2015 Training Programs

Transcription

1 2015 Training Programs LEADERSHIP / SUPERVISORY HR MANAGEMENT COMMUNICATION SKILLS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PHR / SPHR / SHRM CERTIFICATION PREPARATION COMPLIANCE TRAINING CUSTOMER RELATIONS SAFETY PRODUCTIVITY / QUALITY 100+ Training Programs 600 Convenient Classroom & Online Sessions

2 MRA The Management Association ABOUT US MRA helps business thrive by creating powerful teams and safe, successful workplaces. That s been our goal for over 110 years. And it s true today. As one of the largest nonprofit employer associations in the U.S., we serve 4,000 employers - from small entrepreneurs to Fortune 50 companies. TRAINING CREATED WITH YOU IN MIND Working with such a variety of organizations means we know the development needs of people in businesses just like yours. Training programs from MRA were created with you in mind. With more than 100 training programs and 600 classroom and online sessions scheduled for 2015, you ll find specific training at times convenient for you. And, earning any of MRA s 13 certificates demonstrates commitment to your organization and your professional growth. NO MATTER WHAT, MRA HAS YOU COVERED MRA is more than your training and development source. The employee lifecycle from recruiting to talent development to succession planning covers a host of opportunities and potential risk for your organization. We assist with virtually every aspect to ensure you re taking the right steps along the way. If you haven t already, visit us at to see exactly how we can help. GUARANTEED. ABSOLUTELY. MRA is dedicated to providing exceptional results. We re proud of it and back it up with a promise of complete satisfaction and a money-back guarantee.

3 Guide to Your 2015 Training Programs Catalog MRA Training builds your best workforce. Get started on developing yours today. Here s what you ll find in the MRA 2015 Training Catalog: Page 4 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Course Index Training Locations/Onsite Training About MRA Training MRA Certificate Series Lean Programs and Services - Overview Safety Training and Services - Overview Webinar Library REGISTER IT S EASY! ONLINE: registrations@mranet.org PHONE: Page 33 Page 94 Page 95 Training Program Descriptions - Alphabetical Listing MRA Instructors MRA Conference Center WATCH FOR THESE SPECIAL EVENTS IN 2015: Annual Employment Law Update February 2015 Annual HR Conference Spring 2015 Wisconsin: Metro Milwaukee Area: Minnesota: Illinois: Iowa/Western Illinois: MRA offers various events throughout the year on current human resource topics, benefits, leadership, and more. Visit mranet.org, search Special Events for a complete list of upcoming events.

4 COURSE INDEX CERTIFICATE SERIES PROGRAMS Management Certificate Series Administrative Professionals Certificate Series Advanced Communication Certificate Series...11 Building Effective Teams Certificate Series...12 Customer Service Excellence Frontline Leadership Certificate Series Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series...22 Lean Programs & Services...30 Principles of Leadership Excellence Certificate Series Human Resource Certificate Series Employee Benefits Certificate Series Essentials of HR Certificate Series Human Resource Professional Certificate Series...20 PHR/SPHR Certification Program...29 SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP Certification Preparation...83 MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP Administrative Skills Administrative Professionals Certificate Series Business Write it Right...38 Business Writing for Impact: How to Write So People Will Read...39 Cornerstones of Superior Customer Service...46 Customer-Focused Telephone Techniques...49 Grammar Basics Leadership Skills for the Administrative Professional...68 Administrative Professionals Certificate Series Administrative Professionals Certificate Series Business Write it Right...38 Grammar Basics Juggling Multiple Priorities for Administrative Professionals...67 Advanced Communication Certificate Series Advanced Communication Certificate Series...11 Communication from the Inside Out...44 Effective Communication Beyond the Basics...52 Right Brain/Left Brain Thinking...82 Advanced Leadership Coaching Certificate Coaching for Development: An Integrated Approach for Managers Emotionally Intelligent Leader NEW...54 Management Drivers of Employee Engagement...70 Right Brain/Left Brain Thinking...82 Strategic Planning Workshop: A Case Study...84 Assertiveness Assertive Communication in the Workplace...35 Sensitivity Skills in a Diverse Workplace...83 Business Skills Business Conversation for Sales and Service...38 Business Etiquette: The Professional Advantage...39 Buyer Styles and Adapting Your Sales Approach NEW...40 Consultative Sales Approach for Critical Accounts NEW...45 Finance and Accounting for the Nonfinancial Leader...56 Finance Essentials for the HR Professional...56 Prepare the Perfect Presentation NEW...79 Presentation Skills...80 Project Management: The Human and Technical View Business Writing Business Write it Right...38 Business Writing for Impact: How to Write So People Will Read...39 Grammar Basics Change Management Change: The HR Leader s Role...40 Create Buy-in and Implement Change...46 Leading Change and Putting It All Together: A Look to the Future...68 Making Change Work for You...70 Coaching And Counseling Coaching Certificate Coaching for Development: An Integrated Approach for Managers Culture, Motivation, and Aligning Goals With Strategies: The Path to Productivity...48 Performance Appraisals and Coaching Skills...77 Communication Skills Advanced Communication Certificate Series...11 Assertive Communication in the Workplace...35 Business Conversation for Sales and Service...38 Communicate for Success: Hear and Say What is Most Important...42 Communicating for Results: Gold Medal Performance...43 Communicating With Your Teammates...44 Communication from the Inside Out...44 Communication Skills...45 Customer Skills for Technical Professionals...49 Effective Communication Beyond the Basics...52 Enhance Your Business Image...55 Influencing Others...65 Leadership Skills for the Administrative Professional...68 Negotiation Skills Right Brain/Left Brain Thinking...82 Sensitivity Skills in a Diverse Workplace...83 Workload Survival Skills For more information about these programs, call MRA at

5 Conflict Management Building Collaboration and Managing Conflict: Push and Pull...37 Handling Difficult Conversations Effectively Influencing Others...65 Managing Conflict in Your Team...71 Managing Your Anger and Conflict in the Workplace...72 Resolving Conflict and Handling Difficult People Problems...82 Customer Relations Business Write it Right...38 Cornerstones of Superior Customer Service...46 Creative Customer Problem Solving...46 Customer Service Excellence Program Customer-Focused Telephone Techniques...49 Customer Skills for Technical Professionals...49 Enhance Your Customer Connection...55 Understand Your Customer s Business...90 Customer Service Excellence Program Customer Service Excellence Program Creative Customer Problem Solving...46 Enhance Your Customer Connection...55 Understand Your Customer s Business...90 Diversity Sensitivity Skills in a Diverse Workplace...83 Frontline Leadership Certificate Series Frontline Leadership Certificate Series Communication Skills...45 Effective Training Techniques...53 Motivation and Trust Building...73 Resolving Conflict and Handling Difficult People Problems...82 General Management Coaching Certificate Coaching for Development: An Integrated Approach for Managers Create Buy-in and Implement Change...46 Diplomacy and Tact Effective Training Techniques...53 Emotionally Intelligent Leader NEW...54 Finance and Accounting for the Nonfinancial Leader...56 Handling Difficult Conversations Effectively Interactive Training Techniques for the Classroom...65 Managing Conflict in Your Team...71 Managing Projects for Team Leaders...72 Managing Your Anger and Conflict in the Workplace...72 Motivation and Trust Building...73 Performance Appraisals and Coaching Skills...77 Problem-Solving Techniques...80 Project Management: The Human and Technical View Sensitivity Skills in a Diverse Workplace...83 Strategic Planning Workshop: A Case Study...84 Stress Management...84 Supervision: The Essentials NEW...85 Supervisor and the Law...85 Surviving as a New Leader: Making the Transition...86 Time Management...86 Virtual and Remote Team Leadership...90 Workload Survival Skills...91 ISO Programs Internal Auditing for ISO-Based Systems...66 Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series...22 Communicating With Your Teammates...44 Foundation for Leading Teams...59 Keeping the Team on Track...67 Managing Conflict in Your Team...71 Managing Projects for Team Leaders...72 Lean Lean Programs and Services...30 Leading Successful Kaizen Events...69 Lean Fundamentals...69 Planning Successful Kaizen Events...79 Manufacturing Improvement 5S: The Path to Successful Implementation...33 Foundations of Statistical Process Control...60 Problem-Solving Techniques...80 Project Management: The Human and Technical View Personal Development Business Write it Right...38 Business Etiquette: The Professional Advantage...39 Business Writing for Impact: How to Write So People Will Read...39 Communicate for Success: Hear and Say What is Most Important...42 Diplomacy and Tact Emotionally Intelligent Leader NEW...54 Enhance Your Business Image...55 Finance and Accounting for the Nonfinancial Leader...56 Grammar Basics Improving Your Management Style...64 Influencing Others...65 Juggling Multiple Priorities for Administrative Professionals...67 Managing Your Anger and Conflict in the Workplace...72 Personal Success Strategies...78 Prepare the Perfect Presentation NEW...79 Presentation Skills...80 COURSE INDEX 5

6 COURSE INDEX Stress Management...84 Time Management...86 Presentation Skills Business Writing for Impact: How to Write So People Will Read...39 Influencing Others...65 Interactive Training Techniques for the Classroom...65 Prepare the Perfect Presentation NEW...79 Presentation Skills...80 Principles Of Leadership Excellence Certificate Series Principles of Leadership Excellence Certificate Series Building Collaboration and Managing Conflict: Push and Pull...37 Communicating for Results: Gold Medal Performance...43 Culture, Motivation, and Aligning Goals With Strategies: The Path to Productivity...48 Leading Change and Putting It All Together: A Look to the Future...68 Training, Delegating Coaching, and Managing Performance: Heads Up...88 Trust and Influence: New-School Leadership...89 Problem-Solving Skills Foundations of Statistical Process Control...60 Problem-Solving Techniques...80 Productivity Improvement 5S: The Path to Successful Implementation...33 Internal Auditing for ISO-Based Systems...66 Problem-Solving Techniques...80 Quality 5S: The Path to Successful Implementation...33 Internal Auditing for ISO-Based Systems...66 Sales Skills Business Conversation for Sales and Service...38 Buyer Styles and Adapting your Sales Approach NEW...40 Consultative Sales Approach for Critical Accounts NEW...45 Critical-Step Selling...46 Negotiation Skills Sensitivity Training HR Compliance Harassment Prevention Training...62 Sensitivity Skills in a Diverse Workplace...83 Team Training Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series...22 Communicating With Your Teammates...44 Foundation for Leading Teams...59 Keeping the Team on Track...67 Managing Conflict in Your Team...71 Managing Projects for Team Leaders...72 Virtual and Remote Team Leadership...90 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Affirmative Action Affirmative Action Plan Workshop...33 Affirmative Action Recordkeeping: Make the Data Work for You...34 Affirmative Action: Don t Get Caught With Your Plans Down...34 Benefits Employee Benefits Certificate Series Benefit Administration for Employees Away From Work...35 Benefit Communication Best Practices: A Guide to Effective Employee Education...36 Design and Execution of Retirement Plans: Smooth Driving on Highway 401(K)...50 Design and Funding of Benefit Plans Show Me the Money!...50 Employee Benefits: A to Z...62 Total Rewards: Benefit Basics NEW...87 Compensation Fundamentals of Compensation...60 Total Rewards: Compensation Basics NEW...87 Employee Benefits Certificate Series Employee Benefits Certificate Series Benefit Administration for Employees Away From Work...35 Benefit Communication Best Practices: A Guide to Effective Employee Education...36 Design and Execution of Retirement Plans: Smooth Driving on Highway 401(K)...50 Design and Funding of Benefit Plans Show Me the Money!...50 Employee Benefits: A to Z...54 Essentials of HR Certificate Series Essentials of HR Certificate Series Effective Documentation: From Coaching to Termination...52 Effective Interviewing and Hiring...53 HR and Employment Law Essentials NEW...62 Managing HR Records...71 Total Rewards: Benefits Basics NEW...87 Total Rewards: Compensation Basics NEW...87 Fmla Family And Medical Leave Act FMLA Administration in the Real World A Method to the Madness...57 FMLA Update for Leave Administrators...58 Federal & State Employment Law HR and Employment Law Essentials NEW...62 Supervisor and the Law For more information about these programs, call MRA at

7 General HR Benefit Administration for Employees Away From Work...35 Benefit Communication Best Practices: A Guide to Effective Employee Education...36 Change: HR Leader s Role...40 Design and Execution of Retirement Plans: Smooth Driving on Highway 401(K)...50 Design and Funding of Benefit Plans Show Me the Money!...50 Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training for Managers and Supervisors Effective Documentation: From Coaching to Termination...52 Employee Benefits: A to Z...54 Finance Essentials for the HR Professional...56 HR Metrics: ROI for HR Initiatives...63 HR Overview for HR Assistants...63 Internal Investigations: A How-To Guide...66 Managing HR Records...71 Marketing Essentials for the HR Professional...73 On-Boarding: Ensuring the Success of New Hires Writing an Employee Handbook Ready, Set, Go!...93 Harassment Prevention HR Compliance Harassment Prevention Training...62 HR Certification PHR/SPHR Certification Program & 78 SHRM Certification (SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP)...29 & 83 Human Resource Professional Certificate Series Human Resource Professional Certificate Series...20 Finance Essentials for the HR Professional...56 Fundamentals of Compensation...60 HR Metrics: ROI for HR Initiatives...63 HR Professional as Business Partner...64 Internal Investigations: A How-To Guide...66 Interviewing And Hiring Effective Interviewing and Hiring...53 On-Boarding: Ensuring the Success of New Hires Recruiting Effective Interviewing and Hiring...53 Recruiting: Attract Top Talent With a Solid Employer Brand While Navigating Job Boards and Social Media Tools Safety/Worker s Compensation Forklift/Lift Truck Train-the-Trainer...59 OSHA 10-Hour Voluntary Compliance Course for General Industry...75 OSHA 30-Hour Voluntary Compliance Course for General Industry OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Requirements...77 Safety Training and Services Worker s Compensation Essentials for Wisconsin Employees Sexual Harassment Training HR Compliance Harassment Prevention Training...62 Social Media & Networking Recruiting: Attract Top Talent With a Solid Employer Brand While Navigating Job Boards and Social Media Tools Supervisory Supervision: The Essentials NEW...85 Supervisor and the Law...85 Webinars Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training for Managers and Supervisors Webinar Program Offerings...32 World At Work World at Work C1: Regulatory Environments for Compensation Programs...92 World at Work C4: Base Pay for Administration and Pay for Performance...92 MRA has been approved as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), 1760 Old Meadow Road, Suite 500, McLean VA In obtaining this approval, MRA has demonstrated that it complies with the ANSI/IACET Standards which are widely recognized as standards of good practice internationally. As a result of the Authorized Provider membership status, MRA is authorized to offer IACET CEUs for its programs that qualify under the ANSI/IACET Standards. MRA is an Approved Provider for recertification credit hours by the Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI). Many of MRA s programs are pre-approved by HRCI for recertification credit toward your PHR or SPHR designation. Look for the HRCI Seal in appropriate course descriptions throughout our course catalog. The use of the HRCI seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit. MRA is a network partner with WorldatWork ( a not-for-profit organization providing education, conferences, and research focused on global human resources issues including compensation, benefits, work-life, and integrated total rewards to attract, motivate and retain a talented workforce. COURSE INDEX 7

8 Training Convenient With more than 100 course topics scheduled in 2015, you re sure to find the right training at a location near you. to YOU Course locations include: Appleton, WI Madison, WI Moline, IL Muscatine, IA Palatine, IL Plymouth, MN Sheboygan Falls, WI Waukesha, WI Or, bring courses directly to you to meet your employee development needs. Onsite training from MRA helps you: ÂÂ Customize content to meet your specific business goals or use the curriculum as is ÂÂ Train anywhere, any shift, any time, at a location convenient to you ÂÂ Develop key competencies and shared learning experiences across the team simultaneously ÂÂ Save money and resources through group pricing, reduced travel expenses, and fewer hours away from work Contact for more information about onsite training.

9 The Value of MRA Professional Training and Certificates With more than 100 training programs and 600 classroom and online sessions, MRA has your development needs covered. Increase your value in the workplace with affordable and convenient training Learn from industry experts Acquire relevant skills immediately applicable on the job Bridge the gap between education and new job requirements Network with professionals from diverse organizations Professional certificates from MRA are designed to benefit your career and your organization. Put any of our 13 industry-recognized certificates to work for you. Benefit from comprehensive content developed to bring pertinent topics and skills together Achieve a higher level of learning by applying new skills and behaviors between training sessions, helping anchor your learning to the workplace Grow your peer network with individuals who attend the certificate series Join the thousands who have earned an MRA Certificate. Because of the skills I learned from the MRA classes, I was promoted! I could not have done this without the classes. With the knowledge and skills I received, I will be able to apply them to everyday issues at work. They have proven quite effective already. 9

10 Administrative Professionals Certificate Series The administrative professional s role has evolved over the past decade to one that is an integral part of the business team. This series was designed to recognize the many contributions of this role and to provide specific skills to improve current job performance and enhance career objectives. SERIES FEE: $990 MRA members $1,300 nonmembers Individuals in an administrative support role looking to improve their skills and increase their value to the organization. MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS LEADERSHIP SKILLS FOR THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONAL Learn professional skills to be more effective in the workplace. Participants explore their individual communication style and ways to improve their communication, problemsolving, and interpersonal skills. Competencies: Organizational knowledge Team building Fee: $300 MRA members Time management $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) BUSINESS WRITE IT RIGHT is a primary means of communication in the business world. Are your messages as effective as they could be? Do they get the results you want? Do they follow best practices? During this half-day workshop, you learn the latest techniques for writing s that make it easy for your readers to read, understand, and respond to your messages. Competencies: Influencing Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Informing Fee: $195 MRA members Technical skills $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) GRAMMAR BASICS Is it affect or effect? Should I use 15 or fifteen? Which punctuation mark should I use? This half-day program addresses those and many more basic grammatical questions. Highly interactive with both group and individual exercises, this program helps participants improve their grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Topics include: proofreading, punctuation, capitalization, frequently misspelled words, sexist terminology, and subject and verb agreement. The course is designed to allow for participant input. Competencies: Technical skills Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Fee: $195 MRA members $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) WAUKESHA, WI Thursday, February 12, 2015 Thursday, June 25, 2015 Tuesday, September 22, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Tuesday, March 31, 2015 Tuesday, June 2, 2015 Friday, November 13, 2015 PALATINE, IL Tuesday, March 3, 2015 Wednesday, September 30, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Friday, February 27, 2015 Friday, June 12, 2015 Friday, October 9, 2015 JUGGLING MULTIPLE PRIORITIES FOR ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS Time cannot be managed. Time is uncontrollable; therefore, you can only manage yourself and your use of the time you have. Identify time stealers and learn how to pinpoint where you need to take control by dealing with procrastination, interruptions, and stress. Competencies: Organizing Planning Fee: $300 MRA members Priority setting $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, March 18, 2015 Wednesday, July 29, 2015 Tuesday, October 27, For more information about these programs, call MRA at

11 Advanced Communication Series The Art and Science of Excellence Push your communication skills to higher levels. In this advanced series, participants will learn how humans take in and process language and information and the ways language and information drive our thinking and behavior. This series will explore current cutting-edge science of the mind and its impact on language, behavior, understanding, and actions. This highly interactive series seeks to move information to awareness and then to action. SERIES FEE: $900 MRA members $1,185 nonmembers Supervisors, managers, customer service and sales professionals, human resource professionals, and anyone whose success is dependent upon being an effective communicator. Also highly suggested for graduates of the Principles of Leadership Excellence Certificate Series. EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION BEYOND THE BASICS Advanced tools, techniques, and strategies developed from the study of proven top performers in leadership. Program uses the new DiSC assessment. Competencies: Adaptability Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Informing Fee: $300 MRA members Self-knowledge $395 nonmembers Trust and respect CEUs: 0.6 (6.0 hours) COMMUNICATION FROM THE INSIDE OUT You hear what I m saying, but do you understand what I mean? Savvy communicators know that words are just one part of any message that gets communicated. Apply the idea of whole body thinking to enhance your ability to communicate effectively. In this program, you increase and apply your communication flexibility in the variety of business settings you encounter. Competencies: Adaptability Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Giving feedback Fee: $300 MRA members Listening $395 nonmembers Self-knowledge CEUs: 0.6 (6.0 hours) RIGHT BRAIN/LEFT BRAIN THINKING This advanced communication program explores ways to enhance your communication by enhancing the creativity of the mind. The human brain has two very different ways of thinking. The right brain is visual and processes information in an intuitive and simultaneous way, looking first at the whole picture, then the details. The left brain is verbal and processes information in an analytical and sequential way, looking first at the pieces, then putting them together to get the whole. Discover strategies for using your creativity for effective communication. Competencies: Innovation Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Informing Fee: $300 MRA members Problem solving $395 nonmembers Self-knowledge CEUs: 0.6 (6.0 hours) WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, March 4, 2015 Tuesday, June 9, 2015 Thursday, October 29, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, March 18, 2015 Tuesday, June 23, 2015 Thursday, November 12, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, April 1, 2015 Tuesday, July 28, 2015 Thursday, December 10, 2015 APPLETON, WI Wednesday, November 18, 2015 PALATINE, IL Wednesday, April 15, 2015 Tuesday, August 18, 2015 MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS 11

12 Building Effective Teams Certificate Series Are you looking for a way to get new project teams up and running? With MRA s Building Effective Teams series, your teams will learn the fundamentals of collaboration, communication, and problem solving together at your location. Offered only as an onsite program in order to fit your teams, these five half-day modules give team members opportunities to learn and practice team skills and techniques as they begin real project work. This onsite series is appropriate for a variety of teams, including manufacturing work teams, executive teams, problem-solving teams, departmental and crossfunctional teams. MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS MODULE 1: BUILDING A FOUNDATION FOR EFFECTIVE TEAMS Learning Objectives Explain synergy and how it relates to teams. Describe and clarify team boundaries. Create a team mission and team ground rules. Identify stages of team development and team member roles. MODULE 2: TEAM COMMUNICATION Learning Objectives Identify components of effective communication. Describe their own communication style and how to adapt to others styles. Give constructive feedback statements and I messages. Discuss elements of trust and identify ways to build trust in teams. MODULE 3: EFFECTIVE TEAM MEETINGS Learning Objectives Plan, conduct, and follow up team meetings. Use a variety of tools and techniques for generating ideas and conducting team discussions. Identify remedies for common meeting problems. MODULE 4: TEAM PROBLEM SOLVING AND DECISION MAKING Learning Objectives Follow the steps of a problem-solving model. Use the SMART model for setting goals. Practice techniques for team decision making. Competencies: Team building Giving feedback Work relationships Competencies: Team building Giving feedback Work relationships Competencies: Team building Giving feedback Work relationships Competencies: Team building Giving feedback Work relationships MODULE 5: HANDLING CONFLICT AND DISRUPTIONS ON THE TEAM Learning Objectives Describe characteristics of conflict. Describe benefits of healthy conflict on a team. Describe steps to take when dealing with conflict and disruptive behaviors on the team. Competencies: Team building Giving feedback Work relationships 12 For more information about these programs, call MRA at

