Cooper Hardiman

In this workshop we help you to break down the 'big picture' thinking to enable you to bring your team together and use your shared goals and vision to develop the way forward. We'll provide you with the tools and skills you need to lead your team effectively and collaboratively. Outcomes for participants include:

Understanding the process for developing a clear and compelling organisational vision.
Utilise effective planning tools such as the Goals Grid and SMART goals framework.
Understand the concept of the 'visionary leader'.
Understand the role of organisational culture and leadership in keeping employee motivated and focused on achieving a shared vision.

Learn a tried and tested formula which has been successfully applied by hundreds of managers to confidently conduct difficult conversations with staff in order to address poor performance or behavioural issues in the workplace. There is a good reason why this is our most popular workshop!

Use the “Challenging Conversations” model to effectively and confidently address poor performance or behaviours across a variety of situations in the workplace.
Describe and apply various techniques to maximise the effectiveness of conversations about behaviours or performance.

When an allegation of workplace misconduct is made it is critical that your organisation responds appropriately. Do you have suitably trained investigators who can professionally investigate matters when they arise? Borrowing from our decades of experience, this comprehensive workshop will provide participants with a tool kit and key steps and resources required to conduct a thorough internal workplace investigation. By the end of this workshop participants will:

Identify circumstances in which an investigation is necessary.
Clarify the role of an investigator.
Understand the scope of an investigation and the importance of clarity in defining the scope.
Learn how to communicate with complainants, respondents and witnesses in an effective, sensitive and impartial manner.
Learn how to assess evidence and make findings of fact.
Explore issues in communicating outcomes and determining further action where required.

Unresolved conflict costs Australian workplaces billions of dollars each year. In fact, one study suggests a staggering 46% of Australian employees would rather look for a new job than contend with a workplace issue and 48% of employees take time off work when experiencing a tough time at work. [R U OK? Australian Workplace Relationships survey 2012] . In this workshop we give you the tools, techniques and confidence to appropriately address workplace conflicts as they arise.

Recognise the underlying causes of common workplace conflicts.
Describe the strengths and weaknesses of various techniques to resolve conflict and identify the most appropriate method to apply to different conflict types.
Build confidence and skill in applying various conflict management strategies including mediation techniques used by professional mediators.

Appropriately trained volunteer Contact Officers provide an important alternate avenue for employees to discuss issues of concern relating to claims of unlawful discrimination, harassment and/or bullying. They can also play a significant role in reducing claims and demonstrating an organisation’s commitment to building an inclusive workplace culture. This workshop ensures that your Contact Officers understand their role and are equipped to perform it well.

Learn what is and ISN’T the role of the Contact Officer.
Identify and describe activities that may constitute harassment, bullying and unlawful discrimination in accordance with the current legislative framework.
Recognise the weaknesses in formal complaints mechanisms and identify strategies to support employees to self-resolve disputes where appropriate to do so.
Implement best practice approaches to personal record keeping, feedback mechanisms to senior management and the creation of appropriate support networks.

Every organisation has its own unique culture. However, research suggests that the culture of a workplace is a key driver of organisational performance. So what can you do to ensure that you are driving the right culture for long term success?

Describe the significance of organisational culture and it’s link to organisational performance.
Identify some of the strengths and weaknesses of your existing organisational culture and how this is likely to impact on the organisation’s long term success.
Reflect on your own leadership style and identify any changes you wish to make to drive your preferred culture.
Identify solutions to common cultural challenges in workplaces including encouraging prudent risk taking, driving greater initiative and innovation and avoiding silos or an “us versus them” mentality

This workshop is suitable for all of your workforce and ensures your staff are educated about appropriate standards that are expected of them and others in the workplace in relation to equal opportunity, bullying and harassment. This workshop provides practical strategies to minimise bullying, harassment and discriminatory behaviour without creating a victim mentality that may lead to a spike in formal complaints.

Clarify legal definitions of what IS and ISN'T bullying & harassment.
Understand the difference between direct & indirect discrimination.
Develop basic techniques to self-resolve concerns about inappropriate behaviour in the workplace.
Develop staff members' skills in receiving feedback and championing respectful behaviours.

