HUMAN RESOURCES TOPICS
The following courses are offered in 1 hr, 2 hr, and 4 hr sessions depending upon the outcome level desired.
1. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES I
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was signed by President Bush in July of 1990 and covers most employers with 15 or more employees. It was created to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities. One of its most important goals is to give equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with disabilities.
First we will determine which employees are covered by ADA. Then we’ll discuss how to handle pre-employment inquiries. Then we will go over how you should proceed with inquiries and examinations after a conditional offer of employment has been made. Next we’ll concentrate on which events disqualify employees.
Finally we will explore the meaning of “undue hardship.”
2. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES II
First we will determine which employees are covered by ADA. Then we’ll discuss how to handle pre-employment inquiries. Then we will go over how you should proceed with inquiries and examinations after a conditional offer of employment has been made. Next we’ll concentrate on which events disqualify employees.
Finally we will explore the meaning of “undue hardship.”
3. EFFECTIVE BUSINESS WRITING
This training session focuses on the essential elements of effective business writing.
Many of your job functions involve written communication. Writing letters, memos, E-mail, job procedures, employee guidelines, and reports are part of your daily responsibilities. In addition, people judge you by the way you write. It is a reflection of your professional image. Therefore, the ability to express yourself clearly and accurately in writing has a direct impact on your success in your job.
4. DEALING WITH CHALLENGING EMPLOYEES
Many organizations face the arduous task of having to manage difficult employees. Supervising other people is never easy, and some employees make it particularly difficult.
You must be prepared to deal with workers who complain, goof off, spread rumors, and display anger. These employees often are not productive and can harm the morale of others who have to work with them. It is important to deal with these problem behaviors before they get out of hand.
When you have a disagreement with a difficult employee, the impact can be felt throughout the company. Your difficult worker may ignore your message and make it tough for you to lead and ensure continued productivity if the disagreement spreads and affects other employees.
Why not fire the employee? This might seem like the logical answer, but often it is the most shortsighted approach. You need to consider the time and money needed to recruit, hire, and train replacement workers. You should also consider the potential unemployment compensation benefits or even a wrongful termination lawsuit. And it is important to keep in mind that firing hurts employee morale.
5. Effective Communication Skills
This training session will focus on the skills required for effective communication.
Communication is the process by which people create and share information and ideas with one another in order to reach mutual understanding.
Effective communication with your employees is therefore the foundation of your work relationships.
6. Americans with Disabilities Part I
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) was signed by President Bush in July of 1990 and covers most employers with 15 or more employees. It was created to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities. One of its most important goals is to give equal employment opportunities to qualified individuals with disabilities.
Supervisors make many hiring, promotion, and job assignment decisions. So they should understand how ADA defines disability. They also must be able to look past disabilities to focus on each individual’s ability to do a job.
7. Why is Talking About Diversity Important?
Today we will be covering some important issues, such as: what diversity means, why it is important to employers, the legal requirements that drive diversity—in terms of the equal employment opportunity laws as well as additional prohibitions against workplace harassment—who can commit and experience harassment in the workplace, when a company becomes liable for such harassment, our company’s commitment to promoting and preserving a diverse workplace, and, perhaps most important, the role and responsibility of every employee in keeping our company in compliance with the law and meeting our policy objectives.
8. Family Medical Leave Act, Part I
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was signed into law in 1993, in response to a growing national concern about balancing work and family Responsibilities.
The FMLA was created in response to the needs of a workforce whose demographics had changed drastically. One major demographic change was the influx of women, including those of childbearing age and mothers of small children, into the workforce. Another change has been the “graying” of the workforce. The post-World War II “baby boomers” are maturing, so issues such as disability leaves, medical costs, and insurance coverage have become of prime concern.
The FMLA reflects these realities. It was created to protect workers from losing their jobs when they need time off to address critical personal and family matters.
9. Family Medical Leave Act, Part II
As we saw in Part I of this presentation, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was created to meet the needs of today’s workforce. FMLA allows employees to balance the demands of their workplace with personal and family needs by taking leave for specified reasons. Are your employees entitled to this benefit? And, if so, do you know how to handle a request for time off under FMLA?
We will continue to answer whatever questions you may have about the FMLA in Part II of this presentation, where we will go over benefit, reinstatement, and termination issues.
10. Interviewing Skills
After screening résumés and applications, face-to-face interviews determine which of the candidates who have met your basic qualifications are best for a particular job.
Supervisors should know how to plan and conduct an effective interview. They also have to be able to ask questions that will reveal candidates’ strengths and weaknesses without straying into legally questionable areas. This presentation will help you do just that.
11. Managing Change
Companies that do not make changes within their organization will not remain competitive— whether that change comes in the form of merger, acquisition, product, service, technology, or downsizing.
Due to massive changes in technology over the past few years, companies are in a constant state of change. With today’s business environment, a business that is not selling its product on the Internet may be doomed to fail. Employees who are not willing to upgrade their skills to help their organization compete in today’s market will make the company’s productivity suffer.