13 Customer Service Excellence Program WHAT WOULD THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE IF EVERYONE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION WAS AN EXPERT AT CUSTOMER SERVICE? MRA s series of three, half-day sessions challenges those who interact with customers to move from business as usual to high performance, results-oriented customer service that delights clients and improves the bottom line. This series covers essential communication skills, improves presentation across all mediums telephone, , and face-to-face and cultivates creative problem-solving skills that delight customers. Anyone who is responsible for building positive customer relationships with internal and/or external customers. SERIES FEE: $585 MRA members $765 nonmembers ENHANCE YOUR CUSTOMER CONNECTION This program provides opportunities for participants to put themselves in the shoes of a customer. You uncover the four most important things that customers want from service professionals and how to apply them to communicate more effectively, both verbally and nonverbally, with internal and external customers. Competencies: Listening Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Customer focus Fee: $195 MRA members $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMER S BUSINESS This program is about how to build customer relationships by understanding your customer s business and their viewpoint of what they need to be successful. This perspective helps you provide more relevant and focused customer service based on the needs of their business and can set your organization apart from the pack. Competencies: Business skills Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Customer focus Fee: $195 MRA members $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) CREATIVE CUSTOMER PROBLEM SOLVING In this session, participants learn effective ways to provide other options to customers and develop problem-solving skills that get at the root of the situation or issue, even when you can t give them exactly what they want. You also learn the importance of active listening and the positive effects it can have on conversations with customers. Competencies: Assertiveness Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Customer focus Fee: $195 MRA members $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) WAUKESHA, WI Friday, March 13, 2015 Wednesday, July 08, 2015 Friday, October 16, 2015 APPLETON, WI Tuesday, April 28, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Friday, March 20, 2015 Wednesday, July 15, 2015 Friday, October 23, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Friday, March 27, 2015 Wednesday, July 22, 2015 Friday, October 30, 2015 MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS 13

14 MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS Employee Benefit Certificate Series Your organization s investment in employee benefits can be staggering. While that investment pays off by helping recruit and retain employees, you must carefully implement, manage, and monitor to ensure that every dollar is spent wisely on effective and efficient benefit programs. Ever-changing and complex, the benefits arena is also a hotbed of regulation. This certificate series will build the skills you need to pull all of these pieces together. From program design to program execution, the series addresses five critical areas over a total of three days. All sessions are led by experienced professionals and practitioners in the benefits field. SERIES FEE: $1,080 MRA members $1,415 nonmembers SESSION 1: EMPLOYEE BENEFITS: A TO Z It s a challenging balance. You want to keep on top of the ever-changing options available to help your organization s employee benefits program attract and retain employees. At the same time you must ensure that the benefits options you offer are current and cost-effective. On top of all that, you want to be on solid ground when it comes to new developments in benefits regulations. Before the quicksand of new regulations sneaks up from behind, take time for this comprehensive, core program. It answers questions you didn t even know you had. You ll gain in-depth understanding through a comprehensive overview of: Mandatory and voluntary benefits Vital details about current laws, regulations, and proposed legislation Key components of benefit administration Basic provisions of reporting and disclosure requirements Competencies: Technical skills Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Customer focus Fee: $300 MRA members $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (6.5 hours) HRCI Credit: 6.5 HR (General) SESSION 2: DESIGN AND FUNDING OF BENEFITS PLANS SHOW ME THE MONEY! There is no one-size-fits-all when choosing a health and welfare program. Program structure and funding choices abound. You want to make the best choice for your organization s needs and budget, so it s essential to have a solid understanding of the options, the details behind the acronyms, and current trends in funding mechanisms. You ll gain a concrete knowledge base and ideas to springboard action through the examination of: Various plan design considerations available for group health plans, voluntary benefits, prescription drug plans, and more Basic funding mechanisms Recent trends in funding mechanisms, including consumer-driven models Definitions and components of Section 125, FSAs, HRAs, and HSAs Incorporating wellness programs into overall benefit design Competencies: Technical skills Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Fee: $195 MRA members $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) If you are a benefit administrator, specialist, HR generalist, or other HR professional who has a role in benefit selection, administration, evaluation, and/or renewals, you ll benefit from this series. Management looks to you to be knowledgeable about benefit selection and administration. It s vital to continuously improve your competence and your confidence so that you can effectively partner in the business of your organization. This series helps you do just that. WAUKESHA, WI Thursday, February 26, 2015 Tuesday, August 11, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Thursday, March 5, 2015 Tuesday, August 18, For more information about these programs, call MRA at

15 WAUKESHA, WI Thursday, March 5, 2015 Tuesday, August 18, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Thursday, March 12, 2015 Tuesday, August 25, 2015 SESSION 3: DESIGN AND EXECUTION OF RETIREMENT PLANS: SMOOTH DRIVING ON HIGHWAY 401(K) The multiple gears of 401(k) programs require careful and ongoing attention. You want to oil the gears with strong employee participation, minimize the fees that fuel the program, and avoid any legal misfires that could stop the program dead in its tracks. You ll smooth your 401(k) operation and boost its efficiency and effectiveness through consideration of: Plan design components and employer-selected features Legal compliance, fiduciary responsibilities, and general administration Third-party administrative plan fees Recent and proposed legislation Best practices in communicating with plan participants Competencies: Planning Time: 12:30-4:00 p.m. Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) SESSION 4: BENEFIT COMMUNICATION BEST PRACTICES: A GUIDE TO EFFECTIVE EMPLOYEE EDUCATION Without strong and effective communication to employees, even the best employee benefit programs can sputter. A solid communication system can be the spark that turns employees into proactive participants, uplifting their job satisfaction. Effective communication can also help control benefit costs to both employer and employees. You ll learn proven techniques to: Sell the value of benefits to your employees Increase employee appreciation of benefits to boost overall job satisfaction Turn your employees into proactive participants Collect input from employees to measure their level of satisfaction with both the benefits and the program vendor Resolve low satisfaction levels Communicate difficult issues in a constructive manner Competencies: Decision-making skills Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS WAUKESHA, WI Thursday, March 12, 2015 Tuesday, August 25, 2015 SESSION 5: BENEFIT ADMINISTRATION FOR EMPLOYEES AWAY FROM WORK There s no room for error when it comes to administering benefits for employees on leaves of absence. In addition to your company s own policies and procedures, there are specific laws that strictly regulate the various benefit aspects of this critical HR arena. Ensure that your organization is fully compliant with benefit laws as they apply to federal and state family and medical leaves, worker s compensation medical leaves, military leaves, and more. Competencies: Decision-making skills Time: 12:30-4:00 p.m. Process management Fee: $195 MRA members Technical skills $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) 15

16 MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS Essentials of HR Certificate Series NEW TO HR OR WANT TO BROADEN YOUR KNOWLEDGE OF HR ADMINISTRATION? ATTEND THIS SERIES! As a HR professional, you play an integral role in your organization s success. Learn the roles and responsibilities you hold in developing and implementing HR initiatives and solutions that support the needs and goals of your organization. Establish a solid HR foundation through an overview of: The essentials of HR administration The value you add to your organization in your HR role The various challenges, opportunities, and common conversations you typically face as an HR professional This intensive, highly-interactive, five-day certificate series, completed one day per week for five consecutive weeks, will provide real-world, practical application on the key functions and activities that comprise HR administration. In addition to learning technical competencies of HR, broaden your behavioral competencies in the areas of conflict management, ethics, integrity, communication, process management, priority setting, and composure and more. THOSE WHO COMPLETE ALL SIX SESSIONS OF THE SERIES WILL RECEIVE A FRAMED CERTIFICATE. SERIES FEE: $1,710 MRA members $2,240 nonmembers SESSION 1: HR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW ESSENTIALS This two-day program provides HR professionals with an introduction to the role, responsibilities, and value of HR within an organization. Participants will gain an understanding of the essential elements comprising the HR function including various employment laws and HR and managerial legal responsibilities for compliance. Through case studies and discussion, HR professionals will explore best practices for tackling workplace challenges and opportunities to assist organizations in meeting business needs and achieving business goals. Competencies: Customer focus Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Ethics and integrity Fee: $595 MRA members Influencing $775 nonmembers Risk taking CEUs: 1.3 (13 hours) Technical skills HRCI Credit: 13 HR (General) Trust and respect This certificate series is designed for newcomers to HR and those looking to broaden their HR knowledge. WAUKESHA, WI Wednesdays, January 28 & February 4, 2015 Thursdays, May 28 & June 4, 2015 Wednesdays, September 16 & 23, 2015 PALATINE, IL Tuesdays, April 7 & 14, 2015 Thursdays, September 24 & October 1, 2015 SESSION 2: MANAGING HR RECORDS Tame the paper lion! Learn how to effectively create, organize, and retain common HR records to ensure compliance with government recordkeeping obligations and to help defend against potential litigation. Competencies: Organizing Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Process management Fee: $195 MRA members $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, February 11, 2015 Thursday, June 11, 2015 Wednesday, September 30, 2015 PALATINE, IL Tuesday, April 21, 2015 Thursday, October 8, For more information about these programs, call MRA at

17 WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, February 11, 2015 Thursday, June 11, 2015 Wednesday, September 30, 2015 PALATINE, IL Tuesday, April 21, 2015 Thursday, October 8, 2015 SESSION 3: EFFECTIVE DOCUMENTATION: FROM COACHING TO TERMINATION HR, supervisors, and managers often have the difficult task of addressing employee relations concerns resulting in corrective action or termination. Effective coaching and documentation are essential in the disciplinary process and help to minimize litigation. Competencies: Coaching Time: 12:30-4:00 p.m. Composure Fee: $195 MRA members/ Decision-making skills $255 nonmembers Performance management CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) Conflict management HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, February 18, 2015 Thursday, June 18, 2015 Wednesday, October 7, 2015 PALATINE, IL Tuesday, April 28, 2015 Thursday, October 15, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, February 25, 2015 Thursday, June 25, 2015 Wednesday, October 14, 2015 PALATINE, IL Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Thursday, October 22, 2015 SESSION 4: EFFECTIVE INTERVIEWING AND HIRING Hire for success! HR, supervisors, and managers are challenged with selecting the top talent to meet the organization s needs and goals. Learn how a great interview process benefits your organization through timely selection and retention of great hires. Competencies: Hiring and staffing Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Listening Fee: $335 MRA members Planning Technical skills $445 nonmenbers CEUs: 0.7 (6.75 hours) HRCI Credit: 6.75 HR (General) SESSION 5: TOTAL REWARDS: COMPENSATION BASICS Gain insight into how compensation is used in a total rewards program to attract, retain, and motivate top talent. This program will help you understand the different compensation methods and resources available when making decisions about employee pay. Tools that are building blocks of an effective compensation program job analysis and documentation, job evaluation, and market data/survey analysis will be explored. Competencies: Business knowledge Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Consulting Fee: $195 MRA members Technical skills $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, February 25, 2015 Thursday, June 25, 2015 Wednesday, October 14, 2015 PALATINE, IL Tuesday, May 5, 2015 Thursday, October 22, 2015 SESSION 6: TOTAL REWARDS: BENEFITS BASICS Employers recognize that the benefit component of total rewards is vital to attract and retain top talent. In this session, we look at a full range of employer-based benefits, including the laws governing benefit administration and the cost and value of benefit plans to employers and employees. Competencies: Business skills Time: 12:40-4:00 p.m. Consulting Fee: $195 MRA members Technical skills $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) 17

18 MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS Frontline Leadership Certificate Series This series is for those individuals who provide leadership or formal guidance to a work group without the power to hire, to fire, or to conduct performance reviews. (They may be called group leaders, team leaders, coordinators, leaders of work groups, go to people, etc.) These employees often do the work while providing leadership to their work group. This series introduces the important principles of motivation, interpersonal communication, employee training, and resolving conflict. Using a combination of discussion, case study, and skill practice, participants are prepared to be more productive within their organization by developing their leadership skills. This series is also effective for individuals who are being groomed for a leadership-type role. For new supervisors and managers who have the responsibility to hire, fire, promote, and evaluate performance, the Principles of Leadership Excellence Series is strongly recommended. SERIES FEE: $1,200 MRA members $1,580 nonmembers FRONTLINE LEADERSHIP 1: MOTIVATION AND TRUST BUILDING Group leaders learn how to meet the demands of leading work, while doing work. This program gives participants a practical understanding of basic leadership skills, work values, organizational responsibility, and trust building. Competencies: Leading Motivating others Fee: $300 MRA members Trust and respect $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) FRONTLINE LEADERSHIP 2: COMMUNICATION SKILLS This workshop helps group leaders become more effective communicators with both their workers and their supervisors. Participants gain effective listening skills and the ability to give and receive feedback. Competencies: Giving feedback Informing Fee: $300 MRA members Listening $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) This series is for persons in lead worker or group leader positions who are not officially management employees and is valuable for both new and experienced group leaders from office, manufacturing, and service organizations. WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, January 21, 2015 Tuesday, March 10, 2015 Thursday, May 21, 2015 Thursday, August 13, 2015 Tuesday, October 6, 2015 Wednesday, November 11, 2015 PALATINE, IL Thursday, March 5, 2015 Wednesday, July 8, 2015 Wednesday, October 7, 2015 SHEBOYGAN FALLS, WI Thursday, July 9, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, January 28, 2015 Tuesday, March 17, 2015 Thursday, May 28, 2015 Thursday, August 20, 2015 Tuesday, October 13, 2015 Wednesday, November 18, 2015 PALATINE, IL Thursday, March 12, 2015 Wednesday, July 15, 2015 Wednesday, October 14, 2015 SHEBOYGAN FALLS, WI Thursday, July 16, For more information about these programs, call MRA at

19 WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, February 4, 2015 Tuesday, March 24, 2015 Thursday, June 4, 2015 Thursday, August 27, 2015 Tuesday, October 20, 2015 Wednesday, December 2, 2015 PALATINE, IL Thursday, March 19, 2015 Wednesday, July 22, 2015 Wednesday, October 21, 2015 FRONTLINE LEADERSHIP 3: EFFECTIVE TRAINING TECHNIQUES Group leaders learn to train both new employees and experienced workers. This workshop gives group leaders precise and practical methods to train their employees more effectively. Leaders also learn to spot worker training needs and provide thorough on-the-job training. Competencies: Developing direct reports Measuring work and Fee: $300 MRA members performance standards $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) SHEBOYGAN FALLS, WI Thursday, July 23, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Wednesday, February 11, 2015 Tuesday, March 31, 2015 Thursday, June 11, 2015 Thursday, September 3, 2015 Tuesday, October 27, 2015 Wednesday, December 9, 2015 PALATINE, IL Thursday, March 26, 2015 Wednesday, July 29, 2015 Wednesday, October 28, 2015 SHEBOYGAN FALLS, WI Thursday, July 30, 2015 FRONTLINE LEADERSHIP 4: RESOLVING CONFLICT AND HANDLING DIFFICULT PEOPLE PROBLEMS Group leaders learn and practice specific techniques to help them understand and resolve conflict situations and deal with different types of difficult employees. They learn practical/tactful communication skills to influence others even though they have limited authority. Competencies: Conflict management Giving feedback Fee: $300 MRA members Influencing $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS 19

20 Human Resource Professional Certificate Series Building upon the technical skills gained in the Essentials of HR Certificate Series, this certificate series continues to grow your technical HR expertise, while focusing on key HR competencies of business acumen, collaboration, influencing, and work relationships. SERIES FEE: $1,330 MRA members $1,747 nonmembers This certificate series is designed specifically for those with at least 3 years of professional level HR experience and for experienced HR professionals looking to improve their overall technical and management knowledge. Prior completion of the Essentials of HR Certificate Series (or comparable coursework or experience) is strongly recommended. MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS SESSION 1: HR PROFESSIONAL AS BUSINESS PARTNER This informative and interactive program introduces HR professionals to the concept of partnering with other key organizational leaders to connect real business issues to performance results. As businesses look for improvements in organizational effectiveness at all levels, HR professionals play an integral role in this transformation. Primary areas of focus within the program include developing the business partner role through effective coaching strategies to address performance management. Competencies: Collaboration Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Work Relationships Fee: $300 MRA members Influencing Performance management $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (6.5 hours) HRCI Credit: 6.5 Business (Strategic) SESSION 2: HR METRICS: ROI FOR HR INITIATIVES In today s cost-conscious organizations, the relationship between HR initiatives and the bottom-line of the organization is of paramount importance. This program will provide you with practical advice on how to cost-justify and present the business case for your HR-related initiatives. Participants will receive a copy of Turning Your Human Resources Department into a Profit Center - a $70.00 value! Competencies: Business-based metrics Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Decision-making skills Fee: $235 MRA members Influencing $305 nonmembers CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 Business (Strategic) WAUKESHA, WI Thursday, April 9, 2015 Wednesday, October 21, 2015 PALATINE, IL Tuesday, February 17, 2015 Wednesday, August 26, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Thursday, April 23, 2015 Wednesday, November 4, 2015 PALATINE, IL Tuesday, March 3, 2015 Wednesday, September 9, 2015 SESSION 3: INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS: A HOW-TO GUIDE This workshop provides you with step-by-step instructions to conduct and complete thorough, legally compliant harassment, discrimination, and other types of internal investigations. Participants also receive hands-on experience dealing with these sensitive issues. Competencies: Conflict management Time: 12:30-4:00 p.m. Decision-making skills Fee: $195 MRA members Investigation Trust and respect $255 nonmembers CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) WAUKESHA, WI Thursday, April 23, 2015 Wednesday, November 4, 2015 PALATINE, IL Tuesday, March 3, 2015 Wednesday, September 9, For more information about these programs, call MRA at

21 WAUKESHA, WI Thursday, May 7, 2015 Wednesday, November 18, 2015 PALATINE, IL Tuesday, March 17, 2015 Wednesday, September 23, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Thursday, May 21, 2015 Wednesday, December 2, 2015 PALATINE, IL Tuesday, March 31, 2015 Wednesday, October 7, 2015 SESSION 4: FUNDAMENTALS OF COMPENSATION Faced with increasing competition for successful employees and a variety of other business pressures, forward-thinking organizations understand and effectively integrate the fundamental elements of the business into a strategic compensation program. In order to get to this level, it is critical to understand the technical skills, practical knowledge, and the art of compensation. This program explores the practice and theory of compensation management, discusses how to tailor a compensation program to support the organization s strategic goals and objectives, and introduces an approach for providing day-to-day compensation management consistent with business objectives. The fundamental building blocks of compensation are fully explored as well as an overview of how businesses are changing their thoughts on compensation in today s environment. This participative seminar includes practical exercises to reinforce course content, as well as example plans and case studies. Competencies: Strategic skills Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Technical skills Fee: $300 MRA members $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.6 (6 hours) HRCI Credit: 6 HR (General) SESSION 5: FINANCE ESSENTIALS FOR THE HR PROFESSIONAL Financial reports are the heartbeat of any organization. This course is designed to expose the HR manager to basic accounting practices including how to read and interpret accounting and financial reports, and how HR initiatives affect the organization s bottom line. Participants also learn how to create and manage a budget. Competencies: Business knowledge Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Interaction with higher management Fee: $300 MRA members Technical skills $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (6.5 hours) HRCI Credit: 6.5 Business (Strategic) MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS 21

22 Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series Collaboration. Teamwork. Cohesiveness. These words describe the difference between a true team working together to accomplish goals and a group of individuals working side by side. Successful teams require solid structure and organization, superior communication skills, and sound problem solving and project management practices. The Leading Effective Teams Series provides participants with the background knowledge, techniques, and skills to lead productive and successful teams. Leaders of new teams as well as leaders of established teams will take away practical techniques and tools for stimulating collaboration and success on their teams. It is suggested, but not required, that participants attend the series in order. SERIES FEE: $1,560 MRA members $2,040 nonmembers PARTICIPANTS Participants are leaders of departmental, cross-functional, or project teams who may or may not have direct authority over team members. The content of this series is also appropriate for individuals in management/ supervisory roles moving from a traditional organizational structure to a team-oriented environment. MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS LEADING EFFECTIVE TEAMS 1: FOUNDATION FOR LEADING TEAMS In a team environment, leaders must build a sense of team as they stimulate collaboration and group decision making in their departments. In addition, team leaders are often expected to involve employees from different parts and levels of the organization in projects and teamwork even when they do not have direct authority over team members. Participants in this program discuss how to lay the groundwork for successful teams while identifying the leadership skills and behaviors needed to create change in a positive team environment. Competencies: Collaboration Leading Fee: $300 MRA members Team Building $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) LEADING EFFECTIVE TEAMS 2: COMMUNICATING WITH YOUR TEAMMATES Successful collaboration takes place when team leaders build a supportive climate with positive communication skills and constructive feedback skills. Through a variety of activities and discussions, participants in this program examine their roles as communicators. Participants complete the online DiSC Classic 2.0 Communication Style Assessment and receive a personal report to use in class and back at work. Participants also practice skills for giving constructive feedback, handling defensiveness, and listening effectively. Competencies: Collaboration Giving feedback Fee: $360 MRA members Listening $460 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) WAUKESHA, WI Tuesday, February 10, 2015 Wednesday, May 6, 2015 Thursday, October 1, 2015 WAUKESHA, WI Tuesday, February 17, 2015 Wednesday, May 13, 2015 Thursday, October 8, 2015 LEADING EFFECTIVE TEAMS 3: KEEPING THE TEAM ON TRACK When teams get off track, team leaders need to steer them back on course. In this program, participants examine typical ways teams go astray and then practice techniques for getting the teams back on track. Participants discuss setting goals and using a problem-solving process, planning and conducting useful (and fun!) meetings, and dealing with disruptive group behaviors. Competencies: Facilitation skills Goal setting Fee: $300 MRA members Meeting management $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) WAUKESHA, WI Tuesday, February 24, 2015 Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Thursday, October 15, For more information about these programs, call MRA at

