Courses

Complete any 4 of the courses to earn the certificate.

• ROI and Beyond: Demonstrating the Value of Communication or Performance Systems as a Business Asset
• Leadership and Coalition-Building
• Managing Projects with In-House and Outsourced Teams
• Designing and Modeling Communication Systems and Infrastructures
• Evaluating Emerging Technologies
• Needs Analysis and Performance Consulting
• Strategic Planning
• Managing Across the Generations
• Change Management
• Building an Engaged Workplace: Creating a Great Place to Work

ROI and Beyond: Demonstrating the Value of Communication or Performance Systems as a Business Asset (999-SCPIM-11)

Overview and Objectives

Today more than ever, professionals in communications, training, and performance consulting are challenged to prove their value.  While many practitioners are beginning to calculate the actual and potential ROI of their projects, this measurement technique is just the beginning.  Communication and learning systems have ongoing strategic value as intangible assets and a competitive advantage to organizations.

You’ll learn

1. When, why, and how to calculate cost/benefits and ROI measures (and when NOT to)
2. How to use proven models and templates to pitch your projects as long-term intangible assets
3. Strategies for protecting and leveraging your intellectual and business properties, creating an income stream for communications and training

Module 1: ROI and other methods of showing value

Module 2: Aligning measurement with other business initiatives and language

Leadership and Coalition-Building (999-SCPIM-21)

Overview and Objectives

Leading means more than managing. In this session, you’ll develop new ways to leverage your strengths and preferences, to build effective teams, and to manage upwards.  You’ll apply these new ideas to an actual workplace situation and get feedback from your fellow learners.

You’ll learn

1. To identify your personality type preferences and how this relates to your leadership style and to building effective teams
2. How to distinguish between and use your power, authority, leadership, and influence
3. Proven ways to gain face-time and credibility with executives
4. Why managing your boss improves your standing with employees
5. How to build coalitions to get support from colleagues

Module 1: Understanding and leveraging your own leadership style and building the team around you

Module 2: Getting face time and support from executives and building coalitions

Managing Projects with In-House and Outsourced Teams (999-SCPIM-31)

Overview and Objectives

Develop skills in writing and using RFPs, budgeting, scheduling, coordinating responsibilities, and using collaboration technologies to bring successful projects in on time and within budget.

You’ll learn to

1. Weigh the pros and cons of outsourcing
2. Write and respond to RFPs (requests for proposals)
3. Develop a project management plan and schedule
4. Assign clear responsibilities and track major project milestones
5. Identify new online collaboration technologies that can be used to lead and manage virtual teams

Module 1: Outsourcing and project management – from both sides of the contract

Module 2: Virtual teams

Designing and Modeling Communication Systems and Infrastructures (999-SCPIM-41)

Overview and Objectives

Learn how to become the architect of a coherent and vibrant system of rules (policies, procedures, and standards) and tools (technologies and vehicles).

You’ll learn to

1. Analyze and apply research on the factors that create a healthy communication infrastructure
2. Use systems analysis tools and visualization
3. Design an information systems analytics study and contrast this to traditional communication audits
4. Develop a communication strategy, vision, and standards based on an underlying communication theory and your organization’s brand and culture.

Module 1: What makes great communication systems?

Module 2: Developing “rules and tools”

Evaluating Emerging Technologies (999-SCPIM-51)

Overview and Objectives

Learn what’s hot and what’s not even on the radar screen, and how to assess if and how you should adopt a new technology.

You’ll be able to

1. Identify new and emerging technologies that can be applied to organizational learning and communication
2. Use evaluation criteria and research to decide whether or how to use these technologies to achieve organizational performance goals
3. Predict and avoid risks and potential legal / ethical / usage issues
4. Select an emerging technology for an actual organizational goal, specifying general design and management criteria to maximize its effectiveness

Module 1:  Emerging technologies and assessment criteria

Module 2:  If we build it, will they come?

Needs Analysis and Performance Consulting (999-SCPIM-61)

Overview and Objectives

Move beyond being a creative producer to a consultant who identifies and closes business performance gaps, using a set of analytical methods and a wide variety of solutions.

You’ll learn to

1. Identify why conventional, discipline-based methods for solving organizational performance problems are flawed
2. Describe several models for performance consulting and needs analysis
3. Apply analysis models in order to identify performance gaps and select appropriate interventions
4. Discuss and apply concepts about the barriers and enablers to adopting performance consulting and gaining buy-in from clients and sponsors

Module 1:  The Basics of Needs Analysis and Performance Consulting

Module 2:  Adopting Performance Consulting

Strategic Planning (999-SCPIM-71)

Overview and Objectives

Acquire a deeper understanding of strategy concepts and learn to develop a strategic plan that creates alignment with organizational priorities and cultivates influence with senior leadership.

You’ll learn to

1. Describe “strategy” and how it differs from “operational effectiveness.”
2. Describe key components of a communication/training function strategy
3. Apply strategy concepts to formulate an initial strategic plan.

Module 1:  Strategic Planning Concepts

Module 2:  Formulating a Strategic Plan

Managing Across the Generations (999-SCPIM-81)

Overview and Objectives

How do you manage across these generations who have vastly different life experiences, work values, and communication preferences?    You’ll learn how leading organizations attract, train, communicate with, and motivate youngsters, accommodate the needs of experienced elders, and capture the knowledge of the quickly-retiring Baby Boomers.

You’ll learn

1. Factors that have shaped the characteristics, behaviors, and values of the various generations at work
2. New technologies that can be leveraged to attract and engage the most promising Nexter employees and harvest the knowledge of those who are retiring
3. How to effectively accommodate and attract the increasingly large pool of talented persons with learning and other disabilities

Module 1: The Generations at Work: What’s made them what they are and what it means for managers

Module 2: Technologies and techniques to leverage the best of all the generations

Change Management (999-SCPIM-91)

Overview and Objectives

Execute change efforts effectively and you're a hero--but most often, change efforts are complex, messy, and impacted by cultural forces.  This course examines concepts, models, roles, and best practices concerning implementing change initiatives.

You'll be able to

1. Identify critical success factors that impact the effectiveness of change programs.
2. Use change management models to plan and appraise change efforts.
3. Consider factors that influence individual behavior that facilitates or hinders implementation.

Module 1:  Change concepts, processes, and model

Module 2:  Roles people play: Change agents and resisters

Building an Engaged Workplace: Creating a Great Place to Work (999-SCPIM-00)

Overview and Objectives

Without an engaged workforce that bottom line is more difficult to achieve. You'll explore what engagement means and how organizations can create workplaces where employees are committed to helping achieve the goals of the organization.

You'll learn

1. What engagement means for your organization
2. How to design a proposal to create or enhance employee engagement
3. Metrics that measure the success of engagement
4. How to define your role in the design of an engagement program

Module 1:  Overview of the definitions and models for engagement

Module 2:  Designing and implementing engagement programs