University of Massachusetts Amherst
PAE-T2-2: Employee Training Opportunities

1. INTERGROUP DIALOGUES Intergroup Dialogue is a unique effort to engage people in sustained engagements with others from varied racial, gender and class backgrounds and other areas of social differences. Conducted by specially trained facilitators, we have found it possible in these settings for students, faculty and staff to make significant gains in their understanding of themselves and others, in their ability to create positive relationships and empathically identify with people unlike themselves, in their understanding of the complex social world around them, and in their willingness to work toward a more diverse democratic society on campus and off. 2. SUPERVISORY LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM This certificate program offers in-depth training for supervisors and managers who seek to establish or enhance the broad range of knowledge, skills, and abilities required for effective supervision. The SLDP is organized around the core practices of: Managing Self; Managing Others; Managing the Work; and Managing the System. The program covers topics such as Performance Management, Creating a Respectful Workplace, Organizing and Delegating, and Campus Policies. In this program, you will have the opportunity to talk and network with others who may share the same challenges and experiences of supervision. We will explore the scope of management practices for effective supervision. The series will also pay particular attention to increasing supervisory expertise in diversity and multiculturalism as an integral aspect of successful supervisory leadership. 3. MANAGING MULTIPLE GENERATIONS Increasingly, managers and supervisors are working with multiple generations in the workplace. The differences among the generations can be one of the greatest challenges facing mangers today. In this workshop, we will explore generational differences in employees’ work expectations, attitudes, and motivators as well as differences in communication style, work-life balance and interactions with others. We will discuss ways of working productively with different generations and learn how to diffuse workplace tensions when people of different generations-working side by side don’t understand each other. 4. DIGNITY VS. DISRESPECT AT WORK Today’s workplace brings us together with people who may be very different from ourselves. Our definitions and practices of respect vary with our family backgrounds as well as with our social identities such as class, race, and gender. This workshop will explore individual and organizational approaches to first notice and deal with the behaviors of a bully before a situation escalates and second to develop and foster respect in the workplace. Session I: Bullying In the Workplace • Learn how to identify bullies and bullying behavior • Examine strategies and resources for dealing with bullying • Look at workplace characteristics that can contribute to or prevent bullying Session II: Respectful Workplace • To recognize how your own social identities influence your definition of respect • To identify different styles and approaches to giving and gaining respect • To model and foster respect in your own workplace 5. CUSTOMER SERVICE SERIES As employees of this UMass campus, each of us plays an integral role in the success and reputation of the institution. Every interaction with our customers is an opportunity to support and further the mission and goals of this campus. This series provides direct learning opportunities to understand and practice skills, and create processes that support excellence in customer service in this diverse and changing world. Sessions may be taken as individual workshops, however, participants must complete all three workshops in this series to receive a certificate. To sign up for the series, you must register for each workshop separately. Session I: Basic Customer Service Skills • Provide excellent customer service • Use self-evaluation to gauge your customer service effectiveness • Implement successful techniques for in-person and phone customer interaction • Apply customer-service practices to your workplace Session II: Managing Challenging Customers • Solve problems for effective customer service • Deal successfully with difficult customers • Anticipate, prevent, and defuse difficult situations • Spot warning signs of a possibly violent customer and when to ask for help • Recognize your own customer service hot spots Session III: Multicultural Customer Service • How cultural lenses influence our work • To recognize when cultural differences impact our service effectiveness • Practices for assuring cultural sensitivity in customer service • To improve your workplace’s multicultural effectiveness