Establishing a positive and respectful coaching relationship is integral to the success of your coaching efforts. It lays the groundwork for accomplishing the goals you and your coachee set. This course highlights the importance of a strong coaching relationship. It describes how to establish rapport with your coachee by showing interest, finding common ground, and matching your coachee's demeanor and language. In addition, the course covers ways to develop a positive coaching relationship, including letting coachees act autonomously and take responsibility, and helping them to learn and develop. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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An important part of any coaching session is asking the right questions. When you do this, your coachees will be more focused, attentive, and proactive in finding their own solutions. But you need to know what questions to ask, and in what order. It helps to follow a structured approach that guides you from a broad understanding of what your coachee is trying to achieve to a clear action plan with detailed steps. This course describes how to carry out effective coaching sessions, including clarifying the coachee's situation and recognizing and determining the best options for your coachee to work with. Finally, the course provides actions for wrapping up a coaching session, including getting commitment, identifying obstacles, creating a plan with deadlines, and agreeing on support going forward. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Coaching offers organizations a win-win method for developing their employees. It not only helps individuals reach their potential but also helps the organization improve its productivity and competitiveness. In a rapidly changing business world, coaching can also help employees adjust and adapt their skill sets. Coaching is about encouraging, confronting, challenging, questioning, as well as consistently respecting and supporting coachees in developing and achieving their goals. This course introduces the skills you need to be an effective coach, including listening and observing, providing feedback, questioning, and setting goals. It also covers how to identify which coaching role is most appropriate for a given individual or situation. The course also details the importance of selling the idea of coaching to those you feel need it. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Every coachee has different needs, and an effective coach can identify those needs and tailor a coaching style to maximize results. Coaches typically use two general coaching styles – directive and nondirective – depending on their coachee's skill and motivation, as well as how far along they are in the coaching relationship. This course highlights the importance of using an appropriate coaching style with your coachee. Specifically, you will learn how to use different techniques for directive and nondirective coaching. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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How do you handle angry and confrontational customers? One of the most challenging, and potentially uncomfortable responsibilities of a customer service person is dealing with angry customers. By following a few simple techniques such as letting the customer vent, and expressing empathy towards the customer's situation, you can usually defuse tense situations without incident. This course explores typical trouble spots in dealing with angry customers, including reasons for customer dissatisfaction and things customer service people should refrain from saying or doing to avoid adding to the customer's frustration. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Good customer service and strong customer relationships begin with building rapport. Building rapport requires knowing your customer, understanding their situation, and providing an empathetic ear for them to voice their concerns. Building rapport can lead to great customer relationships between individuals as well as the company they represent. This course covers how to build rapport with customers by being customer-focused. This includes being able to connect with your customers, being positive, paying close attention to the customers' needs, and understanding their feelings by empathizing with them. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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How do you make a good impression when providing customer service in the field? When you meet customers on their turf, your initial meeting forms the basis for their overall impression of you, your abilities, and your company. You can enhance the impressions you make in the field by using a few tried-and-true techniques, including being prepared, practicing customer recognition, and employing active listening so the customer feels reassured by your presence. To kick off your face-to-face service meeting, you should try to start on a positive note, clearly set the expectations for resolution time and scope, and help customers fully understand your products and services, as well as your intentions. This skill-building course takes your customer service proficiency up a notch toward excellent customer assistance. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Can you hear a smile over the phone? When you're providing customer service over the phone – without the benefits of face-to-face interaction with your customer – it can be challenging to establish the right relationship for excellent service. Just like for face-to-face customer service, there are many techniques for service over the phone that can help you to consistently deliver the best customer service. This course covers the basic rules for answering a customer call including greeting the customer and offering your assistance. It includes information on how to make a good impression by listening and using questions to probe for more information, using your tone, and being able to empathize and be sincere with the customer. This course also describes ways of reflecting or adapting to your customer's style. In the end, customer service should focus on how to better serve and benefit the customer. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Do you know who your customers are? In a customer-focused company, everyone knows they are responsible for excellent external customer service, but who meets the needs of internal customers? Whether you realize it or not, when you do things to help other people within your company do their jobs better, you are providing internal customer service. Internal customer service occurs every time you or a colleague requires information or a service from someone else within the company, and the quality of that service often has a huge impact on the overall quality of service delivered to external customers. This course explores who internal customers are, the expectations placed on serving internal customers, and how to treat your coworkers as you would your external customers. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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There are several defining moments or moments of truth that can make or break every service transaction. To successfully navigate these moments of truth, it's important for service organizations – and specifically customer service leaders – to add value to a customer's experience by creating and implementing strong, clearly-defined service standards. To implement effective standards and strategies, it's crucial that you stay attuned to customer needs and expectations, building a dynamic, adaptive service strategy based on input such as market research and customer feedback. This course explores strategies used to shape the direction of customer service in your organization including defining moments of truth, the creation and implementation of quantifiable service standards and methods of evolving your customer strategy to meet the changing needs of your customers. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Just as organizations must respond to demographic and social changes that introduce new languages, cultures, values, and attitudes to the workplace, so must you as an individual. To understand and appreciate diversity, you must develop an understanding of yourself and the ways in which you and others view the world. Your ability to use a variety of strategies to effectively deal with diverse situations in and out of the workplace is very important. Equally important is the ability to share these effective strategies openly, to leverage the diversity that exists within the organization. This course identifies strategies to help you become aware of your attitudes toward diversity; increase your acceptance of diverse cultures, people, and ideas; and become an advocate for diversity within the workplace. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Imagine for a minute that you work in a place where everyone is the same. All of your coworkers are of the same ethnicity, gender, educational background, and socioeconomic standing. Would you be able to easily generate new ideas? Would the group have the ability to understand things from a different point of view? Without diversity in the workplace, organizations run the risk of becoming monocultural and only viewing things from a very limited perspective. The organization provides the structure for operation of the business and often defines the culture, but it's the individuals interacting within the organization who carry out the mission of the organization. Rather than address the legal underpinnings and requirements related to diversity, this course focuses on how to leverage the diversity that exists within the organization. It defines diversity and dispels some common myths that surround the topic of diversity. The importance of diversity within the ever-changing workplace is described, including the impact of globalization. This course also discusses the barriers and challenges that must be overcome in order to create a diversified working environment. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and deal with emotions in a healthy and productive manner. Many people don't realize that their emotions are determined by what they think, and that concrete self-management techniques exist for gaining control of feelings. Emotional intelligence involves being aware of and managing emotions within your relationships with others. But before you can recognize others' emotions and manage your relationships, you must have a firm sense and control of your own feelings. Through this course you'll learn how to build your emotional intelligence through appropriate actions and techniques for managing your emotions. You'll focus on the competency areas of`self-awareness and self-management. You'll learn how to identify and regulate your own emotions through self-awareness techniques, including understanding the value of emotional self-awareness and recognizing typical behavioral and physical expressions of key emotions. And you'll explore how to move from self-awareness to self-management and how self-management functions as a component of emotional intelligence. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Putting emotional intelligence to work is an emerging trend in the corporate world. Developing the best talents in executives, managers, and employees throughout the organization has become vital to workplace success. Intellectual knowledge is no longer enough; you must also have the interpersonal competence that comes with emotional intelligence. In this course, you'll learn the value of emotions and how they can affect your workplace for better or for worse. You'll gain an understanding of how emotional forces can influence performance and decision making, learn how you can leverage emotions in a way that maximizes performance, and discover how you can shape your own and others' emotions in positive and mutually satisfying ways. The course will focus on using of empathy, particularly in confrontation scenarios, and on helping others to develop their own emotional self-awareness and empathy, leading to more positive exchanges on the job. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Do you pay attention to your emotions and the feelings of those around you? The answer to this question can help you discover how in tune you are with your emotions and help determine your emotional intelligence quotient, or your EQ. Your emotional intelligence quotient is your capacity to reason and analyze emotional information. Becoming aware of your emotions can help you become attuned to your own needs and the needs of others, and can help you make better decisions and develop better relationships. This course explores the power of emotions and the concept of emotional intelligence. It also discusses emotional intelligence competencies in areas of self-awareness, self-management, empathy, and relationship management. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Aggressive people are arguably the most difficult type of people to work with. Hostile-aggressives are openly pushy and can easily intimidate people; passive-aggressives work behind the scenes with hidden agendas. No matter which type of aggressive behavior you have to deal with, aggressive co-workers can easily ruin your day or ruin a project with their behavior. In order to limit the negative impact aggressive people can have, you need a set of tools and techniques at your disposal suited to the particular type of aggressive person you may be dealing with. This course will review the more common behaviors of hostile-aggressive and passive-aggressive people and provide some effective strategies you can use in coping with an aggressor's behavior.

