Training

Instructor-Led Training

  • Active Listening
    • Listening is a critical competency for any position. Unfortunately, few of us have ever had any formal training in how to listen effectively. This session will help participants assess current listening skills, understand the challenges to effective listening, and develop communication behaviors that will lead to more effective personal and professional relationships.
  • Community Engagement
    • Learn about a range of tools and strategies to ensure success when implementing a community engagement program. Learn how to foster and enhance trust as a critical element in long-term, sustainable engagement and effective governance.
  • De-escalation/Working with Difficult Personalities
    • Discover the art of de-escalation through the vehicle of respect and empathy. An interactive training that provides effective strategies and tools for navigating difficult behaviors and challenging workplace situations.
  • Delivering Customer Service in Writing
    • This session explains how to use electronic and print communications to deliver the high quality customer service that was previously provided by phone or in person. This session teaches you how to: a) identify the personal care factors that should be included in everything you write; b) use the right tone; c) understand and apply business etiquette to written documents; d) use email appropriately for effective customer relationships; and e) write “bad news” communications.
  • Develop as a Professional
    • Knowing your job is an important step in getting ahead at work, but being good at your job may not be enough. Learn how to showcase your abilities and develop new ones that enhance your reputation as a professional who gets things done. This session teaches how to: a) create a personal definition of what it means to be thought of as a professional; b) understand how your job contributes to both your reputation and the organization’s; c) hone communication skills to get results; and d) develop and maintain good professional relationships.
  • Diversity & Inclusion in the Workplace
    • In this session, participants will discuss and reflect on the foundations of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, specifically focused on working in the public sector environment. This facilitation will include practical examples, lessons learned, and opportunities to implement tools through group engagement. While this session is open to all audiences, there will be highlights on policy, strategies, communications, and other initiatives agencies may explore further. By the end of the session, participants will learn why diversity and inclusion are an important part in the workplace and in the communities that we service in San Mateo County.
  • Editing and Proofreading
    • Good writers appreciate the importance of editing to create concise, focused documents. This session teaches you how to: a) edit for content, logical flow, and tone; b) use active and passive voice appropriately; c) use formatting to improve readability; d) ensure logical flow for reader comprehension; e) ensure subject-verb and noun-pronoun agreement; f) find and correct grammar and punctuation errors; and g) use standard proofreader marks.
  • Essential Time Management Strategies
    • This session will focus on how to adopt an effective attitude and approach to time management and will cover the following areas: a) why it’s difficult to “manage” time; b) adopting the right attitude; c) determining what’s important; d) planning and organizing; e) managing your time throughout the day; f) tips and techniques; g) handling distractions; and h) personal commitment.
  • Exploring Your Hooks and Triggers
    • The objectives of this class are to understand the role hooks and triggers play in one’s actions and relationships, as well as to learn how to transform these hooks and triggers to de-escalate conflict.
  • Give Your Customer Service the Power of Positive Communication
    • Listening to your customers and demonstrating that you value their feedback are the keys to building trust. In this course you will discover how to ask effective questions, de-escalate emotion and offer reassurance even when you don’t have all the answers. Through “connecting before correcting” you will develop the ability to focus on your customer’s needs and redirect with clarity, warmth and empathy. Ultimately, you’ll realize more positive outcomes for both your customers and your organization.
  • How to Stay Engaged at Work
    • This session will focus on how to be more positive and optimistic at work. Topics covered will include: a) what it means to be “happy”; b) principles of positive psychology and how they relate to happiness; c) how to focus on what is possible for you at work; d) why relationships matter and how to improve them; e) how work-life balance influences work happiness; f) how to cancel the “noise” that distracts us from being happier; g) what influences your morale; h) adopting and maintaining a positive attitude; i) why being happy takes practice and what the process is; and j) changing your script and planning for the future.
  • Implicit Bias
    • A tailored and engaging training that focuses on defining and understanding implicit bias. The influence of bias and how bias may affect daily interactions and decision making. Learn effective interpersonal approaches to minimize and begin exploring and addressing implicit bias.
  • Intention vs. Impact
    • Ever wondered how a simple misunderstanding has the potential to escalate into an insurmountable mound of conflict? Through this interactive training, you will discover the influence of intention and impact and its role and contribution to conflict. Learn the difference between intention and impact and how it will help you to become a more effective communicator and leader.
  • Managing Across Teams: Interagency, Interdivisional, and Interdepartmental
    • Are you challenged by interdivisional, interagency, or interdepartmental differences? Do you need assistance in being more effective in providing goals, values, and direction to individuals who must work together, although they belong to different teams or different organizations? We will help you focus on building alignment of goals and creating respectful relationships.
  • Managing Your Change
    • This webinar will focus specifically on helping individuals and teams understand, adapt and manage the changes that they’ll eventually have to deal with as they get back to more face-to-face, in-person work, etc. We may not know now what the “new”, post-lockdown workplace will be like. However, it’s a safe bet that it will be different for most of us, at least in the coming months. This webinar is designed to give participants a brief theoretical framework related to understanding personal change; interactive exercises to discuss the personal impacts of change; and tools, actions and approaches for managing their change.
  • Managing Your Time and Tasks to Create a Productive Work/Life Balance
    • This highly interactive two-hour session will address how to: a) prioritize tasks, b) prevent burn out, c) learn your most productive work style, d) set priorities, e) balance work and home so both benefit, and f) deal effectively with differences.
  • Presenting Virtually
    • This is an interactive training in which people attending will learn how to enhance and elevate their speaking style. Not only will it help you become a more effective presenter in future meetings, but it will heighten your awareness and offer tips of how you present in the virtual world.
  • Public Service in the Era of COVID-19
    • Open to all employees, but designed for those new to the public sector, this half-day session focuses on the realities of working in the public sector in this new era, employer expectations, and turning your job into a career. Specific topics will include a look at the “big picture”, life in the fishbowl, becoming a whole employee, and employee development opportunities.
  • Social Media in the Era of COVID-19
    • Effective social media engagement is a must for any public sector agency wanting to connect to residents in this digitally connected world. This intermediate level course looks at the nuances of digital platforms to maximize reach and engagement for public sector social media managers. Topics like crisis communications, handling negative comments, content development, and branding will be among many topics covered.
  • Taking Customer Service from Good to Great
    • Participants will learn how to take customer service from good to great. At the end of the session, participants will have a greater understanding of customer service, and what is behind and how to respond to customer service challenges.
  • The Art of Dialogue
    • In order to build a culture of dialogue in an organization there are specific skills that must be nurtured. While some people have a natural propensity for dialogue, these skills do not come naturally to most and need to be honed. Train your staff on the skills they need to master the art of dialogue.
  • Using Stress Positively
    • Learn tools to be successful and meet goals despite current challenges. Topics include a) surprise others with good, timely results and a healthy, positive attitude; b) handle distractions and concentrate on your goals; and c) manage your time and stress effectively.
  • Working with Commissions, Boards, and Councils
    • This session examines the role of support staff to public boards, committees, commissions and councils. Specific topics will include staff’s role, legal issues, and best practices to assist new members or new chairpersons, the conduct of public meetings, establishing collaborative relationships, and soliciting community input.

