How it works
Working with an Employment Law & HR consultant, you can design your own bespoke, in-house training course to address a defined need in your business. Our highly flexible training modules let you easily ‘mix and match’ topics to fit your needs.
Course Content
Select from the range of topics below to build your own training days. Each module lasts between 90 and 120 minutes.
90-minute Team Build
Learn how to refocus and re-energise an established work team, covering:
• Team matrix – our qualities (pre-work activity)
• Team activities – how we work together?
• Traffic lights – good, okay, not so good?
• Feedback and review
• Next steps – team action plan
Appraisal Skills
Learn how to run a motivational performance review meeting, covering:
• The performance appraisal cycle
• Common problems and solutions
• Structuring the review session
• Key appraisal and review skills
• Skills practice
Assertiveness
Learn how to apply the techniques of assertive behaviour.
• The behaviour triangle
• The 3 golden rules
• Rights and assertiveness
• Levels of assertion
• Handling difficult situations and people
Building Positive Relationships
Learn how to flex communication to enhance relationships with others.
• The communication-style model
• Identifying your own style preferences
• Style strengths and limitations
• Recognising opportunities for conflict
• Flexing style to enhance communication
Building Your Team
Learn how to apply the secrets of building a high-performing team, covering:
• So what makes a great team?
• P.E.R.F.O.R.M. – characteristics in all top teams
• Impact of team dynamics
• Team roles and the teamwork cycle
• The 7C’s for all team leaders
Business Planning Tools
Learn how to apply some proven models for strategic planning and decision making.
• Pros and cons in your business planning?
• Applying structure – clarify key issues; reduce complexity
• Finding order in chaos – the wood through the trees
• Useful analysis and planning models
• Practice applying the techniques
Challenging Conversations
Learn how to confidently tackle those discussions that you dread, covering:
• Features of challenging conversations
• The 6 coping strategies
• Closed v open approaches?
• Climb down your ladder!
• Applying techniques to your own situations
Coaching
Learn how to sharpen and structure your on-job coaching skills, covering:
• Coaching: what, why, how, when and who?
• Spotting coaching opportunities
• The coaching process
• Key coaching skills
• Skills practice
Communication Skills
Learn how to communicate effectively face-to-face with others, covering:
• The communication process
• Identifying common problems
• Principles for effective communication
• Key face-to-face communication skills
• Skills practice
Coping with Change
Learn how to enhance your resilience in responding to change.
• Your views about change?
• Comfort zones
• How people typically react to change
• Your change style profile
• 10 strategies for coping with change
Dealing with ‘Difficult’ People
Learn how to positively handle those difficult people in your life, covering:
• Why do we find some people ‘difficult’?
• The impact of our beliefs
• The OK Corral
• The 7 classic difficult types
• L.E.A.P.S. model for responding effectively
Delegation
Learn how to develop your delegation skills and technique, covering:
• Self-assessment: how am I doing?
• Delegation – benefits and pitfalls
• The 5 key steps
• The 4 levels of delegation
• Opportunities – what to delegate?
Developing Management Style
Learn how to extend your approach to managing others, covering:
• What’s it like being managed by you?
• Your task-people orientation
• Identifying your management style
• Recognising when to use different styles
• M.B.W.A. – managing by walking around
Developing Resilience
Learn how to build your capacity to cope and recover from problems, challenges and setbacks.
• Quiz – how resilient are you?
• Resilience v resistance
• Key characteristics of resilient people
• 10 ways to build your resilience
• Identifying personal actions
Developing Your People
Learn how to build a structured plan for developing your team, covering:
• Manager as developer: how do you rate?
• Identifying development needs
• Recognising development solutions
• Creating a structured plan
• Monitoring and reviewing progress
Difficult or Complaining Customers
Learn how to handle unhappy customers – both face-to-face and over the phone.
• Beware the silent customer!
• Top reasons why customers complain
• The ‘FIRSTCLASS’ approach to resolving issues
• Remaining composed and confident
• Skills practice
Diversity Awareness
Learn how to recognise and embrace the value of diversity at work.