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Have you ever dealt with someone at work who tried to get you to agree to something you really didn't want to do? Some people just seem to want things their way, even if it is not the best for the team or organization. During your career, it is likely that you'll come across coworkers who use manipulation to get what they want, and it may be difficult to avoid them. To ensure you don't get caught up in their games, you need to be able to recognize when you're being manipulated and to have the necessary skills to deal with the manipulative behavior. This course provides an overview of manipulative behavior in the workplace and discusses some effective strategies for dealing with it, such as setting healthy boundaries, documenting your interactions, and confronting the manipulative person.

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For some people, nothing is ever good enough. They complain nonstop about everything from their latest project to the weather. Others may whine or place blame where it may not belong. Negative people contribute to an unproductive work environment and tend to make the people around them feel negative as well. To limit the adverse impact negative people can have in the workplace, you need a set of tools and techniques at your disposal suited to the particular type of negative person you may be dealing with. This course delves into the characteristics of some common types of negative people you may encounter within the workplace, and it also discusses strategies you may use to help you deal with their behavior.

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Nobody likes it when they have to take up someone else's slack. Perhaps you've been in this situation: a coworker said something would get done, but when the deadline was up, it turned out this person somehow never managed to get around to it. There are a variety of reasons for procrastinators behaving the way they do, but whatever the reason, having procrastinators in the workplace is frustrating and can end up causing even more work for you. To limit the negative impact procrastinators can have in the workplace, you need a set of tools and techniques at your disposal suited to the particular type of procrastinator you may be dealing with. This course discusses the characteristics of some common types of procrastinators you may encounter within the workplace, and strategies you may use to help you deal with their behavior.

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What makes a person creative? Do you consider yourself creative? Certain personal characteristics have been linked with creativity – for example, a willingness to take risks, the ability to connect diverse ideas, and open-mindedness. And most important, perhaps, is believing that you are creative. Many people get stuck because they think 'I'm not a creative person.' But everyone has creative potential. Understanding the characteristics you possess that boost your creativity and those that inhibit it can help you enhance your creative output in the workplace. This course explores the essential attributes of a creative person. It also describes barriers to creativity and how to overcome these. In addition, it demonstrates how you can enhance your creativity in the workplace. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Is creativity within everyone's grasp? Does creativity come naturally within a team, or is this a skill that some learn and others don't? Like anything, creativity and innovation can flourish when cultivated with the right tools. This course discusses how to maximize team creativity. It explores the conditions in the work environment that help encourage team creativity, such as diversity among team members. In addition, it describes team methods for fostering creativity, including such techniques as brainstorming and role playing. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Generating creative ideas can be a very exciting and stimulating process. This is particularly true during the initial stages of idea generation, when many adopt an 'anything goes' approach. Later, however, the workability of ideas needs to be verified, or checked. Ideas are more likely to be relevant and useful when they have been assessed in the context of organizational needs, strategies, and resources. Some techniques that can help verify ideas are getting the opinions of key people and using simulations. Building on ideas continues the process of verifying ideas by helping to make those ideas more clear, relevant, and feasible. This course covers a variety of techniques used to verify and build on creative ideas. It outlines when to use research and when to use simulations to check the workability of an idea. In addition, it discusses ways to build on ideas effectively. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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How can you get results if you don't have authority? Cultivating relationships and establishing credibility are necessary, because they allow you to influence others. If you have effective influencing skills, you'll be able to get what you need or want from others – whether it's your boss, a peer, or someone in a completely different department. Effective influencing, however, requires that you know how to build good relationships, and that you have credibility. You won't be able to ask someone for help if you have antagonized that person, or if you haven't followed through on promises you made. In this course, you'll learn how to develop relationships and build credibility so that you can get the results you need at work. You'll also find out how being able to influence others benefits you.

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Sexual harassment can have a disastrous impact on victims, offenders, and the company in which the offense occurs. Training employees in the essentials of prohibited conduct is an important part of reducing liability and maintaining a professional work environment. This course helps participants identify two types of sexual harassment, and recognize behaviors that may be considered sexually harassing in the workplace. Participants will also learn about courses of action available to victims, as well as the rights of employees, and the responsibilities of employers relative to sexual harassment in the workplace. This one-hour course can help your company demonstrate its commitment to a fair, responsible, and healthy organizational environment free from harassment and intimidation. This course was developed with subject matter support provided by the Employment Law Group of the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

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Sexual harassment can have a very negative impact on an organization's work environment. Managers and supervisors have a responsibility to both their employees and their company to know their role in preventing and responding to sexual harassment. This includes knowing the laws, guidelines, policies, and resources for correcting, preventing, and investigating sexual harassment complaints. This two-hour course can help your company demonstrate its commitment to a fair and responsible organizational environment which is free from sexual harassment. This course is designed specifically to address sexual harassment training requirements under California, Connecticut, and Maine law, but is applicable for supervisor and manager training in all states. Additional customization is recommended in order to fully address the state requirements. This course was developed with subject matter support provided by the Employment Law Group of the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

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Tactics or strategy – which would you invest in? Which creates more value for the organization? Every organization strives to be more effective and efficient in reaching its goals and objectives. In an ideal world, your strategy is well defined and aligned with the goals of the organization. HR has a seat at the executive table, helping to set and implement strategy throughout the organization, and all the day-to-day administrative HR activities efficiently support the organizational strategy. This is transformational HR. This course differentiates between traditional transactional HR and transformational HR, revealing the importance of involving HR in organizational strategy. It will show you how to move your HR function into a more transformational role and how to educate management on the importance of a strategic partnership with HR.

