This series of workshops has been adapted to accommodate those with less time to dedicate to professional development, but who would like to use some of the tools designed to be more effective in their work.
Effective meetings – November 15 (11:30 – 1:30)
Do you have limited time and energy to invest in endless meetings, where little is decided and less is followed up? Do you want to maximize employee engagement, contribution and sense of belonging, while remaining results-oriented and efficient? Find out how to organize and host productive meetings (including 10-minute stand-up meetings) with commitment to follow-through! You’ll help your group achieve its desired goals, with energy to spare.
Environmental scan and SWOT analysis – November 16 (12:00 – 1:30)
Looking to stimulate constructive change and generate buy-in? Learn to explore with your team what trends are on the horizon and to take stock of what is present in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat. This powerful, transformative approach can be adapted to performance dialogue, unit planning, succession planning, workforce planning and more! This simple and well-established framework will assist you in your planning activities and engaging your team in moving forward.
Engaging employees and brainstorming techniques – November 17 (12:00 – 1:30)
Want to get a lot of ideas out on the table, taking full advantage of the knowledge and experience of all members of your team? Through this structured approach, all participants will have a sense of contribution and engagement. You’ll learn concrete ways for inviting and capturing everyone’s ideas, then narrowing the choices according to the current reality you are facing. This approach promotes engagement, transparency, shared understanding and buy-in, and can fuel decision making.
Decision-making tools – November 22 (11:30 – 1:30)
Employee engagement often hinges on having a sense of being part of decisions that impact on us. While we are not always able to define the outcome, being able to have our key considerations heard can go a long way in feeling respected as a team member. In turn, decision makers need to be able to rely on their team members to tell them the possible day-to-day implications of certain potential changes. Learn to use three concrete tools that provide structure for exploring options and making informed decisions.
Process management overview – November 23 (11:30 – 1:30)
As faculties and administrative units across the University place an increased focus on business efficiencies, doing more with less, and performance, there is a push to revisit and streamline processes. This workshop provides leaders and managers with an overview of how they can “manage by process”, along with cautions to consider when contemplating process changes. Of great importance is determining who should be involved in process improvement in order to maximize outcomes and ensure buy-in to the redesign. You’ll learn about methods for process analysis for you and/or your employees, and concrete techniques to support continuous improvement in your area.
Process mapping – November 25 (11:30 – 1:30)
This mini-workshop introduces process mapping (flowcharting) methodology and demonstrates the importance of documenting processes in a standard way. During the workshop, participants will have the opportunity to create a flowchart using the methodology. This training is available to your team members. It encourages maximum participation and emphasizes the value of making only informed and well-documented changes.
Managing stress – November 30 (11:30 – 1:30)
We all face demandsin our life that cause stress. A certain amount of stress is good for us and can create incentive to change. However, problems can start when we feel that the demands that are being placed on us exceed our ability to deal with them.
Take a relaxing time out to better understand what stress is and the impact that is has on you and your team. Recognize the current stressors in your work life. Learn some strategies and techniques to help you better manage your stress today, and to limit the impact of stress in the months ahead.
Two full day workshops
Time management – November 29 (full day)
As we all face increasing demands to do more with less and increase our effectiveness and efficiency, what are some ways that we can gain better control over our time in order to boost our productivity and performance – and feel more satisfied with our workday?
This full day workshop will give participants the opportunity to examine and improve their time management methods and tools, and learn strategies to create a more favourable and productive working environment. This will include learning to use various tools in accordance with fundamental principles of time management; understanding and applying certain work productivity principles; getting a better understanding of common time-wasting situations and how to deal with them; learning to better manage telecommunications (telephone and email) and interruptions; and improving the ability to organize work load and set priorities.
Project management – December 6 (full day)
Project management aims to prepare and enable individuals and work teams to deliver on their commitments related to change projects across the University (Strategic Reframing Initiatives, etc.). Successful project delivery often requires skills and training in project management. A META Group report study indicates that 77% of respondents point to lack of project management skills as the major issue in successfully delivering projects (PM Network, Aug 2004). McGill is adopting a project management approach to implement many of its important initiatives. This is a stand-alone introduction to project management, as well as a critical building block to more advanced training.
For more information, please contact Jane Reichman Van Toch by phone (514-398-5545) or by email (jane.reichman@mcgill.ca)
To register, please click on the following link: https://home.mcgill.ca/hr-webforms/staffdevelopment/