Overview/Description

Establishing a positive and respectful coaching relationship is integral to the success of your coaching efforts. It lays the groundwork for accomplishing the goals you and your coachee set. This course highlights the importance of a strong coaching relationship. It describes how to establish rapport with your coachee by showing interest, finding common ground, and matching your coachee's demeanor and language. In addition, the course covers ways to develop a positive coaching relationship, including letting coachees act autonomously and take responsibility, and helping them to learn and develop. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Managers who need and want to develop their business coaching skills

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

An important part of any coaching session is asking the right questions. When you do this, your coachees will be more focused, attentive, and proactive in finding their own solutions. But you need to know what questions to ask, and in what order. It helps to follow a structured approach that guides you from a broad understanding of what your coachee is trying to achieve to a clear action plan with detailed steps. This course describes how to carry out effective coaching sessions, including clarifying the coachee's situation and recognizing and determining the best options for your coachee to work with. Finally, the course provides actions for wrapping up a coaching session, including getting commitment, identifying obstacles, creating a plan with deadlines, and agreeing on support going forward. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Managers who need and want to develop their business coaching skills.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Coaching offers organizations a win-win method for developing their employees. It not only helps individuals reach their potential but also helps the organization improve its productivity and competitiveness. In a rapidly changing business world, coaching can also help employees adjust and adapt their skill sets. Coaching is about encouraging, confronting, challenging, questioning, as well as consistently respecting and supporting coachees in developing and achieving their goals. This course introduces the skills you need to be an effective coach, including listening and observing, providing feedback, questioning, and setting goals. It also covers how to identify which coaching role is most appropriate for a given individual or situation. The course also details the importance of selling the idea of coaching to those you feel need it. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Managers who want to develop their business coaching skills.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Every coachee has different needs, and an effective coach can identify those needs and tailor a coaching style to maximize results.  Coaches typically use two general coaching styles – directive and nondirective – depending on their coachee's skill and motivation, as well as how far along they are in the coaching relationship.  This course highlights the importance of using an appropriate coaching style with your coachee.  Specifically, you will learn how to use different techniques for directive and nondirective coaching.

Target Audience

Managers who need and want to develop their business coaching skills.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Good planning gives your company a competitive advantage. However, a large proportion of the planned strategy often fails to materialize. This isn't because of unforeseeable events but because the plans lack reality, failing to fully assess the implementation capabilities of the organization and its position within the environment. Executable strategy begins with a clearly-defined strategic direction that considers existing strategy, as well as internal and external influences. Strategic themes then enable an organization to develop a workable strategy that aligns with its goals. This course covers the criteria for creating an executable strategy. It helps you to develop a strategy by demonstrating how to evaluate strategic initiatives and then prioritize, assign accountability, and translate those initiatives into short-term actionable targets. The course also shows you how to direct your organization's strategy by appropriately allocating resources to make those actions a reality. And it focuses on how to create a strategy that's planned, integrated, measurable, and supportable.

Target Audience

Anyone who wants to initiate the conditions, implement the strategies, and provide support for business execution in their organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Creating exceptional strategy doesn't on its own guarantee it'll be executed successfully. Your people must develop an understanding of the strategy, and your work processes must be tightly aligned to maximize organizational performance. So how do you communicate strategy and secure alignment? Strategy needs to be translated from high-level themes into individual strategic goals. Otherwise, the strategy will be difficult to execute. Operational processes must work together to achieve goals because strategic progress is faster when business units are aligned, rather than working in isolation. This course offers techniques for effectively communicating a common understanding of the mission, values, and vision that drives your strategy. You'll learn how to cascade balanced scorecard objectives to help employees understand how department strategy and their personal work connect to organizational goals. The course also explains the importance of incentives to achieve objectives and of evaluating organizational competencies to develop employees who can execute your organizational strategy.

Target Audience

Anyone who wants to initiate the conditions, implement the strategies, and provide support for business execution in an organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Execution isn't over once strategies have been implemented. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation of strategic implementation are needed to ensure the strategy continues to create value and that changes in circumstances are taken into account. Strategy is useless if it's static. Good execution requires a dynamic approach that scrutinizes the strategy's effectiveness at junctures and reacts by revising it if necessary. This course considers the importance of continually monitoring and evaluating strategy to ensure good execution. It looks at methods of monitoring the execution of strategy, such as actions plans, dashboards, strategic review meetings, and measuring employee engagement. And it demonstrates a four-step process for evaluating executed strategy and examines the methods of effectively revising strategy.

Target Audience

Anyone who wants to initiate the conditions, implement the strategies, and provide support for business execution in their organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Business Execution: Monitoring and Evaluating Initiatives

Overview/Description

Business managers are usually comfortable formulating strategy to enhance business outcomes. But what happens when plans fail to translate to reality? Why is business execution so difficult? Delivery is vital to the survival of all organizations, yet unclear plans, unsuitable workforces, and limited resources can have a detrimental effect on the best strategic ideas. Good leadership, having the right people in the right roles, and a business culture that's focused on getting the job done are the cornerstones to building and maintaining a company that can execute its strategy. This course will review the drivers of business execution and the fundamental concepts that companies need to pay attention to in order to realize their plans. The course looks at the leadership behaviors that foster actionable strategy, as well as the value of selecting the right people for the right roles. It also considers how to create and manage a 'get it done' culture.

Target Audience

Anyone who wants to initiate the conditions, implement the strategies, and provide support for business execution in their organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Globalization, diversity, outsourcing, virtual teams, downsizing, and changing forms of work are just some of the challenges facing companies today. Managers must be prepared to deal with the organizational issues that such challenges give rise to. Whether you're in Human Resources, a manager of a large department, or the leader of your team, you have to be able to constantly improve the organizational dynamics in your workplace. To do this, you need to start with the individual, which means you need to be able to recognize and work with different individual behaviors, attitudes, and perceptions. This course defines organizational behavior and identifies the variables and characteristics that influence an individual's attitudes and perceptions in the workplace, and how these can affect performance. And it shows how you can improve the attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors of employees at an individual level within your organization.

Target Audience

Human Resource personnel, managers, supervisors, team members, and anyone who is interested in improving individual and group behavior within the organization

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Groups are a key component in any organization, so knowing how they function best is vital when trying to understand organizational behavior. Working in groups has key advantages for organizations, such as fostering creativity, pooling skills, and improving decision-making and performance. But groups aren't always effective, so it's important to identify what makes groups effective and learn how to deal with obstacles that groups encounter. In addition to explaining the characteristics of successful groups, this course provides guidance on how to address employee resistance to collaboration, priority conflict problems within groups, and various other conflicts within groups.