23 WAUKESHA, WI Tuesday, March 3, 2015 Wednesday, May 27, 2015 Thursday, October 22, 2015 LEADING EFFECTIVE TEAMS 4: MANAGING CONFLICT IN YOUR TEAM Participants identify and discuss the causes and effects of conflict between team members as well as ways to manage conflict so that it does not become destructive to the team. Using a model of conflict management and feedback skills, participants identify ways to work through conflicts in which they are involved and appropriately intervene when conflicts occur between other team members. Competencies: Conflict management Giving feedback Fee: $300 MRA members Influencing $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) WAUKESHA, WI Tuesday, March 10, 2015 Wednesday, June 3, 2015 Thursday, October 29, 2015 LEADING EFFECTIVE TEAMS 5: MANAGING PROJECTS FOR TEAM LEADERS Well-structured, cohesive teams reach high levels of success. Successful team leaders provide the project management structure that moves the team to project completion. Participants in this program will learn the steps of the project management process. Through activities and discussions, participants will practice techniques and tools to use during the project planning process and address leadership aspects of project management. Completion of Leading Effective Teams 2 (Communicating With Your Teammates) is recommended. Competencies: Goal setting Organizing Fee: $300 MRA members Planning $395 nonmembers CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS 23

24 MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS Just like sailing a boat, becoming an effective leader involves acquiring skill. Understanding leadership components, learning how to combine those components in just the right way, and practicing what you learn will lead to success. In this certificate series, you ll build not six, not ten, but 18 leadership competencies. You ll learn how to communicate well with your crew and how to respond when the wind is against you. You ll know how to change course to head for a brighter shore and ensure that every adjustment you make to the sails gets you closer to your goal. This series is not yawn-filled lecture and tedious note-taking. It s an exciting ride, with interactive learning that teaches you how to be a better leader through self-assessment, skill practice, group discussion, and application to your day-to-day work. You can stay connected between sessions through the life-line of an online community. Instructors with real-world leadership experience in a variety of industries are at the helm, making the topics come alive. MRA encourages you to take the series in sequence because skill sets in each session build upon what is learned in the previous session. Who will be around the table with you? There will be newly appointed supervisors, managers, or other professionals from manufacturing, service, healthcare, sales, distribution, office, or nonprofits. Some will be experienced supervisors who have not had formal management training. Others may not yet hold a leadership or management role but have management potential. SERIES FEE: $3,080 MRA Members $4,050 nonmembers MODULE 1: TRUST AND INFLUENCE: NEW-SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Old-school leadership was based solely on command and control, but new-school leadership is built on trust and influence. Regardless of the level of leadership that you hold in your organization or how long you have held a leadership spot, applying new-school principles will boost your effectiveness. Focusing on behaviors that promote trust in all areas of your professional life, you ll learn why and how to build a stronger, more trust-rich environment with your direct reports, managers, colleagues, customers, and suppliers. Your commitment to personal accountability will increase, and you ll take away powerful skills to use every day to help your reports meet their responsibilities, too. Competencies: Performance Management Ethics and Integrity Leveraging Diversity Trust and Authenticity Managing Relationships Communication Adaptability and Agility MODULE 2: COMMUNICATING FOR RESULTS: GOLD MEDAL PERFORMANCE Regardless of what product or service your organization offers, as a leader you re in the people business, big time. Success demands high-level communication skills. Talking, writing, texting, ing, phoning, gesturing, and listening you swim every day in the ocean of communication. If those communication skills are poor, you re in the ocean with an anchor tied to your feet. In this module, you ll learn Olympic-sized techniques to strengthen your talent. You will discover aspects of your own communication style. You ll learn to adapt your personal communication to those whose style is different from yours and hone your listening skills. Your awareness and use of nonverbal communication will sharpen. After the module, you ll feel confident to win a gold medal in communication. Competencies: Relationships Leveraging Diversity Self-assessment Communication Adaptability and Agility 24 For more information about these programs, call MRA at

25 MODULE 3: CULTURE, MOTIVATION, AND ALIGNING GOALS WITH STRATEGIES: THE PATH TO PRODUCTIVITY Applying your organization s vision and strategy while building an effective company culture is vital to successful leadership. If you focus solely on production in nose-to-the-grindstone fashion, you neglect the crucial ingredient of building morale and motivating your reports to greater productivity and increased engagement. This module concentrates on the skills you need to strike just the right balance. You ll learn to take strategic objectives and help your reports create complimentary goals. A strengthened ability to analyze the longer-range impact of tactical decisions will increase your willingness to make tactical adjustments. An in-depth study of motivation and employee engagement will polish your ability to increase productivity. Theory and practice combine to take your leadership skill up another notch. Competencies: Performance Management Motivation Communication Self-assessment Vision Relationships Ethics and Integrity Political Savvy Strategic Skills MODULE 4: TRAINING, DELEGATING, COACHING, AND MANAGING PERFORMANCE: HEADS UP! It s a myth that ostriches bury their heads in the sand. But the myth is a spot-on analogy for leaders who take no action when their reports are faltering, who insist on doing it all themselves, or who fail to recognize the value of proactively managing performance. This module will help you banish any notion that, This will go away if I just ignore it. By learning to effectively train, delegate, coach, set goals, and give feedback, you ll increase your reports chances for success on the job. You ll acquire the skills to implement a consultative method of addressing concerns and a process that gets to the heart of performance issues, while recognizing the vital steps to take when discipline is required. Competencies: Performance Management Communication Delegation Talent Management MODULE 5: BUILDING COLLABORATION AND MANAGING CONFLICT: PUSH AND PULL Higher achievement. Deeper commitment. Sharper solutions. Ah, the payoff of superior teamwork! Helping groups achieve stellar results calls for particular skills, including creating trust, involving others in making decisions, and aligning team members personal goals with the work of the group. It s a sure bet that team members with different backgrounds, interests, and personalities will bring different viewpoints to the table. It s also a sure bet that those different viewpoints can create stress and unproductive conflict. Competence in handling the complexities of teamwork in just the right way takes the know-how and practice this module provides. You ll learn how to skyrocket the effectiveness of a team and minimize unproductive conflict, and you ll take away practical techniques to address expected and unexpected behaviors. Competencies: Political Savvy Team Building Conflict Management Communication Political Savvy Leveraging Diversity Trust and Authenticity Performance Management MODULE 6: LEADING CHANGE AND PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: A LOOK TO THE FUTURE Savvy business leaders are always on the lookout for opportunities for change. With many of today s top industries completely unknown 30 years ago, merely maintaining the status quo is flirting with failure. Understanding the dynamics of change and encouraging changes and improvements in their areas of responsibility are requirements for effective and forward-thinking leaders. This module addresses the challenge of initiating and shepherding change, focusing on techniques to communicate with and engage those affected. You ll learn best practices for dealing with unintended consequences of change and how to avoid the tug-of-war that can occur when change is poorly managed. Competencies: Vision and Strategy Relationships Problem Solving Change Management Performance Management Innovation Delegation Self Assessment MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS 25

26 Principles of Leadership Excellence Certificate Series Module 1: Trust & Influence: New-School Leadership (2 Days) WAUKESHA, WI Module 2: Communicating for Results: Gold Medal Performance (2 Days) Module 3: Culture, Motivation, and Aligning Goals With Strategies: The Path to Productivity (2 Days) 1/14/15 & 1/28/15 2/11/15 & 2/25/15 3/11/15 & 3/25/15 2/12/15 & 2/26/15 3/12/15 & 3/26/15 4/9/15 & 4/23/15 MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS 3/3/15 & 3/17/15 3/31/15 & 4/14/15 4/28/15 & 5/12/15 4/8/15 & 4/22/15 5/6/15 & 5/20/15 6/3/15 & 6/17/15 5/5/15 & 5/19/15 6/2/15 & 6/16/15 7/7/15 & 7/21/15 7/16/15 & 7/30/15 8/13/15 & 8/27/15 9/17/15 & 10/1/15 9/9/15 & 9/23/15 10/7/15 & 10/21/15 11/4/15 & 11/18/15 10/13/15 & 10/27/15 11/10/15 & 11/17/15 12/1/15 & 12/15/15 11/5/15 & 11/19/15 12/3/15 & 12/17/15 1/7/16 & 1/21/16 PALATINE, IL 1/28/15 & 2/11/15 2/25/15 & 3/11/15 3/25/15 & 4/8/15 4/7/15 & 4/21/15 5/5/15 & 5/19/15 6/2/15 & 6/16/15 8/5/15 & 8/19/15 9/2/15 & 9/16/15 9/30/15 & 10/14/15 10/8/15 & 10/22/15 11/5/15 & 11/19/15 12/3/15 & 12/17/15 APPLETON, WI 1/22/15 & 2/5/15 2/19/15 & 3/5/15 3/19/15 & 4/2/15 8/11/15 & 8/25/15 9/15/15 & 9/29/15 10/13/15 & 10/27/15 MADISON, WI 3/11/15 & 3/25/15 4/8/15 & 4/22/15 5/6/15 & 5/20/15 9/10/15 & 9/24/15 10/8/15 & 10/22/15 11/5/15 & 11/19/15 SHEBOYGAN FALLS, WI 2/24/15 & 3/10/15 3/24/15 & 4/7/15 4/21/15 & 5/5/15 8/12/15 & 8/26/15 9/9/15 & 9/23/15 10/7/15 & 10/21/15 26

27 2015 SCHEDULE Module 4: Training, Delegating, Coaching, & Managing Performance : Heads Up! (3 Days) WAUKESHA, WI Module 5: Building Collaboration & Managing Conflict: Push and Pull (2 Days) Module 6: Leading Change and Putting it All Together: A Look to the Future (1 Day) 4/8/15, 4/22/15, & 5/6/15 5/20/15 & 6/3/15 6/17/15 5/7/15, 5/21/15, & 6/4/15 6/18/15 & 7/9/15 7/23/15 6/2/15, 6/16/15, & 7/7/15 7/21/15 & 8/4/15 8/18/15 7/8/15, 7/22/15, & 8/5/15 8/19/15 & 9/2/15 9/16/15 8/4/15, 8/18/15, & 9/1/15 9/15/15 & 9/29/15 10/13/15 10/15/15, 10/29/15, & 11/12/15 11/19/15 & 12/3/15 12/17/15 12/2/15, 12/16/15, & 1/6/16 1/20/16 & 2/3/16 2/17/16 1/5/16, 1/19/16, & 2/2/16 2/16/16 & 3/1/16 3/15/16 2/4/16, 2/18/16, & 3/3/16 3/17/16 & 3/31/16 4/14/16 PALATINE, IL 4/22/15, 5/6/15, & 5/20/15 6/3/15 & 6/17/15 7/1/15 6/30/15, 7/14/15, & 7/28/15 8/11/15 & 8/25/15 9/8/15 10/28/15, 11/11/15, & 12/2/15 12/16/15 & 1/6/16 1/20/16 1/7/16, 1/21/16, & 2/4/16 2/18/16 & 3/3/16 3/17/16 APPLETON, WI MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS 4/16/15, 4/30/15, & 5/14/15 5/28/15 & 6/11/15 6/25/15 11/10/15, 12/1/15, & 12/15/15 1/5/16 & 1/19/16 2/2/16 MADISON, WI 6/3/15, 6/17/15, & 7/8/15 7/22/15 & 8/5/15 8/19/15 12/3/15, 12/17/15, & 1/7/16 1/21/16 & 2/4/16 2/18/16 SHEBOYGAN FALLS, WI 5/19/15, 6/2/15, & 6/16/15 6/23/15 & 7/7/15 7/21/15 11/4/15, 11/18/15, & 12/2/15 12/16/15 & 1/6/16 1/20/16 27

28 YOUR Climb to CAREER SUCCESS Starts With a Step... Step into your HR training with MRA to get the development you need to be a strong business partner in your organization. 6+ years experience SPHR or SHRM-SCP Certification/ Business Partnership Courses 4-6 years experience 2-4 years experience PHR or SHRM-CP Certification 0-2 years experience Visit: for a complete list of training courses

29 HR Certification Preparation Programs More and more employers are encouraging HR Professionals to pursue HR certification. According to HR Certification Institute (HRCI): Certified HR professionals gain greater trust and confidence from business associates. Employers consider professionally certified employees to positively influence engagement and profitability. Employers view certification as an opportunity to advance the reputation, positioning, and growth of the organization. Professionally certified HR employees are more likely than noncertified employees to advance to senior positions within their organizations. PHR/SPHR Certification Partnering with MRA is an exceptional way to prepare for the exam, which is conducted by HRCI. MRA offers classroom and online sessions for PHR/SPHR exam preparation. The success rate for those who have attended the MRA preparation course is over 30% higher than the national average. Learn from MRA s SPHR certified instructors. GPHR exam preparation courses are available online. SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP Certification MRA is pleased to offer an exam preparation course to help you prepare for the SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) exam in fall Exam preparation courses begin in September and will be taught by SHRM-SCP certified instructors. For information regarding SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP exams, visit NEW! PHR/SPHR Certification Preparation WAUKESHA, WI Evening sessions: Spring Session: Eleven Tuesdays: February 10 - April 21, 2015 Fall Session: Eleven Tuesdays: September 15 - November 24, 2015 Time: 5:30 8:30 p.m. Four-day intensive session: Spring Session: Register by February 6, 2015 Saturdays: March 14, March 28, April 11, & April 25, 2015 Fall Session: Register by September 11, 2015 Saturdays: October 10, October 24, November 7, & November 21, 2015 Time: 8:30 a.m. 3:30 p.m. PALATINE, IL Four-day intensive session: Spring Session: Fridays: February 27, March 13, March 27, & April 10, 2015 Fall Session: Fridays: October 2, October 16, October 30, & November 13, 2015 Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Fee: $975 MRA members / $1,200 nonmembers CEUs: 3.0 (30 hours) SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP Certification Preparation WAUKESHA, WI Fall Session: Eleven Thursdays: September 10 - November 19, 2015 Time: 5:30 8:30 p.m. Fee: $975 MRA members / $1,200 nonmembers CEUs: 3.0 (30 hours) MRA CERTIFICATE SERIES - ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS For more information about HR certification, call MRA at

30 Programs and Services Whether your organization is just starting its Lean Sigma journey or has been doing it for years, MRA s Lean Coaches have the expertise to understand where you are and help you get to the next level. Check out a public program, or let us craft a solution that is uniquely yours. Continual Improvement at Your Speed Lean and Lean Sigma Training Programs with scheduled dates 5S: The Path to Successful Implementation (see page 33) Lean Fundamentals (see page 69) Leading Successful Kaizen Events (see page 69) Planning Successful Kaizen Events (see page 79) Lean Sigma Green Belt Certification contact MRA for upcoming dates For Manufacturing, Office, and Service Organizations Specialized Lean Sigma Topics customized to your business and offered as half or full-day workshops. 5S Organizational Methods for Manufacturing or Office/Service Cellular Manufacturing Creating and Maintaining Effective Teams Extending the Value Stream to Suppliers and Customers Lean Problem Solving Lean Project Management Performance Metrics Planning and Reporting Pull System Methods Set-Up Reduction/Quick Changeover Methods Standard Work Methods for the Office Successful Kaizen Events Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) Value-Stream Mapping for Manufacturing or Service Waste Reduction Methods If you would like to learn more about coaching and project work services, contact a Lean Coach at Lean Coaching and Project Work MRA can provide coaching assistance with your organization s lean projects by either managing the project for you or by helping the project leader complete the project. Lean Coaches have ten or more years of experience with process improvement work. They have successfully planned and completed projects using many different kinds of process improvement tools. These coaches know what to do to make your project successful. We often combine coaching and training together, so project teams can become self-sufficient. Our goal is to provide you and the project team with the level of support needed. If it takes four hours or 40 hours, the coach will respond to your specific needs. 30 For more information about these programs, call MRA at

31 SAFETY TRAINING AND SERVICES TO Protect Your Organization A safe workplace reduces injury and illness risks and complies with federal regulations. As the driver of your safety program or an extension of your team, our safety experts can help you create or enhance a program that delivers a sold ROI. Ensure the safety, health, and welfare of your staff with a variety of MRA resources including audits, training, and onsite assistance. SAFETY AUDITS provide an in-depth review of your organization s existing safety programs, assess compliance to applicable regulations, and identify unsafe conditions in your workplace. And our Industrial Hygiene Services include exposure assessments and noise monitoring and hearing conservation programs. Mock OSHA Audits Program/Policy Review and Development Perception Surveys ISO and OHSA Audits SAFETY TRAINING from MRA goes beyond keeping your organization compliant. Our courses are taught by veteran safety practitioners who incorporate proven best practices. And that means learning outcomes such as creating an effective safety committee, properly investigating an incident and identifying the root cause, and establishing and maintaining a culture of safety. OSHA 10 and 30-Hour Courses Process Safety Management Office and Industrial Ergonomics First Aid and CPR Job Safety/Hazard Analysis Train-the-Trainer SAFETY ONSITE ASSISTANCE means an experienced MRA professional works directly at your facility, providing assistance for a specific project or longterm support of your safety programs. If safety, health, DOT, or environmental issues exceed your staff capabilities or availability, turn to MRA for support. For full details on Safety Audits, Training, or Assistance, contact MRA at

32 MRA Webinars Learning at Your Convenience Save commute, time, and train when it fits your schedule! MRA s Webinar Library contains over 50 webinar offerings. Here s a sneak peek at some of the most popular webinars. Compliance Topics ff Drug & Alcohol Awareness Training ff HIPAA for Managers & Supervisors ff Unlawful Harassment Employee ff ERISA Awareness ff FMLA Fundamentals Power Pack ff Unlawful Harassment The Supervisor s ff FMLA - What Managers Role in Prevention and Supervisors Need to Know ff Wage Garnishments ff Health Care Reform Management/Professional Skills Topics ff 3 P s of Time Management ff Managing the Generations ff SMART Goals ff Personal Accountability ff Group Leadership Webinar Series For a complete list, and for more information: Visit MRA s Webinar Library:, search webinars Call Registrations: registrations@mranet.org MRA members also have access to an archive of free webinars. Look for these on MRA s website under the Member Benefits tab. 32 For more information about these programs, call MRA at

33 5S: The Path to Successful Implementation This program is intended for supervisors, group leaders, and team leaders who have direct impact on workplace organization. Participants review various tactics and discuss implementation options in order to prepare their own organization for a 5S event. Access to a 5S expert provides participants with a chance to ask questions and learn best practices. Both manufacturing and office environments are explored. Describe how to use 5S to organize and clean work areas. Explore 5S using discussions and best practice cases. Supervisors, group leaders, office managers, and managers of operations looking for immediate results in the elimination of waste and unproductive time in the work process. This program is also well-suited for an organization s 5S team to attend together. Innovation Organizing Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Tues. 1/20/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 9/25/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) Affirmative Action Plan Workshop During the first two days of this workshop, you receive the tools you need to write a federally sound affirmative action plan from start to finish, including the preparation of all critical statistical analyses. In addition to writing the plan, we discuss important affirmative action concepts and implementation requirements. Our approach is unique. First, the seminar is conducted by MRA s AA/EEO managers. Second, this is one of the most hands-on and interactive seminars you will ever attend. You actually prepare many elements of your plan during the seminar. The third day of this workshop is devoted to the development of your organization s affirmative action plan. You have the opportunity for a personalized follow-up session with one of MRA s AA/EEO professionals. This session is intended to assist you in working through any issues or concerns you may have while working with the data from your organization. Comprehend the legal framework and audit process. Differentiate between goals and quotas. Identify potentially discriminatory policies and practices. Develop the required statistical analyses. Maintain affirmative action recordkeeping. Write plan narrative. Implement an Affirmative Action program. Designed for companies who are, or will be, federal contractors or subcontractors and must comply with affirmative action law. Human resource managers, human resource generalists, EEO coordinators, or any individual responsible for plan development and implementation. Technical HR knowledge Fee: $800 MRA members / $1,075 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. (Day 1 & 2) 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Day 3) Tues. 2/24/2015, Wed. 2/25/2015 and Mon. 3/30/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 9/29/2015, Wed. 9/30/2015 and Mon. 11/2/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 1.3 (13 hours) HRCI Credit: 13 HR (General) 33

34 Affirmative Action Recordkeeping: Make the Data Work for You Federal affirmative action regulations require that employment activity data be maintained and monitored by job group, race, sex, etc. and then summarized on a Personnel Activity Table from which an Impact Ratio Analysis is calculated. The Personnel Activity Table, Impact Ratio Analysis, and Activity Logs are currently required under federal and many state and city affirmative action laws. Affirmative action regulations require that employers maintain and analyze the following eight employment activity logs: Applicant Flow, Hire, Promotion, Transfer, Layoff, Recall, Termination, and Training. Effectively use the required employment activity logs. Prepare the Personnel Activity Table. Compute and interpret the Impact Ratio Analysis (a method used to identify employment decisions that may have had inequitable consequences for minorities and females). Comprehend various affirmative action-related terms and requirements. Any support person responsible for maintaining accurate records for federal affirmative action purposes. Individuals responsible for maintaining records for state, city, county, or municipal affirmative action plans that follow federal format will also benefit. Business systems Organizing Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Tues. 3/24/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 9/24/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) Affirmative Action: Don t Get Caught With Your Plans Down Are you prepared in the event that your organization is chosen for a compliance review by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP)? Whether or not your affirmative action plan is written and implemented, your organization has limited time to respond to the OFCCP s notification of a compliance review. In this program, you walk through the compliance review process, from the moment the OFCCP s scheduling letter arrives to the time the review is closed. You learn the required implementation steps for federal contractors and also receive insight into the OFCCP s current review initiatives. Sample logs, forms, letters, and checklists are provided. Understand OFCCP s compliance review process. Be familiar with current OFCCP compliance review initiatives. Identify the implementation steps required of all federal affirmative action employers. Explore creative good-faith efforts that will aid your organization in attaining affirmative action goals. Monitor the effectiveness of implementation and good-faith efforts. Human resource professionals, managers, and/or those individuals with equal employment opportunity/affirmative action responsibilities. Planning Problem solving Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30-11:30 a.m. Wed. 6/24/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 12/8/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.3 (2.75 hours) HRCI Credit: 2.75 HR (General) 34 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

