Workforce Development Center
HR Sentry Online Workshops -- Descriptions
Download Expanded Workshop Descriptions [PDF]
Champlain College and HRSentry have teamed up to offer a unique series of human resource management workshops, delivered online by HR experts with over 100 years of collective experience in the corporate and non-profit communities. These workshops are designed to deliver the most current, best practices for professionals in small and medium size organizations through the use of HRSentry’s HR Made Simple online libraries as the virtual “textbook.”
The series includes four compelling workshops with online lectures, discussions with peers and instructors, self-assessment, organizational tools, and much more. Easy reference points and hyperlinks bring the participant right to the appropriate library and provide the information needed in seconds, while helping the user learn more about the various resources available through HR Made Simple.
About the workshops:
WFDC 101 - What You Must Know About Equal Opportunity in Employment Under the Law -- How can you keep your organization safe?
January 5 -- February 27, 2009 (8 weeks)
This workshop is a perfect introduction to HR laws and regulations at the federal and state levels. It provides an overview for managers who are responsible for the HR function within their organization and will help ensure equal treatment in hiring and on the job.
Included is information about the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunities Commission) laws, FMLA (Federal Medical Leave Act), OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) regulations, and NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) regulations. Also included are federal and state guidelines related to sexual harassment and discrimination, affirmative action, ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and other key topics. Students in this workshop will become more aware of the substantial costs associated with non-compliance and unfairness in the workplace.
Students will also learn how essential managers are in creating a healthy, productive work environment.
Some questions addressed in this workshop:
- What is employment "at will"?
- Is it sexual harassment?
- What is your diversity IQ?
- Is your organization socially responsible?
- What is the cost of non-compliance?
What you will know and be able to do:
Students who complete What You Must Know about Equal Opportunity in Employment under the Law should have acquired the following knowledge, skills, and attitudes about Human Resource Management:
- Understand the need and have the ability to continuously learn about, and adapt to, ongoing challenges in HR.
- Speak fluently in the technical language of HR, and be comfortable using this language in other classes and the workplace.
- Develop a knowledge base of "best practices" in employee relations.
- Interpret equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws that affect employee rights and discipline; apply these laws to current EEO issues, such as discrimination, Affirmative Action planning, and sexual harassment.
- Demonstrate the analytical and attitudinal skills that HR professionals need to effectively guide their organizations through the maze of fairness and compliance requirements. Understand and educate the organization on the potential costs of illegal, unfair, unethical behaviors and employment practices.
WFDC 102 -- Preventing Discrimination in Hiring and Managing Employees – What does it mean for your organization?
March 9 – April 10 (5 weeks)
The second workshop in the series takes the overview from the first workshop and applies it to workplace scenarios, including hiring practices, recruitment, selection, interviewing, testing, conditional employment offers, reduction in force (RIF), wrongful discharge, and provides a heightened awareness of the wide variety of employment discrimination practices.
Students in this workshop will become more aware of the substantial costs associated with non-compliance and unfairness in the workplace. Students will also learn how essential managers are in creating a healthy, productive work environment.
Some questions addressed in this workshop:
- What is Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ) and when does it apply?
- What NOT to ask in a job interview?
- How do you avoid the pitfalls of disparate treatment?
- What pre-screening in the interview process is appropriate?
- Is your organization using best practices? Take the organizational assessment and find out!
What you will know and be able to do:
Students who complete Preventing Discrimination in Hiring and Managing Employees should have acquired the following knowledge, skills, and attitudes about Human Resource Management:
- Understand the need and have the ability to continuously learn about, and adapt to, ongoing challenges in HR.
- Speak fluently in the technical language of HR, and be comfortable using this language in other classes and the workplace.
- Develop a knowledge base of "best practices" in employee relations.
- Interpret equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws that affect employee rights and discipline; apply these laws to current EEO issues, such as discrimination, Affirmative Action planning, and sexual harassment.
- Demonstrate the analytical and attitudinal skills that HR professionals need to effectively guide their organizations through the maze of fairness and compliance requirements. Understand and educate the organization on the potential costs of illegal, unfair, unethical behaviors and employment practices.