Target Audience

Human Resource personnel, managers, supervisors, team members, and anyone who is interested in improving individual and group behavior within the organization

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Today's leaders must be able to communicate vision in such a way that the audience is engaged and everyone understands and internalizes the message. Effective leadership communication gives purpose and meaning to the work that people do. Leaders should strive to communicate vision with a sense of integrity, building trust as an individual and as a leader. This course provides a general introduction to vision communication, including its nature and its purpose. You will be guided through numerous techniques and methods for a leader to successfully communicate vision, such as personalizing and multiplying a clear message, communicating enthusiasm in an authentic way, and making the organization's vision the employees' own vision. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Supervisors, managers, directors, and individuals wanting to develop their leadership skills

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Poised, outgoing, cheerful, having empathy for others, being able to express feelings directly but appropriately, and having the capacity for developing relationships. All of these abilities distinguish individuals with high emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is a more reliable predictor of success than intellect! Leaders with a strong mixture of emotional awareness, self-management, and social skills navigate relationships more effectively and are more likely to be successful in their personal and professional lives. This course provides you with an understanding of why emotional intelligence abilities are important as a leader. It also provides you with practical, positive techniques for promoting and improving emotional intelligence as a leader within your business environment.

Target Audience

Individuals, supervisors, managers, and directors. The course would also be suitable for those executives wishing to refresh their leadership skills.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Creating a positive work environment and maintaining positive employee relationships is important for many reasons. Organizations that have positive employee relations are more likely to have engaged and productive employees. Such organizations have employee-friendly policies that foster positive attitudes and cooperation. Weak employee relationships, on the other hand, can lead to complaints, disciplinary problems, and a dysfunctional work environment. This course deals with various aspects of employee relations. You'll learn about the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees, international and third-party stakeholders who affect employee relations, the role of regulations and unions, and the challenges in building and maintaining positive employee relations.

Target Audience

This course is aimed at junior- or senior-level human resource professionals, HR managers, and all individuals preparing for the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP certification examinations of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Compensation and benefits analysts, administrators, staffing managers, and recruiters will also have interest in this certification path. Courses in this curriculum are created keeping in mind certification as well as noncertification users of the content. While the curriculum helps learners to prepare for the SHRM certification exams, it is equally useful for HR professionals who want to develop capabilities for improving their effectiveness in the workplace and advancing their careers.

Expected Duration (hours)

2.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Imagine what your organization would be like if you and your colleagues were not motivated. Motivation is what drives people to accomplish things, whether it be small tasks or large undertakings. Without motivation, things simply would not get done. The ability to create an environment that encourages motivation takes both practice and skill as it's not a quality inherent in most people. As a leader, your capacity for motivating plays a key element in the success of your organization. This course provides you with an understanding of why motivating strategies are important as a leader. It also provides you with practical techniques for encouraging motivation among employees in your organization.

Target Audience

Supervisors, managers, directors, and individuals who want to develop their leadership skills

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Every manager dreams of having more time to finish the never-ending work that comes with the role. And while you can't use some magic trick to stretch out the hours in a day, you can delegate certain tasks. With appropriate and deliberate planning, this can free up precious time so you can focus on your essential to-do's while still accomplishing everything on your list. This course details what delegation is, and the benefits it offers managers, employees, and the organization. These include saving time and money, developing employees' skills and capabilities, and encouraging accountability. The course also outlines some of the qualities that successful delegators possess, such as trust in their employees and a willingness to take risks. Finally, it covers the different styles of delegation, including when it's most appropriate to use each one.

Target Audience

Managers who want to develop or refine their skills in delegating work to employees.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Like most other skills required to manage employees effectively, delegation is something that improves with practice and experience. But few managers, regardless of their level of experience, can delegate tasks perfectly each time. The root of the problem may be the manager's lack of certain delegation skills. Or perhaps the employee lacks ability or has a poor attitude. In either case, managers need proven techniques for overcoming delegation challenges. This course details methods that managers can use to address their own delegation errors, such as improving communication about tasks and distributing tasks more equally. It also provides techniques managers can use to address skills-based delegation problems with employees, such as providing additional training and time-management coaching. Finally, it covers some effective practices for dealing with employees who lack confidence and motivation when presented with new tasks.

Target Audience

Managers who want to develop or refine their skills in delegating work to employees.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Delegating work to employees isn't simply a matter of off-loading whatever tasks you don't want to do yourself. Effectively delegating tasks as a manager requires careful planning, selection, and follow-up. This course explores the process of delegation and describes techniques that managers can employ to delegate tasks effectively. Specifically, it examines the criteria for choosing which tasks to delegate and identifying the appropriate employee for the task. It also details what actions you should take when assigning the task, such as communicating the details of the task, and providing employees with what they require to successfully complete the task. Finally, the course includes techniques for monitoring the employee performing delegated tasks to ensure things stay on track, and it outlines best practices for providing feedback to the employee.

Target Audience

Managers who want to develop or refine their skills in delegating work to employees.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Imagine for a minute that you work in a place where everyone is the same. All of your coworkers are of the same ethnicity, gender, educational background, and socioeconomic standing. Would you be able to easily generate new ideas? Would the group have the ability to understand things from a different point of view? Without diversity in the workplace, organizations run the risk of becoming monocultural and only viewing things from a very limited perspective. The organization provides the structure for operation of the business and often defines the culture, but it's the individuals interacting within the organization who carry out the mission of the organization. Rather than address the legal underpinnings and requirements related to diversity, this course focuses on how to leverage the diversity that exists within the organization. It defines diversity and dispels some common myths that surround the topic of diversity. The importance of diversity within the ever-changing workplace is described, including the impact of globalization. This course also discusses the barriers and challenges that must be overcome in order to create a diversified working environment. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Individuals who have an interest in cultivating their understanding of diversity in the workplace.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Do you want to take the guesswork out of determining your company's future and avert a crisis if key positions are left vacant? Building a talent pool for your organization is a deliberate, systematic effort to find high-potential employees for key positions within your workforce. It's a smart business decision to assess current and future talent. In this course, you will learn about the process for determining the availability of talent. It covers the criteria for identifying key positions and the importance of planning for future key positions in your company. This involves ensuring you know what competencies are needed to perform the duties for key jobs by performing an analysis, competency identification, and a rating for each key position. The course also explores how performance appraisals alone are not enough to determine your talent pool. For maximum effectiveness, you should combine them with individual potential assessments to find high-potential employees for key jobs for your present and future workforce needs.

Target Audience

Managers, business leaders, HR professionals, or individuals needing to initiate, develop, and implement succession planning within an organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Behavioral-based interviewing is becoming the norm as people realize its effectiveness in predicting what a candidate's behavior and performance are likely to be in the position for which they are interviewing. In behavioral interviews, you ask questions that get the candidates to describe how they handled real situations in the past. This enables you to find out not just what the candidates did but how they did it. Candidates can then be assessed based on actual behaviors that are related to the competencies for the job, rather than on possible or potential behaviors or performance. This course describes the characteristics of behavioral-based interviewing, how to develop behavioral-based questions, and then how to ask those questions effectively in an interview.

Target Audience

Anyone who wants to develop or refine their hiring and interviewing skills.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Proper preparation is crucial to ensure a good interview. But all your preparation will be useless if you don't follow some important guidelines when conducting the employment interview. Opening the interview properly and establishing a sound format are key. You must also be mindful of the functions of different question types and styles so you can use them effectively during an interview. Finally, you will want to close the interview on a positive note. This course describes how to proceed with a face-to-face to interview. It covers how to open an interview well, what types of questions to ask, and how to close the interview.