We have experienced a period of rapid change in employment law. The introduction of Modern Awards, the National Employment Standards, new adverse action and anti-bullying provisions, developments in the common law and increased obligations relating to superannuation and OH&S have all added to the complexity. For employers and managers who are not sufficiently across their obligations, they may unknowingly be at risk of significant financial losses and being held personally liable for breaches of their obligations.

Identify key legal risks associated with selection and recruitment.
Identify potential areas of improvement in contractual documentation.
Describe the key obligations imposed by the Fair Work Act with particular focus on the National Employment Standards, Adverse Action and Anti-bullying provisions.
Demonstrate a general understanding of the sources of other obligations imposed by other acts relating to OH&S, Superannuation and Long Service Leave.

It is critical for managers to have knowledge and awareness around the various aspects of the employee/employer relationship. In this HR 101 workshop, we will help you to understand the key areas as they apply to managers in making sound people decisions consistent with legislative and organisational policy requirements. Outcomes include:

Understanding the key sources of employment rights and responsibilities and how they interact with each other.
Identify and respond appropriately to risks in areas such as adverse action and staff exercising a workplace right.
Manage and respond to requests for flexibility arrangements.
Understanding your Health and Safety obligations, including anti-bullying provisions.

Are you required to interview staff and want to ensure that your approach is as effective as it could be? In this masterclass we explore more advanced interview techniques and strategies to ensure you select the best available candidate.

Identify common mistakes and limitations associated with a range of interview techniques and approaches.
Identify areas for improvement in their own interview technique as well as opportunities to improve their organisation’s interview processes.
Apply advanced behavioural interview questioning techniques to identify relevant skills and values that each candidate will bring to your role.
Describe and apply techniques to ensure you select the best candidate for the job - not the best candidate at selling themselves !

Can you imagine your workplace filled with staff who are all committed and focused on contributing to your oganisational vision and objectives, as well as being accountable for the same shared values and agreed behaviours within the workplace? It's not a pipe dream. It can achieved, provided that your managers learn the right techniques and put the right systems in place.

Apply best-practice approaches to pro-active performance management, and understand it’s correlation to high performing teams.
Consider organisational values and strategy in the management of performance and setting of goals.
Conduct meaningful performance discussions with employees, including setting goals in line with SMART principles.

As many as one in four adults in Australia will suffer from a mental illness during their working careers, yet many managers are unsure of their legal obligations and how to respond. Is it a breach of privacy to ask someone about their condition? How can I best support a person with a mental illness without becoming their psychologist? Can I discipline a person if they behave inappropriately due to a mental illness? What if they go on WorkCover or are suicidal? In this practical workshop our facilitators will share their expertise and guide you through the do's and don'ts, in order to achieve the best possible outcome for everyone.

Describe the major types of diagnosable mental illness and their most common symptoms.
Identify early warning signs of mental illness in the workplace.
Identify key legal risks associated with managing a person who had identified as havinga mental illness.
Develop and apply strategies for assisting staff with a mental illness whilst continuing to ensure accountability for appropriate performance and behaviour.

So much has changed over the past two years, including the way we interact with our staff and as a team. But what hasn’t changed is that we all continue to remain accountable for our roles. In this workshop we explore strategies for effectively managing staff and teams remotely, whilst ensuring that team morale and staff wellbeing remains a priority. This workshop is suitable for managers and supervisors wishing to gain insight into strategies and tools to effectively manage your team in a changing and challenging environment. By the end of this workshop participants will be able to:

Apply Change Management principles to the context of working from home or working remotely.
Consider Performance Management in this context – what really matters at a time like this.
Share ideas for practical steps to maximise the performance of all employees and ensuring ongoing accountability.
Consider employee wellbeing, morale and culture in these challenging times.

Taking disciplinary action or ending a person’s employment can be one of the most difficult things a manager will need to do andit’s vital that your approach to managing continued underperformance or inappropriate conduct will achieve the desired result and not unnecessarily expose your organisation to legal risk and costly claims.

Identify and mitigate the key risks associated with terminating employment, including those associated with unfair and unlawful dismissal claims.
Distinguish between cases of misconduct and poor performance and identify the basic steps required to appropriately respond to each case.
Conduct a basic disciplinary process and prepare effective warning letters.
Apply a range of strategies to effectively conduct disciplinary meetings including those resulting in termination.