• What is diversity and equality?
• The same difference
• The 6 strands of equality
• Prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination
• Practical activities
Emotional Intelligence
Learn how to recognise and manage emotions in yourself and others, covering:
• Self-analysis: your E.I. profile
• What is emotional intelligence?
• The emotionally intelligent leader
• 5 steps to develop emotional intelligence
• How to apply E.I. to any situation
Face-to-Face Service Skills
Learn how to create a great first impression and connect with your customers
• First impressions
• Welcoming your customers – the 6 essentials
• Positive communication and body language
• Connecting with your customers
• Skills practice
Feedback
Learn how to deliver effective performance feedback, covering:
• The 4 types of feedback
• Activity: the feedback loop
• Hallmarks of good and poor feedback
• Model for constructive feedback
• Skills practice
Handle your Stress
Learn how to recognise and deal with your stressors at work.
• Stress or pressure?
• Primary causes and symptoms of stress
• The 5 personality drivers and stress
• Your support network
• Practical coping strategies
Handling Conflict
Learn how to recognise and handle conflict with others.
• Conflict and you
• The 5 main sources
• The impact of values and ‘triggers’
• 5 options for responding to conflict
• Useful tools and techniques
How Effective Is Your Team?
Learn how to enhance the performance of your team, covering:
• Team effectiveness profile (pre-work activity)
• The 4 critical areas for all teams
• How we’re doing – strengths and limitations?
• Overcoming team blockages
• Agreeing practical team actions
Influencing
Learn how to develop your personal influence with others, covering:
• What influences you?
• Influence activity
• Power and influence
• The 4C styles of influence
• Actions: your circles of influence
Internal Service & Teamwork
Learn how to work together as a team to deliver service excellence.
• Teamwork – the internal service chain
• The good, the bad and the best
• The 3C’s of internal service
• Your service roadblocks
• Identifying service improvements
Introduction to Management
Learn how to be an effective manager from day one, covering:
• What managers (are supposed) to do
• Action centred leadership
• Common mistakes of new managers
• The importance of being ‘authentic’
• Identifying personal actions
It’s Your Appraisal
Learn how to get the best from your appraisal review, covering:
• Appraisal – your hopes and concerns?
• Taking a proactive approach
• Actions checklist – before, during and after
• Receiving and giving feedback
Leadership
Learn how to develop and adapt your leadership style, covering:
• Personal experiences
• Manager or leader?
• What’s my style?
• Payoffs and penalties
• Developing leadership flexibility
Managing Absence
Learn how to achieve and maintain positive attendance at work, covering:
• The impact on productivity?
• Holding a return to work interview
• Sensitively uncovering reasons for absence
• Spotting the early warning signs
• Skills practice
Managing Change
Learn how to plan and manage change successfully, covering:
• Change and the key business drivers
• Case study – managing change
• The 3 responses to change
• The change-reaction curve
• Do’s and don’ts of managing change
Managing Meetings
Learn how to hold effective and productive meetings, covering:
• The meetings you’re involved in?
• Experiences of meetings
• The true cost of a meeting?
• Common meeting nightmares
• A.P.P.L.E. – planning effective meetings
Managing People
Learn how to effectively manage the different people in your team, covering:
• Key challenges in managing people?
• Performance and potential
• The stars, steadies, supporters and slackers
• How to get the best from your people
• Applying principles to your own team
Managing Performance
Learn how to achieve results and deal with under-performance, covering:
• Performance – what good looks like?
• The skill-will matrix
• 4 reasons for under-performance
• How to raise the performance issue
• The ‘set-up-to-fail’ syndrome
Ownership
Management (time management/delegation)
Learn how to spot the ‘monkeys’ and expand your discretionary
time, covering:
• Your management style and monkey
• What is a ‘monkey’?
• Where your management time goes
• The 4 rules of monkey management
• Monkey spotting – becoming savvy
Motivating Others
Learn how to create the conditions for your people to succeed, covering:
• The last 10 days – motivation and you
• Your motivation formula?