Online Training

  • The Consortium has secured group pricing for the following online trainings, provided by EmTrain, a leader in compliance training:
    • Preventing Harassment and Bullying at Work, 2 Hours (AB 1825/2053)
    • Preventing Harassment and Bullying at Work, 1 Hour (SB 1343)
    • Managing Unconscious Bias, Manager Version
    • Managing Unconscious Bias, Staff Version

Academies (Currently on hold and will resume in 2021-22)

  • Public Sector Leadership Academy
    • The Academy is designed to give public sector management employees the opportunity to hear the newest and most innovative concepts and practices from top leaders in our community.
  • Public Sector Supervisory Academy
    • Led by experienced public sector leaders and management development experts. Each session is designed to incorporate interactive exercises and real-world case studies to apply fundamental concepts of supervision.
  • Public Sector Lead Worker Academy
    • This academy is designed to introduce Lead Workers and future Lead Workers to the core responsibilities essential for working in a lead role. Participants will have the opportunity to learn techniques on successfully transitioning from line to Lead Worker.

Want to enroll?

  • If your organization is a Consortium member and you’d like to learn more about Consortium-sponsored programs, contact your HR department.
  • If your agency is not a Consortium member but you’d still like to attend a Consortium program, contact your HR department to discuss this possibility.
  • For cities interested in membership, contact Rosemarie San Juan at the County of San Mateo at rsanjuan@smcgov.org.