Training Courses
Class 1 ConsultantsAll of our Training Courses are designed to meet individual client requirements in line with their developing needs.
Delivered by professional trainers, the programmes are highly participative with a balance between classroom training, individual and group work.
The service of sourcing and offering a choice of independent professional training providers to meet the organisation’s needs, leaving you time to relax a little.
Please take a look at the range of Training Courses that Class 1 Consultants are currently offering;
Class 1 Training Courses
Business Impact
Brian Hutcheson of Class 1 Consultants facilitates the day and provides the platform which encourages and enables management and staff to identify and address the challenges and changes ahead that are distinctive to that particular business. A large variety of subjects from local to global are up for consideration.
Business Impact forces focus on the key issues which need to be aired in a safe environment. It aims to illicit from the delegates their knowledge, experience and skills to find solutions and gain commitment and accountability for planning, implementing, monitoring and reviewing the agreed action.
Business Impact tackles issues in the short, medium and long term future of the organisation with the aim of identifying the most appropriate strategy for success. This future looking course encourages management and staff to get back to the drawing board and redesign, reengineer, reshape, reform and rewrite the plan to take the company forward in key areas in the future.
Business Impact is the ideal forum to inspire forward thinking, challenging perceptions and changing aspects of the business that will have consequences in forthcoming years. Business Impact recognises contributions from all areas of the business. Innovative and creative ideas are supported and encouraged and ownership and action are recognised and rewarded. Business Impact is an enlightening, educational and enjoyable experience for all who participate and contribute.
Really enjoyable course
Fantastic forum dealing with real issues
The facilitation from Brian is first class
Collaborative intelligence
Is an innovative and exciting new interactive learning tool from Class 1 Consultants Ltd, the European Learning and Development Award nominated company based in the UK.
This one day course promotes thinking talents and introduces new ways of approaching challenges for optimum results. This session helps delegates recognise their talents and the talents of their colleagues which is the key to improved problem solving and decision making.
Collaborative intelligence is the flow of energy and information within and between us.
Most importantly, delegates will learn how to make the most of the intellectual diversity that surrounds them. This course will increase and improve communication and cooperation across departments and functions.
Through a diverse range of challenges the delegates digest information, think through the task, weigh up multiple choices, and make decisions before turning the plan into action. The learning comes from observation and self-evaluation. We learn more when things don’t turn out the way we planned. Three key elements make the day a must for business leaders of the future. Competitive intelligence when the bar is raised to a new height through natural competition to be the best. Collective intelligence when we prove that collectively we know more together than any one individual. Collaborative intelligence is the mind share which allows the delegates to recognise the expertise present in the room which is a critical component to improving outcomes.
Collaborative Intelligence is educational, engaging and entertaining – embrace the day and enjoy.
Coaching In The Workplace
Few people can fail to have noticed the explosive growth in coaching in recent years. This two day course develops the skills and knowledge required by effective coaches including using a range of techniques to meet the needs of the individual learner which supports contemporary performance management principles.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Explain what coaching is and describe what coaches do
- Understand how people learn through coaching
- Initiate a coaching relationship
- Agree goals for coaching, build commitment to achieving goals
- Develop questioning and listening skills
- Use reflection notes, thought Provokers and keep a coaching log
- Use effective coaching tools
Content:
- What is coaching?
- Different types of coaching.
- Exactly what do coaches do?
- How people learn
- Coaching code of conduct
- Code of practice
- Ethics in coaching
- Coaching supervision
- Coaching styles
- Types of coaching
- Contracting with learners
- The GROW model
- Questioning and listening
- Coaching tools
- Reflection notes and thought Provokers and coaching logs.
- Coaching tools – appreciative Inquiry, wheel of work, transactional analysis
- Emotional intelligence
- Performance system coaching
Target Audience: This course is for anyone who is involved in supporting and developing staff. Highly practical approach to coaching focussing on providing real skills to make you a better colleague, partner and parent.
Conducting Effective Appraisals
This workshop will introduce you to a structured approach but will also give you the tools to take back to the workplace and ensure that the annual appraisal session is part of a well oiled, motivational and developmental process.
With tutor input, group discussion and practical exercises, you will feel more confident and positive about preparing, implementing and encouraging others in the benefits and uses of all year round performance management.
The benefits to you and your organisation: By the end of this course participant’s will be able to:
- Feel confident in setting up and running appraisal meetings with your staff
- Understand the importance of the all year round approach to appraisal through performance management
- Be able to handle difficult situations before and during the appraisal meeting
- Be able to confidently promote effective performance management throughout your organisation!