Some people thrive on change. You know who they are—just take a look at the new dot.com companies. Their leaders appear brave, ambitious, and adventurous. They seem to relish the challenges and opportunities their business brings.
Most people, however, are somewhat uncomfortable with change. Change brings uncertainty. The future is out of their control. Quite often, people who are afraid of change have been working in the same environment for many years. They view change as something to dread. They may experience mild annoyance, outright anxiety, or even severe stress. All of these reactions are perfectly normal.
Put yourself in their shoes. They have been with a company for X number of years. Suddenly, the company has merged with another. Will they lose their job? Will they lose their management position? How does this change affect their benefits?
Change involves a loss of the comfortable and the familiar, and it requires that an effort be made—sometimes a considerable effort—to learn and adjust to the new way. Understanding the factors that drive change, and how people within the organization react to it, is an important first step toward success.
12. Winning Techniques for Motivating Employees
This training session will focus on a variety of proven techniques for successfully motivating your employees to achieve company and department goals.
Motivating employees is one of the most important parts of your job. Productive, well-trained employees who work hard to perform at their best every day make an organization strong and successful.
13. Performance Evaluations Principals and Systems
The overall objectives of an employee performance evaluation program are to measure, maintain, and improve job performance.
Most evaluation programs also try to:
- Provide a framework of goals and standards from which to measure performance.
- Serve as a tool to determine salary increases based on a worker’s contribution to the organization.
- Develop action and training plans to correct performance problems.
- Establish goals for the next period.
- Identify employees who should be promoted or given greater esponsibility.
- Act as a forum for individual career-development issues.
- Assure a formal time and place for all these events to occur.
Performance appraisals also should be seen as a way to help foster employee commitment to the company.
By keeping the lines of communication open between employees and management for the honest exchange of information, a climate of mutual understanding can be established where both job satisfaction and productivity will increase.
Additionally, appraisals can assist supervisors with information needed for strategic planning purposes—such as the identification of future training needs and the prediction of performance on present and future job.
There’s also a great opportunity to get valuable employee feedback about the organization and the employee’s job. Ask the employee open-ended questions regarding their work and environment. Listen to what they have to say—it could be a great lesson.
14. Progressive Steps of Discipline
Whenever you terminate an employee, make sure you have sound reasons for doing so. You want to make sure your employees understand company policy and what the results are if they violate that policy. And you want to apply this policy equally and fairly to all employees.
Most employees do not commit repeated violations of company policy or run afoul of expected employment conduct. But when they do, you may find you need to incorporate a form of discipline to keep the offensive conduct in check. That’s called progressive discipline.
Progressive discipline is a method of imposing discipline in steps, with a first offense meriting light punishment and subsequent offenses receiving progressively harsher penalties. Typically, the punishment begins with oral warnings and can progress to termination.
Many businesses have found progressive discipline an effective means of protecting against wrongful discharge claims.
15. Sexual Harassment, What is and Isn’t Acceptable Part I
We are committed to maintaining a respectful and dignified workplace for all employees. Sexual harassment interferes with and needlessly undermines an otherwise respectful and dignified workplace.
As borne out by recent multimillion-dollar settlements, defending against a charge of sexual harassment can also be an extremely costly exercise, resulting in further bottom-line losses.
Formal complaints of sexual harassment are on the rise. There has been an increase in the number of sexual harassment complaints filed with the EEOC. For example, the EEOC has reported that the total number of sexual harassment charges has increased from 10,532 in 1992 to 15,618 in 1998.
All types of employers have fallen victim to sexual harassment charges: the government, the armed forces, large and international corporations such as Wal-Mart and Mitsubishi, and even local Ma & Pa stores. No organization is immune, including ours. This training session is designed to help us gain a better understanding of what sexual harassment is and isn’t so we can provide a secure environment for employees and avoid costly lawsuits.
16. Sexual Harassment, What is and Isn’t Acceptable Part II
As we’ve seen in Part I of this presentation, sexual harassment is a negative and costly problem for many organizations. We learned that the key to whether an act constitutes sexual harassment is if the behavior is unwelcome and based on sex.
We also learned any employee can commit sexual harassment, as well as customers and clients of an employer. During this second part, we will take a look at what isn’t sexual harassment. We’ll also learn about when an employer is liable and how to avoid liability with a strong sexual harassment policy.
17. The Termination Process I
This training session will focus on what you need to know—from the legal issues to the practical steps involved—when handling the termination process.
Firing an employee is probably a supervisor’s most unpleasant responsibility. No matter what the reason for the termination, misgivings, resentment, bitterness, and other strong emotions usually surface.
To further complicate matters, discharging an employee isn't as straightforward as it used to be. Congress and the courts have greatly expanded employees' rights in recent years, resulting in greater employer liability. A combination of federal and state laws, and numerous court decisions designed to protect employees, have limited employer’s rights to terminate.
