Staff development involves not just running required classes to meet legal requirements.  It includes developing your work force to meet your current and future needs.  Many employers look at staff development as a chore, as an item that they

“would love to do if we only had the time and money.” 

Enlightened employers know that employee turnover is most often related to dissatisfaction with one’s direct supervisor, as consistently shown in studies.  That dissatisfaction is often caused from the practice common in many companies of promoting people who do the work to a position managing others who do the work, without giving these new managers any training or support. 

Proactive employers know that by providing some basic soft skills to their managers and staff, right along side the required technical training they can significantly reduce turnover while at the same time increasing productivity and profit.  

A large medical laboratory employed Jacqueline Barnes to create just that type of staff development program.  To the right is an excerpt from a 2003 Hawaii Pacific Business News article about that program.

“In addition to the required classes on safety and governmental compliance, they transformed DLS into a learning organization… DLS has developed a management development series and provides five customized programs beginning with ‘The TranZition Zone’ for staff who have been recently promoted to management.”
“Excellent technicians were routinely advanced into management with no training and, after a while, it showed.  Three years ago, the executive management, headed by Dr. John Edwards, decided to add communication, coaching, and team-building programs for the management team and staff alike.  ‘It was appropriate to develop our intellectual capital, not only to make them better employees, but also to help in their daily lives, Edwards said.’”
“It is rare for most companies, much less laboratories, to offer soft skills-development programs for its managers, much less technical managers.  It is even rarer to offer them to staff members.  DLS provides a full year’s program consisting of one-hour sessions for all non-management staff on team building, conflict resolution, career development and many more.”

Your company might require some or all of the above, or perhaps just a stand-alone workshop or two. Barnes Consulting, Inc. can help you determine and implement the BEST approach for your organization.

Get a FREE consultation to find out how Jackie can make your business more efficient and get tips on how to increase productivity.

 
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Topics for STAND-ALONE WORKSHOPS:

  • Developing an Effective Management Team
  • Resolving Conflicts
  • Raising Cultural and Racial Awareness
  • Assessing Your Company’s Competence in Gender Related Issues
  • Managing Change in a Rapidly Changing World
  • Developing and Measuring Quality Standards
  • Improving Processes: Principles and Practices
  • Disciplining Employees: Training, Coaching, and Correction
  • Writing Competency Based Job Descriptions and Performance Evaluations
  • Performing Performance Evaluations
  • Writing and Managing Policies and Procedures
  • Managing Projects
  • Using Your Myers Briggs Type to Work More Effectively