Content: Introduction to performance management – How it benefits the individual, the team and the organisation – The all year round approach and where appraisal fits in – Understanding how regular reviews will enhance performance, motivate people and increase performance – Planning and preparation for before, during and after the appraisal meeting – Gathering facts and information from the last period – Setting the tone with room, atmosphere and approach – Running and controlling an effective and productive meeting – Follow up, delivering promises and aiding continuous development – Setting Targets Setting S.M.A.R.T objectives to help motivate individuals and teams – Skills to help – question structure; active listening; basic body language – Handling difficult people and situations – Giving and receiving feedback
Target Audience: Those who conduct formal performance appraisal reviews with staff.
Customer Care Course
This programme is a highly interactive, practical and learner-focused course, enabling participants to help add value through positive customer care, improve their understanding of the customers’ needs and expectations, and understand the benefits to themselves and the organisation of treating customers individually. Objectives.
The benefits to you and your organisation: By the end of this course you will be able to:
- State the value added by good customer care and recognise the tell tale signs of good and bad service experiences
- Demonstrate a clear understanding of what customer care is about.
- Understand its importance to the organisation’s success.
- Appreciate why the initial contact is so crucial
- Understand customer types – assessing their varying requirements, circumstances, needs and expectations.
- Deal with difficult customers – how important it is to control emotions and recognise the link between emotion, attitude and behaviour
- Use effective questioning techniques and comprehend the difference between listening and hearing
- Understand the relationship with internal customers – The silent service v build rapport with customers
- Deal with angry, aggressive and abusive customers
- Respond positively to problems – turning negatives into positives
Content: – Customer care statistics – The iceberg theory – Organisations recognised for exemplary customer care – Why it makes good economic sense to drive for customer satisfaction – Customer relationship management – Customer profiling – Who is the customer and why are they all different? – Building rapport by using effective verbal, vocal and visual communication – Asking key questions, being seen to listen using positive body language – Ensuring customer satisfaction – Turning positives into negatives – Dealing with internal customers – Tools and techniques of Customer care – Putting the customer first and making a lasting impression – Dealing with difficult, angry, aggressive and abusive customers
Facilitator Skills – Divine Intervention
This course provides essential materials for facilitators including simple but effective ground rules for successful and effective group interaction. The programme is concise and to the point using tried and tested techniques that ensure meetings get off to the best possible start and more importantly ends them positively, decisively and satisfactorily.
The benefits to you and your organisation: By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Serve as a facilitator in your own or other Organisations
- Enable groups to become more effective
- Comprehend the approach to facilitation
- State the role and personal profile of the perfect facilitator
- Demonstrate the tools, techniques and methods utilised for facilitation purposes
- Facilitate effectively and gain commitment from groups
- Understand group dynamics
- State the ground rules which enable groups to work effectively
- Determine if, when, why and how to intervene to best effect
Leading in times of uncertainty (New)
- Develop the skills to be able to communicate clearly and confidently.
- Build rapport with, and respect from, peers, reports and managers.
- Recognise the implications of poor organisational communication.
- Be better prepared to deal with your own emotions and those of others.
Content: Self Awareness – Identify a range of verbal and non-verbal factors which affect others – Assess personal strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. – Understand the principles of Emotional Intelligence – Learn Self Control and Impulse Control Communicating Style – Communication Techniques: conveying ideas and information effectively; clarity and brevity; building rapport and trust; dealing with misunderstandings; effective questioning. – Active Listening – listening with the intention of understanding – Understanding Body Language Positive Messages – The importance of positive messages – Confidence and positive beliefs. Conflict Resolution – Resolving unproductive conflict; personality clashes; – Handling difficult people; avoiding and handling destructive situations; managing ‘the grapevine’. – Creating options Influencing Styles – Selecting the appropriate style to match the situation and personalities involved – Considering approaches for modifying behaviour Basic strategies for dealing with Assertiveness – Ten tips on assertiveness – The difference between being Assertive and being Aggressive Assertive Outcomes – How to achieve win/win or remain firm when things are non-negotiable, ie saying ‘no’. Assertive Options – How to make your assertions – those for everyday use and others when firmness is needed. Aggression from Others – Understanding how to deal successfully with ‘put-downs’ and sustained forms of aggressive behaviour from others Private and Confidential – Retaining friendships in difficult situations – The need for confidentiality in the workplace Understanding reactions to change – State the Change Management process. – Prepare and plan for change. Manage the human side of change, not just the business side.