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Fulfilling business and organizational goals is at the heart of transformational HR. Where transformational HR is in place, the HR function is directly involved in developing, refining, and implementing an organization's strategic goals. An organization can measure its success only if its end goals are well defined. To define these goals, you must understand your organization and its needs. You can then mobilize the leadership and organizational capabilities to achieve the final result, and ensure all processes are aligned with these goals. This course examines the core functions of HR and demonstrates how you can use these functions to transcend administrative concerns and address the strategic objectives of the organization. It investigates the special transformational roles performed by HR leaders and the specific capabilities required to perform them. Finally, it leads you through the questioning process involved in assessing your organization's readiness for transformational HR. This enables you to determine how well your organization is positioned to support new roles for HR, and identify the changes needed for a successful transition.

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An organization's talent is the key to its success, and HR is perfectly positioned to contribute to that success by optimizing the workforce and engaging employees to use their knowledge, skills, and abilities to support the organization's goals and objectives. This course covers ways in which transformational HR can direct all its talent management processes toward driving performance and achieving high-level business goals. In transformational HR, talent management must be flexible, tailored to the business strategy, entrenched in the organizational culture, and integrated across HR processes and functions. It should also be based on evidence and outcomes, and be future-oriented. This course explores how to use workforce planning to fulfill business strategy through a process of determining your business goals, analyzing the workforce and talent markets, conducting a gap analysis, and setting HR priorities. The course also describes how, at the individual appraisal level, HR can meet business goals through performance management activities, including goal setting, appraisal, feedback, and development planning.

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When HR aligns its initiatives with higher-level business strategy, your organization will be better positioned to achieve its goals. By becoming part of the strategic planning process, HR can help drive the future success of the company because, ultimately, all business objectives are met by the organization's people. By collecting data on meaningful outcomes, HR can steer the organization in the right direction, and design initiatives that directly serve the business strategy. This course explores how HR can improve its strategic value by examining meaningful metrics and demonstrating their connection to business goals. It also examines how HR can then use these metrics to help design strategic initiatives that enable the organization to create value and differentiate itself from competitors.

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This course provides basic information on US money laundering laws and international anti-money laundering efforts. It also discusses actions that those working in banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions can take to better identify and manage risks associated with money laundering. This course was developed with subject matter support provided by the Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Law Group of the law firm of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

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Collaboration is an agreement to engage in some form of economic activity with another party. In modern markets, competitors may decide to collaborate for a number of reasons. These include funding innovation projects, sharing marketing or distribution costs, or implementing best practices in production or services. Collaborating with a competitor can help your company to cut costs and deliver a better priced, quality product to the consumer. Collaborations can be procompetitive or anticompetitive. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) have issued Antitrust Guidelines for Collaborations Among Competitors. This course explains competitor collaborations and outlines these guidelines and how they are applied. SkillSoft's Legal Compliance courses are developed and maintained with subject matter support provided by the Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Law Group of the law firm of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA

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This course outlines antitrust legislation as it applies to trade associations and describes how such associations can avoid antitrust violations. Competitors join a trade association to pursue a common business purpose. This makes such associations especially susceptible to antitrust investigation under federal and state laws, such as Section 1 of the Sherman Act and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. These laws protect a competitive marketplace in which rival firms compete with respect to prices, products, and services. This precludes any trade association activities that would constitute price fixing, allocation of markets or customers, concerted refusal to deal, and price discrimination. A criminal conviction for an antitrust law violation could result in stiff fines for a trade association and its members, jail sentences for individuals who participated in the violation, and a court order disbanding the trade association or severely limiting its activities. Trade associations can protect themselves from such penalties by implementing suitable antitrust compliance procedures. This SkillSoft course has been developed and maintained with subject matter support provided by the Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Law Group of the law firm of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA.

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This course covers the attorney-client privilege that protects communications between attorneys and their clients and ensures their confidentiality. Many corporate businesspeople are not sure of their rights under the attorney-client privilege, and as such risk destroying the privilege and losing their rights. This course defines attorney-client responsibilities and examines how the privilege encourages open and honest communication between attorneys and their clients. This course offers recommendations for using high-tech solutions to protect privileged information, ensuring attorney-client confidentiality. It also examines how recent changes in the anti-money laundering legislation could impact the privilege. Specific applications of the attorney-client privilege to particular circumstances will be determined on the basis of the particular facts of the case, and application of the privilege may vary from one jurisdiction to another. This course provides information about the general concepts of the attorney-client privilege and is not a substitute for legal advice. For any questions concerning the application of the attorney-client privilege in particular circumstances, always consult competent counsel. SkillSoft's Legal Compliance courses are developed and maintained with subject matter support provided by the Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Law Group of the law firm of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA.

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A code of conduct is a key part of the ethical framework in any organization. It should outline an organization's key ethical principles and provide detailed guidelines on the expected standards of behavior for employees. The code must be effectively distributed to all employees in order to be useful, and should include a clear statement of penalties for breaching it. The existence of a well-written code of conduct is beneficial to all employees as well as the organization. This one-hour course teaches participants the concepts and benefits of a corporate code of conduct, and offers practical advice on how to apply the code to ethical dilemmas in a business environment. This course was developed with subject matter support provided by The Beale Firm, PLLC. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

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This course is designed to raise employee awareness about conflicts of interest in the workplace – what constitutes a conflict of interest, how a conflict of interest can be avoided, and the appropriate action to take to ensure that a conflict of interest does not negatively impact the employer or the employee. An employee has a conflict of interest with his or her employer if the employee has any type of personal interest – financial or otherwise – that may impair the employee's judgment, causing the employee to consider his or her own self-interests over those of the employer, when performing job-related duties. A conflict of interest may also exist if the employee has any potential personal interest that may impair the employee's judgment, whether the employee realizes it or not, and even if the employee does not intend to have a conflict of interest. Conflicts of interest do not have to be acted upon to exist – they can be inherent in the relationships and interests an employee has. An employee may have a conflict of interest if the employee's personal interests create the appearance of an impropriety, regardless of whether the employee's judgment is actually impaired. For example, an employee with a conflict of interest may make an impartial decision that benefits the employer, rather than the employee’s own self-interest. However, because of the employee's conflict of interest, the decision might create the appearance of impropriety and the employee's intent or the decision might be called into question. Accordingly, it is best to proactively avoid, disclose and resolve conflicts of interest that may exist, rather than wait for them to be exposed. It is critical for employees, and managers, and executives in particular, in an organization to understand and be able to identify the relationships, interests, activities or actions that may create conflicts of interest for their organization, so they can ensure that effective, fair, and legal practices are followed when making or reviewing business decisions. In addition to enabling employees to recognize conflicts of interest they may have with their employer, this course will enable decision-makers in organizations to identify potential conflicts of interest and develop policies to help employees understand how to avoid, manage, and resolve conflicts of interest. This course was developed with subject matter support provided by the Labor and Employment Practice Group of the law firm of Burr & Forman LLP. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

