TALENT MANAGEMENT

Finding and holding on to talent is an increasingly important corporate objective. Because employee turnover can be a major drain on any company’s resources, picking the right people the first time and effective talent management will boost performance across all areas of an organisation.

With this succession planning course, HR and executive leadership are prepared for the ongoing viability of business operations in the wake of key individuals progressing their career elsewhere or, there being an HR related emergency. Course activities will help to attendees to identify strengths that their company currently possess, in addition to clearly identifying key members of their organisation and, potential mentors. An important aspect is for the organisation to understand how to recover when employees choose to pursue new opportunities.

At the end of the one-day programme participants will be able to:

  • Work directly with the key elements of a succession plan.
  • Identify resources and analyse risks.
  • Create, evaluate and review a succession plan specifically regarding roles, responsibility, function and scope.
Devising a talent management plan that not only brings in the best people for the job but quickly and effectively acclimates them to the corporate culture becomes a must for competitiveness. Consequently, the most competitive companies invest real time, finance and energy into effective and sustained talent recruitment and retention.

How do you know you have the right people? How do you keep them invested in your vision? How do you support new hires who, in their formative months, may struggle with the corporate culture? Not having effective and adequate answers to these questions is likely to mean that your organisation is haemorrhaging financial resources in the one place you can least afford to neglect: your workforce.

This two-day training course helps HR and senior management learn the skills to create a quality talent management programme.

The course will focus on four key elements:

  • The requirements to manage high potential employees.
  • How to apply multiple aspects of talent management.
  • Recognising and fostering talent.
  • Competency, Strength and Motivational factors (CSM) when assessing talent.
Performance management is a holistic process that directly links the effective management of individuals and teams to organisational performance. This process relates to every activity within an organisation, specifically in the context of its’ human resource policies, culture, style and communications systems. Performance management therefore incorporates performance improvement, development and managing behaviour.

In this one-day workshop, participants will be introduced to a three-phase model that will examine performance, inner motivation, and skills evaluation. The course will cover:

  • the areas of managing for optimum performance,
  • factors that contribute to a motivational working environment,
  • understanding the role of goal setting in performance management,
  • various tools that, when applied, help to set and achieve goals.

PLANNING & PROCESSES

Management is broadly defined as the act of coordinating activities in order to achieve defined objectives. A central dimension of management must therefore relate to planning. Also, an important element for the effective operation and development of all organisation is the development and implementation of suitably dynamic yet sturdy processes.

This one-day gap analysis course covers the fundamentals of gap analysis, types and making connections. This established management technique is widely used to determine what steps need to be taken to move from a current position (what is) to one that is more desired (what want); thus creating a focus for developing a strategy to bridge this ‘gap’. Its’ application is far reaching and when effectively applied delivers insights, highlights existing challenges and drives management to examine critically the organisations position and what will be needed to reach the defined targets.

This course will touch on a range of supporting tools used in the creation of a gap analysis report, such as The McKinsey 7S Model, SWOT, Five Whys and, The Fishbone Diagram; specifically, what they are, how best to use and their limitations.

Strategic planning is used to set priorities, focus energy and resources, strengthen operations, and provide a roadmap that all stakeholders can adhere to –  common goals. It also provides a framework that an organisation can use to assess and thus when needed, adjust its’ direction in response to a changing environment. Effective strategic planning describes where an organisation is going, the set of actions that management believe are needed, and markers of success.

This two-day course explains the strategic planning concepts to participants as they simultaneously work on a mock strategic plan – where suitable an orgnisations’ own strategic plan can be used. The training sessions cover concepts and skills such as; determining the values that support a company, defining a company’s vision, writing a mission statement, undertaking meaningful SWOT and PEST analyses, as well as how to implement, evaluate, and review a strategic plan.

This three-day course will provide participants with the skills needed to drive the success of their global business. The course covers the key areas for developing a global business strategy, specifically currency management, finance and risk mitigation and, logistics. Participants are also briefed on the softer, but just as pertinent areas, such as the importance of understanding trade agreements and regulations, types of trade transactions, cultural issues and ethics. Delegates will be introduced to the Triple ‘A’ Global Strategy Framework.

Business process management (BPM) is a methodical approach to improving the effectiveness and capability of an organisation’s workflow with an emphasis on adapting to the ever-changing business environment. BPM is about mapping, streamlining and enhancing business processes, with savings, efficiency and adding value to customers and the business. Simply put, BPM shows how work happens, providing a complete audit trail.

This is a two-day program designed around the six steps of the business process lifecycle (create, design, model, execute, monitor, and optimise). During the course a range of process improvement tools such as Lean and Six Sigma are introduced.

COMMERCIAL MANAGEMENT

Whether or not an organisation is focussed on making a profit, all organisations provide a service or a product to end users; customers. In this regard the customer is defined as both internal and external to the organisation. In all cases there is a need to adopt a degree of commercialism to how an organisation is being managed.

Corporate branding is about defining your organisation, what it does, why your organisation does what it does, and for whom. A corporate brand is a promise of what to expect from the people, products and services associated with your organisation. There is real value in performing a regular corporate brand audit; taking a look at current brand messages, evaluating existing strengths and weaknesses, what needs to change and, what elements to keep.