Target Audience

Anyone who wants to develop or refine their hiring and interviewing skills.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Conducting effective interviews is as much an art as it is a science. You need to use your instinct and discernment, but solid preparation is equally important. Preparing properly helps you evaluate candidates accurately and fairly, helps to create a positive impression, and shows that you are professional. It can also help you avoid common errors such as talking too much, or asking close-ended questions that tell you little about the candidate. Proper preparation can help you avoid legal troubles as well. This course covers key issues to consider when preparing to interview. It describes the importance of determining an interview structure, writing out some questions beforehand, and scheduling the interview effectively. It also identifies common interviewing errors. Finally, it describes how to avoid unfair practices when you interview candidates.

Target Audience

People who want to develop or refine their hiring and interviewing skills.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Finding the right person for the job takes a lot of work, and much of this work is done prior to the actual interview. Before you can even start looking for candidates, you need to create a description of the job you want to fill. How would you interview someone if you didn't know the responsibilities required for the job? A good job description, based on a thorough job analysis, will help you evaluate applicants' resumes effectively. You'll be able to compare the resumes against the requirements in the description and make effective decisions about who should be interviewed. This course describes the key components of job descriptions and how to use them to screen resumes. You'll also learn how to identify red-flag issues in the resumes you are screening.

Target Audience

Anyone who wants to develop or refine their hiring and interviewing skills.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Selecting the final candidate for a job requires careful attention. Even though you're getting close to the end of the hiring process, you can't simply coast now. You need to manage the decision-making process in a disciplined and intelligent way. It's important to remain objective when assessing candidates, drawing on job-related data, rather than letting personal biases steer you away from your hiring criteria. Following a logical system in making your decision will mean you find the candidate who will make a strong contribution to your organization. This course describes how to evaluate candidates using a structured and objective process. It also explains how to effectively check references and make an offer.

Target Audience

Anyone who wants to develop or refine their hiring and interviewing skills.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

By gathering information from many different people, a 360-degree appraisal gives a complete portrait of behavior on the job – one that looks at people from multiple perspectives. This type of appraisal incorporates feedback from peers, managers, customers, and direct reports, as well as from the appraisee. And when feedback from all these sources is presented in a way that enables people to plan for improvement, it can bring about real, measurable changes in people's behavior. This course provides an overview of the steps involved in carrying out a 360-degree appraisal. It then focuses on two key steps: gathering feedback and delivering the feedback

Target Audience

Anyone who wants to develop or refine their skills for planning and delivering employee performance appraisals

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

If you were to poll a group of managers about how comfortable they feel conducting appraisals, you would probably find few saying they feel completely comfortable. Conducting appraisals isn't easy but it's an important part of a manager's job. Regularly appraising your employees' job performance can reinforce outstanding performance, as well as help your direct reports improve below average performance. This increases productivity and helps you build better relationships with your team. To increase your comfort level with conducting appraisals, you should try to become familiar with the areas to be covered during the actual meeting and with skills and techniques for addressing the appraisee. This course describes ways to prepare for appraisal meetings, as well as how to carry out those meetings effectively by following certain steps and guidelines. In particular, it demonstrates what to do when an employee becomes emotional during an appraisal.

Target Audience

Managers who wish to develop or refine their skills for planning and delivering employee performance appraisals

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

A plan for implementing a sustainability strategy stands a much greater chance of success if the essential players in an organization back it. Implementation of sustainability initiatives varies by organization and by sector, and because no steadfast procedural rules exist, these initiatives must be carefully planned. When implementing sustainability practices, you need to make sure those practices align with corporate strategy, and you need to establish some performance metrics to establish baselines and measure progress. Knowing the type of metrics you'll be collecting can help you plan the methods you'll use to report on your sustainability initiatives. These two considerations are as important as the physical implementation of the plan itself. This course covers ways to align corporate and sustainability strategies, as well as ways to measure your sustainability performance. It provides examples of how companies can implement sustainability strategies and discusses the importance of reporting sustainability results accurately. The way that companies market their sustainability efforts is also important to consider. Greenwashing a company's image to make it seem more sustainable can backfire and bring unwanted negative attention. This course addresses some of the challenges a company faces when deciding how to market its sustainability initiatives.

Target Audience

Individuals in leadership roles, directors, change agents and influencers, as well as members of any organization considering adopting more sustainable enterprise practices and individuals who want to effect social change within their organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

2.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

While the concepts of green business and sustainable enterprise are not new, they are becoming increasingly vital in today's business climate. Natural resources are being depleted at previously unheard of levels, organizations are faced with new challenges in resource and waste management, and consumers are becoming more curious about the origins and environmental footprint left by the products they consume. Companies willing to accept the challenge of going green and adopting green business practices stand to reap environmental, social, and economic rewards. Many companies currently facing the challenge have survived, and even thrived, to tell about it. This course introduces the concept of sustainability, including sustainability goals and types of sustainability. It outlines the factors that are driving the need for environmental sustainability and explores the social, economic, and environmental benefits of adopting green business practices. The challenges and risks involved with adopting and not adopting such practices are also covered.

Target Audience

Managers who need and want to develop their business coaching skills

Expected Duration (hours)

2.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Environmental sustainability holds a different meaning for every organization and every individual, and although it's implemented in a multitude of ways across industries, there is little disagreement about the urgency and importance that surrounds it. An organization must be willing to commit a great deal of its resources – human, technological, and economic – in order to plan, implement, and maintain a realistic green business sustainability strategy. Within organizations, the emergence of strong leaders, carefully laid plans, and innovative processes can help facilitate success in achieving sustainability goals. This course outlines a method for assessing how much your organization promotes environmental sustainability in its current practices, showing how to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks in relation to adopting green business sustainability practices. It also explores how mandated and voluntary green standards and regulations provide organizations with a framework for developing green business sustainability strategies and help them to communicate their commitment to sustainability. It examines how to plan for sustainability, stressing the need for leadership to make people across the enterprise aware of, and get them to commit to, the principles and objectives of environmental sustainability. The course also outlines how organizations can develop an approach to becoming more green and discusses the kinds of goals that need to be set, pointing to how these goals can affect the innovation process and encourage the development of new technologies.

Target Audience

Individuals in leadership roles, directors, change agents and influencers, as well as members of any organization considering adopting more sustainable enterprise practices and individuals looking to effect social change within their organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

2.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

The key to successful performance appraisals is a clear understanding between manager and employee of what is expected. Chances are if there is no such understanding, the manager will assess performance on the basis of what he or she expects of the employee, and this may be very different from what the employee understood to be the job duties and responsibilities. To avoid this problem, a manager needs to plan for appraisals by clearly laying out the expectations for employee performance and by providing ongoing feedback during the appraisal period. This course explains why performance appraisals are important, describes how to develop an Employee Performance Plan, and outlines ways to monitor ongoing employee performance.

Target Audience

Managers who wish to develop or refine their skills for planning and delivering employee performance appraisals.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Because people sometimes have a negative opinion of politics and politicians, you might to think that politics should be kept out of business organizations. However, organizations are sites where power and influence are exercised, so politics can't always be avoided. The real challenge is to leverage organizational politics in a positive way. This course defines politics in relation to power and influence, distinguishes between negative and positive politicking, and gives instruction on how to be a politically constructive leader in your organization. More specifically, it provides guidance on using positive political actions to promote a course of action and get the best from employees.

