read and follow and apply writing skills to develop your punctuation, grammar and sentence structure, giving you minutes that are clear and succinct. You will learn how to ensure your minutes create action by the group members.

This course will help you to feel more confident when taking and producing minutes.

Who will benefit?

This course is for all office professionals required to take minutes at meetings.

Content

Meeting preparation and meeting cycle

Three types of agenda

How the chairperson can help

Blocks to listening and concentration

Your role – noting apologies, minutes previous meeting & matters arising

No verbatim

Noting opinions, problems and outcomes

Confidence to speak up

Minutes structure and layout

Create clear actions

Remove superfluous writing

Improve grammar, punctuation and sentence structure

Please request places by Tuesday 25th February

ASSERTIVENESS

25th February, Edinburgh 312Duration – 9.30am-4.30pm

Overview

This courses asks you to challenge existing behaviours and habitual responses and decide how assertive you currently are at work, home and socially. It explores an array of assertive communication skills which are applied to situations that are important to you. This course is for everyone, regardless of position or stature. Adjusting inbuilt behaviour patterns, it has to be said, doesn’t happen over night, though this course will show you how to start by looking at expressing honest and direct views, ideas and feelings to people around you (work, home, socially). When the skills are learnt and used consistently they can have a dramatic impact on a person’s life.

Duration:9.30am-4.30pm

During the course you will:

Reflect upon your assertiveness

Define assertive behaviour and how you influence your ‘Bill of Rights’

Evaluate when you are (and are not) assertive at home, work and socially and decide upon development areas

Explore types of behaviour and decide what is means to be assertive

Use assertive body language and voice tone

Practice using assertive body language and voice tone to create ‘coherence’ in all communication (including topics to follow)

Say what you mean

Determine if your communication is indirect with qualifications and elaborations

Disclose what you think or feel in a clear and direct manner to guarantee your meaning is interpreted correct

Be accountable for yourself

Take responsibility of own decisions and actions without blaming or judging others

Practice saying “No” in a manner that does not cause offence

Make requests and ask for what you want; take the initiative

Stand up for yourself

Judge your reaction to hostile situations and decide how helpful it is, determine other assertive reactions

Explore ‘put-downs’ (on our looks, intelligence and behaviour) and choose assertive responses

Practice expressing feelings and apply a structure to confronting someone who has angered or upset you

Develop understanding

Question if you give others the right to their ‘Bill of Rights’

Use acknowledgement and empathy to show others you appreciate their view

Please request places by Tuesday 18th February

Individual Learning Requirements

Name / Faculty/Service
Date / Course

Thank you for interest in attending a training course organised in conjunction with the Organisation and Staff Development team. Before we can book your place on the course you have requested, we would be grateful if you could work with your line manager to complete and return the template below which will help to clarify and define your desired learning outcomes from your attendance at the Staff Development event

  1. How was the development need identified?

  1. What are you hoping to achieve from the development opportunity?

  1. What is your expected learning outcome(s)? (For example to be able to complete spreadsheets using formulas or carry out appraisal meetings with staff implementing the correct appraisal process)

  1. What is your current level of skill/experience and what level are you hoping to achieve?

  1. How does the training link to your individual, team or Faculty/Service priorities?

  1. How will you use the learning once you are back in the workplace? How will you measure your success and progress?