Developing Essential Skills for the HR Professionals Workshop

Program overview:
Organizations across industries are faced with rapid changes in the business environments. Technology, economic upheavals and many other factors are driving so much changes that businesses need strategic flexibility in order to stay afloat and remain competitive. HR is one of the prominent areas where a business can gain competitive advantages. In other words, HR managers that possess the right sets of skills in this changing business landscape can help their organization to stay ahead of the curve. Thus, the HR professionals of today have a more complex role to play than before. Experienced Human Resource practitioners who wish to update their knowledge and skills about the latest techniques in various Human Resource functions will benefit greatly for this program

For whom:
The program is designed for experienced officers and managers in Human Resources department who wish to update their knowledge and skills about the latest techniques in the various Human Resources functions. Employees deployed from line functions to HR, Administration officers and Office managers can also benefit from this course.

Learning objectives:
At the end of this program, participants will be able to:
• define communication and explain its importance to the work of HR professionals;
• explains the main principles of business communication and report writing;
• produce written HR correspondence and sample HR reports;
• apply the basic skills of conflict resolution including influencing;
• explain the importance of customer service in HR and the steps to build the required mind set; and
• acquire skills in EI Competencies to effectively carry out the HR functions.

Course outline:

Day 1: Human Resource and Communication
• Definition of Communication, §Communication in HR
• Characteristics of an Effective HR Communicator
• Questioning Techniques,
o Listening and Empathy
• Interviewing Techniques:
o The STAR Technique,
o the FACT Technique
o the Probing Technique
• The Leading Technique,
• Basics of Public Speaking

Day 2: HR Business Communication and HR Report
• Basics of Business Writing,
o Writing HR Reports
o Common Mistakes in Writing HR Correspondence and Reports
o Examples of HR Correspondence and Reports
• Conflict Resolution: A Required Skill for HR Professionals
o Definition of Conflict,
o Sources of Conflict in HR
• Thomas Kilmann Conflict Model,
o Influencing Skills,
o Practical Applications in HR

Day 3: Client-Centric HR Departments
• Definition of Customer Service,
o Internal Customers versus External Customers
• The Importance of Customer Service in HR,
o HR Customers – Who Are They!
• Building a Customer Service Mentality in the HR Department
• Coaching and Counseling Employees and Line Managers

Day 4: Coaching, Counseling and Mentoring
• Importance of Coaching and Counseling to HR Professionals
• Difference between Coaching, Counseling and Mentoring
• The 5 Principles of Coaching:
o Principle 1: Feedback,
o Principle 2: Accountability,
o Principle 3 Challenge
o Principle 4: Tension,
o Principle 5: Systems
• The “TGROW” Model of a Super Coach
(Topic, Goal, Reality, Options, Will)

Day 5: Emotional Intelligence (EI):
The Base for Honing HR Professional Competencies
• Definition of Emotional Intelligence,
o Self-Awareness and Self-Management
• The Importance of EI for HR Professionals,
o Developing EI Competencies
• Daily Applications in the HR Environment
• Documentation of learning outcomes for future use.

Training Methodology
Lectures, discussions, exercises, and case studies will be used to reinforce these teaching/learning methods.