Target Audience

Human resource personnel, managers, supervisors, team members, and anyone who is interested in improving the individual and group behavior within their organization

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

A crucial component of optimal team performance is the ability of all team members to openly express their ideas, goals, and needs, as well as share thoughts about each other's performance – both positive and negative. The same principle applies when it comes to receiving feedback. It's far better to hear the truth directly than to assume your performance is the best it can be. In this course, you'll learn how to deliver feedback to other members of your team using a direct, honest, and assertive style that strives to eliminate uncertainty. You'll also learn techniques to help you receive and process feedback provided by other team members. Mastering this feedback loop provides an opportunity to grow as an individual, as well as improve team performance as a whole.

Target Audience

All levels of employees; anyone who participates on any type of team

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Succession planning involves more than just identifying high potentials for key areas and positions. How do you prepare those individuals for future work requirements and performance? And how do you know if your succession planning program is working? You have to systematically close the development gaps between what possible successors can do and what they'll be required to do for future positions. This involves creating individual development plans that meet professional growth expectations and organizational objectives. Once implemented, you then need to monitor your plans to ensure objectives are being met. In this course, you'll learn the steps necessary to implement individual development plans, including how to formulate and develop learning objectives that close the gaps between present and future performance. And you'll explore how to assess your succession planning program and determine its success by using effective measurement criteria.

Target Audience

Managers, business leaders, HR professionals or individuals needing to initiate, develop and implement succession planning within an organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

What if one of your key people suddenly left the position? If this person's role affects your business ventures, direction, and productivity, could you find the talent you need if you only had very little time to do it? Would you scramble trying to replace that person by placing ads, phoning contacts, and taking the first available suitable replacement? You can eliminate such scenarios through succession planning. This can also help you develop talent for your organization for key roles that impact business initiatives and productivity. An effective succession planning program involves seeking out talent from a broad range of sources, assessing leadership potential, involving others in planning for talent, and using various methods to develop and prepare people for advancement. This course explains the importance of succession planning and building a leadership talent pool from within that motivates employees, increases retention of employees, and fortifies your business against the loss of vital people. It outlines the steps needed to create an effective succession planning program, focusing on the first step of the process, initiating the program. This involves learning how to align it with the business strategy and how to promote it internally to gain commitment throughout the organization.

Target Audience

Managers, business leaders, HR professionals, or individuals needing to initiate, develop, and implement succession planning within an organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

To manage well, you need to develop many different skills, among which is the ability to show care and appreciation for your employees. It's important to remember that the people who work for you have hopes, goals, and aspirations as well as fears, anxieties, and doubts. To have good relationships with your direct reports, you need to recognize their humanity and care about them as people, not just as employees. This course describes what it means to be a caring manager. Specifically, it outlines the behaviors that a caring manager exhibits, such as showing genuine interest and an engagement in the lives of employees. This course also describes ways you can show that you are a caring manager. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Individuals in a management role at any level including supervisors, team leaders, professionals, departmental heads, directors, top management, and executives.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

As a manager, you will inevitably encounter direct reports who exhibit difficult behavior, which can disrupt entire teams and departments. It's your job to confront difficult behavior as early as possible to minimize the disruption. Whether they are blatant or less obvious, behavioral problems need to be addressed before they affect morale and productivity. If you ignore them, they will eventually affect your team, your company, and possibly even your career. Confronting behavioral problems as they arise can quickly get things back on track and can lead to a more positive work environment for all. This course introduces best practices for confronting your direct reports about their difficult behavior. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Individuals in a management role at any level including supervisors, team leaders, professionals, departmental heads, directors, top management, and executives.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

As a manager you are most likely juggling multiple responsibilities at once. In order to accomplish everything you have on your plate, you must identify those tasks which can be handled by others familiar with your work so you can focus on the more time-consuming and demanding responsibilities on your list. Trusting your direct reports and delegating some tasks to them is key to performing effectively as a manager and supports employee development. This course covers the best practices for planning delegation, including deciding what specific tasks to delegate, and identifying who you should delegate tasks to. Additionally, the course provides techniques for carrying through delegation, including providing your direct report with all the information they require to carry out the task. Finally, the course covers the importance of monitoring delegated tasks, including checking in and getting feedback on the tasks you delegate. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

All individuals in a management role at any level including supervisors, team leaders, professionals, departmental heads, directors, top management, and executives.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

A main goal of managing is developing your direct reports. This involves not only coordinating their work in a way so your organization's business objectives are met, but also empowering them and providing opportunities for them to meet their own professional development objectives. This course provides an overview of the importance and benefits of developing your direct reports as a manager, and tactical strategies for doing so. Specifically, this involves an examination of the steps required to assess the development needs of your employees by differentiating individual requirements. Also covered is the importance and methods for creating a development plan with your employees based on their individual requirements, and ways to support the development plan by creating opportunities for practice and growth in skills and abilities. Finally, this course introduces ways to continue supporting employees through follow up and monitoring, and ongoing and timely feedback. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

All individuals in a management role at any level including supervisors, team leaders, professionals, departmental heads, directors, top management, and executives.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

As a manager, your role is not only to supervise, but also to lead, develop, and direct your employees both individually and collectively to accomplish organizational goals. Understanding the essential responsibilities you have when directing others, and the practices you should employ in order to meet those responsibilities, will lead to you fulfilling your duties and realizing the potential of your entire team. This course provides information on the key proficiencies you require to effectively direct others. Specifically, the steps for setting direction and establishing clear objectives and goals with your direct reports are explored. The importance of organizing, including organizing resources, is discussed. Finally, communicating for clarity and direction, including listening skills, barriers to effective communication, and tips for overcoming communication barriers are covered. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

All individuals in a management role at any level, including supervisors, team leaders, professionals, departmental heads, directors, top management, and executives.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

The population as a whole is becoming ever more diverse. Naturally, these societal changes are mirrored in the workplace. The most forward-looking organizations recognize the importance of managing a diverse workforce effectively. In turn, those managers who have the skills to lead a diverse team successfully are highly valued. This course describes what diversity is, including its benefits. It also covers how to prepare to manage a diverse team by understanding key diversity issues and setting ground rules. Finally, it delineates techniques for managing a diverse team. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Individuals in a management role at any level, including supervisors, team leaders, professionals, departmental heads, directors, top management, and executives.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Most of us are taught from a very young age to treat everyone fairly, but what does fairness mean in the business environment? Specifically, what role does fairness play when managing people? To be a fair manager, one must be committed to the principles of justice and responsibility, and maintain accountability in the exercise of authority and power. This course focuses on what fairness means in the relationship between managers and their direct reports. It discusses the benefits of treating employees fairly. It also covers areas where showing fairness is most essential – for example, when dealing with different groups and individuals, when distributing information, and when applying standards. Finally, this course provides techniques that you can use in order to demonstrate fairness while managing your direct reports. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Individuals in a management role at any level including supervisors, team leaders, professionals, departmental heads, directors, top management, and executives.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

More than ever, managers appreciate how diversity brings value to an organization. Managed correctly, a diverse workforce, including members from different generations, enhances performance and productivity. The generation in which you grow up is a key influence on your adult behavior, and the different characteristics of each generation can strengthen an organization if properly managed. But stereotypes are pervasive and divert attention from the positive roles that different generations bring to the workforce. Understanding people from different generations prepares managers for the challenges of generational diversity and is a crucial first step in creating a positive work environment. This course describes the common characteristics of the four main generations in the workforce – the Traditionals, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennial Generation. It also introduces the benefits of cross-generational teams.