35 Employee Benefits Certificate Series 5 Assertive Communication in the Workplace Assertive communication is not passive, nor is it aggressive and dominating; it represents the most effective method of expression in almost every workplace situation. This one-day program is designed to help participants increase their influence and credibility, add confidence to their communication, become more effective in dealing with conflict situations, and increase results. Recognize assertive, aggressive, and passive behaviors. Apply assertiveness in conflict situations. Reduce defensiveness and increase management effectiveness. Use positive communication techniques. Give difficult messages in an assertive manner. Identify nonverbal messages. Anyone who would benefit from being able to communicate more directly, tactfully, and effectively. Also, anyone who is making the transition to a leadership position and needs to get things done through others or with the assistance of others in the organization. Assertiveness Conflict management Listening Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Wed. 2/4/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 2/18/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 6/16/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 8/11/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 9/24/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 11/4/2015 Appleton, WI Tues. 12/8/2015 Waukesha, WI Benefit Administration for Employees Away From Work There s no room for error when it comes to administering benefits for employees on leaves of absence. In addition to your company s own policies and procedures, there are specific laws that strictly regulate the various benefit aspects of this critical HR arena. Ensure that your organization is fully compliant with benefit laws as they apply to federal and state family and medical leave, worker s compensation medical leave, military leave, and more. Determine when and what laws pertain to benefit administration for employees on leaves of absence. Audit your practices against best practices regarding benefit administration for employees on leaves of absence. Address common problems in administering benefits for employees on leaves of absence. Administrators and specialists in benefits and human resources who have a hand in administering FMLA and other absences. Decision-making skills Process management Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 12:30-4:00 p.m. Thur. 3/12/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 8/25/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) HRCI Credit: 7 HR (General) 35

36 Employee Benefits Certificate Series 4 Benefits Human Resources Employee Engagement Vision Dental Health HSA Communication Laws Prescriptions Compensation Stretch your benefit dollars while attracting and retaining top talent MRA can help you Benchmark your benefits with MRA surveys. Build strong benefit communications. Create total rewards statements. Grow your benefits knowledge with training. Comply with health care reform mandates. Contact MRA to learn more. Call: Insurance Awareness Time-off Disability How do your benefits stack up? Don t miss the Fall 2015 Benefits Symposium Benefit Communication Best Practices: A Guide to Effective Employee Education Without strong and effective communication to employees, even the best employee benefit programs can sputter. A solid communication system can be the spark that turns employees into proactive participants, uplifting their job satisfaction. Effective communication can also help control benefit costs to both employer and employees. You ll learn proven techniques to: Continually sell the value of benefits to your employees with a solid marketing plan. Explore new delivery methods and make currently used methods most effective. Increase employee understanding of complex benefits to boost overall job satisfaction. Use effective writing techniques to turn your employees into proactive participants. Finish the benefit year by collecting feedback from employees to benchmark their level of satisfaction with both the benefits and the program vendors. Transform a basic benefits package into a strategic benefits philosophy. Organize targeted communications to market benefits throughout the year. Design and write proactive benefit communication campaigns to build employees awareness and engagement so they can make wiser, more informed choices. Explore a variety of media and methods to reach out to different generations of employees. Administrators or specialists interested in improving employee perception of benefits programs, measuring employee satisfaction with the programs, and/or strengthening communication with employees about their benefits. Decision-making skills Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Thur. 3/12/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 8/25/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) 36 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

37 Principles of Leadership Excellence Certificate Series 5 Building Collaboration and Managing Conflict: Push and Pull Higher achievement. Deeper commitment. Sharper solutions. Ah, the payoff of superior teamwork! Helping groups achieve stellar results calls for particular skills, including creating trust, involving others in making decisions, and aligning team members personal goals with the work of the group. It s a sure bet that team members with different backgrounds, interests, and personalities bring different viewpoints to the table. It s also a sure bet that those different viewpoints create stress and unproductive conflict. Competence in handling the complexities of teamwork in just the right way takes the knowhow and practice this module provides. In this program, you learn how to skyrocket the effectiveness of a team and minimize unproductive conflict, and you take away practical techniques to address expected and unexpected behaviors. Apply a model of teamwork to group performance. Consider the value of diversity of thought, experience, and perspective in teamwork and decision making. Describe the elements of influence and how to apply them to work relationships. Recognize the stages of team development that lead to high performing teams. Apply strategies for addressing needs of isolated employees. Distinguish between productive and unproductive conflict. Develop a plan for reducing and managing conflict. Demonstrate steps for managing conflict. Apply strategies for dealing with disruptive and difficult people. For newly appointed supervisors, managers, and professionals as well as for individuals with management potential looking for in depth strategies with practical application. Communication skills Conflict Management Leveraging Diversity Performance management Political Savvy Team Building Trust and Authenticity Fee: $495 MRA members / $655 nonmembers Wed. 5/20/2015 and Wed. 6/3/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 5/28/2015 and Thur. 6/11/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 6/3/2015 and Wed. 6/17/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 6/18/2015 and Thur. 7/9/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 6/23/2015 and Tues. 7/7/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Tues. 7/21/2015 and Tues. 8/4/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 7/22/2015 and Wed. 8/5/2015 Madison, WI Tues. 8/11/2015 and Tues. 8/25/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 8/19/2015 and Wed. 9/2/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 9/15/2015 and Tues. 9/29/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 11/19/2015 and Thur. 12/3/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 12/16/2015 and Wed. 1/6/2016 Palatine, IL Wed. 12/16/2015 and Wed. 1/6/2016 Sheboygan Falls, WI CEUs: 1.4 (14 hours) Comments from past Principles of Leadership Excellence participants: This training will give me a great base for my transition into a management role I will interact with my group using the leadership techniques to create a more cohesive unit in the department Knowing what drives a person is a much larger piece of the puzzle than I thought. I will pay more attention to what motivates those around me and find ways to use that to get the most production. 37

38 Administrative Professionals Certificate Series Business Conversation for Sales and Service Conversation is both skill and art and often the glue that holds the sales and service process together. Participants learn practical tips and practice conversation. Effective conversation contributes to loyalty. Building common ground with colleagues, customers, and senior managers is essential to any larger objective, such as relationship building, influencing, managing conflict, and starting and closing sales agreements. Effective informal conversation is often invisible, hiding its structure and influencing elements. Participants learn how to develop a repertoire of topics, make skillful transitions, develop confidence, and draw people to them. Overcome self-consciousness. Blend business with social awareness. Build positive service relationships to meet needs and manage problems. Change subjects, lead the conversation, achieve a business purpose. Recognize the give and take of social presence to draw customers to you. Anyone who socializes or does business with others, especially sales people, managers, service representatives, engineers, and others seeking career growth. Approachability Influencing Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Thur. 4/16/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 7/14/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 12/4/2015 Waukesha, WI Business Write It Right is a primary means of communication in the business world. Are your messages as effective as they could be? Do they get the results you want? Do they follow best practices? During this half-day workshop, you recognize the latest techniques for writing s that make it easy for your readers to read, understand, and respond to your messages. Review best practices and the role plays in the workplace. Organize s clearly to get the results you want. Write professional s using the accepted rules of grammar, punctuation, language, and proofreading. Differentiate when to use and when not to use . Avoid emotional and inappropriate s. Anyone who regularly uses for business communication. Influencing Informing Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Tues. 3/3/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 3/31/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 6/2/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 9/30/2015 Palatine, IL Fri. 11/13/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) 38 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

39 Business Etiquette: The Professional Advantage There is an old saying, Little things mean a lot, yet there is nothing little about the little things in business. It is a new society, as different from the one our parents grew up in as the computer is different from the typewriter. The realities of this new society require a new approach to the old concepts of civility. Good etiquette is critical to success, yet most individuals were never taught business etiquette from the professional handshake, to the proper way to exchange business cards, to business entertaining, and all the social interactions in between. Participants learn and practice the essential business etiquette skills required for success as well as how to become a great employee, manager, leader, coworker, or boss. This program is a must for anyone working in today s complex work environment. Discuss the importance of appropriate business etiquette for the 21st century professional. Make a strong first impression. Use business cards effectively. Practice the meet and greet process. Describe appropriate steps to take at business meals. Identify cell phone dos and don ts. Handle written correspondence appropriately. Dress for success. All employees (executives included) who want to develop the ability to learn and use valuable social skills to engage in accepted business practices and use those practices to their advantage! Also anyone who wants to remove self-doubt, instill self-assurance, and positively differentiate themselves. Adaptability Business knowledge Composure Leadership presence Business Writing for Impact: How to Write So People Will Read Most business people today have too much to read. How can you ensure that your , letter, or memo is the one that gets read and acted on first? Spend a day learning and practicing techniques for creating clear, concise business communications that get your reader s attention and response. Use a process to organize and write effective business communications. Recognize practical strategies for improving readability. Use proofreading strategies. Apply recommendations for improving Buffer bad news in s and letters to customers. Any business person who writes to customers, suppliers, colleagues, or company decision makers. Influencing Informing Technical skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Thur. 1/22/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 4/23/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 5/5/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 9/10/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 9/23/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (6.5 hours) Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Tues. 4/7/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/21/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 39

40 Buyer Styles and Adapting Your Sales Approach This class is all about you...and anyone you sell to, work with, live with, or relate to! Fun, interactive, and applicable immediately, it s the missing link in human interaction and crucial in the sales and customer service area. You will be required to complete a five minute style assessment to be submitted before the start of the class. Information to complete this assessment will be sent to you two weeks before the class start date. Learn the four basic style types. Identifying who s who. List the strengths and potential weakness of each style. Understand what catches the ear and the attention of each style. Structure your sales approach for maximum power. Practice which closes are most effective. Deal with the inevitable: pushback and objections. Plan for the crucial after-party. Build your dream team. Sales reps or key, customer-facing roles that want a greater understanding of behavioral and communication styles and how to most effectively work with them. Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Tues. 2/17/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 10/20/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) NEW! Change: The HR Leader s Role Let s face it - change can be challenging and is inevitable and necessary for organizations to thrive. As an HR professional, you play an integral role in supporting organizational change initiatives by engaging with other leaders to address the impact of change on human capital. Learn the tools and techniques necessary to both lead and partner with other leaders to effectively manage the change process in ways that reduce anxiety, create engagement, and drive performance. Provide yourself and your managers with a perspective on how to manage corporate transformations. Recognize HR s unique role in leading change in order to create and/or support business solutions. Identify the critical elements of leading a successful change process to create organization-wide engagement. Explain HR s role in partnering with key leadership to create a vision for and exploit the benefits of change. Understand and apply techniques in order to overcome resistance to change. Identify the key players involved in the change process and facilitate buy-in. We recommend participants be mid-level managers or above to gain the greatest benefit from this program. Consulting Influencing Listening Strategic skills Vision Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Thur. 2/12/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 9/24/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (6.5 hours) HRCI Credit: 6.5 Business (Strategic) 40 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

41 Coaching Certificate The Coaching Certificate program develops advanced coaching skills required to train managers to be coaches, to coach senior leaders, and to create a coaching culture that supports business strategies. Many organizations are using coaching to supplement training, mentoring, and on-the-job assignments to meet leadership development needs. These needs include developing high potentials, preparing future leaders, and helping good performers develop new skills to meet business opportunities. Follow-up studies show that coaching delivers three to five times the return on investment. This two-day program is highly interactive combining presentations of best practices, live modeling, role playing, and case studies. Participants will apply the coaching process to actual leadership situations in their organizations. Demonstrate the coaching model with managers and senior leaders. Train managers in how to be effective coaches. Discuss how to use assessments in determining leader development needs. Develop strategies to handle difficult coaching challenges. Integrate the coachee s manager, the organization systems and business strategies, and the culture in creating a successful coaching engagement. Use metrics for tracking coaching results. Create an action plan for implementing and tracking a coaching strategy. The program is designed for HR, organizational development, training, and other key business or operational leaders charged with the responsibility of developing talent. The program is for individuals who coach managers and senior leaders throughout the organization and for those who want to focus on integrating coaching into an overall leadership development strategy. Change management Coaching Developing direct reports Influencing Organizational systems Fee: $1,050 MRA members / $1,425 nonmembers Wed. 4/29/2015 and Wed. 5/13/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/8/2015 and Thur. 10/22/2015 Waukesha, WI Coaching for Development: An Integrated Approach for Managers Successful leaders put time and energy into employee development. While your company sets the policies and provides resources, you, the manager, work directly with employees to prepare and execute development plans. Wellexecuted development plans bring benefits on many levels: results for the organization, higher morale and loyalty to managers, and increases in employee engagement. Employee development only happens if managers set it as a priority. In this interactive program, you learn a powerful technique called Integrated Developmental Coaching which combines coaching with daily work activities that achieves immediate work goals while developing competencies. The integration of developmental coaching and managing employee performance saves time and enhances employee satisfaction. Integrate employee development into daily work. Demonstrate skills for developmental coaching. Apply time-saving techniques to combine coaching with daily activities. For managers with direct reports who want to grow talent and improve their work unit performance. Innovation Organizing Fee: $325 MRA members / $425 nonmembers Thur. 3/19/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 4/1/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 7/8/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 8/4/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 9/30/2015 Appleton, WI Tues. 11/17/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) HRCI Credit: 7 HR (General) CEUs: 1.4 (14 hours) HRCI Credit: 14 HR (General) 41

42 Communicate for Success: Hear and Say What Is Most Important Gain a greater understanding of how communication styles affect how you hear and how you are heard. Develop strong communication skills by learning to listen for key points from others while you present your message clearly and concisely. Assess for SUCCESS Are you selecting the right candidate for a critical position? Deciding on developmental priorities that leverage limited resources and maximize an employee s contribution? These decisions require more than guesswork. MRA uses a comprehensive suite of thoroughly researched and validated assessment tools and supporting services to assist you in maximizing talent. Up-to-date, objective, and relevant information improves decision quality and prevents poor talent choices that can negatively affect organizational performance for years. MRA uses many assessment resources including: ff CheckPoint 360 ff The Profile XT ff Profiles Performance Indicator ff emaps ff Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator ff DiSC Assessments ff Strong Interest Inventory Identify four communication styles. Discover your communication style and how it affects how others hear you. Match your communication to the preferences of others to enhance understanding. Practice getting your point across clearly and concisely. Individuals who want to enhance their interpersonal communication. Approachability Influencing Listening Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Thur. 4/30/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 8/12/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) MRA s specialists combine a thorough knowledge of assessment and talent management theory with their extensive formal education and diverse, realworld management experience. Contact MRA s Strategic Services at for more information on how we can assist your organization in selecting and implementing an assessment strategy. 42 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

43 Principles of Leadership Excellence Certificate Series 2 Communicating for Results: Gold Medal Performance Regardless of what product or service your organization offers, as a leader you re in the people business, big time. Success demands high-level communication skills. Talking, writing, texting, ing, phoning, gesturing, and listening you swim every day in the ocean of communication. If those communication skills are poor, you re in the ocean with an anchor tied to your feet. In this module, you learn Olympicsized techniques to strengthen your talent. Just like swimming, you analyze the strokes you currently use, discovering important aspects of your own communication style. You learn to adapt your personal communication to those whose style is different from yours and take out your earplugs to hone your listening skills. Your awareness and use of nonverbal communication sharpens. After the module, you feel confident to win a gold medal in communication. Recognize elements that comprise nonverbal communication. Demonstrate active listening and questioning techniques. Apply the DiSC model to understand style differences, adapt your style, and improve your communication with others. Recognize generational differences and consider the impact of those differences on the work group. Demonstrate assertive communication skills. Use communication tools that minimize defensive responses from your work colleagues. Construct I messages. Explain the impact of emotional intelligence on communication. Examine appropriate and effective use of various modes of communication technology such as , texts, and conference calls. Identify options for remote communication and technology. For newly appointed supervisors, managers, and professionals as well as for individuals with management potential looking for in depth strategies with practical application. Fee: $495 MRA members / $655 nonmembers Wed. 2/11/2015 and Wed. 2/25/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 2/19/2015 and Thur. 3/5/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 2/25/2015 and Wed. 3/11/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 3/12/2015 and Thur. 3/26/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 3/24/2015 and Tues. 4/7/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Tues. 3/31/2015 and Tues. 4/14/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 4/8/2015 and Wed. 4/22/2015 Madison, WI Tues. 5/5/2015 and Tues. 5/19/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 5/6/2015 and Wed. 5/20/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 6/2/2015 and Tues. 6/16/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 8/13/2015 and Thur. 8/27/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 9/2/2015 and Wed. 9/16/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 9/9/2015 and Wed. 9/23/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Tues. 9/15/2015 and Tues. 9/29/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 10/7/2015 and Wed. 10/21/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/8/2015 and Thur. 10/22/2015 Madison, WI Thur. 11/5/2015 and Thur. 11/19/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 11/10/2015 and Tues. 11/17/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 12/3/2015 and Thur. 12/17/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 1.4 (14 hours) Adaptability and agility Communication skills Diversity Relationships Self-assessment 43

44 Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series 2 Advanced Communication Certificate Series 2 Communicating With Your Teammates Successful collaboration takes place when team leaders build a supportive climate with positive communication skills and constructive feedback skills. Through a variety of activities and discussions, participants in this program examine their roles as communicators. Participants complete the online DiSC Communication Style Assessment and receive a personal report to use in class and back at work. Participants learn to build a positive communication environment by giving constructive feedback, handling defensiveness, and listening effectively. This is the second of five programs in the Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series. Identify components of effective communication. Use techniques for improving listening. List steps for communicating nondefensively. Identify your own communication style and describe the characteristics of other styles. Give constructive feedback statements and I messages. Describe ways to positively influence others. Leaders of departmental, cross-functional, or project teams who may or may not have direct authority over team members. Also for those in management/supervisory roles moving from a traditional organizational structure to a teamoriented environment. Collaboration Giving feedback Listening Fee: $360 MRA members / $460 nonmembers Tues. 2/17/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 5/13/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/8/2015 Waukesha, WI Communication from the Inside Out You hear what I m saying, but do you understand what I mean? Savvy communicators know that words are just one part of any message that gets communicated. Apply the idea of whole body thinking to enhance your ability to communicate effectively. In this program, you increase and apply your communication flexibility in the variety of business settings you encounter. Review research on nonverbal communication. Describe individual preferences for giving and receiving information. Learn what is pseudo science and that true science is learning about having an authentic leadership presence. Identify the impact of learning styles on communication, learning, coaching, training, customer service, and business. Explain the value of increasing sensory awareness for leading, training, mediating, negotiating, and directing others. Supervisors, managers, customer service and sales professionals, human resource professionals, and anyone whose success is dependent upon being an effective communicator. Informing Innovation Problem solving Self-knowledge Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Wed. 3/18/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 6/23/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 11/12/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.6 (6 hours) CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 44 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

45 Frontline Leadership Certificate Series 2 Communication Skills This workshop helps group leaders become more effective communicators with both their workers and their supervisors. Participants gain effective listening skills and the ability to give and receive feedback. Describe a communication model and discuss typical causes of ineffective communication. Give clear directions. Build positive listening skills. Analyze communication styles and identify the strengths and weaknesses of your own style. Use nondefensive communication techniques. Individuals who are not officially management employees, but who provide leadership or informal guidance to a work group without the power to hire, fire, or conduct performance reviews. These individuals often do the work while providing leadership to their work group. Giving feedback Informing Listening Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Wed. 1/28/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 3/12/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 3/17/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 5/28/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 7/15/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 7/16/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Thur. 8/20/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 10/13/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/14/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 11/18/2015 Waukesha, WI Consultative Sales Approach for Critical Accounts Some industries have smaller territories and limited customer bases, which makes an exceptional sales approach crucial to maximizing the limited number of prospects. Others are more complex and require a longer selling cycle, so sales representatives must quickly determine which accounts warrant their time and those that don t. Prior to the class, you will receive instructions on researching information for a target account or industry. You will need to bring this information to the first day of class. Understand the differences between strategic versus transactional sales approaches. Explain the strategic sales process and the time commitment required. List the crucial information that earns you the right to approach a company. Distinguish between data and information. Discover ways to obtain and interpret crucial information. Determine when an account is not desirable. Prepare for all calls. Make the presentation...not public speaking. Deal with roadblocks and redirecting. Product or services sales reps with a longer selling cycle, reps who handle large and national accounts or with a limited territory, or a narrow and specialized prospect base. Companies with longer selling cycles and lengthier quota periods. Coaching Selling Fee: $615 MRA members / $795 nonmembers Tues. 6/9/2015, Wed. 6/10/2015 and Tues. 6/16/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 1.8 (17.5 hours) NEW! CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 45

46 Cornerstones of Superior Customer Service Learn how to make a strong, positive impact on your customers. Analyze the factors that affect the customer s relationship with you and their perceptions of how you handle their business. Explain the importance of meeting the customer s needs. Recognize the individual contribution to improving customer relations. Identify individual communication styles and recognize how styles can enhance customer relations. Discuss and illustrate skills needed to handle difficult/angry customers. Customer service representatives, internal supplier departments, telemarketers, and others who have direct contact with your customers. Approachability Composure Customer focus Listening Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Thur. 2/26/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 5/21/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 8/25/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 10/13/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) Create Buy-In and Implement Change Your great ideas for workplace improvement can either fall flat or skyrocket to acceptance and implementation. The key to success is having the right skills to approach coworkers and leaders effectively and professionally. This workshop equips you with a practical, effective, step-by-step process. You learn how to frame your ideas to show their value, how to gain support, and how to carry through to implementation. You leave with increased confidence to impact change. If you d like, bring an idea for a future project or a current project. Demonstrate the benefit and value of your idea or project to your organization. Communicate ideas confidently. Apply skills for project planning. Implement techniques for executing project plans and monitoring progress. Individuals in any industry who want to increase their contributions to their workplace and make their great ideas work. Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Fri. 5/8/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 9/22/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) Our organization utilizes MRA for a variety of training initiatives ranging from entry level sales to presentation skills. They do a great job of identifying the training objectives for our organization and fulfilling those objectives with fantastic trainers. John Barsness Transition Networks 46 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

