Planning and Organizing

Are you a member of the Public Service who will be reaching retirement age over the next five to ten years? This comprehensive course features an expert in pension and financial issues who will provide you with the necessary knowledge and tools to help you develop an individual retirement plan to meet your goals.

Risk is something we face every day. We deal with most day-to-day risk at a subconscious level; however, many risks require a little more consideration. Some risk takes us well out of our comfort zone and so we avoid it – sometimes at all costs. But risk is something that can and should be embraced; risk management is actually a very useful toolset for thought in everyday decision making and often the risk of not doing something can be greater than the risk of doing something. IRM is a systematic and holistic approach to understand, communicate and manage risk across the organization allowing more timely, appropriate and effective responses. It is about the right people having the right information to guide strategic and tactical decisions that contribute to the achievement of an organization’s overall objectives. This course is intended to provide an initial overview of integrated risk management – sometimes known as ‘joined-up thinking’ about risk. The story builds by firstly developing an understanding of risk itself and our attitudes to it, next we look at how we bring risk under our control by means of risk management, and finally we look at how we can take a more strategic view of risk and develop a consistent pan-organizational approach. All the way through, we will build the concepts into practical examples so that attendees can take away real experience of having ‘managed’ risk. While not specifically a course on the Government of Canada’s Framework for the Management of Risk, this workshop will cover many of the same principles using the same terminology. And so, this course will be eminently suitable for anyone wishing to understand and apply the Framework.

Public programs and initiatives are under constant pressure to show clear evidence of results. This workshop equips participants with practical tools to connect objectives to measurable outcomes. Through hands-on exercises, you will learn how to design logic models, identify performance indicators, and build evaluation frameworks that withstand the scrutiny of decision-makers, funders, and oversight bodies. The focus is on applying proven methods in real-world contexts so you leave with skills you can immediately use in planning, reporting, and accountability.

Project management doesn’t have to feel complicated. At its core, it is about understanding what needs to be done, who needs to be involved, what could get in the way, and how to keep the work moving. This course helps participants build a solid foundation in project management. Through a realistic project scenario, they work through the key steps of managing a project, including how to clarify the work, plan ahead, communicate with stakeholders, manage risks and changes, and make better use of time, budget, and resources. It is designed for professionals who manage, coordinate, support, or participate in projects and want a clearer way to keep work organized and on track. Facilitated by a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

This two-day course will provide you with a practical experience of the Business Planning process from a Design Thinking perspective, to reflect current business changes and resource constraints. Business Planning is a way to “design” and manage work within changing constraints. This interactive workshop will develop your knowledge, confidence and practical skills to plan your work activities as a “design thinker” in times of change.

This two-day workshop provides an overview of how to develop and manage your career progression. You will learn and apply skills to support your career planning. You will also learn how to organize key information in a way that will support your career objectives. You will receive practical tips to apply at any stage of your career and work search journey.

This two-day workshop is designed to provide you with tools, templates and a lexicon for developing and implementing a performance measurement framework that is used to support planning, priority setting and investment decisions. Through robust and useful results framework and performance information profiles, you’ll learn techniques for supporting the Government’s Results and Delivery Agenda.

Many organizations host or participate in a variety of meetings and events, large and small, throughout the year. When properly executed, these meetings and events can deliver a tremendous return on investment in terms of exposure, education, marketing, sales or other objectives. Conversely, the impact of a poorly executed meeting or event can be substantial. All too often the very critical role of organizing meetings and events falls to someone who has had no formal training in this field. Facilitated by a Certified Meeting Planner, this two day workshop will provide you with a sound foundation for successfully planning and executing a wide variety of meetings and events.

Stakeholders are parties that will be affected by a project’s execution or results. Stakeholders can have their own expectations and objectives and have the potential to strongly influence a project’s outcome in positive or negative directions. Whether obvious or covert these stakeholders’ expectations must be articulated and understood before they can be managed. This workshop focuses on tools and techniques to discover the project’s stakeholders, identify and clarify their expectations, and develop a plan to manage these expectations. Attention is paid to stakeholders’ spheres of influence, including their influences on each other. Political, legal, and community influences will be examined along with strategies to mitigate or enhance such influences. Political and legal influences can include existing legislation as well as future trends and directions. Community influences could originate in the geographical, business and social community where the project is occurring, the professional/technical community that is involved in implementing the project and using its results, as well as other interested communities of people. Case studies are used as learning vehicles to develop an awareness of stakeholder expectations and expectation management plans, and to tie stakeholder requirements to the project’s scope management, procurement management, risk management, and resource management plans.

In today’s fast-paced work environment, effective task management and collaboration tools are essential for team success. Microsoft Planner offers a simple, highly visual way to organize teamwork. In this hands-on, instructor-led workshop, participants will learn how to harness the full capabilities of Microsoft Planner, including seamless integration with Microsoft To Do and Lists. Through practical exercises and demonstrations, attendees will leave with the skills and confidence to implement Planner for personal productivity and team project management.

Microsoft Project is one of the most popular scheduling and project management programs on the market. This course covers the basics of using MS Project and how to set up a simple project, including how to configure the project calendar, tasks, resources, and more. This workshop will help you understand the basic functions of Microsoft Project and how to utilize the software to its full potential.

This advanced 2-day sales program equips sales professionals with the skills to take a strategic approach to account management, reduce competitive threats, and strengthen client retention. Participants will develop strategic planning frameworks to maximize the return on time invested and create long-term, high-value client partnerships.

If you and the people who work with you don’t understand where the company is going, they may all develop their own priorities and actually prevent you from getting where you need to be. Part of getting everyone on board is creating a strategic plan complete with the organization’s values, vision, and mission. Then, there’s the challenge of bringing these principles to life in a meaningful way that people can relate to. This two-day course will help you describe what you want to do and get people where you want to go.

Managing the succession of talent in your workplace is a vital strategic process that minimizes gaps in leadership, ensures the continuity of corporate knowledge, and enables your people to develop the skills necessary for possible future roles. This interactive workshop will show you how to design and implement an effective and flexible succession plan that will help your organization continue to grow and achieve its business goals.

Strong employee onboarding and orientation practices have become an expectation of new hires and the message is clear: first impressions matter. The purpose of this program is to get comfortable with effective onboarding practices. Recognizing that many teams now work remotely, this program explores both in-person and virtual onboarding and orientation solutions.  Participants of this workshop will be well equipped to “wow” new hires, helping them achieve immediate results. By reviewing an onboarding basics model, learners will recognize the necessary steps required before a new team member’s first day.