Target Audience

Individuals who want to develop or refine their skills for managing different workforce generations.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Managing a multigenerational team requires a clear understanding of the diversity of your employees and the strategies needed to help your team benefit from their differences. A generationally diverse workplace has the potential for conflict between younger and older workers, but if you tap into the potential of this diversity and view differences as strengths, you will create a more productive, collaborative, and innovative work environment. This course reviews the potential sources of conflict within a generationally diverse team, including differences in approaches to work and communication. It also covers strategies for managing a multigenerational team in a way that ensures your team members – regardless of differences in approach – feel included, respected, and supported. This course also describes how to implement a mentoring program that takes advantage of the varying experiences and perspectives of multiple generations.

Target Audience

Individuals who want to develop or refine their skills for managing different workforce generations.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Many of the same influences have shaped the lives and work experiences of the newer generations – the Millennials and the Generation Xers. Widespread Internet usage, for example, means that, typically, these generations are adept in technology. Globalization is another shaping influence, with the result that both generations value diversity. At the same time, however, each generation has its own distinct attitudes, priorities, and work habits. By using strategies that recognize the differences, managers can get the best from each generation. This course describes best practices and successful techniques for managing Millennial and Generation X employees.

Target Audience

Individuals who want to develop or refine their skills for managing different workforce generations.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Six Sigma is a data-driven improvement program that focuses on process, product, and service quality and aims to reduce defects, variation, and costs. Six Sigma uses a rigorous and systematic methodology known as DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control) and a number of qualitative and quantitative tools for achieving profitability, customer satisfaction, and quality-related organizational goals. This course will examine how Six Sigma helps organizations achieve their strategic goals. It introduces the key Six Sigma concepts and then moves on to discuss how they help achieve organizational goals by connecting business drivers to Six Sigma metrics and scorecards.

Target Audience

Candidates seeking Six Sigma Green Belt certification; quality professionals, engineers, production managers, and frontline supervisors; process owners and champions charged with the responsibility of improving quality and processes at the organizational or departmental level

Expected Duration (hours)

2.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Dismissing an employee is never an easy task because it can be emotionally difficult. Also, dismissals can impact other employees and the company. If it's the right thing to do and you're well prepared, the dismissal can provide an opportunity for you to educate other employees, and improve employee morale and productivity. Being well prepared for dismissing an employee allows you to handle the dismissal with integrity and fairness. This course covers the benefits of being properly prepared when dealing with employee dismissals. It also provides the steps to help you dismiss an employee properly. The steps include providing clear expectations, giving warnings, making the final decision, and preparing a termination letter.

Target Audience

Managers, professionals, or anyone who wants to understand how to prepare for employee terminations

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

One of the most significant challenges to the growth and survival of any business is finding and retaining qualified employees. It's not enough to offer an appealing or unique product or service to your customers. A company's people are the new competitive advantage. Those responsible for staffing organizations are not only challenged with finding adequate potential employees, but finding the right people for the positions they need to fill. This course explores two aspects of recruitment as one component of a sustainable talent management strategy: attracting the talent needed to meet the company's needs, and using innovative recruiting techniques to find the right people. Learners will explore how to consider the needs of the organization balanced against the expectations and needs of the potential employees who comprise the talent market. The talent market consists of a cross-section of potential employees that spans generations, cultures, languages, and even continents, each of which brings something different to the table and may expect or want something different in return. The course specifically focuses on how to appeal to these recruits by tapping in to what is important to them in a job. It also prepares learners to establish and implement a recruitment strategy. Reflecting the most up-to-date recruitment information, this course provides foundational principles that learners can effectively put to work in their own organizations.

Target Audience

Existing human resource professionals, managers, directors, executives, and business owners working in medium to large organizations, governmental agencies, or nonprofit organizations.

Expected Duration (hours)

2.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Employee retention remains a critical issue that no corporation is immune to. For a company to remain successful and competitive, it must keep its biggest assets – its people – engaged and committed for the long term. It's a known fact that even the most lucrative compensation plan alone is not enough to keep your much-needed employees from moving on, so your organization must utilize successful strategies for retaining employees. This course provides you with an overview of employee retention strategies. Specifically, you'll explore the elements of a high-retention organization and the procedure for implementing a successful retention strategy. This course also covers employee engagement, including identifying and enhancing engagement drivers, measuring engagement, and executing an engagement strategy.

Target Audience

Existing human resource professionals, managers, directors, executives, and business owners working in medium to large organizations, governmental agencies, or nonprofit organizations.

Expected Duration (hours)

2.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Every office seems to have one – a person who seems to need to control every aspect and every detail of any situation or project they're involved with. Whether the motivation comes from a desire to ensure success or simply a need to be the center of attention, micromanagers generally do more harm than good. This course introduces you to the micromanager and explains strategies for how to deal with a micromanager appropriately.

Target Audience

Individuals who want to develop or refresh their communications skills when working with difficult people.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Aggressive people are arguably the most difficult type of people to work with. Hostile-aggressives are openly pushy and can easily intimidate people; passive-aggressives work behind the scenes with hidden agendas. No matter which type of aggressive behavior you have to deal with, aggressive co-workers can easily ruin your day or ruin a project with their behavior. In order to limit the negative impact aggressive people can have, you need a set of tools and techniques at your disposal suited to the particular type of aggressive person you may be dealing with. This course will review the more common behaviors of hostile-aggressive and passive-aggressive people and provide some effective strategies you can use in coping with an aggressor's behavior.

Target Audience

Individuals who want to develop or refresh their communications skills when working with difficult people.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Have you ever dealt with someone at work who tried to get you to agree to something you really didn't want to do? Some people just seem to want things their way, even if it is not the best for the team or organization. During your career, it is likely that you'll come across coworkers who use manipulation to get what they want, and it may be difficult to avoid them. To ensure you don't get caught up in their games, you need to be able to recognize when you're being manipulated and to have the necessary skills to deal with the manipulative behavior. This course provides an overview of manipulative behavior in the workplace and discusses some effective strategies for dealing with it, such as setting healthy boundaries, documenting your interactions, and confronting the manipulative person.

Target Audience

Individuals who want to develop or refresh their communications skills when working with difficult people.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

For some people, nothing is ever good enough. They complain nonstop about everything from their latest project to the weather. Others may whine or place blame where it may not belong. Negative people contribute to an unproductive work environment and tend to make the people around them feel negative as well. To limit the adverse impact negative people can have in the workplace, you need a set of tools and techniques at your disposal suited to the particular type of negative person you may be dealing with. This course delves into the characteristics of some common types of negative people you may encounter within the workplace, and it also discusses strategies you may use to help you deal with their behavior.

