Staff Development Workshops

WorkScales believes that by enhancing our communication and understanding of others, we can enrich our relationships, become better managers and improve organisational productivity and performance. All our workshops are for one day unless otherwise stated, fully participative and work best with 8 – 14 candidates. WorkScales is a founding organisational member of the Association for Coaching and abides by their guidelines concerning client confidentiality, ethics and practice. 

Stress Management For Management For Staff:

This workshop informs you how to recognise signs of stress and what happens to your body under stress long-term. It includes personal stress audits to determine just how stressed you are and whether your personality is more likely to make you stressed. The workshop covers communication skills and how being more assertive can help with stress-related issues. It also covers time management and the importance of eating the right foods when stressed. We tackle all your “thinking errors” and teach you how to recognise when you are contributing towards your own stress. The workshop ends with a relaxation exercise and positive imagery techniques. You will leave at the end of the day with a personal action plan to combat stress in the future.

Stress Management For Managers:

This workshop informs you how to recognise signs of stress in yourself and in others. It advises on the long-term effects of organisational stress and advises on the employers’ legal obligations. We discuss the main factors that affect staff performance and cause work-related stress and what a manager can do to alleviate it. We help managers improve on their communication skills and working relationships. We also advise what to do if staff members are experiencing stress and how to manage staff absences. We cover effective time management and tackling “thinking errors”. We finish the day with a relaxation exercise and help create individual action plans.

Coaching Skills For Managers:

Many organisations are adopting a coaching philosophy, which has proven benefits to increasing profit and performance. How and why does coaching work? This workshop teaches managers the basics of coaching, including how to empower staff by the use of Socratic questioning, setting goals and delegating without micro-managing.  Great for all managers who find it difficult to motivate their staff and want to improve on their department’s performance.

Change Management For Staff:

This workshop uses the fun elements of the ‘Who Moved my Cheese?’ story to ascertain the group’s reaction to change, the steps involved and how to work through it.  It helps alleviate stress during change, teaches positive thinking techniques and increases communication skills. The candidates will leave with their own personal action plan for change.

Change Management For Managers:

A fresh approach to managing change which looks at not only tools, but how to embed positive behaviour and change the mindset of those involved in change. Using the fun elements of the ‘Who Moved my Cheese?’ story, mixed with easy to follow models and tools, the session will provide you with a large range of tools and techniques to manage and sustain change, reduce the amount of resistance people pit up during change, as well as looking at what can be doe pro-actively to manage people in preparation for change. The workshop is for anyone who manages people, or is involved in managing or instigating change in the business.

Confidence Building And Assertiveness Skills:

Learn how to increase your confidence, control your nerves, handle difficult situations and people successfully and become more assertive, both at home and at work. Using a variety of tools and cognitive behavioural techniques, this workshop is designed for anyone who lacks confidence or has difficulty saying “No” to unreasonable requests. No one is forced to introduce themself to the group or do anything they don’t want to do. Maximum 10 participants.

Communication Skills Workshop:

Explores why we often fail to communicate effectively. Discover why there are so many misunderstandings between people. Overcome your personal prejudices and obstacles to listening effectively. Learn the importance of empathy and how to paraphrase and assess meaning.   Learn the importance of asking open questions – why coaching works. What our body language displays to other people. How to deal with “difficult” people and situations. This workshop is suitable for anyone who wants to improve their relationships with others.

Overcoming Nerves- Presentation And Public Speaking Skills:

In 1984 a New York Times study on Social Anxiety asked people what they most feared. The top two fears were walking into a room of strangers and speaking in public. Death came third! This half-day workshop helps you overcome irrational fears using cognitive behavioural techniques and gives tips on how to present yourself positively and make outstanding presentations. Maximum 10 participants.

Interviewing Skills

This half-day workshop is designed for participants who are terrified of interviews. Helps candidates overcome their nerves and know what to expect. Can be geared towards specific internal vacancies.  Maximum 10 participants.

Pre-Retirement

Aimed at employees thinking about retiring in the next ten years, this workshop addresses feelings about retiring, lifestyle changes, importance of diet and health, financial advice, options available including expanding current interests, finding new opportunities, paid work and volunteering, travel and adventure, learning and development. Designed to promote positivity and enable the participants to start formulating an action plan for the future.

Your Next Move

One-day workshop specifically designed for candidates facing redundancy. Addresses feelings surrounding loss of role; encourages positive thinking; examines participants’ skills, likes, dislikes and preferences; looks at opportunities in the current job market and advises how to approach it; gives practical guidance on how to formulate a winning CV and help with interviewing skills, including role plays. Also includes how to negotiate salaries and decide upon job offers.