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This course explains how to identify, win, and manage contracts with the largest consumer of goods and services in the world--the U.S. government. Each year the federal government awards contracts worth over $200 billion to businesses of all sizes and diversity. Of the 20 percent of contracts designated for small businesses, one quarter are aimed at women-owned businesses and another quarter for small disadvantaged businesses or SDBs. This course outlines how businesses of all types and sizes can identify contract opportunities within the government, market goods and services to the awarding government agency, and effectively manage the delivery phase of an awarded contract. This SkillSoft course has been developed and maintained with subject matter support provided by the Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Law Group of the law firm of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA.

1.5

Think about the last time you conducted an employment interview. Did you pay attention to the types of questions you asked the applicants? If not, you may have requested information prohibited under antidiscrimination laws. It is essential to know the types of questions that can, and cannot, be asked in order to avoid charges of unfair discrimination. It is also essential to understand how to use selection procedures that are free from intentional, and unintentional, discrimination. In this course, you will learn about the Equal Employment Opportunity laws and how these laws apply to you. You will also learn how to avoid unfair discrimination in the recruitment and hiring process. This course was developed with subject matter support provided by the Labor and Employment Practice Group of the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

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A sick child at home. An accident or injury. A death in the family. Notification to serve on the jury for an upcoming trial. Each of these events is part of life and can temporarily prevent an employee from being able to perform his or her job. Supervisors and managers often find themselves in the position of approving or denying requests for employee leave as they handle the company’s day-to-day operations. It is important for managers and supervisors to understand the basic guidelines for granting leave that are established by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and other laws. This course describes the family- and health-related situations that trigger an employee’s eligibility to take leave under the FMLA. It also explores the other types of leave which are protected by law and examines the criteria for leave entitlement. This course incorporates the FMLA regulations issued by the U.S. Department of Labor which took effect on January 16, 2009. This course was developed with subject matter support provided by the Labor & Employment Law Group of the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

1

Information about individuals is used by businesses to provide customers with a huge array of targeted goods and personalized services that consumers have come to expect. If it lands in the wrong hands, this same information can result in harm to the very individuals it was meant to serve. The protection of an individual's personal information has business implications that extend beyond the privacy of any one individual. Private information relative to certain businesses and industries is protected by various laws. For example the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) laws protect private medical information. Many states have enacted their own laws, and the federal government is regulated by the Privacy Act of 1974. Legislatures are increasingly responding to calls for greater protection of private information, and stories of improper disclosures of large volumes of private information receive prominent media attention. At present, there is no broad, general federal law protecting the privacy of customer information; most protections are aimed at particular types of information (such as medical or student records, for example) or particular types of businesses (such as medical providers, banks, and financial services businesses, for example). Customers and consumers expect their information to be protected and businesses that recognize the need to make privacy part of their business strategy, are ahead of the game. Many companies have gone to great lengths to protect information using technological advances. However, the ability of a business to protect private information it collects as part of its business is only as strong as its weakest link – the human factor – something that technology just can't overcome. This course is aimed at helping individuals who work with private information understand the ways that this information can be disclosed inadvertently. It will ensure that private information doesn't fall into the wrong hands. SkillSoft's Legal Compliance courses are developed and maintained with subject matter support provided by the Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Law Group of the law firm of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA.

1

Integrity in the procurement and acquisition process is essential to ensuring fairness in the selection and awarding of contracts through a competitive bid process. Prior abuses of these processes led to the passage of the Procurement Integrity Act. The purpose of the act is to protect the federal agency procurement process from federal employees or contractors who attempt to give or obtain information that is not known to other bidders, thereby resulting in an unfair advantage to themselves. The dollar volume of government purchasing is enormous. The rules that apply to the procurement process and maintenance of its integrity are extensive, far-reaching, and complex. Employees of federal contracting organizations who interact with government purchasing officials need to understand the regulatory framework in order to avoid putting themselves, their employers, or government officials with whom they interact in problematic situations. This course was developed with subject matter support provided by the Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Law Group of the law firm of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

1

Does your company have a formal policy for how to retain and dispose of its records? Do you know what records you need to retain, how long you should retain them for, and which disposal techniques you should use? Following the Arthur Andersen case, many companies are reexamining what documents they keep and how long they must keep them. Having a carefully planned and documented record retention policy supports your company's internal documentation and accounting systems and addresses the compliance requirements of state and federal law. While disposing of too many records can increase a company's legal exposure, disposing of too few records increases the costs of storing the records. In this one-hour course, you'll learn how to identify which records must be retained and for how long, the different formats in which records may be stored, techniques for record disposal, and how to make sure your record retention policy complies with the law. SkillSoft's Legal Compliance courses are developed and maintained with subject matter support provided by the Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Law Group of the law firm of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA.

1

One of the most difficult things you will do as a manager is to terminate an employee. The employee who is being terminated – regardless of the reason for the termination – may feel angry, frustrated, or betrayed. He or she may be looking for someone or something else to blame, and if the termination is not handled properly, your company could find itself defending against allegations of wrongful termination. Further, even if the termination is handled properly, the employee may file a claim anyway, and your company must be prepared to successfully defend the termination through appropriate decision making and documentation. An employer must be able to manage its workforce to accommodate the demands of its business. If employees are not performing as expected – or if the company experiences a change in the business and fewer people are needed to perform the work – some hard decisions must be made. Employers can minimize the risk of being involved in wrongful termination claims or lawsuits, or being held liable in the event that they are defending wrongful termination lawsuits, by following some basic guidelines during the hiring process and managing employees' performance during their tenure. Although most employees are employed at will (meaning that an employer can terminate them at any time, for any reason or no reason, as long as it is not an illegal reason), in reality, a termination for no reason is likely to result in a wrongful termination claim. It is much more practical, as well as legally defensible, if there is a legitimate, well documented reason for the termination, and if the termination is handled in an ethical and fair manner. This course is designed to give you an overview of how to rightfully terminate an employee because of a layoff (reduction in force), performance problems, or misconduct while avoiding or being able to successfully defend wrongful termination claims. This course was developed with subject matter support provided by the Employment Law Group of the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

1.5

A trade secret is information that is of proven economic value to its owner, is actively protected, and is not generally known to competitors. Trade secrets are important because they provide a competitive advantage to their owners and may be the only viable form of legal protection available. They are protected under the Uniform Trade Secrets Act (UTSA), in those states that have adopted it, and by common law principles in others. Owners may take legal action if their trade secrets are violated. The single most effective step owners can take to protect trade secrets is to get employees, contractors, and other relevant individuals to sign properly drafted, binding nondisclosure agreements (NDAs). These agreements provide strong protection in most, though not all, circumstances. This two-hour course enables participants to understand the nature of trade secrets, and the legal implications of their use and misuse. SkillSoft's Legal Compliance courses are developed and maintained with subject matter support provided by the Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Law Group of the law firm of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green PA.

