Supervisor Essentials: Core Skills and Strategies

A practical guide to stepping up and managing a team

Whether you’ve been a supervisor for 1 day or 1 year, it is highly unlikely that you’ve been trained to do the job! This session provides a baseline in understanding what your new role is all about; the multitude of expectations that come at you from every direction and how to establish yourself as the ‘boss’ while maintaining positive relationships. You’ll also be introduced to how Individual Development Planning can help you continue to grow beyond the classroom.

This knowledge-building session gives you the chance to:

• Identify how your role as a supervisor differs from your previous job
• Analyze the impact of the expectations your organization, manager, employees, and internal customers have of you
• Define your role as a representative of the organization’s culture to your direct reports
• Convert your heightened understanding of the supervisor’s role into the start of your own Individual Development Plan

A beginner’s guide to effective communication in the workplace

This session explores the complexity of communication and focuses on verbal communication, listening skills and the all-important impact of non-verbal communication. Participants will learn how to lead utilizing proactive communication skills and how leaders communicate to effectively influence others.

This skill-building session gives you the chance to:

• Recognize the fundamental principles of effective communication
• Understand how each personality type may exhibit distinct communication styles, preferences, strengths, and areas for growth
• Evaluate your own communication competencies, identifying strengths and areas for improvement

Maximize productivity with effective time management strategies for success

“Either you run your day, or your day runs you”, says leadership expert Jim Rohn. We’ve all experienced missed deadlines, unwanted stress, lack of focus, and work and life imbalance. Regardless of what you do, where you do it, your title, or your tenure, we all have to-do lists that could use an extra hour. Distractions are everywhere, and there are a limited number of hours in a day. What’s most important is understanding your current barriers to managing multiple priorities, setting boundaries, and developing systems to improve the use of your time.

By the end of this knowledge-building session you’ll be able to:

• Recognize time management tips and how to implement them in the workplace
• Describe the impact of time wasters, challenges, obstacles, barriers, and approaches to prioritizing tasks
• Demonstrate time management techniques and strategies to increase productivity and achieve daily tasks and long-term goals
• Design your own personalized time management plan for your own ‘to do’ list

Simplifying the process of setting goals, providing feedback, and evaluating employee performance

Struggling with performance appraisals? Supervisors often find them challenging, and employees may feel uneasy about the process. This session is designed to help supervisors confidently and effectively write performance appraisals that are clear, constructive, and aligned with organizational goals. We’ll explore techniques to overcome common challenges, establish a systematic approach to appraisals, and ensure consistency and fairness. By viewing the formal appraisal as a vital part of ongoing communication, supervisors will learn how to keep employees informed about their performance, expectations, and potential consequences throughout the year.

This knowledge building session gives you the chance to:

• Learn how to write performance appraisals that provide specific, actionable feedback
• Develop skills for delivering performance reviews in a way that is engaging, motivating, and constructive
• Understand how to link performance appraisals with individual development plans, setting realistic goals and identifying opportunities for employee growth and advancement

Learn how to resolve disputes and promote a positive work environment

Have you ever thought, “My life would be so much easier if I didn’t have to deal with people!” That’s the way it feels some days, or maybe every day. This session looks at conflicts and problems in the workplace. There are differences between a conflict and a problem and they require different approaches. We all have our go-to reaction to conflict that doesn’t always serve us well. This session focuses on expanding our reactions to conflict, developing strategies to deal with the issues that take us out of our comfort zone, and increasing our managerial versatility. We’ll also look at formal problem-solving strategies and how to apply them.

This knowledge-building session gives you the chance to:

• Differentiate between conflict and problems
• Identify strategies for dealing with conflict and recognize alternative methods available to you
• Apply conflict resolution strategies in your own workplace

Preparation and a thorough process position you and your team for a positive interview cycle

Much goes into developing an interview cycle before conversations even begin. As a hiring manager, you want to ensure you have the right people in the room, and the right processes in place to assess candidates accurately and legally. You also want to ensure that by offer time, your finalist has had a positive experience and an accurate understanding of the opportunity and your business culture. So where to begin? Join us in this engaging session that will offer helpful tips for successfully structuring your interview cycle from soup to nuts!

By the end of this session, you’ll be able to:

• Explain the elements of the interview cycle and how to prepare
• Identify key participants in the interview cycle and their roles
• Implement interviewing skills and avoid traps

Navigating key HR responsibilities with confidence!

In “HR for Supervisors,” you’ll master essential HR skills to lead with confidence. From handling employee relations to understanding legal requirements, this session equips you with the tools to manage your team effectively and foster a positive workplace culture. Elevate your leadership game— because great supervision starts with great HR practices!

This knowledge building session gives you the chance to:

• Understand Core HR Responsibilities: Gain a clear understanding of essential HR tasks and how they intersect with your role as a supervisor
• Navigate Employment Laws: Learn the basics of key employment laws and regulations to ensure compliance and protect both your team and organization
• Foster a Positive Workplace Culture: Explore strategies for creating and maintaining a supportive, inclusive, and productive work environment

Gain clarity on your part in creating a safe and inclusive work environment

Supervisors and managers are responsible for ensuring a safe, productive work environment free from harassment and discrimination. Even if you understand the federal and state laws, supervisors and managers must take it one step further to know how to respond to complaints. Could you personally be held liable if you don’t investigate a complaint? Is there a fine line between a problem and being “too sensitive”? How would you respond if an employee brought a complaint to your attention today?

This skill-building session gives you the chance to:

• List laws applicable to workplace harassment, and the requirements of your organization’s policy
• Interpret a standard operating practice for responding to employee complaints
• Evaluate real world scenarios and determine next steps
• Design a proactive culture for responding to harassment and discrimination

Managing Employee Challenges with Effective Strategies and Documentation

Build confidence to handle performance issues and before they get out of hand. Documenting employee issues is key to avoiding company risk or liability. Properly documented workplace incidents and investigations will help support a company with consistency, legal complaints, unemployment claims, etc. A primary focus will be to Identify strategies to document performance issues as they occur and to help protect the company from legal risks.

This knowledge-building session you will:

• Describe issues that may require investigation or corrective action
• Articulate the skills needed to plan, conduct, and conclude investigations
• Identify steps to conduct a thorough corrective action discussion
• Evaluate the impact of ineffective investigations and how to avoid them