Target Audience: Anyone who is faced with the challenge of dealing with people and personalities in the workplace.
Management and Supervisory Development Programme (Foundation Level)
- The benefits of planning
- Why we don’t plan
- Plan your month, plan your day, plan horizontally
- The 4 D’s principle
- Delegating
- Managing meetings, managing interruptions,
- Managing email
- 20 Rules for effective time management
Day 2 Leadership – Leading the Team
- Characteristics of a good leader
- Comparison of leadership styles
- Identifying the individual’s personal leadership style
- Definition of a workplace team
- Advantages and disadvantages of working in a team
- Team dynamics and team roles
- Integrating new members into a team
Day 3 Conducting Appraisals and Effective Communication
- McGregor’s X and Y Theory
- What is the aim of an appraisal
- What you need to plan prior to an appraisal
- The structure of the appraisal
- Giving feedback
- Setting SMART Objectives
- Effective Communication – The Three V’s
Day 4 Managing Change and Motivating Staff
- Reasons for change
- Types of change
- Impact of change
- Managing the reaction to change
- Overcoming resistance to change
- Change models – Lewin, Letwin and Burke, Force Field Analysis
- Motivating staff
Management and Supervisory Development Programme (Intermediate Level)
- Preparation and planning
- Introductions and conclusions
- Control anxiety and mannerisms
- Clear structure and focus
- Appropriate visual aids
Session 2 Persuading, Influencing and Negotiating
- Using influence effectively
- Assessing your own style
- Cialdini’s 6 weapons of influence
- Proven negotiation tactics
- 20 Laws of subtle persuasion
Session 3 Decision Making and Problem Solving
- KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT 1 – (Team Briefings & P.I.N.)
- Identify the types of decisions you face as managers
- Select the most effective course of action for each decision
- Apply analytical, creative and reasoning skills to practical problem solving
- Use the six universal questions to solve problems
Session 4 Personal Effectiveness
- Interact effectively and confidently with different types of people at all levels within and outside the company
- Achieve results through and with people over whom they do not have line authority
- Gain a deeper insight into what affects your own and others behaviour
Session 5 Knowledge & Skills Assessment
- KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT 2 – (Decision making & personal effectiveness)
- SKILLS ASSESSMENT 1 – (practical team briefing 10 minutes)
- Tutor feedback
Management and Supervisory Development Programme (Master Level)
- The benefits of planning
- Why we don’t plan
- Plan your month, plan your day, plan horizontally
- The 4 D’s principle
- Delegating
- Managing meetings, managing interruptions,
- Managing email
- 20 Rules for effective time management
Day 2 Leadership – Leading the Team
- Characteristics of a good leader
- Comparison of leadership styles
- Identifying the individuals personal leadership style
- Definition of a workplace team
- Advantages and disadvantages of working in a team
- Team dynamics and team roles
- Integrating new members into a team
Day 3 Conducting Appraisals and Effective Communication
- McGregor’s X and Y Theory
- What is the aim of an appraisal
- What you need to plan prior to an appraisal
- The structure of the appraisal
- Giving feedback
- Setting SMART Objectives
- Effective Communication – The Three V’s
Day 4 Managing Change and Motivating Staff
- Reasons for change
- Types of change
- Impact of change
- Managing the reaction to change
- Overcoming resistance to change
- Change Models – Lewin, Letwin and Burke, Force Field Analysis
- Motivating staff
Personal Impact and Self Awareness (2 days)
Self Awareness and Personal Impact is about you stepping forward, communicating confidently, contributing fully, leading the way and looking the part.
Personal Impact dynamically enables you to take a stretch, be more present, less edited, and more assertive. The Personal Impact philosophy states you cannot shrink your way to success.
This transforming event encourages you to give more of yourself, and make a bigger impact in the big wide world – whilst being fully self-aware! Now may be the time to ensure you always come across to others the way you intend and with the most appropriate personal impact.
This programme aims to help participants to:
- Interact effectively and confidently with different types of people at all levels within and outside the company
- Ensure that they avoid communication breakdowns by learning to listen effectively and understand what others are actually saying
- Achieve results through and with people over whom they do not have line authority
- Gain a deeper insight into what affects your own and others behaviour
- Recognise their strengths and areas for development in their Emotional Intelligence
Target audience: Everyone with who needs to be confident and comfortable with themselves and desires the opportunity to be a better parent, partner, sibling and colleague
Persuading, Influencing and Negotiating
Examine strategies for achieving results through others using the skills of influence and persuasion.