This branding training course is designed to demonstrate that a good corporate brand is much more than an attractive image combined with a witty or catchy strip-line. The brand must reflect heart and soul of what the organisation promises.

Learning objectives for this two-day training course include:

  • Defining a brand and what branding is about.
  • Defining various types of brand architecture and extensions.
  • Identifying brand values.
  • Brand communication.
  • Planning an internal and external brand launch.
  • Monitoring and evaluating a brand.
Marketing is the process of identifying, anticipating and then meeting the needs and requirements of consumers to make a profit or promote a service. Marketing may also involve creating a need. Sales is concerned with persuading customers that products or services provide the benefits that they seek.

This one-day workshop is designed to emphasise how to get maximum exposure on a budget by using the right strategies to improve marketing and sales, to develop company image, and in the case of a profit driven organisation add to the bottom line.

Participants will be taken through:

  • A working definition of marketing and sales.
  • How to recognise trends.
  • Strategies for success.
  • The value of trade shows.
  • How to develop a marketing plan.

MANAGEMENT INSIGHTS

Managing an organisation of whatever size and function is demanding and requires the effective application of a plethora of skills and competencies, tools and techniques. Whilst mastery of each and every one is wholly unrealistic, more than a basic appreciation of key insights is a must.

Change management is about adopting a structured approach that focusses on the smooth and successful implementation of change within an organisation. Change needs to be understood by those affected as much as the individuals responsible for its implementation. It also needs to be managed such that all are able to positively adjust to the new emerging situation; change is naturally unsettling. Fundamentally therefore change management is essentially about people and ensuring that they positively adjust to organisational, financial, technical, operational or procedural changes in a positive and lasting way.

This one-day change management course is ideally suited for those planning or experiencing changes within their organisation. Areas covered will include the stages of change (Change curves), pacing and dealing with resistance. Delegates will also be introduced to adaptive strategies and the importance of approaching changes as an opportunity for growth.

A crisis is an abnormal event that threatens the reputational, commercial and strategic interests of an organisation. As such, a useful and succinct definition of crisis management is a, “set of procedures – planned and coordinated steps – applied to the handling, containment, and resolution of an emergency.”

Crisis, like change, is inevitable in the life of any organisation and when managed effectively does not have to be catastrophic. This two-day training course focusses on ensuring that organisations understand the various aspects of effective crisis management, typically:

  • Assigning people to an appropriate crisis team role.
  • Conducting a crisis audit.
  • Establishing the means for organisation continuity.
  • Determining how to manage incidents.
  • Helping teams recover from a crisis.
  • Applying the crisis management process.
Goal Setting is an important and, when applied, an effective skill set for every individual and dually so for those at the head of organisations. Getting the most out of your life often depends on setting effective goals and putting into play the skills that surround it. In this one-day workshop, participants are taken through activities and theory to help them understand how to convert dreams or wishes into reality. Specifically, how to:

  • Identify what is truly important to moving forward (personally and/or professionally).
  • Use goal setting activities and appropriate language to articulate what they want to achieve.
  • Use motivational techniques to help them reach their goals.
  • Understand how to deal with setbacks.
Risk is inherent in everything we do. It is an integral part of all our lives. History demonstrates that societies grow and develop when risks are taken – from energy to telecommunication, space travel, healthcare. Experience also supports the truism that the size of the reward more often than not reflects the degree of risk taken. Risk management is our attempt at minimising threats while maximising potential benefits.

This one-day program delivers a flexible risk management framework that can be applied to a single project, a department, or an enterprise-wide program. With this course participants will learn about risk and risk management, establishing a risk management context and, a framework for activities. In addition to designing and completing a basic risk assessment, appropriate response and action plan will be examined. Reporting, monitoring, and evaluation being important management activities.

The word “leadership” conjures up a range of different images, the vast majority of which incorporates elements of pursuing a passion, persuading others to follow a path, infectious determination. Leaders motivate others to do, they set direction, inspire individuals and teams, and often create something new.

This three-day course for new and aspiring leaders aims to engage learners in the different dimensions of leadership and the relevant functions of management; understanding when to lead and when to manage. Candidates will be exposed to a range of skills associated with:

  • Being an active part of a learning organisation.
  • Understanding the functions of leaders.
  • Applying systems thinking to leadership.
  • Adopting best practise for effective leadership.
Having good communication skills in the workplace is about delivering information simply and with little to no ambiguity. It is about clearly and thus effectively transmitting to an audience and receiving messages from a source.

The primary aim of this course is to enhance participants’ understanding of the impact that their communication skills have on others, whilst exploring the different ways in which developing these skills can make it easier to succeed. This programme includes identifying common communication problems, developing skills to ask questions, understanding non-verbal messages and, developing skills in active listening and empathy. In all this programme aims to enhance delegates’ ability to handle difficult situations.

Advanced Project Management provides participants with the critical tools, skills and techniques that project members and emerging project managers need. This workshop is designed for those with experience in project management and who are already familiar with the foundational skills.

This one-day workshop focusses on two main areas: The Team (the need to think critically when choosing a team, exploit the strengths of an assigned project team and getting the most out of a team). Communication (developing and executing an effective plan and, improving communication with sponsors and/or executives).