Target Audience

Individuals who want to develop or refresh their communications skills when working with difficult people.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Nobody likes it when they have to take up someone else's slack. Perhaps you've been in this situation: a coworker said something would get done, but when the deadline was up, it turned out this person somehow never managed to get around to it. There are a variety of reasons for procrastinators behaving the way they do, but whatever the reason, having procrastinators in the workplace is frustrating and can end up causing even more work for you. To limit the negative impact procrastinators can have in the workplace, you need a set of tools and techniques at your disposal suited to the particular type of procrastinator you may be dealing with. This course discusses the characteristics of some common types of procrastinators you may encounter within the workplace, and strategies you may use to help you deal with their behavior.

Target Audience

Individuals who want to develop or refresh their communications skills when working with difficult people.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Have you ever worked with someone who seems to have an ego the size of a car? Do you ever find yourself having to listen to someone else gossip about other office mates? Self-serving people try to make themselves the center of attention at the expense of others and their habits can be quite destructive. If you work with self-serving people, you need to have the skills required to cope successfully with these individuals. This course will describe self-serving individuals and characterize two common types: arrogant people and busybodies. The strategies that you can use in dealing with these self-serving individuals are also covered.

Target Audience

Individuals who want to develop or refresh their communication skills when working with difficult people.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Inevitably, we all encounter difficult people in the workplace. Dealing with difficult people can lead to feelings of frustration or even intimidation. If you know the right techniques, though, dealing with even the most difficult person is possible. In order to deal with difficult people, first you need to know what kind of difficult person you're dealing with so you can use the right technique for the right 'difficult' type. This course will provide you with methods to help you recognize the characteristics of some of the most common types of difficult people, better understand their motivations, and begin to deal with them more effectively.

Target Audience

Individuals who want to develop or refresh their communications skills when working with difficult people.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Strategic planning provides an understanding of where the organization currently stands and what direction it hopes to take in the future. Human Resources professionals need to understand and become partners in the strategic planning process to ensure alignment between their department's functions and organizational strategy. This course explains the strategic planning process and the role of the human resource function in this process. Key strategic decisions during life cycle stages of an organization and how a cost-benefit analysis can help in making those decisions are discussed. This course also discusses how the HR function can support organizational budgeting – a key strategic planning activity, by providing data such as human capital projections and costs. This course helps prepare individuals for the Human Resource Certification Institute's (HRCI) PHR and SPHR certification examinations.

Target Audience

Human resource professionals who are preparing for the Human Resource Certification Institute's (HRCI) Professional in Human Resources (PHR) or Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification exam.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

This course examines many of the elements of an organization's corporate strategy, the role of the HR function in the strategic planning process, and the key elements in corporate governance. The course focuses on the vital contributions HR professionals often make in the development and organization-wide communication of the mission, vision, values, strategic goals, and objectives. The course will also look at current business and regulatory environments, and how a working knowledge of those areas allows HR professionals to be key contributors in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the organization's strategic plan. Finally, the course will highlight several key elements in the legislative and regulatory process with special reference to US federal laws. This course helps prepare individuals for the Human Resource Certification Institute's (HRCI) PHR and SPHR certification examinations.

Target Audience

Human resource professionals who are preparing for the Human Resource Certification Institute's (HRCI) Professional in Human Resources (PHR) or Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) certification exam.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Many brands fail to deliver what they promise because of a lack of internal focus and engagement in the brand development process. If your employees and organizational culture aren't aligned with your brand, you'll likely fail to deliver the full value potential of your brand. Internal engagement is increasingly being viewed as not only key to effective brand development, but an important driver of customer value. Aligning the brand promise, organizational actions, and the real brand experience helps generate brand staying power and customer loyalty. This course discusses the benefits associated with developing brands through internal engagement and provides instruction on how to approach and implement an internal brand development program. It also provides direction on how to measure and sustain internal branding efforts over time.

Target Audience

Managers and strategic planners who want to develop or refine their strategic brand management skills.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Fulfilling business and organizational goals is at the heart of transformational HR. Where transformational HR is in place, the HR function is directly involved in developing, refining, and implementing an organization's strategic goals. An organization can measure its success only if its end goals are well defined. To define these goals, you must understand your organization and its needs. You can then mobilize the leadership and organizational capabilities to achieve the final result, and ensure all processes are aligned with these goals. This course examines the core functions of HR and demonstrates how you can use these functions to transcend administrative concerns and address the strategic objectives of the organization. It investigates the special transformational roles performed by HR leaders and the specific capabilities required to perform them. Finally, it leads you through the questioning process involved in assessing your organization's readiness for transformational HR. This enables you to determine how well your organization is positioned to support new roles for HR, and identify the changes needed for a successful transition.

Target Audience

Managers, team leaders, human resources, and other professionals who want to evolve the HR Department from a transactional cost center into a strategic business partner in their organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

When HR aligns its initiatives with higher-level business strategy, your organization will be better positioned to achieve its goals. By becoming part of the strategic planning process, HR can help drive the future success of the company because, ultimately, all business objectives are met by the organization's people. By collecting data on meaningful outcomes, HR can steer the organization in the right direction, and design initiatives that directly serve the business strategy. This course explores how HR can improve its strategic value by examining meaningful metrics and demonstrating their connection to business goals. It also examines how HR can then use these metrics to help design strategic initiatives that enable the organization to create value and differentiate itself from competitors.

Target Audience

Managers, team leaders, human resources, and other professionals who want to evolve the HR Department from a transactional cost center into a strategic business partner in their organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

It's often said that people don't like change. But when it comes to organizational change, employees are genuinely interested in making things better – an improvement in processes, systems, functions, or services most likely translates into direct improvements for the employee too. But employees cannot support change and recognize its benefits without first understanding how it impacts their tasks, processes, or roles. Employees – and people in general – empowered with knowledge, understanding, and a clear vision of the future state will not only welcome change, but embrace it. In this course, you'll learn about the importance of building a motivating atmosphere that supports organizational change, and the importance of creating short-term wins and vision. The course highlights techniques for listening to your employees during change initiatives such as encouraging open communication, listening to employees' feelings, checking for understanding, and taking employee input into consideration. The course also covers actions you can take to support individuals through change initiatives, including coaching for change, making sure employees are empowered with the critical knowledge and skills necessary, considering individual characteristics of your employees, and being flexible. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Any manager or leader who has an interest in or will manage or lead organizational change.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Change is inevitable in an organization, but the process of adapting can be painful. Organizational change can cause anxiety and upheaval, and when it does, it's no surprise that employees show resistance. Resistance behaviors can vary from individual to individual and they are often unproductive. While managers may be tempted to deal with behaviors directly, rather than tackling symptoms of resistance to change, managers must deal with the source of those symptoms. They must first understand the mixture of emotions and thoughts that come with change, identify the underlying causes of employee resistance, and then use techniques to address those root causes. When the root causes are addressed, behaviors that show resistance to change will fade. This course outlines these aspects of overcoming resistance to change. It surveys the active and passive symptoms of resistance to change, goes deeper to explore the emotional and thought-based causes of these symptoms, and provides strategies for dealing with root causes through direct conversations with employees. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Any manager or leader who has an interest in or will manage or lead organizational change.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Decisions to transform an organization are vital to the health of the business, and organizational change efforts are often made to improve service, streamline operations, and of course improve the bottom line. After such a transformation in your organization, how do you engage, excite, and support the biggest driver for success in your organization - your people? How do you manage your people after organizational change so that, as a team, they support and maintain the benefits of change initiatives? This course covers methods for building and cultivating a culture that effectively sustains organizational change. Specifically, this course introduces techniques for creating a collaborative team environment, as well as strategies for getting employee feedback after change. Finally, techniques for managing and sustaining performance after change initiatives are covered, including the important steps of rewarding ongoing learning and improvement, and providing feedback based on strong performance standards. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Any manager or leader who has an interest in or will manage or lead organizational change.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

