Management Training Seminars

By introducing our Management Training workshops to your staff we help ease the negative effect of change on both managerial and supervisory personnel. The change in job responsibilities, the change in personnel, job duties, and the rising challenge of developing subordinates are specific goals of our learning systems courses. We are highly successful at helping Managers and Supervisors learn and adapt to the necessary skills and proper behaviors to be successful at work as well as in their personal lives.

For more information on our management training classes please contact us.

As a part of our management training courses, Managers and Supervisors will learn how to:

• Minimize the chance of miscommunication by understanding what people are really saying, and why
• Deal with difficult people, manage tense situations, and resolve conflict
• Make use of proven active listening skills to improve your ability to gain helpful information
• Be able to facilitate, guide, and close discussions in one-on-one or group settings
• Improve understanding and communication by giving and receiving good feedback
• Use ideas submitted by a member of the team without causing other members to be defensive
• Develop a comprehensive team building strategy that improves productivity of the whole team
• Emphasize the value of working toward common goals without devaluing individual accomplishment
• Define and set up a method to track staff activities
• Be able to manage time and work assignments effectively
• Conduct team meetings that capture and hold the audience’s attention
• Interview and hire the right person for the right job
• Save time and work more effectively through the use of a clear time management plan
• Understand and comply with proper hiring and managing requirements
• Communicate effectively with both superiors, peers and subordinates
• Become effective coaches for their work team
• Conduct accurate and difficult performance appraisals

 

Kicking Winning Business Goals

The competition for business is hotting up. The advances in new technology, ease of communication, and increasing expectations from customers have combined to make the marketplace more competitive than ever. In this world it is critical for small and medium businesses to be proactive about creating their future. Without proactivity, things just seem to 'happen' without your control.

A management system that is centred around goals is one tool that the business can use to craft its future. This is a system of deciding what you are going to do everyday based on the goals you are working toward.

It sounds simple enough, but the research clearly shows that most businesses don't set goals - at all. The goal setting process can seem daunting if it's unfamiliar territory, or if you have so much on your mind that you don't know where to start. This process will help you to sort through your key issues and create forwards momentum by setting goals that are innovative, resolve problems and improve results.

A goal-centred management system has 3 elements:
1. The goal or the objective you want to achieve
2. The activities required to achieve the goals, and
3. The review or evaluation process.

Here are the 5 steps required to put your goal management system in place.

1. Identify your Goals
Start by asking yourself these three questions. If you have employees, often they have a different view about issues in the business. Including them in this process can be really valuable.

1. What are the three things that irritate me the most about my business right now?
2. What have I been putting off, that I know will have a positive impact on my business?
3. What is working pretty well, but could be improved?

It might help you to think in terms of some common categories such as:

Employees: skill levels, right people in right jobs
Managers: management style, experience
Customers: strength of customer base, number, loyalty etc
Financial: cash flow, capital, low debt, profit margins etc
Reputation: well-known brand, well regarded
Products/Services: innovative, short time to market, no competition, price
Environment: flexible work practices, physical working environment, location
Technology: automated, streamlined, productive
Production: capacity, product range
Distribution: low cost, efficient
Sales/Marketing: promotion strategy, marketing materials etc

2. Write down what you want to achieve for each identified goal
With your answers to the questions, actually write down how each thing would look at it's most successful. Goals should be in writing, in measurable terms and have specific timelines.

For example, if you had chosen technology, your goal might be "to implement an integrated and automated contact management system by April 30th that takes away most of the manual work I do now."

3. Break goals into measurable steps
For each goal that you've articulated, break it down into the steps you need to do. You must include timeframes for each step.

In our example, the steps might be:

• Researching available contact management systems - by 31 Jan
• Analyse each one along cost, technology implications, ease of learning - by 29 Feb
• Decide and purchase - March
• Implement system - April 5th
• Test and undergo training - by 30 April

Ensure that all the people who are impacted by a goal fully participate in the crafting of the goal and the action plans.

4. Allocate people to do the actions
Be clear about who is responsible for what activity. Make sure everyone understands their responsibilities and signs up to achieving them.

5. Create a fail-safe tracking method to monitor success
This is absolutely essential. Without it, the business will simply continue to react rather than choose it's own direction. There are many different ways of monitoring. A simple method is to come together once per week and check where each current activity is at. You also get the opportunity to remove obstacles and plan any additional activity. If you work solo, schedule time in your diary each week to track your progress.

This process of constant review and resetting action steps based on actual progress is the hallmark of having a goal centred management system. A simple goal setting process leaves out this vital step.

So make the time and set your business up for success. Invest a few hours each week in careful planning and consideration, and see your business reach it's true potential.