47 Customer Service Excellence Certificate Series 3 Creative Customer Problem Solving In this session, participants learn effective ways to provide other options to customers and develop problem-solving skills that get at the root of the situation or issue, even when you can t give them exactly what they want. You also learn the importance of active listening and the positive effects it can have on conversations with customers. Describe the nonverbals of communicating and listening throughout the conversation. Demonstrate effective methods to diffuse and handle difficult/angry customers. Identify the big picture messages that will meet customer needs. Apply tools for service-related, creative problem solving. Describe the five steps of creative customer service problem solving. Anyone who is responsible for building positive customer relationships with internal and/or external customers. Assertiveness Customer focus Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Fri. 3/27/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 7/22/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 10/30/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) Critical-Step Selling Successful salespeople must master the mindset and skills required to successfully move a prospect from interest to purchase. Throughout each phase of the process preparing, selling and closing the sale there are critical steps which apply to all situations whether selling a concept, service or a product. Skipping any of these steps can lead to a longer sales cycle or failure to close. This program will help you master and implement the key steps in each phase of the sales process for a more successful outcome. Practice and apply the four crucial steps in any sales cycle. Build a personalized and detailed sales call template that can be easily adapted to different situations. Gain a customer s attention within the first two minutes of the sales call by clearly articulating a powerful Value Proposition. Build trust by probing for, clearly hearing, and understanding the needs of their strategic implications in a prospect s business. Influence the decision maker s decision by presenting a solution tailored to the unique requirements of the business... features and benefits clearly tied the business challenges. Anticipate and successfully handle customer concerns and pushback. Secure the customer s commitment to purchase and next steps. Sales professionals, business owners, and anyone in a customerfacing role who want to learn techniques for maximizing sales productivity, grow their customer base, and increase profitability. This course is also excellent for customer service managers who want to help front-line employees increase sales and customer retention. Closing Investigation Planning Selling Fee: $395 MRA members / $515 nonmembers (Day 1) 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Day 2) Wed. 4/29/2015 and Thur. 4/30/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 5/13/2015 and Thur. 5/14/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 9/17/2015 and Fri. 9/18/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 9/24/2015 and Fri. 9/25/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 1.1 (10.5 hours) 47

48 Principles of Leadership Excellence Certificate Series 3 Culture, Motivation, and Aligning Goals With Strategies: The Path to Productivity Applying your organization s vision and strategy while building effective company culture is vital to successful leadership. If you focus solely on daily productivity in a nose-to-the-grindstone fashion, you neglect the crucial ingredient of building morale and motivating your reports to greater productivity and increased engagement. This module concentrates on the skills you need to strike just the right balance. You learn how to take strategic objectives and help your reports create complementary goals. A strengthened ability to analyze the longer range impact of your tactical decisions increases your willingness to make tactical adjustments. An in-depth study of motivation and employee engagement polishes your ability to increase productivity. With the clear-sighted perspective this module provides, you acquire proficiency to ensure that workers individual actions support and align with the organization s overall strategy. Identify the values and cultural norms within your organization. Describe components of vision and strategic plans. Relate functional area goals to strategic goals. Consider a communication and integration plan for goals. Appreciate the balance between vision achievement and daily work. Relate vision and strategy to employee engagement. Recognize the various motivational theories to create engagement. Plan how to use motivational theories to create engagement. Use the MRA Human Needs Model to create a motivational plan for employees. Consider the impact of generational issues when motivating the workforce. Fee: $495 MRA members / $655 nonmembers Wed. 3/11/2015 and Wed. 3/25/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 3/19/2015 and Thur. 4/2/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 3/25/2015 and Wed. 4/8/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 4/9/2015 and Thur. 4/23/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 4/21/2015 and Tues. 5/5/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Tues. 4/28/2015 and Tues. 5/12/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 5/6/2015 and Wed. 5/20/2015 Madison, WI Tues. 6/2/2015 and Tues. 6/16/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 6/3/2015 and Wed. 6/17/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 7/7/2015 and Tues. 7/21/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 9/17/2015 and Thur. 10/1/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 9/30/2015 and Wed. 10/14/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 10/7/2015 and Wed. 10/21/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Tues. 10/13/2015 and Tues. 10/27/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 11/4/2015 and Wed. 11/18/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 11/5/2015 and Thur. 11/19/2015 Madison, WI Tues. 12/1/2015 and Tues. 12/15/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 12/3/2015 and Thur. 12/17/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 1.4 (14 hours) For newly appointed supervisors, managers, and professionals as well as for individuals with management potential looking for in-depth strategies with practical application. Communication skills Motivating others Performance management Political savvy relationships Self-assessment Strategic skills vision 48 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

49 Customer-Focused Telephone Techniques Learn the importance of the telephone and acquire professional skills for better business practice, including calming angry clients and projecting a confident business image. Define the skills needed to provide excellent customer service. Define and explain the five dimensions of customer service and the application to the workplace. Identify four types of communication styles and behaviors exhibited by each style. Identify a customer s communication style and practice rapport-building responses based on each style. Demonstrate ways to say no courteously by using a specialized technique. All employees who use the phone to do business with internal and external customers. Approachability Composure Customer focus Listening Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Wed. 3/18/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 4/15/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 9/3/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 11/3/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) Customer Skills for Technical Professionals Technical and professional staff need to understand how to build business with customers during and after a project. This program stresses the parallel responsibilities of doing the work while also fulfilling their job of building business through ongoing customer relationships. This class aims to increase awareness of the importance of relationship skills and customerfocused communication. Explain the four primary needs of internal and external customers. Apply these needs to create linkages between service provider behavior and customer need satisfaction. Explain the linkage, customer needs, and behaviors needed to acquire business, service customers, and maintain business relationships. Describe the importance of customer relationships and the service provider s obligation to service. Empathetically validate the feelings of upset/angry customers. Define emotional triggers in service situations and plan the responses. Demonstrate how to communicate and listen more effectively with customers. Those who have a technical area of expertise and need to develop or improve relationships with internal and external customers. Approachability Composure Customer focus Listening Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Tues. 2/10/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 4/1/2015 Appleton, WI Thur. 7/9/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 12/10/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 49

50 Employee Benefits Certificate Series 3 Employee Benefits Certificate Series 2 Design and Execution of Retirement Plans: Smooth Driving on Highway 401(k) The multiple gears of 401(k) programs require careful and ongoing attention. You want to oil the gears with strong employee participation, minimize the fees that fuel the program, and avoid any legal misfires that could stop the program dead in its tracks. You learn to smooth your 401(k) operation and boost its efficiency and effectiveness through consideration of: Plan design components and employer-selected features. Legal compliance, fiduciary responsibilities, and your duties as a plan sponsor. Third-party administrative plan fees. Recent and proposed legislation. Best practices in oversight, cost control, and education. Identify the laws regulating 401(k) plans and your duties. Design effective methods to educate employees and increase participation. Monitor the effectiveness of your third party administrators. Anyone new to employee benefits, veterans needing a refresher on basic plan design concepts and error-free administration, and those interested in being up-to-date on legal developments. Planning Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 12:30-4:00 p.m. Thur. 3/5/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 8/18/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) Design and Funding of Benefit Plans - Show Me the Money There is no one-size-fits-all when choosing a health and welfare program. Program structure and funding choices abound. You want to make the best choice for your organization s needs and budget, so it s essential to have a solid understanding of the options, the details behind acronyms, and current trends in funding mechanisms. You gain a concrete knowledge base and ideas to springboard action through the examination of: Various plan design considerations available for group health plans, voluntary benefits, prescription drug plans, and more. Basic funding mechanisms. Recent trends in funding mechanisms including consumerdriven models. Definitions and components of Section 125, FSAs, HRAs, and HSAs. Incorporating wellness programs into overall benefit design. Identify various group health plan arrangements available including health, voluntary benefits, prescription benefits, and others. Identify funding and design methods to determine which plan alternatives are best for your organization. Differentiate between FSAs, HRAs, and HSAs, and begin to evaluate which plans fit your benefit design. Those new to employee benefits, seasoned specialists considering changes to their organization s health plan program, and pros interested in a refresher. Planning Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Thur. 3/5/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 8/18/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) 50 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

51 Diplomacy and Tact Responding with tact can be challenging for anyone in times of stress, pressure, or disagreement. In this program, you learn strategies for staying focused and communicating in a calm, professional manner. You identify ways to increase your awareness of your own responses to difficult situations and consider the impact of others perceptions. You also examine practical ways to address differences of opinion and perspectives while working toward a positive outcome. Looking for more opportunities to develop your skills? Register for Handling Difficult Conversations Effectively as a companion program. Increase your self-awareness to improve your image. Recognize and describe perceptions of others. Use strategies to identify areas of agreement and ways to influence others. Identify helpful behavior changes you need or want to make. Managers, supervisors, leaders, and employees who need to gain cooperation, influence, or negotiate with others in difficult or less than ideal work situations. Approachability Influencing Listening Personal accountability Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Thur. 4/16/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 4/21/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 8/6/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 9/8/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 10/6/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 12/9/2015 Waukesha, WI Drug and Alcohol Awareness Training for Managers and Supervisors (Recorded Webinar) Managers and supervisors learn how to respond when encountering workplace substance abuse. Proven techniques for legally observing, confronting, documenting, and confirming suspected abuse problems are demonstrated and practiced. Feel more comfortable and confident when addressing these issues. Recognition of the signs and symptoms associated with workplace substance abuse. Choose your compliance need: DOT compliant webinar Non-DOT general webinar Recognize signs and symptoms of workplace substance abuse. Address drug/alcohol related behavioral and performance problems in a manner that reduces the risk of litigation. Demonstrate understanding of the costs associated with workplace substance abuse. Frontline supervisors, managers, department heads, and program managers whose company policies provide for drug testing under reasonable suspicion or cause as well as those supervising drivers of vehicles requiring a Commercial Driver s License (CDL). Disciplinary action Informing Technical skills Fee: $95 MRA members / $125 nonmembers CEUs: 0.1 (1 hour) HRCI Credit: 1 HR (General) CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) 51

52 Advanced Communication Certificate Series 1 Essentials of HR Certificate Series 3 Effective Communication - Beyond the Basics This highly interactive communication program addresses advanced tools, techniques, and strategies developed from the study of proven top performers in leadership. This seminar takes a deeper dive into the newest science of human communication and brain science on why we miscommunicate. Explore how to create a more powerful communication relationship that provides strategies to better position people for success. Participants complete the new Everything DiSC assessment and integrate the results into focused, effective communication strategies. Explore the connection of mind, language, and behavior. Use the new Everything DiSC for a more holistic communication assessment that enables employees and managers to gain deeper understanding of their communication preference. Adapt your communication style for effective communication with others. Identify communication gaps and stumbling blocks. Describe the impact of language on perceptions and meaning. Supervisors, managers, customer service and sales professionals, human resource professionals, and anyone whose success is dependent upon being an effective communicator. Adaptability Informing Self-knowledge Trust and respect Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Wed. 3/4/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 6/9/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/29/2015 Waukesha, WI Effective Documentation: From Coaching to Termination Be prepared for discipline and termination challenges! HR, supervisors, and managers often have the difficult task of addressing employee relations concerns resulting in corrective action or termination. Effective coaching and documentation are essential in the disciplinary process and helps to minimize litigation to your organization. Provide effective feedback through performance management observation and coaching. Create and maintain thorough and complete documentation to support your employment decisions. Assess when and how to escalate disciplinary actions to address employee performance. Reduce litigation landmines when making a decision to terminate an employee. Designed for newcomers to HR and those looking to broaden their HR knowledge. Coaching Composure Conflict management Decision-making skills Performance management Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 12:30-4:00 p.m. Wed. 2/11/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 4/21/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 6/11/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 9/30/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/8/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) CEUs: 0.6 (6 hours) 52 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

53 Essentials of HR Certificate Series 4 Frontline Leadership Certificate Series 3 Effective Interviewing and Hiring Hire for success! HR, supervisors, and managers are challenged with selecting the top talent to meet the organization s needs and goals. Learn how a great interview process benefits your organization through timely selection and retention of great hires. Identify job success factors for a position to conduct effective interviews. Reduce legal and public relations liabilities through the use of lawful interview questions and a consistent hiring process. Prepare open-ended interview questions to identify if a candidate possesses job success factors. Demonstrate behavioral interviewing techniques to gain a depth of information from a candidate to make a good hiring decision. HR professionals, managers, supervisors, team members, or any employee involved in the selection and hiring of new employees or internal candidates. Responsible for filling a position? Bring the job description to gain the most value from this program. Hiring and staffing Listening Planning Technical skills Fee: $335 MRA members / $445 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Wed. 2/18/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 4/28/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 6/18/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/7/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/15/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 0.7 (6.75 hours) HRCI Credit: 6.75 HR (General) Effective Training Techniques Group leaders learn to train both new employees and experienced workers. This workshop gives group leaders precise and practical methods to train their employees more effectively. Leaders also learn to spot worker training needs and provide thorough on-the-job training. Identify the benefits of proper training. Demonstrate how to effectively design training including how to recognize training needs, prepare training objectives, and create job breakdowns according to adult learning principles. Plan, schedule, and deliver quality training to your employees using a 5-step method. Individuals who are not officially management employees, but who provide leadership or informal guidance to a work group without the power to hire, fire, or conduct performance reviews. These individuals often do the work while providing leadership to their work group. Developing direct reports Measuring work and performance standards Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Wed. 2/4/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 3/19/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 3/24/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 6/4/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 7/22/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 7/23/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Thur. 8/27/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 10/20/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/21/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 12/2/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 53

54 Emotionally Intelligent Leader Does achievement lead to positive feeling, or does positive feeling lead to achievement? Emotional intelligence has been identified as a key component of personal and professional success. It is the ability to identify, assess, and control your own emotions and to be sensitive to the emotions of others. Participants in this program learn the critical skills necessary to effectively understand and use emotion constructively in the workplace. Describe the importance of emotion in effective leadership. Understand the importance of self-control and add at least three new techniques for maintaining perspective. Use mistakes made as teaching tools with employees. Articulate personal vision for each area of responsibility. Demonstrate empathetic skills. Describe the role of effective coaching/mentoring in emotional leadership. Define personal leadership style and outline development areas to enhance/alter current style. People in leadership positions who would like to enhance their leadership skills managers, supervisors, department heads, and senior executives. Also for those interested in improving their interactions with others including those in customer service and human resources. Leadership presence Self-development Vision Fee: $325 MRA members / $425 nonmembers Tues. 3/10/15 Palatine, IL Wed. 4/1/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 9/15/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 10/20/15 Palatine, IL Wed. 10/28/2015 Appleton, WI Thurs. 11/12/2015 Waukesha, WI NEW! Employee Benefits Certificate Series 1 Employee Benefits: A to Z It s a challenging balance. You want to keep on top of the ever-changing options available to help your organization s employee benefits program attract and retain employees. At the same time, you must ensure that the benefits options you offer are current and cost-effective. On top of all that, you want to be on solid ground when it comes to new developments in benefits regulations. Before the quicksand of new regulations sneaks up from behind, take time for this comprehensive, core program. It answers questions you didn t even know you had. You ll gain in-depth understanding through a comprehensive overview of: Mandatory and voluntary benefits. Vital details about current laws and regulations. Key components of effective benefit administration. Basic provisions of reporting and disclosure requirements. Identify the role of benefits in Total Rewards. Gain an understanding of laws governing health and retirement plans. Explore legal requirements regulating health insurance and retirement plan notifications and obligations. Expand your knowledge of benefit plans. Benefits and human resources administrators and specialists who want to be up-to-date on new developments and ensure they have a solid grasp of benefits structure, options, and laws. Technical skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Thur. 2/26/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 8/11/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (6.5 hours) HRCI Credit: 6.5 HR (General) CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 54 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

55 Customer Service Excellence Certificate Series 1 Enhance Your Business Image How can you ensure the image you project leads to success in your organization? Understanding your organization s culture, how employees work in it, and how to make a positive impact is essential. This program helps you successfully navigate within your organization s culture while projecting a professional, savvy business image. Identify characteristics of your corporate culture. Identify your communication style and assess the impact of your style on others. Use effective listening and communication skills. Describe appropriate ways to use , social media, and other communication technology. Define professionalism and describe the impact of image and appearance on the job. Those who have been newly promoted, taken on new responsibilities, or anyone who wants to enhance their professional business image and communication skills. Approachability Organizational knowledge Work relationships Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Tues. 3/24/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 5/7/2015 Appleton, WI Thur. 6/11/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 9/15/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/15/2015 Palatine, IL Enhance Your Customer Connection This program provides opportunities for participants to put themselves in the shoes of a customer. You uncover the four most important things that customers want from service professionals and how to apply them in order to communicate more effectively, both verbally and nonverbally, with internal and external customers. Demonstrate winning listening and communication skills. Explain the four primary needs of customers. Assess techniques for listening before communicating. Illustrate practical techniques for managing communication modes, particularly . Identify ways to strengthen your professional image in phone contacts and face-to-face meetings. Anyone who is responsible for building positive customer relationships with internal and/or external customers. Customer focus Listening Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Fri. 3/13/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 4/28/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 7/8/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 10/16/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 55

56 Human Resource Professional Certificate Series 5 Finance and Accounting for the Nonfinancial Leader Learn and understand the principles of accounting and interpret statements to determine the financial health of an organization. Participants will also learn about the budgeting process. Interpret and analyze income statements, balance sheet, and statement of cash flows using ratio analysis. Determine ways to positively affect cash flow, net income, and the balance sheet. Learn the steps necessary to create and maintain a useful budget. Understand basic processes used to justify capital purchases and/or cost reduction proposals within organizations. Managers responsible for building or meeting their budgets. Emphasis is placed on enabling the nonfinancial manager to quickly understand the basic principles of accounting, the language of business. Business knowledge Planning Technical skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Tues. 2/24/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 4/2/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 8/6/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 11/4/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.5 (4.75 hours) HRCI Credit: 4.75 Business (Strategic) Finance Essentials for the HR Professional Financial reports are the heartbeat of any organization. This course is designed to expose the HR professional to basic accounting practices including how to read and interpret accounting and financial reports and how HR initiatives affect the organization s bottom line. Participants also learn how to create and manage a budget. Define accounting basics. Read and interpret financial statements. Differentiate your acid-test from a current ratio. Create and manage an HR budget. Designed specifically for those with at least three years of professional level HR experience and experienced HR professionals looking to improve their overall effectiveness as leaders within their organization. Business knowledge Influencing Technical skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tues. 3/31/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 5/21/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/7/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 12/2/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (6.5 hours) HRCI Credit: 6.5 Business (Strategic) 56 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

57 FMLA Administration in the Real World - A Method to the Madness This is the premier course for those responsible for FMLA administration. This course teaches the full leave life cycle from when an employer learns of the need for leave through the employee s return to work. Decrease the impact that FMLA absences have on your business with an effective FMLA process. Support your front-line leaders by controlling FMLA abuse issues such as lack of notice, late starts, and Friday-Monday syndrome. DAY ONE-THE LEGAL FOUNDATION Translate state and federal FMLA regulations into a to-do list. Identify what kind of personal events and medical issues trigger FMLA leave rights. Distinguish between family members that are covered by FMLA and those that are not. DAY TWO-THE ADMINISTRATIVE FOUNDATION Recognize the actions you must take when a leave is requested. Review FMLA forms and documentation. Process a pregnancy leave, intermittent leave, and care-taking leave. Manage chronic conditions such as migraines and depression. Learn your legal rights to better manage suspected abuse. Recognize the interaction between FMLA, ADA, and Worker s Compensation. Any individual with day-to-day responsibility for FMLA administration or who is new to the complex area of FMLA. NOTE: Due to its complexity, Wisconsin FMLA will be covered in-depth only at the Waukesha, Wisconsin programs. Applicable Iowa and Illinois laws will be reviewed at all programs at all locations. Assertiveness Dealing with uncertainty Decision-making skills Technical skills Fee: $485 MRA members / $645 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tues. 2/3/2015 and Tues. 2/10/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 3/18/2015 and Wed. 3/25/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 6/16/2015 and Tues. 6/23/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 8/19/2015 and Wed. 8/26/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 9/15/2015 and Tues. 9/22/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 10/8/2015 and Thur. 10/15/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 12/8/2015 and Tues. 12/15/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 1.3 (13 hours) HRCI Credit: 13 HR (General) Comments from past FMLA class participants: I now feel comfortable actually administering FMLA accurately and can advise management. Being new to the HR field, I felt this program was excellent. It provided me with great info. as I step into this new role. This program was great because I got the individualized help I needed to really understand the different processes that my company uses. 57

58 Coaching Services Coaching is a powerful development tool. MRA s experienced coaches help to build effective leaders that are key for achieving organizational success. The actions of your company s leaders directly influence the performance, morale, level of engagement, and motivation of your employees. Coaching can solve talent development challenges such as: ff Preparing high potential employees to assume senior leadership assignments ff Guiding an executive to overcome a career limiting behavior or attitude ff Preparing managers to acquire new skills and strategies to support a change in business objectives ff Building bench strength for critical positions ff Accelerating a managers assimilation and effectiveness when appointed to a new position ff Improving a manager s ability to build a high performing team ff Helping an executive to identify and implement a new business strategy MRA s coaching professionals have strong business backgrounds and extensive experience in generating results. The breadth of MRA s professional coaching team s background ensures a good fit with the selected coach and with the organization s culture and the leader s style and personality. FMLA - Update for Leave Administrators It s important to stay current. The FMLA playing field changes rapidly each year due to court cases, DOL rulings, and administrator s interpretations. MRA s experienced human resources professionals, who answer thousands of FMLA member questions each year, will guide you through the latest changes to keep you current with FMLA administration. The course content is fluid and will reflect current legal activity as well as hot topics from recent member inquiries. In addition, the course will address the management of the following tough situations: FMLA leave used to avoid undesirable work. Suspicious leave patterns. FMLA leave used to excuse tardiness. Openly abusive leaves. Cite recent FMLA changes. Explain how to manage tough FMLA situations. Apply new concepts through case study analysis. Identify other employment laws and organization policy considerations to take appropriate action. Decision-making skills Technical skills PREREQUISITES: It is strongly suggested that participants have previously attended MRA s FMLA Administration in the Real World - A Method to the Madness. Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Tues. 4/21/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 6/11/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 7/16/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/28/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) Contact MRA s Strategic Services at for more information on how coaching can positively impact your organization. 58 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