Of all the different phases of the employment process—hiring, training, promoting, discharging—discharging is the most legally challenged. Termination decisions account for roughly half of all job discrimination claims filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Before you fire an employee, you should have exhausted all other possibilities through appropriate progressive disciplinary actions, and have documented the case thoroughly.
18. The Termination Process II
Firing an employee is never easy. But there’s a right way to terminate workers—and a wrong way—from a legal and management point of view.
What are justifiable, legal reasons for firing? Poor performance, absenteeism, criminal activity. But you must make sure your real reason for termination does not involve discrimination of any sort.
Two of the most common types of employment relationships are employment at will and contract employment. With employment at will, there is no oral or written contract specifying the duration of the employment. Most employment is considered employment at will. Either party may terminate the relationship for any reason—providing no laws are broken.
With contractual relationships, employees have accepted offers of employment— orally or in writing. This contract can also be broken by either party—provided the contract says nothing about the length of time of the working relationship.
Employers must be extremely careful about promises and representations that are made to employees before and during employment. Careless promises can place an employer in an undesirable contractual relationship and remove any right it may have had to terminate an employee without cause.
Most courts still adhere to the employment-at-will rule in some fashion. In most states, courts say that employment at will exists unless the length of employment is fixed by contract or agreement.
19. Principals of Time Management
This training session is designed to help you make better use of your valuable time. The session will focus on practical techniques and information that you can start using right away, today, to gain more control over your busy schedule.
We will cover everything from planning, to prioritizing, to delegating, to controlling the people who control your time. We’ll talk about how to deal more efficiently with meetings, phones, paperwork, interruptions, and emergencies without letting them sidetrack you and sabotage your schedule.
20. Workplace Safety 101
Employers are required by law to minimize workplace hazards in an effort to prevent accidents and illness among their employees. The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 created OSHA (the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and gave this agency the authority to establish safety and health regulations for business and industry nationwide.
OSHA’s workplace safety standards are spelled out in a series of regulations covering a broad range of safety and health issues. These standards apply to employers in every industry.
Some states also have safety regulations for employers who operate in their jurisdictions, and these regulations may be more strict than OSHA standards. Be sure to check your state standards.
Supervisors and managers play a critical role in promoting workplace safety and helping to prevent accidents and occupational illness. Without their active involvement, no safety and health program can achieve its goals.
21. Preventing and Diffusing Workplace Violence
The General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 says that employers must provide employees with a workplace “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.”
Workplace violence qualifies as such a recognized hazard, and it has resulted in death or serious injury to thousands of employees across the nation.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has not established workplace violence regulations. However, the agency has issued guidelines to encourage employers to take action against this threat to employee safety and well-being. The guidelines and other useful information about this issue are available through OSHA regional offices or on-line at OSHA’s Web site (www.osha.gov).
22. Delegating Techniques
This training session will focus on delegation techniques. The ability to delegate effectively is a core proficiency for managers and supervisors. The benefits of delegation are numerous and significant. They are well worth the effort it takes to ensure success.
First, we will talk about what delegation is and how you and your employees can benefit from it. Next, we will review the steps in the delegation process.
Then, we'll discuss the importance of giving as well as getting feedback about delegated jobs.
And we'll talk about why delegation can fail and how to prevent failure.
Finally, we will wrap up the training session with a brief review, a summary, and quiz.
23. Immigration and Hiring
This training session will focus on immigration and hiring.
It is against the law to hire illegal aliens.
But the same law also prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and job applicants on the basis of national origin or citizenship status.
You need to be aware of both these requirements of the law and understand how they affect hiring practices and procedures.
First, we will talk about the basic requirements of the Immigration Reform and Control Act. Next, we will review the forms of documentation that can be used to verify the status of employees.
Then we will discuss your responsibility for ensuring completion of the I-9 form.
We’ll also discuss 10 steps for avoiding discriminatory hiring practices under the immigration law.
24. Project Management - Planning Phase
This training session will focus on the planning phase of project management.
A project is a means to an end, a strategy for accomplishing a special purpose.
Projects are unique undertakings that fulfill a need or solve a problem for you or the organization.
They involve a specific set of activities different from other, routine work.
They have a clearly defined beginning and end. No matter how long they may last, projects are still temporary endeavors.
Projects have definite goals and require well-planned strategies to meet these goals.
They usually involve a variety of resources—labor, materials, equipment, funding, etc. Responsibility for managing projects is often part of your job. This session is designed to help you better understand the planning phase of project management so that when you have to manage your next project, you can fulfill your responsibilities more effectively and successfully.
25. Project Management - Implementing a Project
If it has been a while since participants completed Part I of Project Management, Planning a Project, you may wish to briefly review the material covered in that training session before proceeding with this session.
This training session will focus on implementing projects. When all the planning is done and the project plan has been reviewed, revised, and approved, work can begin.
Your role during the implementation phase of a project becomes a familiar mix of activities. You will be responsible for coordinating, leading,
During this session, we will discuss the varied and crucial responsibilities of a project manager.