2

This course explains the concepts, requirements, and practical application of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act. The ADA makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment against a qualified individual who has a disability. The Act requires all private, state, or local government employers with 15 or more employees to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to apply for jobs and work in positions for which they are qualified, have equal access to benefits and privileges, and have an equal opportunity to be promoted once they are working. The course outlines the manager's role in ADA compliance and explores the potential consequences of failing to comply with the ADA's requirements. This course was developed with subject matter support provided by the Employment Law Group of the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not intended to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

1

In today's workplace, organizations increasingly are experiencing a diverse community of employees and customers. Having and knowing how to respond to a diverse workforce can enhance an organization's ability to cope with changing workplace dynamics, and expand the creativity of the organization while at the same time facilitating staff retention and productivity. This course was developed with subject matter support provided by the Employment Law Group of the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

1

The corporate scandals in recent years have highlighted the need for the development of corporate and legal standards for ethical conduct in business. The perceived lack of integrity in the business world, and the lack of concern for the consumer at that time, heightened demands for businesses to develop a stronger focus on ethics in business. This course considers the concept of ethics and its role in today's corporate culture. It looks at the impact of business ethics on both the individual and the organization and covers how the use of an ethical framework can promote ethically driven behavior. The course also focuses on how the learner can use an ethical filter to help negotiate ethical dilemmas. This course was developed with subject matter support provided by the Employment Law Group of the law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship and is not intended to constitute legal advice or to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

1

This course on workplace violence seeks to help employees understand the motivations that trigger violence in the workplace and to prevent workplace violence from occurring. Violence can happen in any type of workplace. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the US, 10% of the 5,071 work-related deaths in 2008 were attributable to homicide, and 6% to other types of assault and violent acts (US Department of Labor, 2009). While this is certainly troubling, the incidence of workplace deaths attributable to violence is just a small percentage of the violence that occurs in US workplaces. The majority of violent incidents that managers and employees deal with on a daily basis consist of assault, domestic violence, stalking, bullying, robbery, and harassment of all types, including sexual harassment. This course will enable all employees to recognize the early warning signs of impending workplace violence, and the actions they can take to prevent and reduce workplace violence. This SkillSoft product has been reviewed by the Employment Practice Group of Burr & Forman LLP. Please note, however, that the course materials and content are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein, or in the course materials, shall be construed as professional advice as to any particular situation or constitute a legal opinion with respect to compliance with any federal, state, or local laws. Transmission of the information is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel. The information contained herein is provided only as general information that may or may not reflect the most current legal developments. This information is not intended to substitute for obtaining legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

1.5

Why is it so hard to get people to agree to a good idea? Why are some leaders constantly faced with challenges and objections? Reaching agreement as a leader does not mean you should manipulate or force people to accept your ideas and accomplish your objectives; there are ethical ways for leaders to successfully build influence. Leaders attempting to influence and persuade others are faced with the challenges of navigating through organizational politics. An effective leader recognizes that organizational politics can provide positive ways to influence others in order to accomplish goals. In this course, you will be guided through numerous methods and strategies for effectively influencing a team to accept your ideas. You'll be introduced to the importance of political awareness and the essential skills involved in using positive politics and avoiding negative politics when persuading others. You'll also have an opportunity to practice methods for influencing effectively and ethically. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Today's leaders must be able to communicate vision in such a way that the audience is engaged and everyone understands and internalizes the message. Effective leadership communication gives purpose and meaning to the work that people do. Leaders should strive to communicate vision with a sense of integrity, building trust as an individual and as a leader. This course provides a general introduction to vision communication, including its nature and its purpose. You will be guided through numerous techniques and methods for a leader to successfully communicate vision, such as personalizing and multiplying a clear message, communicating enthusiasm in an authentic way, and making the organization's vision the employees' own vision. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

How many times have you and your team decided on new plans to make day-to-day processes more efficient, only to watch months slip by with those plans unexecuted? Why don't certain tasks get executed? Why do things stay the same, even when the change is critical to your team? This course provides you with techniques and strategies for executing business strategy, and more importantly, ideas on how to cultivate a culture that supports the active business execution needed to keep pace with today's fast-changing world. Specifically, the course will explore techniques for fostering a culture of business execution, one that leverages planning, people, and practice in an integrated approach to business execution. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Poised, outgoing, cheerful, having empathy for others, being able to express feelings directly but appropriately, and having the capacity for developing relationships. All of these abilities distinguish individuals with high emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is a more reliable predictor of success than intellect! Leaders with a strong mixture of emotional awareness, self-management, and social skills navigate relationships more effectively and are more likely to be successful in their personal and professional lives. This course provides you with an understanding of why emotional intelligence abilities are important as a leader. It also provides you with practical, positive techniques for promoting and improving emotional intelligence as a leader within your business environment. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

Imagine what your organization would be like if you and your colleagues were not motivated. Motivation is what drives people to accomplish things, whether it be small tasks or large undertakings. Without motivation, things simply would not get done. The ability to create an environment that encourages motivation takes both practice and skill as it's not a quality inherent in most people. As a leader, your capacity for motivating plays a key element in the success of your organization. This course provides you with an understanding of why motivating strategies are important as a leader. It also provides you with practical techniques for encouraging motivation among employees in your organization. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Highly successful teams have members who exhibit certain key characteristics, including an honest and fair approach, personal integrity, and a positive attitude. But two personal qualities are particularly crucial for a member of a high-performance team: a healthy level of trust in others and a sense of commitment to the team. In the early stages of team development, leaders must set up structures and processes that support the development of these team characteristics. This course offers strategies used to build trust based on encouraging honest, accountable, fair, and positive behavior. The course also provides leaders with strategies that help increase team member commitment, such as being supportive, making members feel secure, providing interesting work, and acknowledging contributions and achievements. By using these strategies, team leaders can develop a cohesive team that works together to reach its goals. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