• Key motivators at work
• 6 principles for motivating others
• Applying the principles to your team
Negotiation
Learn how to negotiate effective outcomes with others.
• Everything is negotiable?
• The negotiation arena
• Negotiation exercise
• Your negotiator profile
• Skills practice
Personal Effectiveness
Learn how to apply the 7 habits of highly effective people.
• The 7 habits – overview
• Proactivity, planning and prioritising
• Building win-win relationships
• Staying sharp and balanced
• Actions to develop your effectiveness?
Planning & Organising
Learn how to develop and implement effective plans, covering:
• Planning – measure twice, cut once!
• Key stages in effective planning
• Useful planning tools and techniques
• Monitoring and contingency planning
• Planning exercise
Recruiting for Service
Learn how to identify and select customer service stars.
• The DNA of a great service provider?
• Preparation – defining what you need
• Questions to reveal service excellence
• Assessing candidate capability and potential
• Interview practice
Running Effective 1-1 Reviews
Learn how to deliver productive informal review sessions, covering:
• The benefits of ongoing 1-1 reviews
• Common manager mistakes
• The 3-step review structure
• Key reviewer skills
• Case studies – applying the skills
Selection Interviewing
Learn how to conduct professional interviews and select the right person, covering:
• The cost of getting it wrong?
• Ready – getting yourself prepared
• Set – structuring the interview
• Go – leading the discussion
• Assessing candidate performance
Setting Goals & Objectives
Learn how to identify and create powerful goals and objectives, covering:
• Goal setting – benefits and myths
• Goals v objectives?
• Writing powerful objectives
• Applying techniques to your own team
• Manager’s role – support and challenge
Successful Face-to-Face Selling
Learn how to drive sales by delivering great service to your customers…
• Understanding the sales background
• Questioning – customer needs and wants
• USP’s for your products and services
• Tactics for closing the sale
• Adding extra value
Team Briefing
Learn how to develop and deliver great team briefing sessions, covering:
• The need for effective team briefing
• The 4P’s – team brief content
• Structure of the briefing session
• Encouraging feedback and involvement
• Practice applying the skills
Telephone Skills
Learn how to confidently handle telephone contact with your customers.
• The 8 great telephone hates
• Powerful greetings and closings
• Handling calls – on hold; transferring; signposting
• W.A.R.M. – taking control of your calls
• Skills practice
The 80/20 Principle
Learn how to achieve extraordinary results without extraordinary effort.
• The 80/20 phenomenon
• Challenging conventional wisdom
• Just one day per week?
• Uncovering the vital few in the trivial many
• Taking 80/20 action
The Customer Service Game
An interactive team-based exercise to either introduce or review the key service principles covered in these sessions.
• Introducing the session
• Playing the customer service game in teams
• Overcoming the common service pitfalls
• Highlighting and sharing best practice tips
• Identifying next steps
The Engaging Manager
Learn how to apply the key drivers and actively engage your people, covering:
• Engagement – what and why?
• The 3 levels of engagement
• Rules of engagement for managers
• The 8C’s – the employee’s perspective
• Identifying practical actions
Time Management
Learn how to effectively manage your time and priorities.
• Time – the most valuable resource?
• Self-analysis: 5P’s of time management
• Handling common time stealers
• Managing your priorities
• Practical tips and techniques
Winning & Keeping Customers
Learn how to be the kind of person customers like to buy from.
• Something to think about!
• The greatest business secret in the world
• The ‘better than selling’ principle
• The only 2 things customers ever buy
• 5 sure-fire ways to keep them coming back
The cost for bespoke courses is based on individual requirements. Our Employment Law & HR courses are for information only and will not constitute, and should not be relied upon as legal advice.
Book your training today at www.natwestmentor.co.uk/booktraining
Contact the MentorLearn Team 0800 559 3595 Minicom 0800 634 7008.
Please note, your call may be recorded.