'To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly.' This is a quote by Henri Bergson, a nineteenth century French philosopher. Since the nineteenth century, the pace of change in all aspects of our lives has become faster and faster and responding to change well is a necessity in today's competitive business environment. Leaders and managers, regardless of industry or organization, require a clear understanding of how important organizational change is in order to propel their organizations forward. This course outlines what is meant by change, as well as the importance and benefits of implementing change within an organization. It also details the three different types of organizational change: strategic adjustments, strategic reorientation, and transformational change. Finally, this course covers different practical approaches for managing organizational change, taking into account factors such as the time allotted for the change, the expected degree of change, and the potential resistance to change within the organization. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

Target Audience

Any manager or leader who has an interest in or will manage or lead organizational change.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

A budget is a financial blueprint for planning an organization's activities and controlling its performance over a designated period of time. It helps allocate an organization's resources as it pursues its financial goals. Organizational budgeting refers to activities that focus on the creation of organizational and departmental budgets, their allocation, and their use in monitoring an organization's activities. Departmental heads, managers, and professionals throughout an organization deal with budgets one way or other in their day-to-day operations, and familiarity with an organization's key budgeting activities is expected at every level. This course presents an overview of various budgeting activities in an organization and describes how best to organize these activities. The course also introduces the master budget, and its components, defines how it is prepared, and shows how various departmental budgets are organized within it.

Target Audience

Finance and non-finance professionals, functional managers, executives, and all individuals involved directly or indirectly with the budgetary planning and an organization’s control process.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Preparing and planning budgets involves a number of organizational activities, ranging from determining the organization's budgetary goals to approving its budgets over a specific period of time. Individual departments translate the organization's budgetary goals into departmental goals relevant to their area. Preparing operating budgets often starts with revenue forecasting, followed by various expenses budgets. Many forecasting tools are used for forecasting revenues and expenses. Knowing the various activities associated with preparing, reviewing, and having management's approval on operating budgets helps you with your own budgeting responsibilities in the organization. This course presents some of the key activities required for planning and preparing an operating budget. It discusses key characteristics of the budget manual and calendar. It also introduces some qualitative and quantitative methods and how they are used to prepare an operating budget. Finally, the course walks you through the stages in the review and approval of the budget.

Target Audience

Finance and nonfinance professionals, functional managers, executives, and all individuals involved directly or indirectly with budgetary planning and an organization’s control process.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Budgets translate an organization's strategic plans into actionable goals for respective departments. The cash budget and operating budgets, in particular, help departments plan the allocation and use of organization's financial resources. A budgeted income statement, which is the final operating budget to prepare, represents an organization's expected profitability if activities are carried out as planned in operating budgets. A cash budget is prepared to ensure availability of adequate cash to pay for expenses incurred during budgeted period. This course explores how some of the key operating budgets are prepared. In particular, it examines operating budgets that deal with production and cost of goods produced; and sales, administrative, and general expenses. It also explains how various figures for a budgeted income statement are calculated. Finally, it discusses various components of a cash budget.

Target Audience

Finance and nonfinance professionals, functional managers, executives, and all individuals involved directly or indirectly with budgetary planning and an organization's control process.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Thinking like a CFO gives you a better understanding of your organization's strategic plans, its operational priorities, and the impact of those priorities on your department. Making decisions and managing your day-to-day operations with a CFO mind-set can also help you get your management's support for financial plans, investment proposals, and funding requests. At a more operational level, many of your decisions and managerial activities related to budgeting, managing payables and receivables, incurring incremental costs, and making purchase decisions can benefit from a CFO perspective. This course presents some examples of how a CFO perspective is applied to many of the activities and financial decisions you make in your area of business on a daily basis. It presents some guidelines for functional managers for creating budgets, and best practices that may contribute to reduced working capital needs. And it teaches you how your request for incurring an incremental cost or making a buy or lease decision could be evaluated from a CFO perspective.

Target Audience

Functional managers, professionals, departmental leaders, and all individuals in key roles who want to align their financial planning and management activities with CFO thinking

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Effective management of your departmental operations in terms of productivity, efficiency, and quality is important, but it's no longer enough to ensure success. You must also ensure you align your decisions and departmental activities with your organization's financial goals. You can do this by investing your resources profitably, maintaining a healthy cash flow, and managing your business risks adequately. Thinking like a chief financial officer, or CFO, in your everyday decision making and management can help you achieve these goals. Adopting a CFO mind-set will give you a better understanding of your organization's financial priorities and assist you in getting your CFO's buy-in for your budgets, project plans, and proposals requiring investment. This course provides some basic tips to get you started thinking like a CFO and explains why it's important to have that perspective. It then details the various responsibilities of CFOs in organizations to help you understand their viewpoint. The course then presents a practical outline of how CFOs pursue three of their basic priorities: managing costs, supporting revenue growth, and managing cash flows in the organization. Understanding how CFOs accomplish these priorities can help you achieve your departmental goals more effectively.

Target Audience

Functional managers, professionals, departmental leaders, and all individuals in key roles who want to align their financial planning and management activities with CFO thinking.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Applying CFO thinking in your business decisions and departmental activities helps you align them to your organization's goals. It also helps you get senior management's support and approval when you present your budget, marketing plan, and proposals requiring purchases and funds. As a functional manager and departmental leader, you often need to make a business case for your requests for more resources and funds to the senior management. As several departments often compete for the same resources and budget allocations, your ability to prepare a strong business case and present it effectively becomes critical to your success. This course teaches you how to apply a CFO perspective in preparing and presenting a business case. You are walked through the typical steps for developing and presenting a business case. A key step is to analyze alternative solutions to the issue you’ve identified, and this course shows you how to use various financial metrics – payback period, net present value, and risk analysis – to decide between alternative possibilities. Next, you're introduced to a template for structuring your business case for best effect. Finally, the course demonstrates how to strengthen your case by anticipating the kinds of questions that management is likely to ask.

Target Audience

Functional managers, professionals, departmental leaders, and all individuals in key roles who want to align their financial planning and management activities with CFO thinking.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Thinking Like a CFO: Preparing and Presenting a Business Case

1 HRCI Global Credit

This course will compare managing a team in the U.S. with managing an offshore team in India. It looks at examples of meetings in which an American manager believes he is communicating clearly but does not get results from an Indian team. The course then discusses solutions to improve the communication and revisit the scenario. Finally, we’ll ask you what actions you can take to better manage teams in India.

Course Objectives:

Managers who want to develop or refine their skills in delegating work to employees.

Overview/Description

A global organization needs to be sensitive to the environmental factors that shape national and global markets. Awareness of conditions at national and global levels enables managers to respond appropriately to the constantly changing social, political, economic, and technological forces they will have to navigate. Similarly, an accurate understanding of the competition faced in international contexts allows managers to identify and develop the key skills and resources that are a prerequisite to success in specific territories. This course deals with the global environmental factors influencing an organization's strategies and management. It explains how to analyze these factors and also describes a framework for analyzing the industries and markets that make up the competitive environment in which a global organization operates.