Successful teams are characterized by having a clear direction, trust among team members, effective communication, and the ability to quickly resolve conflict. In the early stages of team development, leaders must set up structures and processes that support the development of these team characteristics. Effective leadership is particularly required during the Storming stage of team development when conflict tends to be at its highest. The survival of the team depends on a team leader who can quickly recognize conflict, diagnose its cause, and use strategies to resolve the issue. In doing so, the leader restores trust and positive working relationships among team members. This course offers you an understanding about what causes conflicts on a team and the important role of healthy communication in handling conflicts. It presents many best practice approaches to resolving conflicts and illustrates the tenets of principled negotiation. By learning the principles and strategies presented in this course, you will have the skills to keep your high-performance teams away from destructive patterns of conflict and on track to achieving their goals. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

Henry Ford once said that coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. Mr. Ford knew the importance of teamwork. Ask anyone who has worked in a project or team environment, and he will tell you that team dynamics make a huge difference in terms of getting work done and in the whole working environment. A positive, constructive atmosphere can keep team members motivated and productive, while a negative atmosphere can have the opposite effect. Developing effective project teams is one of the primary responsibilities of a team leader. This course outlines the role of the team leader on a high-performance team and highlights the importance of taking steps to develop the team culture early on during team formation. It offers methods used to encourage team participation and provides some key strategies used to build a cohesive team culture by encouraging social interactions, establishing team member competencies, and promoting interdependence. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

The way in which a team is built is an important factor in determining team success. Leading a team quickly and smoothly into high performance mode requires the groundwork of setting team goals, identifying project tasks and assigning the right people to them, and defining the standards of team behavior to ensure team members work together so that team objectives are met. This course covers techniques for laying the foundation for a successful team. These techniques include setting team goals, assigning roles to individual team members, and defining specific guidelines that outline how team members should behave to minimize conflict and optimize team performance. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

You have a team established and everyone is committed to the team goals. However, a common focus is not always enough to help your team achieve success. You must ensure that team members can communicate with you and with one another, and that they will work as a team rather than as individuals. This course outlines the importance and benefits of promoting team communication and collaboration. It covers techniques for encouraging effective communication by employing a favorable communication style and ensuring the team profits from team meetings. The course also introduces strategies that team leaders should implement to encourage team collaboration, including fostering shared ownership and stressing the team orientation. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

Leading successful teams is an art, and team leaders can face many challenges when trying to optimize team performance. Whether you're a current team leader or simply someone who would like to develop the skills that would make you a strong candidate, you need to know certain things about how teams function and what it takes to develop a high-performance team. Among the most important things to know: good team development begins on day one. Forming an effective and cohesive team is fundamental to the success of the team later on, and pulling the right team together from the start has benefits far beyond just completing tasks on time. In this course, you'll learn techniques for setting up successful teams that can be applied to a variety of team environments. This course outlines the benefits of business teams and the importance of taking proactive measures to ensure a smooth transition during the initial phase of team formation. It reviews the five stages of team development and offers strategies for dealing with issues that may arise during the first stage, Forming. You'll learn strategies for selecting high-performing team members most suited for your project or team, as well as recommendations for performing proper introductions, clarifying team purpose and context, and making sure team members understand their responsibilities. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

Virtual teams are emerging as the basic unit for conducting business of all types. Studies show that over 80% of workers today are involved in some way with team members who are not physically located in the same office. Virtual communication networks have made virtual teams possible, while globalization has made them a necessity. Leading virtual teams presents new challenges to leaders and managers. Virtual team leaders must find ways to successfully manage people who are separated by distance, time zones, and cultural differences. This course offers leaders a framework for successfully leading virtual teams. It outlines the key competencies that members of virtual teams should possess and offers guidelines for specific virtual team activities, such as teleconferencing and decision making. It also highlights a variety of tools and technologies that are commonly used for collaboration on virtual teams and presents guidelines for knowing how to choose the right technologies for specific situations. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

As teams mature, they're able to perform more independently. Accordingly, team leaders must shift their role to one of maintaining motivation and optimizing team member performance. This ensures that their teams continue to perform at peak levels. The early stages of team development are about establishing the purpose of the team and its key goals, but once the team is up and running, the leader has a prominent role to play in guiding the team to success. This course describes ways to optimize team performance and effectiveness through assessments and feedback. It outlines strategies for sustaining high performance, including using coaching to improve team performance and motivating through shared leadership. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

An important part of any coaching session is asking the right questions. When you do this, your coachees will be more focused, attentive, and proactive in finding their own solutions. But you need to know what questions to ask, and in what order. It helps to follow a structured approach that guides you from a broad understanding of what your coachee is trying to achieve to a clear action plan with detailed steps. This course describes how to carry out effective coaching sessions, including clarifying the coachee's situation and recognizing and determining the best options for your coachee to work with. Finally, the course provides actions for wrapping up a coaching session, including getting commitment, identifying obstacles, creating a plan with deadlines, and agreeing on support going forward. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

Establishing a positive and respectful coaching relationship is integral to the success of your coaching efforts. It lays the groundwork for accomplishing the goals you and your coachee set. This course highlights the importance of a strong coaching relationship. It describes how to establish rapport with your coachee by showing interest, finding common ground, and matching your coachee's demeanor and language. In addition, the course covers ways to develop a positive coaching relationship, including letting coachees act autonomously and take responsibility, and helping them to learn and develop. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

Every coachee has different needs, and an effective coach can identify those needs and tailor a coaching style to maximize results. Coaches typically use two general coaching styles – directive and nondirective – depending on their coachee's skill and motivation, as well as how far along they are in the coaching relationship. This course highlights the importance of using an appropriate coaching style with your coachee. Specifically, you will learn how to use different techniques for directive and nondirective coaching. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

Coaching offers organizations a win-win method for developing their employees. It not only helps individuals reach their potential but also helps the organization improve its productivity and competitiveness. In a rapidly changing business world, coaching can also help employees adjust and adapt their skill sets. Coaching is about encouraging, confronting, challenging, questioning, as well as consistently respecting and supporting coachees in developing and achieving their goals. This course introduces the skills you need to be an effective coach, including listening and observing, providing feedback, questioning, and setting goals. It also covers how to identify which coaching role is most appropriate for a given individual or situation. The course also details the importance of selling the idea of coaching to those you feel need it. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

Negotiations can be tough. But keeping your wits through pressure and problems can lead to breakthroughs and success. Negotiations commonly fail because poor approaches and tactical blunders create additional stumbling blocks to overcome. Negotiators need to be aware of the kinds of actions or attitudes that can hinder the achievement of an agreement. But they also need to understand tactics the other side may use to create a negotiating advantage. This course describes how to overcome common errors in negotiating. It also covers strategies for dealing with difficult negotiating tactics from the other side. Finally, it outlines how to diagnose barriers to agreement.