You've just invested a lot of time and energy into your recruitment process for a new hire and they're ready to start work. It may feel like the hard yards are behind you when appointing your ideal candidate, but in fact the realchallenge starts here. In this workshop we'll work with you to develop an onboarding strategy and probationary procedure to ensure that you create the conditions for high performance right from the outset of employment. Insights include:

Managing offers of employment, including contracting and key legislative requirements.
Understanding key employment and induction related documentation and procedures.
Identifying the difference between ‘Inducting’ and ‘Onboarding’ and identifying practical strategies for effectively and thoroughly onboarding employees
Understanding the legal environment surrounding ‘probationary periods’ and how this should be incorporated into best practice probationary management processes.
Identify tools for managing employee probationary periods, including ending employment within this period.

Recruiting staff can be a time consuming and expensive process, and therefore the stakes are high to get it right. In this workshop we identify key risks and how to avoid them, explore the importance of Key Selection Criteria and learn techniques for behavioural interviewing to ensure that you obtain the information you need from prospective candidates whist avoiding any ‘small talk’ risks. By the end of this workshop participants will be able to:

Develop and refine Position Descriptions and Key Selection Criteria to ensure clarity in the inherent requirements of the role.
Understand personal biases and the risks associated with allowing such biases to influence the decision-making process.
Apply structure and methodology to the recruitment process to ensure a timely, positive, and future focused outcome.
Utilise behavioural interviewing techniques to ensure that you obtain the information you need from candidates.

Unified teams that genuinely collaborate and co-operate are more productive teams. Through participating in a range of fun and practical team building challenges which promote effective communication, collaboration and creative thinking - your team won’t just learn the theory, but will also experience first hand the satisfaction and results that come from working in a cohesive team towards a common purpose.

Articulate your teams’ shared purpose and vision and how each member contributes to the achievement of that vision.
Develop a clear set of actions and priorities to lead their team toward success
Foster innovative and creative thinking

In this workshop we utilise the DISC profiling system to enhance participants understanding of their own working styles and preferences. Participants will learn about the four different working styles and how to get the best out of each style, helping to build stronger and more effective working relationships.

Become familiar with the DISC model for determining differing behavioural styles.
Understand how to best utilise these differing styles to increase team effectiveness.
Recognise your own behavioural style and consider how your style is best used to connect with and support others who may have different working styles and preferences.

Find out more about Cooper Hardiman workshops

Up-skilling for success

HR & People Manager Workshops

Achieving Team Vision and Purpose

Understanding the process for developing a clear and compelling organisational vision.

Utilise effective planning tools such as the Goals Grid and SMART goals framework.

Understand the concept of the 'visionary leader'.

Understand the role of organisational culture and leadership in keeping employee motivated and focused on achieving a shared vision.

Challenging Conversations

Learn a tried and tested formula which has been successfully applied by hundreds of managers to confidently conduct difficult conversations with staff in order to address poor performance or behavioural issues in the workplace. There is a good reason why this is our most popular workshop!

Use the “Challenging Conversations” model to effectively and confidently address poor performance or behaviours across a variety of situations in the workplace.

Describe and apply various techniques to maximise the effectiveness of conversations about behaviours or performance.

Conducting Workplace Investigations

Identify circumstances in which an investigation is necessary.

Clarify the role of an investigator.

Understand the scope of an investigation and the importance of clarity in defining the scope.

Learn how to communicate with complainants, respondents and witnesses in an effective, sensitive and impartial manner.

Learn how to assess evidence and make findings of fact.

Explore issues in communicating outcomes and determining further action where required.

Conflict Resolution

Recognise the underlying causes of common workplace conflicts.

Describe the strengths and weaknesses of various techniques to resolve conflict and identify the most appropriate method to apply to different conflict types.

Build confidence and skill in applying various conflict management strategies including mediation techniques used by professional mediators.

Contact Officer Training

Learn what is and ISN’T the role of the Contact Officer.

Identify and describe activities that may constitute harassment, bullying and unlawful discrimination in accordance with the current legislative framework.