Target Audience

Executives, managers, supervisors, team leaders, and other business professionals operating in global organizations who want to support or manage globalization-focused activities within their organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Global managers work in a complex, constantly changing environment. They have to consider different economic, political, legal, and cultural factors as they plan, make decisions, and lead others in different international contexts. What worked in the role of a domestic manager may not be effective in the international market. This course describes some strategies and techniques for managing successfully in a global business. It explains the importance of having a global mindset and how to cultivate one so that you can carry out your responsibilities effectively – even with the added complexity of different cultures. The course also describes which managerial styles and techniques work best for different cultural contexts and outlines some strategies for managing a global team.

Target Audience

Executives, managers, supervisors, team leaders, and other business professionals operating in global organizations who want to support or manage globalization-focused activities within their organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Global strategies can range from adapting your standard products or services for local needs to obtaining cost advantages by producing in low-cost bases and selling in the most lucrative markets. Opportunities for achieving competitive advantage abound in the global marketplace. However, you must be able to determine which strategies will harness those opportunities most effectively. The goal of any strategy is to create value for customers and the organization. This course outlines value-creation opportunities in the global marketplace, as well as the challenges of pursuing those opportunities. It also describes three broad global strategies – adaptation, aggregation, and arbitrage – and how companies may use them in unique combinations.

Target Audience

Managers, business leaders, HR professionals, or individuals needing to initiate, develop, and implement succession planning within an organization.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

Overview/Description

Globalization has been defined in many ways, but a common theme is the freer movement of people, goods, services, and ideas around the world. In a globalized world, national borders become porous, as connections between people and organizations are transformed by ever-changing cultural and economic forces. This course focuses on the significance of the global context for business organizations. You'll find out how the social, economic, and political dimensions of globalization affect how organizations work. You'll also learn what's causing the acceleration of globalization, what implications this has for your organization, and the different ways that companies can globalize. Finally, the course highlights the strengths that are important for a company to have in the global context.

Target Audience

Executives, managers, supervisors, team leaders, and other business professionals operating in global organizations who want to support or manage globalization-focused activities within their organizations.

Expected Duration (hours)

1.0

Course Objectives

2 HRCI California Credits

According to The Council for Disability Rights, 43 million Americans have physical or mental disabilities. Too often they are excluded from the mainstream of American life by attitudes and inaccessible environments. Sixty-seven percent of all people with disabilities are unemployed, even among college graduates. Each of us has a 20 percent chance of becoming a person with a disability and a 50 percent chance of having a family member with a disability. In 2009, the Center for Personal Assistance Services conducted research in which it determined that in California alone, 71.3% of working-age adults without disabilities are employed, compared to 32.3% of working-age adults with disabilities, 16.6% of working-age adults with daily activity limitations, and 14.6% of working-age adults with self-care limitations. According to the Human Rights Education Associates, there exists a clear relationship between poverty and disability. The risk of impairment is greater for a family that lives in poverty, while and at the same time, a disabled family member places higher demands on the family's resources. Hiring and accommodating disabled workers can offer a number of important economic, legal, public relations and productivity advantages for a business while helping to limit potential liability due to non-compliance.

As an employer, you can take advantage of various government programs that encourage the recruitment and hiring of people with disabilities. This will also make you eligible for tax credits that help cover the cost of accommodations for employees with disabilities. To find out more, you should consult with your tax advisor for details. Employers who don’t overlook disabled candidates and employees also have a larger talent pool from which to recruit for specialized positions and promotions. The Houston Chronicle reports that from a public relations standpoint, hiring and accommodating disabled workers can create a more positive image for your business. By establishing a reputation as a company that offers a more diverse workforce, you may be more attractive to prospective employees, customers and business associates. Of course, the greatest advantage to employing and accommodating the disabled is limiting liability by complying with the various federal and state laws pertaining to disability in employment.

In California, there are at least eight pieces of legislation regulating the employment of persons with disabilities:

Wading through the "landmine" of issues surrounding accommodating and engaging disabled employees can seem daunting for most California employers. After all, in the last ten years, it has been the most heavily litigated area of HR law. Never fear!

In this course, you will learn:

Overview/Description

In this course, we discuss the details of the California Family Rights Act (CFRA) and the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and how they apply to California employers and employees. CFRA and FMLA differ in many ways, and California employers must be familiar with the requirements for each. In some cases, CFRA is more generous in the rights it affords employees, but in other cases FMLA is more generous and also more expansive than CFRA.

Course Objectives

1 HRCI California Credit

This course explains the Healthy Workplace Healthy Family Act of 2014 (California AB 1522).

In this course, you will learn:

Overview/Description

This course discusses the numerous federal and California laws which address conducting employment-related background checks.
The most common types of employment-related background checks in California are covered, including:

- Employment history/Employer Reference checks
- Workers Compensation Records reviews
- Motor Vehicle and Driving Records reviews
- Criminal Background Checks
- Personal References/Character and Reputation checks
- Social Network investigations
- Credit Report reviews

The course includes specific information that employers are prohibited from asking about and cannot have access to when conducting background checks in California.

The requirements for conducting lawful background checks and credit checks in California are covered.

Finally, best practices are discussed to ensure HR professionals are on track for conducting background checks in California in the most efficient and effective manner:

- Topics to steer clear of during the recruiting phase and beyond
- What it means to be "disabled” by pregnancy
- Effectively evaluating requests for pregnancy accommodation
- Examples of types of potential reasonable accommodations
- When to engage in a timely, good-faith interactive process
- Required employment notices for pregnant employees
- Ensuring a pregnant employee receives entitled leave
- Tips for ensuring a smooth return-to-work
- Key compliance requirements concerning lactation/milk expression
- How to appropriately discipline a pregnant employee or new mom who isn't meeting performance expectations
- Tips for maintaining smart, defensible documentation that you'll need in the event of a lawsuit

In this course, we discuss how we ascertain the difference between circumstances in which a service provider is an employee (and a principal is an employer) and circumstances in which the service provider is an independent contractor (and the principal is a client).

Course Objectives

2 California Credits

Information and practical guidance regarding federal and state sexual harassment laws, including harassment prevention and correction and remedies available to victims.

In compliance with California requirements, the Sexual Harassment online e-Learning training structure includes questions that assess learning, skill-building activities, and real case scenarios.

1.25 HRCI California Credits

In this course, you will learn:

1.5 HRCI California Credits

Many employers ask employees to sign arbitration agreements in which the employee gives up the right to sue in court over job-related issues. The role of these agreements in California seems to be changing constantly. Employers often wonder whether or not arbitration agreements are a good idea, what can and cannot be included in them, and how to enforce them.

In this course, you will learn:

Overview/Description

In California, an employer has a duty to create an environment free of harassment, discrimination and retaliation in California.  The duty to investigate stems from this requirement.  In this course, you will learn the details of conducting sound workplace investigations in California.

Target Audience

HR Professionals and Senior Management

Expected Duration (hours)

2.0

Course Objectives