Avanta is beacon organisation that works at the forefront of the welfare sector and has expanded its work with individuals in order to secure sustainable employment based on understanding the needs of employers for appropriately qualified, skilled and trained workforce that's up to the job.

In 2008-9, Avanta reported revenues in excess of £41m, a 25% increase on 2007-8 and it continues to invest in its people, programmes and infrastructure which is making a real difference to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people every year.

The organisation is a leading employer in its sector, employing thousands of people including a national network of Business Managers across the UK.

It approached Guru in a Bottle to create a national training programme - Developing Communication Skills for Business Managers - which is currently being rolled out.

Design of the Training Workshop

We had been in discussions with the founder and CEO Janette Faherty OBE and Liaquat Lal, Learning & Development Manager about the communication training needs and requirements for its Business Managers. There were four key learning aims that were identified:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre-workshop Questionnaire

Each business manager was contacted via the Learning & Development Manager in order to complete the pre-workshop questionnaire:

• What are the three things do you want to get out of the one day communication workshop?

• What three things would you like to learn about communication that will make your job easier to do?

• In what three areas of communication do you think you might have a knowledge/experience gap?

• What work and materials would you like to bring to the workshop that can be worked on in order to apply what you will learn?

• What do you hope to do better in connection with communication as a result of attending this workshop?

Training requirements

For the one-day workshop, this segmented into four keys areas:

1. Individual Communication
2. Group Communication
3. Upward Communication
4. Downward Communication

Content of the workshop

Individual Communication:

• dealing with new employees
• dealing with existing employees
• dealing with customers
• how to encourage participation
• dealing with problem situations
• The Art of Listening
• Tools - Circle of Influence, Checklist for Resolving Conflict, Dealing with Personality Clashes, Four-styles Grid,

Group Communication:

• ground rules for effective teamwork
• using questioning techniques
• verbal and non-verbal communication
• how to get two-way communication
• using PowerPoint and email effectively
• Tools - Teamwork Checklist, PowerPoint Checklist, Body Language Checklist, Media and Message Grid,

Upward Communication:

• how to get your boss on your side!
• Tools - Fact Finding Checklist

Downward Communication:

• how to get the team on your side
• asking for feedback
• giving feedback
• managing change
• Tools - Difficult Conversation Checklist, Blind Spots Grid, Components of a Change Plan, Checklist for Guiding People through Change, Developing Personal Resilience for Business Managers

Delivery of Training

This was a highly interactive workshop with analysis and discussion of best practice, real life case studies, practical exercises and role play.

Feedback from delegates

This was one of the most successful training workshops we have delivered as we achieved near perfect scores for overall satisfaction with the trainer and the content of the workshop covered.

To discuss how we can work with you in empowering your team performance in sales, marketing, communication and presentation call us today on 0207 580 2819 or complete our feedback form

 

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