Practice and develop the skills of implementing these strategies. Recognise tactics used by others.
By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Influence
– understanding the skills involved in the influence process – preferred influencing style – using influence effectively – assessing your own style – Cialdini’s 6 Weapons of Influence.
- Communicate confidently
– interactive communication skills – verbal and nonverbal factors – body language
- Be Persuasive – 20 Laws of subtle persuasion
– Buyers Remorse, Anticipated Regret; Rule of 3, Back to the Future – The Law of Consistency, Tell a short story, The Wal-Mart Strategy – Respect and Reciprocity, Option Psychology, Induce the Sense of Scarcity – The McDonald’s Strategy.
The 12 most Persuasive words in the English Language – Feel, Felt, Found, The Power of Three, Tonality – Vocal Stress – Create Contrast, Build Rapport, Let people be right, A Question of Sport, Because.
- Negotiate
– Preparing to negotiate, setting your objectives, the rules of negotiating – Seeking differing options, MSC formula, trading variables, negotiating styles – Maximising your concessions, negotiating approaches.
Target Audience: This course will benefit just two types: Those of you who don’t know how to influence others. And those of you who don’t know that you don’t know how to influence others.
Presentation Skills
This 1 day course is designed to add sparkle to presentations and will teach you the execution skills and techniques required for confident presentations. It is primarily designed for participants to use the skills in a number of work-related scenarios.
The benefits to you and your organisation: By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Understand and demonstrate key areas to a successful presentation
- Understand how to communicate effectively
- How to recognise and overcome distracting personal mannerisms
- Anticipate and prepare for difficult questions
- Design and deliver a short presentation
Content: From Competence to Excellence – Presentation planning – “Stage Presence” – less view more you – reducing visual aid dependency Knowing me, knowing you – Me, myself and I – A self styled introduction.
Audiences have feelings too – how to directly relate the presentation to the audience. The Practicalities – Formal and informal presentations throughout the day – Personal coaching to provide real time improvement – Short practice sessions held throughout the course will lead to a final full presentation to be made to the whole group.
Target Audience: Everyone who speaks at team meetings, one to one’s, tenants meetings or conducts work based presentations.
Problem Solving and Decision Making
The course aims to stimulate delegates to rethink old and new management practices and address the very heart of effective management.
This programme provides a combination of theories and models, individual tasks and analysis and teamwork centred solutions, with genuine case studies involving decision making and problem solving delivered in an accelerated learning and interactive training environment.
Course Content:
- Identify the types of decisions you face as managers
- Select the most effective course of action for each decision
- Apply analytical, creative and reasoning skills to practical problem solving
- Mind map, Brainstorm, use Fishbone Diagrams and The Ideas Box
- Toothache Trees for getting to the root cause
- State and use the ten rules of creativity
- Use the six Universal questions to solve problems
- Effectively use group dynamics in problem solving and decision making
- Decision making using the Six Hats approach
- Force Field Analysis for objective decision making
- PMI – Plus/Minus/Implication Models
- Will/Skill Matrix
- Impact and Effort Chart
- SCAMPER Solution Set
- The What If Compass – use and abuse
- Intuition in its finest form
Case studies include: – Harry Ramsden’s – IBM – Whitbread – The Art Corporation.
Target Audience: Anyone who has to take and make decisions that have an affect on processes, products, people or profits.
Recruitment & Selection Workshops
Delegates will participate in a simulated interview role play to build confidence and reduce their anxiety when faced with an interview situation.
This workshop will increase the interviewer’s ability to make effective decisions based on the evidence available.
Course Content:
- Advert preparation and short listing
- Planning and preparation for interview
- Projecting a professional image
- Preparation and delivery of information re the position/organisation
- Use of pre work application forms
- Preparing the interview environment
- Welcoming and relaxing the candidate
- Summary of interview format v Style of interview
- Allocation of time, allowing candidate sufficient time for responses
- Establishing an open environment in which the candidate is encouraged to open up
- Overcoming barriers to communication
- Building rapport quickly
- Positive body language from interviewer
- Keeping the interview on track and maintain control of the interview
- The importance of employment legislation in interviewing – what not to ask
- The use of competency based interview technique v Question techniques used effectively – open and closed questions
- Active listening skills and observation of candidate’s body language
- Probing questions – seeking clarification of answers
- Funnel technique
- The interview as a sales meeting
- Note taking – recording information for future use
- Selection
- Feedback
Target Audience: Anyone who is involved in the recruitment and selection of staff.
