General Workplace Skills for all Professionals

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Courses

These courses help Stanford staff work more effectively in a range of skill areas. See our calendar for an easy way to view courses by date and time!

• PLEASE NOTE: We have made changes to our policies. To read our new policies, click here.
• All courses will be held at the Arguello classroom. Please click here for more information and directions.
• Some classes are eligible for a BeWell Berry, and are noted as such; see the BeWell @ Stanford Employee Incentive Program site for more details.

Writing Effective Email – April 19th or June 19th (8:30-12:00)

Click here to be redirected to the STARS enrollment page for this course

Everyone gets too much email, and much of it goes unread! Most of it suffers from poor so-what subject lines that are easily ignored. Add poor email etiquette, and you have a recipe for bad communication. This class will help you write email messages that will be read promptly and responded to. After this class, you will:

• Understand email requirements
• Write useful, compelling subject lines
• Target content to get your message across
• Use formatting to make email easier to read
• Know when and how to use attachments
• Understand and apply email etiquette
• Use the right tone

Requirement: Bring samples of email messages to class for discussion.

No course fee. Instructor: Patricia Haddock, Foothill-DeAnza Community College District

Project Management Essentials- April 24 or June 5th (8:30-4:00)

Click here to be redirected to the STARS enrollment page for this course

Today, employees receive extra projects in addition to their day-to-day jobs. Many employees have limited or no project management experience, yet they are expected to deliver quality results on time, within budget. This course is intended to equip participants with the methods and tools they need to get started on their projects.

 Participants will gain training techniques and strategies including:

• How to keep projects on time and within budget
• How to create SMART project goals for your real projects
• The four phases of a project and what occurs in each phase
• Clarifying and communicating roles and responsibilities with others involved
• Proven ways to get buy-in from key people affected by the project

$100 course fee. Instructor: Sue Brenner, Foothill-DeAnza Community College District

Workplace Writing Skills Workshop- May 1st
(8:30-4:00)

Click here to be redirected to the STARS enrollment page for this course

Effective written communication, whether in the form of emails, letters, reports, or documentation, is essential to workplace success. Whether you write to disseminate information, make a request, document a procedure or summarize information, you need to be able to communicate clearly and efficiently. This workshop helps you improve your writing for a variety of business settings, while teaching you skills on how to communicate with impact. Sign up for this course to refresh yourself the basics of strong written communication (and hone your proofreading and editing skills) to create professional quality communications.

No course fee. Instructor: Patricia Haddock, Foothill-DeAnza Community College District

Listen Up! Effective Listening Skills – May 9th or June 6th (8:30-12:00)

[Eligible for a Healthy Living BeWell Berry]

Click here to be redirected to the STARS enrollment page for this course

Listening is one of the most essential business skills we need yet one we tend to take for granted.

Listening is key for building teamwork and trust, getting necessary information, and motivating others to do their best. Just as we can improve our other communication skills through training, so can we improve our listening skills to listen more attentively and respond in ways that enhance understanding and create a climate for future communication. In this interactive workshop we explore obstacles to listening and how to overcome them, discover appropriate listening styles, gain tips for being better listeners, and practice effective listening skills.

No course fee. Instructor: Janene Frahm

Customer Service Strategies – May 15 or June 27 (8:30-12:00)

Click here to be redirected to the STARS enrollment page for this course

Customer service may not be everyday Stanford language, but we do have customers, both internal and external. Does communicating with difficult customers or solving complex service problems challenge your skills and patience? This interactive course offers practical, positive customer service strategies for working with customers in a variety of university situations. Learn to:

• Define customer needs
• Build relationships, whether for quick transactions or ongoing relationships
• Manage expectations
• Handle complaints
• Tactfully say no or deliver bad news
• Work skillfully with difficult customers

No course fee. Instructor: Deborah Seaman, Foothill-DeAnza Community College District

Understanding Communication Styles - May 16 or June 28 (8:30-12:00)

[Eligible for a Healthy Living BeWell Berry]
Click here to be redirected to the STARS enrollment page for this course.

Communicating effectively with co-workers, clients, supervisors, and others in our work environment includes ensuring your viewpoints are heard while remaining respectful to others. This workshop will help you:

• Prepare options to requests, which will prevent you from having to say "yes" when you mean "no"
• Identify specific communication skills to help you uphold your self-esteem in the workplace and yet allow you to be assertive and preserve work relationships
• Review consequences associated with being too high or too low on the continuum of assertiveness
• Discuss strategies and approaches you can use in your everyday work interactions

No course fee. Instructor: Sue Brenner, Foothill-DeAnza Community College District

Managing Up for Individual Contributors –May 17 (1:00-4:30)

Click here to be redirected to the STARS enrollment page for this course

A wide range of skills can contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of the work relationship between you and your manager. Through a series of self-assessments, discussions with other participants, role playing, and reflection, you will review:

• Differing perceptions from managers and employees
• Establishing mutual goals, priorities and expectations
• Make use of effective communication skills to give and get information effectively
• Practice how to give constructive feedback to your manager

No course fee. Instructor: SkillPath Seminars

Exercising Influence –May 24 (8:30-4:00)
[Eligible for a Healthy Living BeWell Berry]

Click here to be redirected to the STARS enrollment page for this course

To be successful in busy cross-functional, complex organization, you need to be skillful and flexible in the way you influence others. Effective influence enables you to move your ideas into action by stimulating others to support, provide resources for, or participate actively in your initiatives. In this course, you will develop new skills and behaviors as you work on real-world situations using a series of exercises to plan and prepare for important influence opportunities up, down, across, and outside your organization.

$100 course fee. Instructor: Sam Roberts, Barnes & Conti

Developing Strong Workplace Partnerships–June 7 (8:30-4:00)
[Eligible for a Healthy Living BeWell Berry]

Click here to be redirected to the STARS enrollment page for this course

Work relationships are critical whether you are dealing with bosses, colleagues, staff members, or senior management.  The ability to win respect, influence people, and develop cooperation is absolutely essential to your career success. At this workshop you will learn and practice the key elements of developing workplace partnerships through tools, practical strategies and behavioral skills. Using their own workplace scenarios, participants will practice the GROW model, a powerful coaching tool for working through challenges. This course equips you with skills to be a powerful listener so people feel heard and valued while honing the essential skill of giving feedback to colleagues at various levels.

$100 course fee. Instructor: Carol Piras, The Piras Group

Career Development Program

Owning Your Career at Stanford - each quarter

(offered by the Office of Staff Employment)
OSE-1140
Click here to be redirected to the STARS enrollment page for this course

Do you want to be the driver of your career at Stanford? Whether you are interested in enriching your current position or planning your next career move, this comprehensive Career Management Program offered by the Office of Staff Employment is for you. Enrollment in this program includes:

• Two and one-half hour interactive group session exploring your career development and answers to the following questions:
  • What energizes me and how can I best use my skills and talents?
  • How do I develop my personal career roadmap at Stanford?
  • What tips/techniques are a must for resumes and interviewing?
  • What are the latest technologies for networking?
• Bi-Monthly Brown Bags with hot career topics
• Two Individual coaching sessions with an OSE Staffing Consultant

Dates/Time:
Thursday, April 26, 9:00am - 12:30pm
Tuesday, May 22, 9:00am - 12:30pm
Thursday, June 21, 9:00am - 12:30pm

Location: Arguello Classrooms & Computer Labs, Room 105, 427 Arguello Way
No course fee

Instructor: Jeanette Lindsay, Office of Staff Employment

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