1

If you want to achieve a successful outcome in a negotiation, you need to communicate well. And this means not only being clear in how you deliver your message but also ensuring the other party feels understood. You need to actively and skillfully create a connection with the person you're negotiating with. Otherwise, you won't ever reach an agreement. This course describes ways you can communicate effectively in a negotiation. It discusses how to set the tone for a negotiation, make an effective and clear proposal, and respond positively to the other party in the negotiation.

1

Successful negotiators have the ability to persuade others that their interests are important. But they don't achieve this by ignoring the interests of the other party. Instead, they frame and adapt their interests to reflect the other side's viewpoint. This course identifies the value of persuasion in negotiations and highlights strategies to help you be persuasive in negotiations. It also covers techniques for effectively dealing with difficult people in negotiations.

1

It's true that negotiating can sometimes seem a daunting task. But if you're properly prepared, you'll likely reach an outcome that benefits both you and the other party without too much stress. If you've ever gone into a negotiation without preparing, it's likely that you were reactive and unfocused, and you may have ended up with a less than desirable outcome. Proper planning would have given you the direction needed to do effective problem solving at the negotiation table. Thinking carefully about what you want to achieve, as well as what the other party wants, will pave the way for a smooth and successful negotiation. You will know which terms are acceptable to you and which are not, and you will be ready for objections from the other party. This course describes key considerations when preparing for a negotiation. It also covers how to prepare for likely compromises you'll need to make, and how having alternatives to a negotiated agreement and knowing your 'walk away' point can make negotiations go smoother.

1

A truly effective team is equal to more than the sum of its parts. And it takes the dedication of every member of the team. Effective team members go beyond themselves and their personal desires and goals. If you want to be an effective team member, your challenge is to put the team first, which means maximizing your contributions to help the team accomplish its purpose. This course covers strategies and techniques to help you become an effective and valued member of your team. Specifically, you'll explore ways for adopting a positive approach to being on a team, like recognizing the benefits of working on a team and learning to tolerate team member differences. You'll also learn how to work proactively and collaboratively with members of your team as you achieve your team's goals.

1

Regardless of how talented the individual members of your team are, they can only get your team so far alone. To maximize their potential, teams rely on the participation, input, and opinions of all team members. Learning to speak up and encouraging others to open up are important to a team's success. Effective communication is the fuel that will keep your team going to the finish line. In this course, you'll learn the importance of fostering a team environment that encourages open and supportive communication. You will learn to recognize common verbal barriers that can seriously interfere with team productivity and learn strategies for eliminating those barriers. This course also covers active listening and presents techniques for listening more effectively to teammates, thereby encouraging the sharing of ideas within the team.

1

Three elements are always present in any effective, cohesive team: open communication, cooperation, and trust. Like the strands of a cord, these elements hold the team together and give it strength. Without these elements, team members will not participate fully in team activities and they won't find true satisfaction in their work. When trust and open communication is present, ideas flow and people find solutions to problems. When there's cooperation, team members feel connected to each other, and morale is high. This course introduces techniques for building a cohesive team and highlights how poor communication, a trust-deficient atmosphere, and a lack of cooperation among team members leads to failure of the team achieving its goals. This course covers what needs to happen in order to reach true unity and cohesiveness, which will in turn take the team to new heights.

1

All individuals have strengths that allow them to achieve goals consistently and successfully. In a team setting, those individual strengths can combine to lead the whole team to success, or they can create conflict and tension. To harness individual strengths and personalities, you need solid ground rules for the team. You also need to allocate roles and responsibilities for maximum efficiency. This course outlines initial steps that should be performed when building a team, including establishing the team goal and assigning roles to individual team members in a way that ensures the team will collectively meet its goal. The course also discusses the importance of fully understanding one's responsibilities and how the various roles work together to achieve the goal.

1

A crucial component of optimal team performance is the ability of all team members to openly express their ideas, goals, and needs, as well as share thoughts about each other's performance – both positive and negative. The same principle applies when it comes to receiving feedback. It's far better to hear the truth directly than to assume your performance is the best it can be. In this course, you'll learn how to deliver feedback to other members of your team using a direct, honest, and assertive style that strives to eliminate uncertainty. You'll also learn techniques to help you receive and process feedback provided by other team members. Mastering this feedback loop provides an opportunity to grow as an individual, as well as improve team performance as a whole.

1

Making decisions in your personal and professional life is not always easy, especially when you're dealing with an uncertain or unknown future. And there are many situations that can make decision making particularly challenging, such as when you have to weigh very similar or very disparate alternatives then make compromises and trade-offs between them. Another situation is when you have to determine whether to trust logic, intuition, or some combination of the two. This course reviews a number of these decision-making challenges and introduces strategies for dealing effectively with uncertainty, making informed trade-offs using a systematic process, and placing appropriate trust in your intuition when making difficult decisions. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