- Apply EEO laws to existing, or future, HR policies and practices. Educate managers on their responsibilities to comply with EEO laws when administering all employment related decisions.
WFDC 103 - Motivating Employees for Optimal Performance – Does your organization optimize employee performance through effective performance management systems?
April 20 – May 22 (5 weeks)
Sixty percent of a manager’s time is spent fixing people problems – suggesting that managers spend only forty percent of their time managing their workload. Managing people is an important part of a manager’s job. Work objectives are accomplished through people – by the supervisor effectively motivating and leading his/her team. Having said that, people problems get in the way of accomplishing business results and poor performance is an example of a common people problem. Unsatisfactory performers can be a huge drain on an organization’s bottom line, and on a manager’s time.
In this workshop, students will become more aware of the importance performance management plays in protecting employers against claims of unfairness and discrimination, and students will learn how essential managers are in creating a healthy, productive work environment.
Questions addressed in this workshop:
- How can an organization ensure that it has the right people?
- How do you ensure good matching of employees’ skills with their job duties?
- What can you do when you are faced with performance issues?
- Why managers ignore poor performance and what is the impact of doing nothing?
- What is due process?
- What systems can an organization put in place to measure and support excellent performance?
What you will know and be able to do:
Students completing Motivating Employees for Optimal Performance should have acquired the following knowledge, skills, and attitudes about Human Resource Management:
- Understand the need and have the ability to continuously learn about, and adapt to, ongoing challenges in HR.
- Speak fluently in the technical language of HR, and be comfortable using this language in other classes and the workplace.
- Develop a knowledge base of "best practices" in performance management and coaching. Discuss the role job descriptions play in the process. Identify tools and resources to support an effective performance management system, including the Department of Labor’s (DOL) O*NET on-line data base.
- Design performance management processes that meet EEO compliance expectations; determine how to effectively manage employee performance to enhance productivity; and, deal constructively with poor performers.
- Demonstrate the analytical and attitudinal skills that HR professionals need to effectively guide their organizations through the maze of fairness and compliance requirements. Understand and educate the organization on the potential costs of illegal, unfair, unethical behaviors and employment practices.
WFDC 104 - Finding and Keeping the Right People – HR Best Practices
June 1 – July 3 (5 weeks)
In this workshop, retention of good employees is the focus. When faced with a need to hire a new employee, retention should always be kept in mind - after all, retention is the best recruitment strategy. The more attention and discipline a hiring manager puts into recruitment and selection efforts, the better return on the time and money spent. Smart hiring decisions are more likely to yield successful employees who will be engaged in your organization – after all, isn’t the ultimate goal to attract & retain great employees? Given the labor shortage that employers are facing today, competition for good people is intense.
Students in this workshop will become more aware of the substantial costs associated with inadequate recruitment and selection practices and employee disengagement.
Questions addressed in this workshop:
- What is the cost of finding the right candidate, including interviewing, processing paperwork, training your new hire?
- What is the cost of hiring the wrong candidate?
- How do you determine when a new hire is needed?
- What are the key sources for finding employees?
- Do you know why employees leave your organization and what is the cost of turnover?
- Do you have job descriptions?
- How do you qualify candidates?
What you will know and be able to do:
Students completing Finding and Keeping the Right People should have acquired the following knowledge, skills, and attitudes about Human Resource Management.
- Understand the need and have the ability to continuously learn about, and adapt to, ongoing challenges in HR.
- Speak fluently in the technical language of HR, and be comfortable using this language in other classes and the workplace.
- Develop a knowledge base of "best practices" in selection and retention of high performance employees. Discuss the role employee engagement plays in attaining business results. Identify tools and resources to conduct employee satisfaction surveys – a key 1st step for retention planning.
- Design selection and retention processes that meet EEO compliance expectations.
- Demonstrate the analytical and attitudinal skills that HR professionals need to effectively guide their organizations through the maze of fairness and compliance requirements. Understand and educate the organization on the importance of using multiple resources when making employment related decisions - to obtain objective and relevant information about people