59 Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series 1 Forklift/Lift Truck Train-the-Trainer In March 1999, a revised OSHA regulation for powered industrial trucks (29 CFR ) dramatically upgraded training requirements for powered industrial truck operators, requiring that each operator s performance be evaluated at least once every three years. This highly successful powered industrial truck training program is designed to provide you with all the information you need to instruct and train your employees on safe operation of powered industrial trucks. Included in the cost of this program are 6 hours of classroom instruction at MRA s facility and program information necessary for conducting qualified training classes. Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to instruct and train employees on safe lift truck operations to include the following: Pre-start safety inspections Design considerations Picking up the load Moving the truck Set down the load Pedestrian safety Individuals responsible for training, coaching, and certifying powered industrial truck operators. Technical skills PREREQUISITES: REQUIREMENT: All participants must be experienced lift truck drivers. Fee: $350 MRA members / $450 nonmembers (Fee includes full kit with videos) Second attendee from same company: Fee: $175 MRA member/ $210 nonmembers (Fee includes kit without videos) Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Wed. 2/4/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 4/9/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 9/17/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 0.6 (6 hours) Foundation for Leading Teams Is your organization missing out on the power of teams? Successful teams have a positive effect on employee engagement and a direct impact on how your organization meets its strategic goals. In a team environment, leaders must build a sense of team as they stimulate collaboration and group decision making in their departments. In addition, team leaders are often expected to involve employees from different parts and levels of the organization in projects and teamwork even when they do not have direct authority over team members. These cross-functional teams can be the driving force for change and improvement in your business. Participants in this program discuss how to lay the groundwork for successful teams while identifying the leadership skills and behaviors needed to create change in a positive team environment. This is the first of five programs in the Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series. Explain synergy and how it benefits the organization. Explain the significance of team boundaries, mission, and ground rules. Identify stages of team development and team member roles. List elements of trust and identify ways to build trust. Identify components necessary for successful organizational change. Evaluate teams and identify actions for improvement. Leaders of departmental, cross-functional, or project teams who may or may not have direct authority over team members. The content of this series is also appropriate for individuals in management/supervisory roles moving from a traditional organizational structure to a team-oriented environment. Collaboration Leading Team building Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Tues. 2/10/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 5/6/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/1/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 59

60 Human Resource Professional Certificate Series 4 Foundations of Statistical Process Control In this course you learn the basic tools of SPC and process capability. Practical exercises and time for questions ensure you walk away with the understanding you need to apply these tools at your workplace. Be able to give explanations of how data will describe the performance of a process. Practice using basic control charts to understand the performance of a process. Interpret process capability studies that describe the performance of a process. For managers, supervisors, and other professionals responsible for using statistical methods to develop, control, and improve quality and productivity. Innovation Problem solving Technical skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Tues. 3/24/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 9/17/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) Fundamentals of Compensation Faced with increasing competition for successful employees and a variety of other business pressures, forward-thinking organizations understand and effectively integrate the fundamental elements of the business into a strategic compensation program. In order to get to this level, it is critical to understand the technical skills, practical knowledge, and the art of compensation. This program explores the practice and theory of compensation management, discusses how to tailor a compensation program to support the organization s strategic goals and objectives, and introduces an approach for providing day-to-day compensation management consistent with business objectives. The fundamental building blocks of compensation are fully explored as well as an overview of how businesses are changing their thoughts on compensation in today s environment. This participative seminar includes practical exercises to reinforce course content as well as example plans and case studies. Demonstrate an understanding of fundamental compensation philosophy and strategies. Locate and use a variety of compensation tools, such as job analysis, job documentation, point factor job evaluation, and market data/survey analysis to formulate compensation systems. Identify best practices for aligning compensation approaches with business goals and objectives. Those who are new to the compensation field or generalists who want to strengthen their knowledge of compensation. Please bring a calculator to this seminar. Strategic skills Technical skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Tues. 3/17/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 5/7/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 9/23/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 11/18/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.6 (6 hours) HRCI Credit: 6 HR (General) 60 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

61 Administrative Professionals Certificate Series Grammar Basics Is it affect or effect? Should I use 15 or fifteen? Which punctuation mark should I use? This half-day program addresses those and many more basic grammatical questions. Highly interactive with both group and individual exercises, this program helps participants improve their grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Topics include: proofreading, punctuation, capitalization, frequently misspelled words, and subject and verb agreement. The course is designed to allow for participant input. Express thoughts clearly and professionally with improved grammar. Use correct punctuation and capitalization in written communication. Business and administrative employees who want a stronger grasp of fundamental grammar. Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Fri. 2/27/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 6/12/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 10/9/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) Handling Difficult Conversations Effectively When issues are important, opinions vary, and emotions run strong, individuals often feel vulnerable expressing themselves. Learn strategies for thinking through issues, preparing for the conversations, managing a dialogue effectively, and achieving the desired outcome. Plan for a challenging conversation. Assess the impact of perceptions, positions, and interests on difficult conversations. Use reframing, feedback, listening, and questioning skills to communicate effectively in difficult conversations. Managers, supervisors, leaders, and employees who need to gain cooperation, influence, or negotiate with others in difficult or less than ideal work situations. Collaboration Influencing Personal accountability Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Thur. 4/23/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 5/5/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 8/21/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 9/22/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 12/15/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) 61

62 Essentials of HR Certificate Series 1 HR and Employment Law Essentials This two-day program provides HR professionals with an introduction to the role, responsibilities, and value of HR within an organization. Participants will gain an understanding of the essential elements comprising the HR function including various employment laws and HR and managerial legal responsibilities for compliance. Through case studies and discussion, HR professionals will explore best practices for tackling workplace challenges and opportunities to assist organizations in meeting business needs and achieving business goals. Describe the HR function and common responsibilities. Demonstrate an understanding of fair employment law through case study application. Identify best practices to reduce risk within an organization. Explore how to effectively communicate with management to foster a relationship where HR is viewed as an essential business partner. Designed for newcomers to HR and those looking to broaden their HR knowledge. Customer focus Ethics and integrity Influencing Risk taking Technical skills Trust and respect Fee: $595 MRA members / $775 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Wed. 1/28/2015 and Wed. 2/4/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 4/7/2015 and Tues. 4/14/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 5/28/2015 and Thur. 6/4/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 9/16/2015 and Wed. 9/23/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 9/24/2015 and Thur. 10/1/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 1.3 (13 hours) HRCI Credit: 13 HR (General) NEW! HR Compliance - Harassment Prevention Training No matter what form it takes, harassment can have a serious impact on your organization. Preventing workplace harassment is an essential step in creating a respectful work environment, increasing productivity and employee retention, and reducing the risk of costly claims. Our harassment prevention training solutions focus on the unique needs of your organization. Through one-on-one coaching sessions, onsite harassment prevention training, or our standard or tailored webinars, we can provide comprehensive and focused attention that fits your needs and helps prevent actual and perceived harassment or discrimination. Our training solutions: Address a wide range of harassment and discrimination situations, including sexual harassment. Reflect the latest changes in federal and state laws. Are designed to help participants recognize and appropriately respond to inappropriate workplace behavior. Include an expert review of your harassment policy. Use a variety of adult learning methods including discussion, Power Point presentation, individual and group exercises, and in some programs, video vignettes. Include separate, targeted sessions for managers/supervisors and nonmanagement employees. May be held at your worksite, other training location, or via our standard or tailored webinars. Are delivered by MRA professionals with years of practical, real-world experience. Gain the skills to recognize harassment in the workplace. Identify who is legally protected from workplace harassment. Learn how to maintain a respectful, productive, and comfortable workplace. Become familiar with the company s harassment policy and reporting procedures. Exclusively in the manager/supervisor sessions, understand leaders obligations as role models and first responders to harassment and other offensive behaviors. Managers, supervisors, team leaders, lead and individual contributor employees. Composure Decision-making skills Giving feedback Listening Technical skills Call MRA to schedule training to meet your needs. 62 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

63 Human Resource Professional Certificate Series 2 HR Metrics: ROI for HR Initiatives Effective HR leaders in high-performing organizations understand the importance of using metrics for fact-based decision making and linking HR initiatives to organization success. This program will provide a framework for you to present the business case for your HR-related initiatives. As part of this program, participants will also receive a copy of Turning Your Human Resources Department into a Profit Center by Michael Mercer, PhD. Define and calculate key HR metrics. Identify best practices to measure return on investment (ROI). Apply HR solutions to business problems through cost and benefit analysis. Designed specifically for those with at least three years of professional level HR experience looking to introduce or enhance HR metrics within their organization. Business knowledge Decision-making skills Influencing Metrics Fee: $235 MRA members / $305 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Tues. 3/3/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 4/23/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 9/9/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 11/4/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 Business (Strategic) HR Overview for HR Assistants This program provides an overview of the human resource function and reviews technical knowledge to help a support person become a confident and effective HR assistant. This program acquaints HR support staff with the fundamental elements of HR and presents tools, techniques, and methods for successfully completing HR tasks. Examine benefit administration for FMLA such as COBRA and HIPAA. Identify the corporate expectations of the human resource assistant role and function. Identify employment laws. Recognize where HR documents should be stored, for how long, and who should have access. Discuss the recruitment and selection process including sourcing, screening, and reference/background checking. New employee orientation and onboarding. This full-day program is specifically designed for assistants who support the human resource function. Decision-making skills Interaction with upper management Interpersonal skills Technical skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Thur. 3/19/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 3/25/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 8/12/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 12/1/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) HRCI Credit: 7 HR (General) 63

64 Human Resource Professional Certificate Series 1 HR Professional as a Business Partner Solidify your role as a valued business partner and take your relationship building and alignment with organization leaders to the next level! As businesses look for improvements in organizational effectiveness at all levels, HR professionals play an integral role in this transformation. Learn best practices in providing high-value business partnerships with key organizational leaders to connect real business issues to performance results. Primary areas of focus within the program include developing the business partner role, influencing and consulting skills, and effective coaching strategies to maximize leadership and workforce capability. Consult and partner with internal clients to identify actions and solutions to meet business needs. Explore the unique talent management needs of internal stakeholders in the organization. Identify appropriate coaching strategies, demonstrate coaching skills, and guide managers in how to coach employees for performance improvement and employee development. Develop a personal plan for increasing business partner competencies. For those with at least three years of professional level HR experience and for experienced HR professionals looking to improve their overall technical knowledge. Collaboration Consulting Influencing Performance management PREREQUISITES: Prior completion of the Foundations for Human Resource Administration Certificate Series (or comparable coursework or experience) is strongly recommended. Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tues. 2/17/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 4/9/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 8/26/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 10/21/2015 Waukesha, WI Improving Your Management Style Increase self-awareness and learn to improve your interpersonal effectiveness as a manager or supervisor. In a series of three halfdays, participants learn to develop and carry out a personal plan for self-management. Understand the need for trust in leaders and what must be done to develop and maintain it. Grasp and use the tools necessary for understanding your fellow employees and the skills needed to make yourself more clearly understood. Be able to communicate with others in ways designed to minimize defensiveness and reduce the creation of conflict. Give feedback and praise which focuses on facts and the impact of behaviors rather than the personalities and values of the person being communicated with. Apply a conflict resolution model aimed at achieving positive resolutions instead of win/lose solutions. Create an initial personal development plan based on a 360 degree assessment of leadership strengths and weaknesses. Managers, supervisors, and all business professionals who are interested in or in need of improving their personal management style. It is also for individuals with strong potential for career advancement and those who want or need to polish their management style. Approachability Personal accountability Trust and respect Fee: $495 MRA members / $650 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Fri. 1/30/2015, Fri. 2/6/2015 and Fri. 2/13/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 7/17/2015, Fri. 7/24/2015 and Fri. 7/31/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 11/6/2015, Fri. 11/13/2015 and Fri. 11/20/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 1.1 (10.5 hours) CEUs: 0.7 (6.5 hours) HRCI Credit: 6.5 Business (Strategic) 64 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

65 Influencing Others The ability to positively influence others is vital in today s collaborative organizations. Whenever you need action and commitment from employees and colleagues, you need to exert influence. In many organizations, individuals without direct authority over others are still expected to influence others and achieve results. Learn to understand your role as an influencer, plan your approach with others, and communicate your position positively and persuasively. Describe your role as an influencer and identify obstacles you face. Use listening, questioning, and reframing skills in interpersonal influence. Identify ways to recognize and deal with resistance in others. Plan positive, persuasive messages. Individuals, with or without direct authority, who need to influence, negotiate, or gain cooperation from others. Collaboration Influencing Personal accountability Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Tues. 1/20/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 5/14/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 9/1/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 10/28/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) Interactive Training Techniques for the Classroom Are you called upon to plan and deliver training in the classroom? Participants in this program will prepare themselves to be both presenter and discussion leader. Participants incorporate principles of adult learning as they practice techniques for engaging trainees in productive learning experiences. Practical concepts and activities help participants build confidence as classroom trainers. Incorporate principles of adult learning into training programs. Develop activities to match training objectives. Use questioning and listening skills to facilitate discussions. Develop confidence as a speaker and identify ways to overcome stage fright. Practice delivery of a training module. Individuals who conduct training in addition to their regular job responsibilities, new trainers, supervisors, and leaders who present new skills and procedures. Facilitation skills Leading Presentation skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Wed. 3/11/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 9/1/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) HRCI Credit: 7 HR (General) 65

66 Human Resource Professional Certificate Series 3 Internal Auditing for ISO-Based Systems Learn to develop and perform quality management or environmental management systems audits to ISO standards. Participants will understand the various types of audits and be able to plan, organize, and conduct process based audits. The ISO 9001 standard is used in the class with hands-on exercises. Through the use of case studies, participants will practice their auditing skills. Describe how to perform process-based audits. Prepare checklists to be used in auditing compliance to an ISO standard. Make decisions regarding the effectiveness of a management system element based on audit findings. Discuss effective observation and interviewing techniques for audits. Practice accurate and concise documentation of audit findings. Describe what happens after the audit report has been completed. People responsible for managing and coordinating an audit function, newly appointed internal auditors, audit program leaders, and people responsible for escorting second or third party auditors. The course applies to process-based audits for standards such as ISO 9001, 13485, 14001, and similar. Decision-making skills Investigation Organizing Planning Fee: $485 MRA members / $645 nonmembers Tues. 2/3/2015 and Wed. 2/4/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 9/2/2015 and Thur. 9/3/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 1.4 (14 hours) Internal Investigations: A How-to Guide Whether dealing with discipline, termination, or unlawful harassment in union or nonunion settings, management has a duty to investigate to assure that employees are afforded due process. This program provides you with step-by-step instructions to conduct and complete thorough, legally compliant harassment, discrimination, and other types of internal investigations. Participants also receive hands-on experience dealing with these sensitive issues. Identify the appropriate steps to take in conducting an investigation. Gather, document, and secure information and evidence without violating privacy and other pertinent laws. Demonstrate inquiry skills to ask relevant and probing questions of individuals involved in the investigation. Analyze information and evidence to determine the appropriate course of action. Those with at least three years of professional level HR experience and experienced HR managers looking to improve their overall effectiveness as leaders within their organization. Prior completion of the Foundations for Human Resource Administration Certificate Series (or comparable coursework or experience) is strongly recommended. Conflict management Decision-making skills Investigation Trust and respect Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 12:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tues. 3/3/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 4/23/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 9/9/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 11/4/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) 66 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

67 Administrative Professionals Certificate Series Juggling Multiple Priorities for Administrative Professionals Time cannot be managed. Time is uncontrollable; therefore, you can only manage yourselves and your use of the time. Identify time wasters and learn how to pinpoint where you need to take control by dealing with procrastination, interruptions, and stress. Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series 3 Keeping the Team on Track When teams get off track, team leaders need to steer them back on course. In this program, participants examine typical ways teams go astray and then practice techniques for getting the teams back on track. Participants learn to lead their teams through goal setting and a problem-solving process, planning and conducting useful (and fun!) meetings, and dealing with disruptive group behaviors. This is the third of five programs in the Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series. Discuss and define myths about time management. Examine the impact of goals and goal setting. Demonstrate organizing goals by assigning priorities to specific tasks. Define and design a long-range timetable and action plan. Individuals in an administrative role looking to improve their skills in the area of time management and juggling priorities. Organizing Planning Priority setting Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Wed. 3/18/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 7/29/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 10/27/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) Discuss steps of goal setting and problem solving/process improvement. Use steps to plan, conduct, and follow up meetings. Identify and discuss meeting roles and rules. Use tools and techniques such as the affinity diagram, brainstorming, and multi-voting. Use discussion and questioning skills. Identify remedies for common meeting problems. Participants are leaders of departmental, cross-functional, or project teams who may or may not have direct authority over team members. The content of this series is also appropriate for individuals in management/supervisory roles moving from a traditional organizational structure to a team-oriented environment. Facilitation skills Goal setting Meeting management Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Tues. 2/24/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 5/20/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/15/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 67

68 Administrative Professionals Certificate Series Principles of Leadership Excellence Certificate Series 6 Leadership Skills for the Administrative Professional Learn professional skills to be more effective in the workplace. Participants explore their individual communication style and ways to improve their communication, problem solving, and interpersonal skills. Explain the qualities, characteristics, roles, and responsibilities of administrative professionals. Describe components of a communication model and the importance of each. Outline and discuss factors of nonverbal communication. Discuss personal time wasters and develop a time management action plan. Create strategies for working effectively on a team. Define and practice ways to deal with difficult people nondefensively. Individuals in an administrative/supportive role. Organizational knowledge Team building Time management Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Thur. 2/12/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 6/25/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 9/22/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) Leading Change and Putting It All Together: A Look to the Future Savvy business leaders are always on the lookout for opportunities for change. With many of today s top industries completely unknown 30 years ago, merely maintaining the status quo is flirting with failure. Understanding the dynamics of change and encouraging changes and improvements in their areas of responsibility are requirements for effective and forward-thinking leaders. This module addresses the challenge of initiating and shepherding change, focusing on techniques to communicate with and engage those affected. You learn best practices for dealing with unintended consequences of change and how to avoid the tug-ofwar that can occur when change is poorly managed. Note: The final portion of this program includes a wrap up of the entire Principles of Excellence Series and the Individual Learning Plan used throughout all 6 modules of the series. Examine the major stages in the cycle of change. Explore change models and the applicability to various work environments. Identify and develop strategies for leading change. Identify the effects of change on employees. Demonstrate skills for communicating about change. Review effective management relation strategies. Examine elements of the graduate community for ongoing learning. For newly appointed supervisors, managers, and professionals as well as for individuals with management potential looking for a deep dive and practical application. Change management Delegation Innovation Performance management Problem solving Recruiting Self-assessment Vision and Strategy Fee: $305 MRA members / $400 nonmembers Wed. 6/17/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 6/25/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 7/1/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 7/21/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Thur. 7/23/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 8/18/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 8/19/2015 Madison, WI Tues. 9/8/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 9/16/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 10/13/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 12/17/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 68 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

69 Leading Successful Kaizen Events Building on the foundation established during the half-day course, Planning Successful Kaizen Events, this course briefly reviews the three key phases of a kaizen event and focuses the participant on the people side of managing lean events or lean projects. Topics include team success analysis, building effective team behaviors, planning successful communications, holding effective meetings, identifying resistance, dealing with conflict, and celebrating project completion. Explain event leadership tools for successful kaizen events. Describe effective meeting tactics. Explore methods for dealing with conflict and resistance in the team. Discuss successful communication strategies for the team. Supervisors, managers, or leaders within an organization who will be responsible for improvement using lean methods. Prior knowledge is assumed, either through classes taught at MRA or practical use of lean methods. Conflict management Informing Organizational knowledge Planning PREREQUISITES: In order to benefit most from the course material, it is highly recommended to also take Planning Successful Kaizen Events. Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Thur. 5/7/2015 Waukesha, WI Lean Fundamentals What is so great about lean? This half-day workshop explores basic information about moving to a lean mindset and distinguishes differences between typical lean tools. This class is for any person, on any level of your organization, who wants to learn about lean thinking and how a lean initiative could benefit your organization. Describe the origins of lean. Recognize the eight wastes that make processes inefficient. Explain how lean links customer needs to profits. Explore key tools of lean. Identify cultural issues that prevent lean thinking. Any person at your organization who is looking for the basics of lean thinking. Customer focus Innovation Vision Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Thur. 5/21/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 11/3/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) HRCI Credit: 7 Business (Strategic) 69

70 Making Change Work for You You are told to deal with the change that is ever-present in organizations, but how do you do it? This half-day program will help identify skills you can use and steps you can take to constructively handle the changes you face. Learn to ride the waves of change in ways that increase your own understanding and bring value to your organization and those around you. Reframe reasons for change. Ask questions and express uncertainty and fears constructively. Describe and modify your personal reactions to change. This program is for individuals who want to be able to handle organizational change in an effective, constructive manner. Dealing with change Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Tues. 4/14/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 11/6/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) Comment from past Frontline Leadership participant: Because of the skills I learned from the MRA classes, I was promoted! I could not have done this without the classes. With the knowledge and skills I received, I will be able to apply them to everyday issues at work. They have proven quite effective already. Management Drivers of Employee Engagement Through a variety of learning experiences and review of current management literature and best practices, participants identify the behaviors of engaged employees and the leadership behaviors necessary to create an engaged workforce. Participants develop an action plan around MRA s Seven Management Drivers of Engagement to help create a work environment where employees: 1) feel pride in the organization, 2) know that their job fits into the overall success of the organization, 3) derive emotional and mental stimulation from the nature of the job, 4) trust their manager, 5) feel they are part of a supportive culture, 6) feel an emotional connection to their manager, and 7) know that the company supports employee development. This program serves as kick-off for the Advanced Level Leadership Certificate Series. It is strongly recommended that this module be taken before the other three modules in the series. Explain what engagement is and its importance on productivity in the workplace. Describe the seven management drivers of engagement and how a manager s behavior can impact those drivers. Develop strategies to increase engagement. Experienced managers and supervisors who seek to develop advanced leadership skill sets to enhance personal and organizational effectiveness and to prepare for higher level leadership responsibilities. Adaptability Developing direct reports Managerial flexibility Motivating others Team building Trust and respect Fee: $325 MRA members / $425 nonmembers Thur. 2/19/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 3/4/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 6/10/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 7/7/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 9/16/2015 Appleton, WI Tues. 10/20/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) HRCI Credit: 7 Business (Strategic) 70 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

71 Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series 4 Essentials of HR Certificate Series 2 Managing Conflict in Your Team Conflict is a natural part of teamwork, and effective team leaders manage conflict so that it is not destructive to the team. Using a model of conflict management and feedback skills, participants in this program learn to recognize the causes and effects of conflict, choose steps to take to work through conflicts in which they are involved, and appropriately intervene when conflicts occur between other team members. This is the fourth of five programs in the Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series. Describe characteristics of conflict. Describe the benefits of healthy conflict on a team. Describe options for intervening in conflict between others. Describe the steps to take in resolving or managing conflicts. Participants are leaders of departmental, cross-functional, or project teams who may or may not have direct authority over team members. The content of this series is also appropriate for individuals in management/supervisory roles moving from a traditional organizational structure to a team-oriented environment. Conflict management Giving feedback Influencing Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Tues. 3/3/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 5/27/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/22/2015 Waukesha, WI Managing HR Records Tame the paper lion! Learn how to effectively create, organize, and retain common HR records to ensure compliance with government recordkeeping obligations and to help defend against potential litigation. Identify what HR records to keep and for how long. Develop effective record access and retention policies. Recognize and effectively organize the various documents handled by HR. Discuss HR technology solutions and requirements to move from paper to a paperless environment. Audit current practices for HR recordkeeping against best practices Newcomers to HR and those looking to broaden their HR knowledge. Organizing Process management Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Wed. 2/11/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 4/21/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 6/11/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 9/30/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/8/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 71