Supervisory Skills – Managing People
The course shows delegates how to interact with others in a personal and sensitive way by exploring the psychological contract and partnership aspects of working in today’s organisations.
The programme transfers knowledge by use of case studies and innovative visual aids, the programme is highly participative with a balance between tutor led input, individual project and group work.
The benefits to you and your organisation: By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Identify your leadership style
- Enable teams to become more effective
- Comprehend the psychological contract
- Demonstrate the difference between delegation and abdication
- Demonstrate the tools, techniques and methods utilised for facilitation purposes
- Effectively gain commitment from employees
- Understand team dynamics
- State the ground rules which enable teams to work effectively
- Work in partnership with staff who directly report to
Taking Notes and Minutes
Note taking can appear daunting, but this practical course provides you with knowledge, hints and tips in an enjoyable environment so that you can efficiently complete the task with confidence.
The benefits to you and your organisation: By the end of this course you will be able to:
- State why meetings are necessary
- Arrange a meeting
- Describe the various sections of a meeting
- Prepare an agenda v confidently attend meetings
- Take comprehensive notes and minutes
- Record decisions and actions
Content: Making meetings meaningful – Who should attend – Administration – Sections of a meeting The Agenda – Objectives – Order, layout and presentation – Timings Personal Preparation – Last minute checks – Preparation tick list – Attending the Meeting Taking notes and minutes – The mechanics of writing – Structuring notes – Taking minutes – Recording decisions and Actions.
Target Audience: This course will benefit and is suitably appropriate for everyone within the organisation who can see the need for structuring and improving their note taking and minuting skills.
Telephone Techniques
Learn how to handle customer calls with courtesy, enthusiasm and friendly efficiency. Establish rapport effectively. Note caller needs, and respond with questions designed to elicit other information. Control calls.
Close calls by summarising outcomes and agreed actions.
You will learn high impact telephone techniques which create understanding, build rapport and get the message across. You will learn how to make the most of the opportunities provided with every telephone call.
By the end of this course participant’s will be able to:
- Understand the importance of communicating by phone
- Use the telephone skilfully as a business tool
- Identify various types of call and develop strategies for dealing with callers
- Comprehend the importance of listening
- Deal with difficult callers
- Control the flow of telephone conversations.
- Respond positively to problems.
- Build rapport with the caller
- Understand the purpose of Call Quality Monitoring
- Comprehend the difference between Call Quality Monitoring and Customer Satisfaction
Content: Tools and Telephone techniques – The powers and the pitfalls of the telephone – Top ten frustrations of using the telephone – Call structure and the importance of standard greetings and partings within the council – Putting the customer first by controlling the call – Dealing with difficult customers – complaints and compliments – Active listening skills and questioning techniques v – Responding positively to problems – Objection handling and dealing with anger – escalation processes – Taking notes – Dealing with voicemail and answerphone machines – Leaving a message – Transferring calls and putting the customer on hold – Closing the call.
Target Audience: Candidates who wish to refine the skills necessary to build and maintain superior customer relations.
Time and Management
The benefits to you and your organisation: By the end of this course you will be able to:
- Recognise the value of effective time management to yourself and your organisation.
- Clarify your own objectives, key areas of responsibility and priorities.
- Identify and overcome the primary causes of poor time management for yourself. Identify time wasters and personal preferences that affect performance in the workplace.
- Prioritise your tasks and cope more effectively with day-to-day demands and pressures.
- Learn to plan ahead and use your time more effectively to increase personal productivity.
- Release more time to manage tasks effectively.
- Become more assertive and disciplined, achieving greater control through improved personal organisation, resulting in a healthier, more productive lifestyle both at work and beyond.
Content: Practical time management and planning activities
1. Effective use of diaries, time planners, time logs, etc.
2. Criteria for prioritising – urgent and important
3. Planning and scheduling your activities
4. Dealing with interruptions and distractions – staying focused
5. Managing time under pressure
6. Developing a proactive approach to short, medium and long-term plans Managing Yourself
7. Investing time and effort in order to achieve more in the future
8. Your time management behaviour – preferred working patterns
9. Personal effectiveness – a guide to self-discipline
10. Highlighting personal ‘time-stealers’ and areas of weakness
11. The principles of ETM (Effective Time Management) personal development
12. Reviewing your management of time at regular intervals
13. Overcoming your old habits – maintaining your new standards
Target Audience: Managers, team leaders and professionals who need to manage time more effectively to enhance their own performance and that of their team.
Get In Touch
Class 1 Consultants Ltd
76 Whitelea Road Kilmacolm
PA13 4HN
07989 796 839