1

To emphasize the need of a formal decision-making process, C. Wright Mills, an American sociologist and author, once said, 'Freedom is not merely the opportunity to do as one pleases; neither is it merely the opportunity to choose between set alternatives. Freedom is, first of all, the chance to formulate the available choices, to argue over them – and then the opportunity to choose.' It's been estimated that most human beings make thousands of decisions in the course of an average day, many of which are unconscious decisions. It is important for your personal and professional success that you become an effective decision maker. This involves following an established decision-making process and adapting your decision-making style to suit different situations. This course introduces you to the fundamentals of decision making and illustrates techniques to help you become an effective decision maker. The course first walks you through the steps of a widely accepted decision-making process. Then it leads to a description of the factors influencing your decision-making style and shows how to adapt that style to suit a given situation. So you'll have everything you need to start on the road to becoming an effective decision maker. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Napoleon Bonaparte once said, 'Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.' Good decision making means choosing the course of action that optimizes the return on your investment of resources. But before you can make a good decision, you need to first identify and evaluate your alternatives. Fortunately, a number of tools and techniques are available that can help you to formalize the process of identifying alternatives, carefully evaluating them, and finally making the best decision possible with the information available to you. These tools multiply the power of your most important assets in good decision making: your intelligence and common sense. This course introduces a variety of tools and techniques to use at the three most important steps of the decision-making process: generating, evaluating, and choosing between alternative courses of action. Nominal group technique (NGT) is used to brainstorm and prioritize options as a team. Return on Investment (ROI) measures distill the costs and benefits of each alternative into a monetary value, thus enabling you to easily compare your options on financial terms. Three other decision-making tools – the devil's advocate technique, Plus/Minus/Interesting (PMI) analysis, and the ease-and-effect matrix – provide alternate methodologies for challenging and evaluating alternatives before making a decision. Equipping yourself with these tools will ensure you have an edge when you're facing an important decision. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Achieving your problem-solving goals typically involves applying problem-solving skills and tools through various steps in an established problem-solving process. Whatever you think of your current problem-solving skills, it is always possible to improve upon them, and even to develop new skills. To improve, you first need to assess your existing problem-solving style, identify your strengths and weaknesses, and develop an ongoing strategy for sharpening and building your skills. You also need to recognize the key barriers that lie in the way of effective problem solving – your biases – and develop techniques for reducing their impact on your ability to solve problems. This course helps you assess and develop your problem-solving skills, and also aims to help you recognize and overcome several types of bias. The course first takes you through the process of assessing and interpreting your existing problem-solving styles. It then introduces approaches for identifying areas for improvement in your problem-solving skill set and recommends strategies for enhancing key skills. Finally, it explains how to recognize and overcome biases in a problem-solving situation. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Norman Vincent Peale, who stressed the need for analyzing a problem at a granular level, once said, 'When a problem comes along, study it until you are completely knowledgeable. Then find that weak spot, break the problem apart, and the rest will be easy.' A fact-based, honest analysis happens at two key steps in the problem-solving process: first when you analyze problems to identify the root causes, and then, when you evaluate and analyze potential solutions to determine the one that has the maximum chance of success. Several tools are used for analysis and evaluation at each of these steps. Examples of tools that help find the root causes of the problem are the cause-and-effect diagram and five-why analysis. Cost-benefit and force-field analysis help in choosing the best solution. This course helps you recognize the value of honest, fact-based analysis and demonstrates how the application of a few tools greatly assists you when determining the root cause of a problem and the best solution. The course first discusses problem analysis, illustrates steps to follow when analyzing problems, and outlines the tools used for uncovering the root causes. It then describes how to use evaluation and analysis when choosing the best solution from the alternatives available, as well as some of the tools you can use to assist in your endeavors. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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'The problem,' says author and psychiatrist Theodore Rubin, 'is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.' A problem is a question or situation that presents doubt, perplexity, or difficulty. It's an issue that needs to be corrected or overcome in order to achieve a desired state. Problem solving involves goal-oriented thinking and action in situations for which no ready-made solutions exist. Whether consciously or unconsciously, everybody solves problems relating to their personal or work life every day. However, you can greatly improve your problem-solving effectiveness by gaining a better understanding of the problem-solving process, essential skills, and required competencies, as well as an awareness of the mind traps and pitfalls that impair the process. This course takes you through the essentials of problem solving and explores some of its challenges. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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One of the most significant challenges to the growth and survival of any business is finding and retaining qualified employees. It's not enough to offer an appealing or unique product or service to your customers. A company's people are the new competitive advantage. Those responsible for staffing organizations are not only challenged with finding adequate potential employees, but finding the right people for the positions they need to fill. This course explores two aspects of recruitment as one component of a sustainable talent management strategy: attracting the talent needed to meet the company's needs, and using innovative recruiting techniques to find the right people. Learners will explore how to consider the needs of the organization balanced against the expectations and needs of the potential employees who comprise the talent market. The talent market consists of a cross-section of potential employees that spans generations, cultures, languages, and even continents, each of which brings something different to the table and may expect or want something different in return. The course specifically focuses on how to appeal to these recruits by tapping in to what is important to them in a job. It also prepares learners to establish and implement a recruitment strategy. Reflecting the most up-to-date recruitment information, this course provides foundational principles that learners can effectively put to work in their own organizations.

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Employee retention remains a critical issue that no corporation is immune to. For a company to remain successful and competitive, it must keep its biggest assets – its people – engaged and committed for the long term. It's a known fact that even the most lucrative compensation plan alone is not enough to keep your much-needed employees from moving on, so your organization must utilize successful strategies for retaining employees. This course provides you with an overview of employee retention strategies. Specifically, you'll explore the elements of a high-retention organization and the procedure for implementing a successful retention strategy. This course also covers employee engagement, including identifying and enhancing engagement drivers, measuring engagement, and executing an engagement strategy.

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Is creativity within everyone's grasp? Does creativity come naturally within a team, or is this a skill that some learn and others don't? Like anything, creativity and innovation can flourish when cultivated with the right tools. This course discusses how to maximize team creativity. It explores the conditions in the work environment that help encourage team creativity, such as diversity among team members. In addition, it describes team methods for fostering creativity, including such techniques as brainstorming and role playing. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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What makes a person creative? Do you consider yourself creative? Certain personal characteristics have been linked with creativity – for example, a willingness to take risks, the ability to connect diverse ideas, and open-mindedness. And most important, perhaps, is believing that you are creative. Many people get stuck because they think 'I'm not a creative person.' But everyone has creative potential. Understanding the characteristics you possess that boost your creativity and those that inhibit it can help you enhance your creative output in the workplace. This course explores the essential attributes of a creative person. It also describes barriers to creativity and how to overcome these. In addition, it demonstrates how you can enhance your creativity in the workplace. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Conflict can have many causes – disagreements about who does what, or about how things are done, as well as disagreements related to personality and style. And inevitably, conflicts will arise in the workplace, so it's critical to be able to deal with them successfully. If you avoid conflict that requires quick, decisive action, or if you take an aggressive approach when you need to gain the commitment of the other person, you may make the situation worse. Unresolved conflict can intensify and hinder your productivity as you spend more time worrying about the conflict than achieving your goals. And remember, the costs of prolonged conflict can be high – negative emotions, blocked communication, and stress. But choosing the appropriate response based on the type of conflict is important. When you address conflict properly, you will experience a number of benefits: it can enhance your creativity and it can strengthen your relationships, for example. This course describes these and other benefits of conflict. It also explains the types of conflict situations you're likely to face in the workplace and describes appropriate responses depending on the outcome you want. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Whether you like it or not, conflict is an inevitable part of life. So learning to deal with it effectively is a key skill. The more quickly and effectively you can resolve a conflict, the sooner you can get on with more productive activities in your day. Additionally, each successfully resolved conflict will lead to more confidence and knowledge about how to approach other conflicts you may face in the future. This course describes techniques you can use to deal effectively with a conflict situation. You'll learn that an important first step is to define the conflict by clarifying the issues surrounding it. You'll also find out about the importance of describing the conflict to the other party in a way that doesn't make them defensive. In addition, the course outlines collaboration skills that can help you deal with conflicts effectively, building trust and cooperation and preventing the escalation of conflict. Materials designed to support blended learning activities aligned with this course are available from the Resources Page.

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Disciplinary action in the workplace is a delicate matter. A serious conflict between manager and worker can give rise to a lengthy grievance procedure, or, at worst, legal action. Detailed disciplinary documents are the best defense when a manager's actions are called into question. Without these documents there may be no record of a worker's repeated infractions or failure to satisfy job requirements. There may also be no evidence of a manager's attempt to deal with the worker in a fair and constructive manner. This course explains how documentation can make all the difference, and examines the potential fallout from failure to document. It also suggests steps for progressive documentation and explains what and how to document. This SkillSoft product has been reviewed by the Employment Practice Group of Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green. As of the date reviewed, the content of this course is in compliance with federal law and court decisions. Due to the rapidly changing nature of the law, information in this course may become outdated.

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