72 Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series 5 Managing Projects for Team Leaders Well-structured, cohesive teams reach high levels of success. By planning, executing, and closing out projects appropriately, successful team leaders provide the project management structure that moves the team to project completion. Through activities, discussions, and examples from their own projects, participants practice techniques and tools to use during the project planning process and address leadership aspects of project management. This is the fifth of five programs in the Leading Effective Teams Certificate Series. Recognize the stages of the project management process. Discuss the roles and responsibilities of the project manager. Demonstrate steps of project planning using their own project examples. Facilitate effective team communication with others outside of the team. Discuss the impact of change on project management. Leaders of departmental, cross-functional, or project teams who may or may not have direct authority over team members. This program is also appropriate for those moving to a team-oriented environment from a management/ supervisory role in traditional organizations. Goal setting Organizing Planning PREREQUISITES: Completion of Leading Effective Teams 2: Communicating With Your Teammates is recommended. If you have not taken this course, please take Project Management: The Human and Technical View. Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Tues. 3/10/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 6/3/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/29/2015 Waukesha, WI Managing Your Anger and Conflict in the Workplace Anger and conflict are components of almost every workplace environment. Anger is a normal human emotion; it is how people express their anger that leads to problems. Left unmanaged, conflict can be a major source of job stress and can lower productivity. This two-day program teaches participants how to handle their own anger and conflict while maintaining productivity and good working relationships. Classes are scheduled one week apart so that attendees can practice their new skills and then return and receive feedback on their progress. Realize that anger is a normal human emotion. Demonstrate appropriate ways to express and manage anger. Increase awareness of positive and negative conflict. Explore differing personalities as a component of conflict. Choose appropriate communication skills in dealing with anger and conflict. Use conflict resolution strategies. All levels of employees, supervisors, and managers who deal with conflict situations, particularly when they are directly involved in the conflict. It is especially helpful for those individuals who feel that they do not handle their own anger well in conflict situations. Composure Conflict management Personal accountability Fee: $485 MRA members / $645 nonmembers Thur. 1/29/2015 and Thur. 2/5/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 6/10/2015 and Wed. 6/17/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 9/22/2015 and Tues. 9/29/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 1.4 (14 hours) CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 72 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

73 Frontline Leadership Certificate Series 1 Marketing Essentials for the HR Professional A strong brand and strategic marketing are paramount to winning in the marketplace. How can you, as an HR professional, use marketing to promote your work and the value of your department? Internal strategic marketing strategies for HR helps you overcome HR stereotypes and resistance to change. Thrive as a critical part of your company s success. Discuss the importance of great personal and departmental branding. Create a description of how you would like HR to be perceived at your organization. Discover marketing strategies to help promote awareness (and proper use) of the policies, procedures, and benefits HR provides. Designed specifically for those with at least three years of professional-level HR experience and experienced HR professionals looking to improve their overall effectiveness as leaders within their organizations. Business knowledge Informing Planning Technical skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Thur. 5/14/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/22/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (6.5 hours) HRCI Credit: 6.5 Business (Strategic) Motivation and Trust Building Group leaders learn how to meet the demands of leading work while doing work. This program gives participants a practical understanding of basic leadership skills, work values, organizational responsibility, and trust building. Recognize your role as a leader. Identify ways to make others want to work with you. Build and maintain trust and respect in relationships. Use effective motivational techniques. Individuals who are not officially management employees but who provide leadership or informal guidance to a work group without the power to hire, fire, or conduct performance reviews. These individuals often do the work while providing leadership to their work group. Leading Motivating others Trust and respect Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Wed. 1/21/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 3/5/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 3/10/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 5/21/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 7/8/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 7/9/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Thur. 8/13/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 10/6/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/7/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 11/11/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 73

74 Negotiation Skills All agreements and decisions with salespeople, buyers, employees, or coworkers are negotiations. In this program, participants examine the strategies, tactics, and techniques that skilled negotiators use to reach mutually satisfying outcomes. Using in-class simulations, participants learn how to identify the needs and underlying interests of both parties and plan approaches for communicating their side with confidence. Skillful negotiating allows all parties to achieve their goals with productive positive interactions. Use a process for planning negotiations. Describe the difference between positions, interests, and assumptions and their impact on negotiating. Identify the impact of listening and questioning skills and nonverbal communication on negotiating. Apply and practice negotiation skills. Managers, supervisors, team leaders, sales professionals, buyers, specialists, and those individuals who must influence, make decisions, and reach agreements with others. Conflict management Influencing Negotiating Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Tues. 1/27/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 2/12/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 5/12/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 7/23/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 9/17/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 11/11/2015 Waukesha, WI Onboarding: Ensuring the Success of New Hires Dramatically improve your retention rate and avoid the huge cost of failed hires! Great organizations create a welcoming experience by engaging new hires early on and then continuing that feeling throughout the first months of employment. That is why onboarding has become a key business strategy to accelerate talent growth and development. This program will assist you in making the business case for onboarding, exploring best practices and building a successful program. Establish a business case for implementing an onboarding program. Explore components of successful onboarding programs. Develop influencing skills to facilitate manager buy-in. Design a template to use for your organization s onboarding program. Discuss metrics to measure success. Human resource professionals and managers who are involved in developing and implementing onboarding for new hires. Collaboration Influencing Informing Motivating others Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Tues. 5/12/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 9/18/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.5 (5.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 5.25 HR (General) CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 74 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

75 OSHA 10-Hour Voluntary Compliance Course for General Industry This two-day seminar covers the most frequently cited OSHA safety and health standards for general industry and includes all the mandatory elements of OSHA s 10-Hour Voluntary Compliance Course. Practical, down-to-earth information helps you and your company deal with the challenges of OSHA compliance. Aside from the mandatory requirements, this course also provides participants with detailed information on how to establish an effective safety and health management system by following the suggested OSHA guidelines. SAFETY TRAINING AND SERVICES TO Protect Your Organization Introduction to OSHA: General Duty Clause, inspections, citations, and penalties Walking/working surfaces Fire protection, means of egress, and emergency action planning Hazardous materials Hazardous energy control (LO/TO) Electrical safety and electrical safety-related work practices Machine safeguarding Hearing conservation and introduction to occupational health Personal protective equipment Safety and health management guidelines Human resource professionals, safety/health committee members, plant operation managers, supervisors, lead persons, and any employee who must manage the safety and health function at your company. You will receive a certification card from OSHA. Technical skills Fee: $265 MRA members / $360 nonmembers Time: Day 1 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Day 2 8:30-11:45 a.m. Thur. 1/22/2015 and Fri. 1/23/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 2/17/2015 and Wed. 2/18/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 8/13/2015 and Fri. 8/14/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 11/4/2015 and Thur. 11/5/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 1 (10 hours) HRCI Credit: 10 HR (General) Create or reinforce a strong safety program for your organization. MRA brings the assistance you re looking for whether that s as a driver of your program or an extension of your team. We provide safety audits, onsite assistance, and training at your facility or ours. BENEFITS OF MRA ONSITE SAFETY TRAINING On-Target Training Convenience Enhanced Implementation Speed Variety Cost Savings Experienced Instructors Call Us Today! MRA has your safety needs covered!

76 OSHA 30-Hour Voluntary Compliance Course for General Industry MRA is pleased to provide our members with the safety program from OSHA - the 30-Hour Voluntary Compliance Course for General Industry. There is no other course that offers as much comprehensive information about the OSHA standards! This four-session course covers all the major OSHA standards, how they apply to general industry, and what you need to do to meet requirements. You will learn how to take the OSHA standards and apply them immediately to your company. This course has been used by thousands of safety professionals over the years to guide the development of effective safety programs for their organizations. MRA uses authorized OSHA instructors who have years of in-the-trenches safety experience. They will relate the book information to practical applications that have worked in a wide array of industries. The printed material, coupled with hands-on, real-world experience, make this course stand out above the rest. Introduction to OSHA/citations/penalties Recordkeeping requirements Hazard communication Personal protective equipment Respiratory protection Hearing conservation Bloodborne pathogens Machine safeguarding Electrical safety Control of hazardous energy (LO/TO) Hazardous materials Walking and working surfaces Means of egress, fire protection, and emergency action planning Cutting, welding, and brazing Permit-required confined space entry Material handling and storage Developing OSHA s safety and health management system Fee: $600 MRA members / $725 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Mon. 3/9/2015, Tues. 3/10/2015, Wed. 3/11/2015 and Thur. 3/12/2015 Waukesha, WI Mon. 11/9/2015, Tues. 11/10/2015, Wed. 11/11/2015 and Thur. 11/12/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 3 (30 hours) HRCI Credit: 30 HR (General) Safety and human resource professionals, department heads, line supervisors, safety committee representatives, or anyone who has a need for a deeper understanding of current OSHA standards. You will receive a certification card from OSHA. Technical skills 76 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

77 OSHA Injury and Illness Recordkeeping Requirements Incomplete or inaccurate reporting of work-related injuries and illnesses ranks as one of the most frequently cited OSHA standards and results in hundreds of violations each year. This program walks participants through who is required to keep records, record retention requirements, and the use of the OSHA illness and injury standard in making decisions about the recordability of an injury or illness. Attendees gain handson experience by working through several case studies that will require them to make decisions about recordability, substantiate their decisions, and actually complete the OSHA 300 form. Demonstrate knowledge of OSHA injury and illness recordkeeping requirements through case study application. Efficiently use the OSHA recordkeeping regulation in making determinations of recordability. Identify proper injury and illness records maintenance and retention requirements. Human resource or benefits administrators, safety and health professionals, and anyone responsible for maintaining injury and illness (OSHA 300) logs. Decision-making skills Investigation Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Wed. 1/14/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 7/21/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 12/1/2015 Waukesha, WI Performance Appraisals and Coaching Skills This program provides participants with coaching and counseling techniques and the skills needed to develop measurable performance standards, communicate expectations, use active listening skills, and document and conduct an effective performance appraisal interview. Establish work standards and employee goals. Provide appropriate and clear performance feedback. Coach and counsel employees in order to address their performance needs. Lead a performance appraisal interview without committing the most common errors. Managers, supervisors, and staff who are responsible for the effective performance of others and have not attended another MRA program on performance management. Giving feedback Measuring work and performance standards Performance management Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30-4:30 a.m. Thur. 7/23/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 11/10/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) HRCI Credit: 7 HR (General) CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) 77

78 Personal Success Strategies In order to be successful in any aspect of life, you must learn to recognize our weaknesses and strengths. You must have firm goals and a well-developed plan of action before you can master your weaknesses. This program shows you how to make changes that will last. You develop a plan to eliminate those behaviors that inhibit success and replace them with positive actions. Recognize how basic success strategies work. Set goals for success. Develop a success action plan. Identify barriers to success. Use time and energy more efficiently. Individuals who wish to modify behaviors that they feel are restricting their career growth and success. Self-development Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Wed. 8/26/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) PHR/SPHR Certification Preparation This program is designed to prepare you to take the PHR or SPHR national certification exam. The course is also an excellent professional development tool for those looking to enhance or refresh their human resource skills. Partnering with MRA offers you an exceptional way to study for the exam, which is conducted by the HR Certification Institute (HRCI). for information regarding PHR - SPHR certifications, visit Learn from MRA s experienced SPHR-certified instructors. THE CERTIFICATION PREPARATION PROGRAM INCLUDES SIX MODULES: Business Management and Strategy Workforce Planning and Employment Human Resource Development Compensation and Benefits Employee and Labor Relations Risk Management Fee: $975 MRA members / $1,200 nonmembers Time: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesdays: 2/10/2015, 2/17/2015, 2/24/2015, 3/3/2015, 3/10/2015, 3/17/2015, 3/24/2015, 3/31/2015, 4/7/2015, 4/14/2015, and 4/21/2015 Waukesha, WI Tuesdays: 9/15/2015, 9/22/2015, 9/29/2015, 10/6/2015, 10/13/2015, 10/20/2015, 10/27/2015, 11/3/2015, 11/10/2015, 11/17/2015, and 11/24/2015 Waukesha, WI FOUR-DAY INTENSIVE SESSIONS: Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. SPRING SESSION: (Please register by 2/6/2015) Saturdays: 3/14/2015, 3/28/2015, 4/11/2015, and 4/25/2015 Waukesha, WI SPRING SESSION: Fridays: 2/27/2015, 3/13/2015, 3/27/2015, and 4/10/2015 Palatine, IL FALL SESSION: Fridays: 10/2/2015, 10/16/2015, 10/30/2015, and 11/13/2015 Palatine, IL FALL SESSION: (Please register by 9/11/2015) Saturdays: 10/10/2015, 10/24/2015, 11/7/2015, and 11/21/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.3 (30 hours) 78 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

79 Planning Successful Kaizen Events Lean initiatives are often managed through the use of targeted improvement projects called kaizen events or blitzes. It is very important to carefully plan these events to maximize their effectiveness. In this course, participants learn how to plan and complete a kaizen event using a proven method. Through discussions and exercises, participants learn the best practices for facilitating successful kaizen events. Recognize the best practices for planning events. Explain how to plan an event using forms and tools provided. Supervisors, managers, or leaders within an organization who will be responsible for improvement using lean methods. Prior knowledge is assumed, either through classes taught by MRA, or practical use of lean methods. Decision-making skills Organizational knowledge Planning PREREQUISITES: In order to benefit most from the course material, it is highly recommended to also take Leading Successful Kaizen Events. Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Thur. 4/30/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 Business (Strategic) Prepare the Perfect Presentation NEW! When was the last time you witnessed a truly memorable business presentation? Unfortunately, few people know how to prepare an effective presentation that will accomplish the desired result. There is a tendency to think that if you can just cram a few more facts into your Power Point slides that will carry the day! This session shows you the secrets to writing and preparing presentations with impact. You learn what to include and how to structure the information. This class emphasizes how to write a presentation and also includes some tips on using Power Point effectively as well as some recommendations on how to practice. It is helpful for participants to bring a laptop to class. It is recommended that this class be taken in tandem with Presentation Skills which focuses on effective delivery skills for public speaking. Recognize that you speak differently than you write. Use a powerful structure to set clear objectives and organize the flow of ideas. Learn to analyze and plan for your audience. Plan and maintain a clear focus. Prepare transitions to build clarity for the audience. Write introductions and conclusions that have impact, two vitally important and yet under-utilized parts of the presentation. Discuss effective rehearsal and delivery strategies and effective use of Power Point. Write and prepare a full presentation. Anyone who is called upon to organize and present information and ideas in front of groups. Professionals, managers, and executives from every area of business can benefit from this program. Influencing Informing Writing Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Thur. 2/12/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 6/4/2015 Appleton, WI Tues. 8/25/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 79

80 Presentation Skills Overcome the fear of speaking in public and learn to make a strong, positive impression. Participants in this program learn the secret of presence before an audience, concentrating on delivery skills that enhance their vocal style, voice projection, use of gestures, and ability to reach out to the listeners. Practice with original and existing messages and the opportunity for video feedback gives everyone a chance to develop confidence for any speaking situation. Use skills to develop confidence before a group. Practice speaking expressively by using voice projection and clear articulation. Choose energy to engage and hold the audience s attention. Use tools to develop presence in front of listeners. Choose elements of expression to convey meaning clearly. Practice effective gestures, podium posture, and visual aid delivery. Recognize the importance of the audience and how to connect with them. Individuals who speak at meetings, represent the organization, or must influence others with speech. This includes employees involved in sales, engineering, customer service, field service, technical service, or collections. Influencing Leadership presence Presentation skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Wed. 3/4/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 4/14/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 5/19/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 6/18/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 9/16/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 12/1/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 12/8/2015 Palatine, IL Problem-Solving Techniques In this program, participants develop their ability to recognize and solve problems using a proven approach. The program teaches participants how to use several widely-accepted problem-solving tools such as cause and effect diagrams, flowcharting, run charts, and force field analysis. The case study used in class reinforces how to apply the tools in a real world setting. Describe the steps of the problem-solving model. Describe and use various tools for collecting data/information. Conduct a root cause analysis that arrives at a corrective action plan. Anyone who would like to learn how to use a proven problemsolving method or who wants to improve problem-solving competencies. Business knowledge Investigation Problem solving Technical skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Thur. 1/15/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 7/15/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 11/17/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) HRCI Credit: 7 HR (General) CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 80 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

81 Project Management: The Human and Technical View Don t let your projects get the best of you! In this program, gain the know-how to lead projects to successful outcomes. Participants will learn to implement a process for planning and completing any project, using a practical, hands-on approach. Discuss the roles and responsibilities of a project manager, including managing the human dynamics of the team and stakeholders. A communication-style assessment guides project managers to an understanding of the power of an adaptable style. Participants will be able to explain how to affect change and influence others as projects evolve. On day two, participants will take part in a video case study and complete an analysis of another project manager s work. This course provides time for the participant to work on a project using templates. Bring your project idea(s) to class. MRA also provides the templates in MS Word as a download. Prepare a project overview for your project. Modify a stakeholder and a risk analysis. Complete a work breakdown and Gantt chart. Discuss how to conduct a close-out analysis to evaluate project outcomes. Act as a project consultant to analyze a project for improvement opportunities. Functional managers and supervisors, project leaders, and any other staff who lead cross-functional projects that range from new product development and process re-engineering to plant relocation or new equipment installation. Directing others Informing Organizing Planning Vision Fee: $485 MRA members / $645 nonmembers Wed. 3/25/2015 and Thur. 3/26/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 4/8/2015 and Thur. 4/9/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 8/20/2015 and Thur. 8/27/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 10/6/2015 and Wed. 10/7/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 10/20/2015 and Wed. 10/21/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 1.4 (14 hours) HRCI Credit: 14 HR (General) Recruiting: Attract Top Talent With a Solid Employer Brand While Navigating Job Boards and Social Media Tools In this informative and interactive program, we discuss today s most popular social media tools., organizational branding techniques and how to attract the best talent. You learn which platforms are most effective for recruiting, sourcing, and employer branding. You also discuss the need to embrace your unique culture and ensure it is mirrored in your publications, website, and job ads. Attendees receive hands-on training in developing effective job descriptions. You conclude the session with a deep dive into social recruiting. This will involve looking past your typical applicant who posts for a position and leveraging your network. Discover how you can promote a strong employer brand through your employer profile. Learn practical tips for ensuring candidates have a positive experience with your recruiting and hiring process. Discuss the job boards what are your options? What selection criteria makes sense for your organization. Explore the critical difference between job descriptions and job postings. Learn how to write powerful, compelling job postings to attract the right candidates. Explore the most common social media tools and the recruiting value they hold. Reach dramatically larger talent pools through social recruiting. HR professionals, HR managers, recruiting managers, and recruiters. Recruiting Technical skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Fri. 2/20/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 6/9/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/28/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.6 (6 hours) HRCI Credit: 6 HR (General) 81

82 Frontline Leadership Certificate Series 4 Resolving Conflict and Handling Difficult People Problems Group leaders learn and practice specific techniques to help them understand and resolve conflict situations and deal with different types of difficult employees. They learn practical/ tactful communication skills to influence others even though they, as leaders, have limited authority. Identify sources of conflict and methods of conflict resolution. Develop techniques to constructively handle conflict. Use assertive feedback techniques to inform others about the impact and outcomes associated with their difficult behavior. Present information, ideas, and suggestions in a way that influences others in positive directions. Individuals who are not officially management employees, but who provide leadership or informal guidance to a work group without the power to hire, fire, or conduct performance reviews. These individuals often do the work while providing leadership to their work group. Conflict management Giving feedback Influencing Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Wed. 2/11/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 3/26/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 3/31/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 6/11/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 7/29/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 7/30/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Thur. 9/3/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 10/27/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/28/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 12/9/2015 Waukesha, WI Right Brain/Left Brain Thinking This advanced communication program explores ways to enhance your communication by enhancing the creativity of the mind. The human brain has two very different ways of thinking. The right brain is visual and processes information in an intuitive and simultaneous way, looking first at the whole picture, then the details. The left brain is verbal and processes information in an analytical and sequential way, looking first at the pieces, then putting them together to get the whole. Discover strategies to leverage using your creativity for effective communication and success. Describe the ways the brain processes creative ideas and the impact on communication effectiveness. Create work environments that foster innovation. Recognize your preferred thinking strategy. Describe the dynamics of creative team decision making. Engage others in team problem solving. Supervisors, managers, customer service and sales professionals, human resource professionals, and anyone whose success is dependent upon being an effective communicator. Informing Innovation Problem solving Self-knowledge Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Wed. 4/1/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 4/15/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 7/28/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 8/18/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 11/18/2015 Appleton, WI Thur. 12/10/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.6 (6 hours) CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) 82 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

83 Sensitivity Skills in a Diverse Workplace It s no secret that companies hire employees for their skills and previous work experiences. But all the amazing talents and experiences don t always provide a clear view of how that employee will engage with others in the organization. This program will help participants form give-and-take relationships to enhance understanding and mutual respect, acknowledge the needs and feelings of others, and focus on the positive aspects of conflict and value differences. Demonstrate awareness of the impact of actions upon others, the organization, and the individual. Differentiate between behaviors that are appropriate, inappropriate, and perhaps illegal. Identify what constitutes cultural competence and cultural incompetence. Exemplify skills in communicating across cultures. Illustrate action steps needed to value others in the workplace. Managers, supervisors, lead people, team leaders, employees, and other workplace professionals who have difficulty with the language they use and how they express themselves to others. Collaboration Composure Giving feedback Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Thur. 3/26/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 4/23/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 9/30/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 10/13/2015 Palatine, IL SHRM Certification (SHRM-CP/SHRM-SCP) Introducing SHRM Certified Professional (SHRM-CP ) and SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP ) MRA is pleased to offer an exam preparation course to help you prepare for the SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP exam in fall Exam preparation course begins in September and will be taught by SHRM-SCP certified instructors. Visit for more information or to register. For information regarding the SHRM-CP and SHRM-SCP exams, visit Fee: $975 MRA members / $1,200 nonmembers Time: 5:30-8:30 p.m. Thursdays: 9/10/2015, 9/17/2015, 9/24/2015, 10/1/2015, 10/8/2015, 10/15/2015, 10/22/2015, 10/29/2015, 11/5/2015, 11/12/2015, 11/19/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 3.0 (30 hours) Comment from a past participant: Really a great course and great instructors. I couldn t have passed without taking the class. NEW! CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) HRCI Credit: 7 HR (General) 83