Recognise the weaknesses in formal complaints mechanisms and identify strategies to support employees to self-resolve disputes where appropriate to do so.

Implement best practice approaches to personal record keeping, feedback mechanisms to senior management and the creation of appropriate support networks.

Creating a Culture for Long Term Success

Every organisation has its own unique culture. However, research suggests that the culture of a workplace is a key driver of organisational performance. So what can you do to ensure that you are driving the right culture for long term success?

Describe the significance of organisational culture and it’s link to organisational performance.

Identify some of the strengths and weaknesses of your existing organisational culture and how this is likely to impact on the organisation’s long term success.

Reflect on your own leadership style and identify any changes you wish to make to drive your preferred culture.

Identify solutions to common cultural challenges in workplaces including encouraging prudent risk taking, driving greater initiative and innovation and avoiding silos or an “us versus them” mentality

Creating a Culture of Respect

Clarify legal definitions of what IS and ISN'T bullying & harassment.

Understand the difference between direct & indirect discrimination.

Develop basic techniques to self-resolve concerns about inappropriate behaviour in the workplace.

Develop staff members' skills in receiving feedback and championing respectful behaviours.

Employment Law Essentials

Identify key legal risks associated with selection and recruitment.

Identify potential areas of improvement in contractual documentation.

Describe the key obligations imposed by the Fair Work Act with particular focus on the National Employment Standards, Adverse Action and Anti-bullying provisions.

Demonstrate a general understanding of the sources of other obligations imposed by other acts relating to OH&S, Superannuation and Long Service Leave.

HR for Managers

Understanding the key sources of employment rights and responsibilities and how they interact with each other.

Identify and respond appropriately to risks in areas such as adverse action and staff exercising a workplace right.

Manage and respond to requests for flexibility arrangements.

Understanding your Health and Safety obligations, including anti-bullying provisions.

Interview Like an Expert

Are you required to interview staff and want to ensure that your approach is as effective as it could be? In this masterclass we explore more advanced interview techniques and strategies to ensure you select the best available candidate.

Identify common mistakes and limitations associated with a range of interview techniques and approaches.

Identify areas for improvement in their own interview technique as well as opportunities to improve their organisation’s interview processes.

Apply advanced behavioural interview questioning techniques to identify relevant skills and values that each candidate will bring to your role.

Describe and apply techniques to ensure you select the best candidate for the job - not the best candidate at selling themselves !

Managing and Lifting Performance

Apply best-practice approaches to pro-active performance management, and understand it’s correlation to high performing teams.

Consider organisational values and strategy in the management of performance and setting of goals.

Conduct meaningful performance discussions with employees, including setting goals in line with SMART principles.

Managing Staff with a Mental Illness

Describe the major types of diagnosable mental illness and their most common symptoms.

Identify early warning signs of mental illness in the workplace.

Identify key legal risks associated with managing a person who had identified as havinga mental illness.

Develop and apply strategies for assisting staff with a mental illness whilst continuing to ensure accountability for appropriate performance and behaviour.

Managing Staff Remotely

Apply Change Management principles to the context of working from home or working remotely.

Consider Performance Management in this context – what really matters at a time like this.

Share ideas for practical steps to maximise the performance of all employees and ensuring ongoing accountability.

Consider employee wellbeing, morale and culture in these challenging times.

Negotiating the Minefield

Identify and mitigate the key risks associated with terminating employment, including those associated with unfair and unlawful dismissal claims.

Distinguish between cases of misconduct and poor performance and identify the basic steps required to appropriately respond to each case.

Conduct a basic disciplinary process and prepare effective warning letters.

Apply a range of strategies to effectively conduct disciplinary meetings including those resulting in termination.

Onboarding and Probation Management

Managing offers of employment, including contracting and key legislative requirements.

Understanding key employment and induction related documentation and procedures.

Identifying the difference between ‘Inducting’ and ‘Onboarding’ and identifying practical strategies for effectively and thoroughly onboarding employees

Understanding the legal environment surrounding ‘probationary periods’ and how this should be incorporated into best practice probationary management processes.

Identify tools for managing employee probationary periods, including ending employment within this period.

Recruiting with Confidence