84 Strategic Planning Workshop: A Case Study This workshop provides leaders with a structured approach that ensures fact-based decision making that can be used for evaluating specific problems or opportunities or to conduct a more general business review or for strategic planning. Participants process through a disciplined situational analysis of the Great American Soft Drink Company as it assesses its declining profitability, shifting market, changing workforce, and production/distribution issues. The goal is to identify the strategies and tactics required to move Great American into the future. Use a fact-based model for problem solving. Use a situational analysis technique to make decisions. Use a SWOT analysis. Develop strategy statements. Develop tactical approaches to execute strategies. Use case situational analysis on your own department as a result of having participated. Experienced managers and supervisors who need to refine specific skill sets, enhance their personal and organizational effectiveness, and further their leadership careers. Participants should have had a fundamental leadership course as a prerequisite for this program. Decision-making skills Planning Strategic skills PREREQUISITES: Participants would have had a fundamental leadership course as a prerequisite for this program. Fee: $325 MRA members / $425 nonmembers Tues. 4/28/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 5/19/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 10/14/2015 Appleton, WI Tues. 11/10/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 12/16/2015 Waukesha, WI Stress Management Stress is a spur to action, growth, and success if correctly handled. But if poorly handled, stress can be a cause of burnout, ineffectiveness, and employee strife. This program is designed to help you recognize the sources, symptoms, and effects of stress and learn how to address work pressures and meet the challenges of stress-related problems. In addition, you develop a practical, concrete self-management approach to stress. Define what stress is and describe factors that initiate a stress response. Recognize the symptoms of stress and identify the effects of the stress cycle Explore the differences between negative distress and positive eustress. Explain and discuss eleven stress reduction strategies with practical application. Demonstrate and practice effective stress reduction techniques. Individuals who are experiencing work-related stress and who want to deal with this stress more effectively. Delegation Organizing Perseverance Time management Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Fri. 3/13/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 6/24/2015 Appleton, WI Tues. 8/4/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 12/11/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) HRCI Credit: 7 Business (Strategic) 84 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

85 Supervision: The Essentials First line/front line supervisors and managers on your team are often people who have proven they are very good at doing and now they are being asked to take on a leadership role. At the same time, you realize leading is not the same as doing and you d like to help them obtain ideas, concepts, and skills necessary for success in their new position. Newly acquired skills will help them become an asset and a more valuable resource for your organization. When time is tight, you can get caught up in the dilemma of how to achieve greater results with limited resources in a time-controlled, economical, and hard hitting way. MRA is pleased to offer a solution to such a dilemma Supervision: The Essentials. This three-day program provides your new, less experienced leaders with ideas and practices they can put to use immediately. Think of it as basic training compact, concise, focused, and all about applicable skills nothing but the essentials! Make an effective transition into the supervisory role. Maintain effective work relationships. Develop employees and encourage them to make their own decisions. Learn and exercise appropriate levels of authority. Discover effective delegation. Introduce change and gain employee acceptance. Discipline effectively and lawfully. Give recognition that is sincere, specific and timely. Develop interview questions and conduct an effective interview. Train others and ensure they understand. Create a motivational climate for employees. Communicate work assignments to ensure understanding. Individuals who have recently been assigned direct supervisory responsibilities. Organizing Planning Priority setting Results-oriented Time management NEW! Fee: $870 MRA members / $1,120 nonmembers Fri. 2/20/2015, Fri. 2/27/2015 and Fri. 3/6/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 6/4/2015, Thur. 6/11/2015 and Thur. 6/18/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 8/5/2015, Wed. 8/12/2015 and Wed. 8/19/2015 Waukesha, WI Mon. 11/2/2015, Mon. 11/9/2015 and Mon. 11/16/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 12/1/2015, Tues. 12/8/2015 and Tues. 12/15/2015 Palatine, IL Supervisor and the Law A must for all managers and supervisors. One of MRA s most popular programs. Are your managers and supervisors up-to-date on FMLA and ADA? Do your managers and supervisors understand their role as legal agents of the organization? Are they aware of how they can easily violate employment laws, even though they would never intentionally discriminate? Are they able to recognize situations which may pose a legal risk to the organization and respond appropriately? This program educates people with the greatest opportunity to prevent discrimination and harassment in your workplace. Demonstrate an understanding of employment law through case study application. Discuss/explore at-will employment doctrine. Identify best practices to reduce the risk of litigation in multiple phases of the employment relationship interviewing and hiring, performance management, and termination. Understand the role Human Resources plays in working with managers. Excellent training for new supervisors and managers or as an update for the more experienced. Decision-making skills Listening Technical skills Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Tues. 1/27/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 5/7/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 6/10/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 8/20/2015 Waukesha, WI Thurs. 11/5/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 11/18/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 0.7 (6.5 hours) HRCI Credit: 6.5 HR (General) CEUs: 2.1 (21 hours) 85

86 Surviving as a New Leader: Making the Transition This workshop is for those new to their leadership role and who may be struggling with the work and social changes brought about by their promotion. This program helps new leaders transition from doing the work to leading the work. Participants develop a transition plan with short-term and long-term goals to help them succeed as leaders. Plan for leadership success. Identify key behaviors for success. Manage key areas critical to successful leadership. Apply work-to-leadership transition skills. Plan and prepare for personal development. Newly promoted or soon-to-be promoted managers and supervisors. Collaboration Leading Self-development Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Tues. 2/3/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 4/15/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 5/12/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 7/14/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 11/17/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 12/3/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) Time Management Learn time management techniques that get to the heart of reducing pressure levels, maintaining harmony, and increasing productivity. Explore how to use different technologies as time management tools. Conquer and identify the critical time wasters (interruptions, failure to delegate, meetings, procrastination, paperwork, , and voice mail) that take you from your priorities. You will better manage priorities and meet deadlines as you learn habit-changing thought processes which assist in your time management skills. Use a paradigm for evaluating how you use your time. Identify practices you can implement to avoid wasting time. Modify your personality traits that get in the way of being efficient and effective. Managers, supervisors, professionals, specialists, administrative assistants, and other leadership professionals who want to improve their use of time and energy. Organizing Planning Priority setting Results-oriented Time management Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Thur. 1/29/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 2/26/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 4/14/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 7/9/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 7/30/2015 Appleton, WI Thur. 8/13/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 11/5/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 11/12/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 0.7 (6.5 hours) 86 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

87 Essentials of HR Certificate Series 6 Total Rewards: Benefits Basics Employers recognize that the benefit component of total rewards is vital to attract and retain top talent. In this session, you look at a full range of employer-based benefits, including the laws governing benefit administration and the cost and value of benefit plans to employers and employees. Differentiate multiple benefit-related regulations and how they impact your benefit plans. Discuss the most common types of benefits and their features and terminology. Travel the lifecycle of benefits administration from point of hire through termination. Designed for newcomers to benefits and/or human resources and those looking to expand their benefits knowledge. Business skills Consulting Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 12:30-4:00 p.m. Wed. 2/25/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 5/5/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 6/25/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/14/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/22/2015 Palatine, IL CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) NEW! Essentials of HR Certificate Series 5 Total Rewards: Compensation Basics Gain insight into how compensation is used in a total rewards program to attract, retain, and motivate top talent. This program helps you understand the different compensation methods and resources available when making decisions about employee pay. Tools that are building blocks of an effective compensation program job analysis and documentation, job evaluation and market data/survey analysis are explored. Know the two critical pay policy decisions to apply once compensation philosophy and strategy are established. Conduct a job analysis. Write useful, legally compliant job descriptions. Explain how wage grades are assigned to jobs and salary structures are developed. Determine how market pay information helps drive good decisions about employee pay. Designed for newcomers to HR and those looking to broaden their HR knowledge. Business knowledge Consulting Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Wed. 2/25/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 5/5/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 6/25/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/14/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/22/2015 Palatine, IL NEW! CEUs: 0.3 (3.25 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.25 HR (General) 87

88 Principles of Leadership Excellence Certificate Series 4 Training, Delegating, Coaching, and Managing Performance: Heads Up It s a myth that ostriches bury their heads in the sand. But the myth is a spot-on analogy for leaders who take no action when their reports are faltering, who insist on doing it all themselves, or who fail to recognize the value of proactively managing performance. This module helps you banish any notion that, This will go away if I just ignore it. By learning to effectively train, delegate, coach, set goals, and give feedback in effective, efficient, and ethical ways, you increase your reports chances for success on the job. You acquire the skills to implement a consultative method of addressing issues and a process that gets to the heart of performance issues, while recognizing the vital steps to take when discipline is required. Set performance goals. Identify performance standards. Diagnose causes of performance problems. Create SMART goals. Apply training and delegation techniques as methods of developing the talent of others. Develop the skills of constructive feedback and coaching. Use assertive communication skills for effective coaching. Demonstrate active listening skills. Identify appropriate consequences of acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Identify appropriate steps for discipline. Examine strategies to ensure appropriate documentation. Conduct an effective performance review. For newly appointed supervisors, managers, and professionals as well as for individuals with management potential looking for a deep dive and practical application. Communication skills Delegation Performance management Political savvy Talent management Fee: $795 MRA members / $1,030 nonmembers Wed. 4/8/2015, Wed. 4/22/2015 and Wed. 5/6/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 4/16/2015, Thur. 4/30/2015 and Thur. 5/14/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 4/22/2015, Wed. 5/6/2015 and Wed. 5/20/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 5/7/2015, Thur. 5/21/2015 and Thur. 6/4/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 5/19/2015, Tues. 6/2/2015 and Tues. 6/16/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Tues. 6/2/2015, Tues. 6/16/2015 and Tues. 7/7/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 6/3/2015, Wed. 6/17/2015 and Wed. 7/8/2015 Madison, WI Tues. 6/30/2015, Tues. 7/14/2015 and Tues. 7/28/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 7/8/2015, Wed. 7/22/2015 and Wed. 8/5/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 8/4/2015, Tues. 8/18/2015 and Tues. 9/1/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 10/15/2015, Thur. 10/29/2015 and Thur. 11/12/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/28/2015, Wed. 11/11/2015 and Wed. 12/2/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 11/4/2015, Wed. 11/18/2015 and Wed. 12/2/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Tues. 11/10/2015, Tues. 12/1/2015 and Tues. 12/15/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 12/2/2015, Wed. 12/16/2015, and Wed. 1/6/2016 Waukesha, WI Thur. 12/3/2015, Thur. 12/17/2015, and Thurs. 1/7/2016 Madison, WI CEUs: 2.1 (21 hours) Comment from past Principles of Leadership Excellence participant: This class was fantastic! It had a healthy balance of real-life examples, interactive activities, and applications from the materials to keep us engaged. Change is a hard topic in any workplace, but this class did a nice job addressing it! 88 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

89 Principles of Leadership Excellence Certificate Series 1 Trust and Influence: New-School Leadership Old-school leadership was based solely on command and control, but new-school leadership is built on trust and influence. Regardless of the level of leadership that you hold in your organization, and regardless of how long you have held a leadership spot, applying new-school principles boosts your effectiveness. See why today s leaders have kicked out old-school thinking. Focusing on behaviors that promote trust in all areas of your professional life, you learn why and how to build a stronger, more trust-rich environment with your direct reports, managers, colleagues, customers, and suppliers. An in-depth study of the concept and practical use of influential leadership provides many aha! moments. Your commitment to personal accountability increases, and you take away powerful skills to use every day to help your reports meet their responsibilities, too. Describe the role successful leaders play in the organization and recognize the unique challenges that accompany that role. Accept the importance of personal accountability. Design a plan to build greater trust in the workplace. Adjust your leadership style using MRA s Diagnostic Direction Model. Manage relationships with your own manager, peers, and reports. Apply the elements of power and influence to your work relationships. Incorporate results of a 360 Degree Leadership Survey into your personal development. For newly appointed supervisors, managers, and professionals as well as for individuals with management potential looking for a deep dive and practical application. Fee: $495 MRA members / $655 nonmembers Wed. 1/14/2015 and Wed. 1/28/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 1/22/2015 and Thur. 2/5/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 1/28/2015 and Wed. 2/11/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 2/12/2015 and Thur. 2/26/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 2/24/2015 and Tues. 3/10/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Tues. 3/3/2015 and Tues. 3/17/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 3/11/2015 and Wed. 3/25/2015 Madison, WI Tues. 4/7/2015 and Tues. 4/21/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 4/8/2015 and Wed. 4/22/2015 Waukesha, WI Tues. 5/5/2015 and Tues. 5/19/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 7/16/2015 and Thur. 7/30/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 8/5/2015 and Wed. 8/19/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 8/11/2015 and Tues. 8/25/2015 Appleton, WI Wed. 8/12/2015 and Wed. 8/26/2015 Sheboygan Falls, WI Wed. 9/9/2015 and Wed. 9/23/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 9/10/2015 and Thur. 9/24/2015 Madison, WI Thur. 10/8/2015 and Thur. 10/22/2015 Palatine, IL Tues. 10/13/2015 and Tues. 10/27/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 11/5/2015 and Thur. 11/19/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 1.4 (14 hours) Adaptability and agility Communication skills Ethics and integrity Leveraging Diversity Managing Relationships Performance management Trust and authenticity 89

90 Customer Service Excellence Certificate Series 2 Understand Your Customer s Business This program is about how to build customer relationships by understanding your customer s business and their viewpoint of what they need to be successful. This perspective helps you provide more relevant and focused customer service based on the needs of their business and can set your organization apart from the pack. Develop your business acumen skills. Gain an understanding of key financial concepts that drive business. Develop a clarified vision of customer service from the customer s viewpoint. Learn helpful suggestions on how to develop leads and build better relationships. Discover what to do when things get quiet. Anyone who is responsible for building positive customer relationships with internal and/or external customers. Business skills Customer focus Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Fri. 3/20/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 7/15/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 10/23/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) Virtual and Remote Team Leadership Just when you thought managing people couldn t get any more challenging, along comes virtual leadership. Distance management is a growing reality that leaves many managers asking, How do I get high productivity from people that I rarely see face-to-face? This question can be further complicated if your team crosses widely varying time zones or encompasses different cultures and languages. There really can be a method in all of the madness. This program helps you adapt your current leadership skills to the virtual world and gives guidance as you develop a plan to effectively manage remotely. Identify those employees who will thrive in a virtual environment. Use the components of effective management in a virtual workplace. Recognize why a good start-up is crucial to success and how to achieve it. Use the essential skills of listening, communicating clearly, and coaching in a long-distance environment. Identify the common barriers to productivity and increase success. Use infrequent face-time wisely. Managers, directors, and project leaders of virtual teams and remote teams that are geographically dispersed. Leading Measuring work and performance standards Motivating others Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Wed. 4/22/2015 Waukesha, WI Fri. 12/4/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.5 hours) 90 Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

91 Worker s Compensation Essentials for Wisconsin Employers In this attorney-led program, participants learn proven strategies for successfully managing claims and improving their organization s bottom line. Lost time, medical, and claims costs can be significantly reduced by understanding employee rights and obligations under the law. Interaction with FMLA and ADA is addressed. Bring your difficult WC question or situation to be discussed in class. Review Worker s Compensation laws. Administer your company s Worker s Compensation program in compliance with Wisconsin s Worker s Compensation Act. Review proven return-to-work strategies. Identify action steps and options when faced with fraudulent claims. Human resource, benefits, and safety and health professionals or any others involved in the administration or management of Worker s Compensation. Investigation Technical skills Fee: $195 MRA members / $255 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Thur. 4/16/2015 Waukesha, WI Thur. 8/6/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.4 (3.75 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.75 HR (General) Workload Survival Skills Feeling overloaded with your work? Take control by using strategies to plan your day and manage your tasks more efficiently. In this program you discover and practice techniques for organizing, prioritizing, and planning your tasks in ways that give you better control over your work day. Discover tools for setting and managing priorities. Apply work processes for increased efficiency. Use techniques to plan and monitor projects. Demonstrate feedback methods to improve collaborative work relationships. Organize work areas for improved productivity. Individuals in office environments who are looking to manage their workload more effectively while increasing their value to the organization. Communication skills Innovation Organizing Fee: $300 MRA members / $395 nonmembers Thur. 2/19/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 6/24/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 10/14/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 0.7 (7 hours) HRCI Credit: 7 HR (General) 91

92 WorldatWork C1: Regulatory Environments for Compensation Programs Learn U.S. Federal Requirements all compensation professionals should know. Human resources professionals are challenged with understanding and staying current with U.S. federal regulations. This basic-level course presents an overview of the regulatory requirements for compensation programs. You ll cover the major federal statutes that affect compensation design and practice. Analyze the labor regulations that focus on either a specific type of employer or have been utilized in compensation disputes. Examine the many issues related to FLSA, including recordkeeping requirements and potential penalties. Explore discrimination legislation relating to compensation. This course is designed specifically for compensation professionals who are new to the compensation field as well as for generalists with limited exposure to the compensation function. Fee: $1,350 MRA members / $2,200 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Wed. 6/17/2015 and Thur. 6/18/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 1.6 (16 hours) HRCI Credit: 16 HR (General) Please register for this course through World at Work: WorldatWork C4: Base Pay Administration and Pay for Performance Design a fair and competitive plan. This course provides an in-depth discussion of the principles, design, implementation, and evaluation of an employee base pay program. Exercises will show how to design a pay program that is fair, competitive, and supportive of an organization s compensation strategy. Identify the relationship between an employee total rewards program and an organization s business strategy. Discuss the design of base pay programs and necessary considerations. Discover what it takes to implement and deliver base pay. Examine pay for performance merit pay systems including development, utilization, and costing. Address the effectiveness and efficiency of pay programs through monitoring and evaluation. Discern how and when HR should be involved in mergers and acquisitions. This course is intended for emerging compensation practitioners with limited experience in developing pay structures. Knowledge of basic mathematical concepts such as mean, median, weighted average, compa-ratio, percentiles, and calculating percent s is recommended, as well as an understanding of the concept of regression analysis. Fee: $1,350 MRA members / $2,200 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Wed. 10/14/2015 and Thur. 10/15/2015 Waukesha, WI CEUs: 1.6 (16 hours) HRCI Credit: 16 HR (General) Please register for this course through World at Work: Bring these programs to your company. Call for details.

93 Writing an Employee Handbook - Ready, Set, Go! The sizable task of writing an employee handbook becomes manageable when you apply a Ready, Set, Go! process. This workshop gets you READY! by ensuring you re in-the-know about vital components of today s handbooks and the latest legal developments. Next, you get SET! for success with templates and checklists to use as a baseline. Because GO! is often the most challenging part, this workshop includes time for you to actually begin developing your handbook. MRA LEAN/QUALITY IMPLEMENTATION Identify the different purposes of handbooks and policy manuals. Understand the appropriate use of handbook disclaimers. Learn how to apply a template to help develop a handbook. Recognize the pros and cons of electronic handbooks. Establish a practical process for distribution and implementation. Human resource managers, specialists, and key personnel responsible for developing, writing, or updating the employee handbook. Informing Process management Results-oriented Technical skills Fee: $235 MRA members / $305 nonmembers Time: 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Thur. 3/12/2015 Palatine, IL Wed. 4/15/2015 Waukesha, WI Wed. 9/2/2015 Palatine, IL Thur. 10/1/2015 Waukesha, WI Learn how to tighten up your company s operations, increase ROI, and improve customer and employee satisfaction with continuous process improvement. No matter your organization s size, MRA s experts can educate and assist your team with: CEUs: 0.4 (3.75 hours) HRCI Credit: 3.75 HR (General) Lean Six Sigma And a variety of traditional quality improvement methods Contact MRA today! Learn more how lean operations can help you achieve your business strategies

94 Learn from MRA Instructors Who Practice What They Teach There s no substitute for real-world experience. MRA instructors are seasoned professionals who bring program content to life through the backdrop of their own experiences. Our qualified instructors: Are HR and management experts and professionals Have an average of 20 years of experience Provide down-to-earth, pragmatic advice Have work experience in the fields they teach they ve been there, done that Offer practical information, tips, and strategies that can make an immediate impact at your job MRA is an amazing organization. Their instructors are engaging, intelligent, and meet the business needs of the organization and the audience they serve. Rachel H. Gillette Mar Cor Purification We have utilized MRA trainers for subjects ranging from Safety to Leadership Development, and I find the trainers and course content are consistently top notch. Our associates look forward to MRA sessions because they are highly interactive and focus on real-world leadership scenarios. Dena Martinez Rich Products To learn more about MRA instructors and staff, visit.

95 Rent MRA s Conference Center Planning a Meeting or Event? We Make it Easy! MRA has just the right space to fit your needs. In fact, our conference rooms were built to maximize your training and meeting experience. Fulfill YOUR meeting objectives in a comfortable facility that provides the perfect business environment for everything from strategic planning to training. At MRA, you get more than a great space and the tools to make your event shine. You also get the professional service and dedicated support to ensure your event is a success. All locations offer ample, free, convenient parking. Tell us your needs, and we will provide you with a quote AND access to MRA s webinar, Get Your Meetings Back on Track. All conference center rentals include the following for one low fee: Internet Access DVD Player Wi-Fi Land Line Service Projection Screen Flip Charts LCD Projector Audio System Computer Reserve an MRA Conference Room Today!! MRA also offers event-planning services. If you ve never done it before and need guidance, or if you re an expert but just don t have the time, MRA is here to help! MRA has extensive experience managing a host of meetings, conferences, and events. Event-planning services can be customized to what you need, ranging from site selection, coordinating programs and speakers, marketing and promotion, travel logistics, attendee registration, and every detail in- between. Partner with someone you already know and trust. For more information on our event-planning services, contact MRA at MRA has conference centers in four locations: Wisconsin N19W24400 Riverwood Drive Waukesha, WI Minnesota th Avenue North Plymouth, MN Illinois 625 North Court, Suite 300 Palatine, IL Iowa/Western Illinois 3800 Avenue of the Cities, Suite 100 Moline, IL or or or or

96 WISCONSIN N19W24400 Riverwood Drive Waukesha, WI FAX: MINNESOTA th Avenue North Plymouth, MN FAX: ILLINOIS 625 North Court, Suite 300 Palatine, IL FAX: IOWA / WESTERN ILLINOIS 3800 Avenue of the Cities, Suite 100 Moline, IL FAX: