Learn proven customer service techniques you can apply in your current position when dealing with the general public, students, or other departments.  This interactive workshop explores the elements of good customer service and how to use them to your advantage in any customer-driven environment.  We will also discuss different communication styles and personalities that challenge us in specific environments.  Join us and learn why high-quality customer service requires outstanding communication skills, personal support, and the continued re-evaluation of internal systems and procedures.

What You Will Learn:
The definition of customer service
Understanding who a customer is
How to deal with difficult customers
How to provide effective customer service without losing your cool
What is meant by “complaints as gifts”
How to effectively transform a potentially difficult customer into a satisfied customer

Who Should Attend:   
Staff who provide front-line customer service
Staff who deal with students, other departments and the general public
Individuals who seek improvement in their method of delivering customer service
Staff who would like to enhance their ability to deal more effectively with challenging situations
This program is designed for employees of all levels

Learn proven customer service techniques you can apply in your current position when dealing with the general public, students, or other departments.  This interactive workshop explores the elements of good customer service and how to use them to your advantage in any customer-driven environment.  We will also discuss different communication styles and personalities that challenge us in specific environments.  Join us and learn why high-quality customer service requires outstanding communication skills, personal support, and the continued re-evaluation of internal systems and procedures.

What You Will Learn:
The definition of customer service
Understanding who a customer is
How to deal with difficult customers
How to provide effective customer service without losing your cool
What is meant by “complaints as gifts”
How to effectively transform a potentially difficult customer into a satisfied customer

Who Should Attend:   
Staff who provide front-line customer service
Staff who deal with students, other departments and the general public
Individuals who seek improvement in their method of delivering customer service
Staff who would like to enhance their ability to deal more effectively with challenging situations
This program is designed for employees of all levels

This interactive workshop for managers will cover preparing for and conducting interviews, questions that can and cannot be asked, and how to assess candidate qualifications.

What You Will Learn:
Methods to identify your position needs
How to prepare for the interview
How to formulate interview questions
The three types of questions: how and when to use them
Recognizing questions not to be used and the reasons why
Hands-on exercises utilizing the tools learned in the workshop
Steps used to assess and hire the best candidate

Who Should Attend:
New supervisors with little or no interviewing experience
Experienced supervisors who would like to refresh and enhance their interviewing skills

Join the Office of Admissions staff on a one-hour tour of Boston University's Charles River Campus. This enriching and interesting informational walking tour is a comprehensive overview of the University presented by a current student.

What You Will Learn:

• Interesting facts and anecdotes about the University
• More information about the schools and colleges
• The college experience from a student perspective

Who Should Attend:

•   New employees to the University
•   Current employees who wish to increase and expand their knowledge of the University

ADA, FMLA, unlawful discrimination, hostile environment, employee-at-will, reasonable accommodation—these are terms that supervisors should know but often don’t. Supervising staff can be one of the most challenging aspects of a manager’s job; a strong working knowledge of the legal aspects of employment can be a great asset to any supervisor. Come join us for this full-day program and learn the practical applications of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, federal and state antidiscrimination laws, Union contracts, and the Boston University Personnel Policy Manual. Lunch will be provided.


What You Will Learn:
    What is and what isn’t unlawful discrimination or harassment in the workplace
What a manager must do (and not do) if an employee makes a harassment or discrimination complaint
The steps involved in investigating and resolving a discrimination or harassment complaint
    What the ADA is, and what it means for supervisors   
When you are obligated to provide a reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability
    How to determine if an accommodation is reasonable
    What is contained in a union contract
    What qualifies as an FMLA leave
    Resources available to supervisors and staff in addressing these issues
    And more…
Who Should Attend
    Employees who are responsible for managing other staff
    Employees in positions grade 51 and 71 and above
    New supervisors
    Experienced supervisors who would like to update their knowledge

As faculty and staff working with students, we sometimes encounter situations, questions, or concerns that are outside our areas of expertise.  This workshop will examine various types of situations that arise, review existing University resources, and help attendees identify ways to effectively connect students with appropriate campus personnel and services.

What You Will Learn
•    How to identify situations in which students need specialized assistance
•    How to locate appropriate University resources
•    How the University Service Center (USC) and other University offices work together—and can work with you—to respond to special circumstances and ensure students are connected to academic, medical, mental health, and other campus resources as needed
•    Effective methods of offering assistance and providing referrals to students
•    Policies and options that may be helpful to students with special circumstances
Who Should Attend
•    Faculty and staff who want to be more knowledgeable about how to connect students with existing campus resources
•    Faculty and staff who have found themselves wanting to help a student but are unsure where to start

The mission of Boston University Academy is to educate talented students who are passionate about learning and who share the joy of inquiry. Engaging with dedicated teachers in a small and caring community, students first immerse themselves in a classically based curriculum and then continue their intellectual interests at Boston University. All are invited to the Academy to learn more about its unique academic program for high school students and how various University departments may connect with us. The workshop will include a tour of the Academy and a presentation, followed by lunch with administrators and faculty.

What You Will Learn:
    About the Academy’s classically based secondary school curriculum
    How interested 8th graders can apply to the Academy for high school
    How University professors can engage with our students in advising senior thesis projects
    How to best support Academy students who enroll in your courses at the University

Who Should Attend

Employees with middle school aged children who want to learn about the Academy as a high school option
Employees who want to learn about the Academy

Effect or Affect of grammar? If you find that you have trouble distinguishing there vs. their, your vs. you’re or its vs. it’s, then this grammar refresher course is for you. We’ll review basic grammar rules and also discuss how to identify and correct common errors.

What you will learn:

Basic grammar rules
Improve your everyday writing and grammar skills

Who should attend:
Individuals who are looking to improve or enhance their grammar skills.

Whether on the playing field or in the workplace, the concept of “team” is vital to an organization’s success. The successful team consists of a number of individual members with varying areas of expertise who are all working together toward a common goal. Teamwork is a collaboration of everyone’s skills, abilities, and talents to achieve a desired outcome that exceeds what any individual team member could have accomplished on their own. Come join us as we explore the team concept within the more traditional business setting. You will have the opportunity to assess your own team-player style and work with other teammates to develop and utilize team problem-solving techniques. Don’t stand on the sidelines; come join us on the playing field!  

What You Will Learn:
Definition of a winning team
Five elements of a successful team
The “life cycle” of teams and what challenges and behaviors are associated with each
Exploration of the four major team player styles
Problem resolution using team problem solving skills such as ground rules, brainstorming, decision making and action plans

Who Should Attend:
Staff interested in assessing their own “team player style”
Staff interested in improving and enhancing their own team contributions
Supervisors who would like to develop more dynamic work teams
Staff who are assigned to interdepartmental team projects

A meeting is an important part of a successful workday, yet the very word can send shivers down the spine. Given the current workplace shift to teamwork, effective and efficient meetings are more important than ever. Meetings should be seen as a place where ideas can be discussed, issues resolved, and work streamlined. In this training, you will learn facilitation skills, selecting who should attend the meeting, developing agendas, meeting time management, and evaluating the outcomes.
What you will learn:

Facilitation skills
Agenda development
Meeting Time Management
Evaluation of the Meeting

Who should attend:
Those who organize meetings.

Mixed messages, misunderstandings, and misconceptions can have your team working hard but not working on the same page.  Improving workplace communication will help improve your teams operational smoothness, increase productivity and have everyone working toward the same goal!  This basic communication skills program will help identify important workplace communication skills and covers the fundamentals of interpersonal communication.  Participants should gain a better understanding of what good communication skills look like and what they can do to improve their abilities.

What You Will Learn:
• Improve workplace communication skills
• Identify common communication problems.
• Verbal Communication
• Identify what their non-verbal messages are telling others.
• Listening Skills (Active, Passive and Reflective Listening).
• Develop skills in listening actively and empathetically.
Who Should Attend:
• Employees interested in improving their communications skills

Do your employees belong to a union? If so, you will not want to miss this opportunity to learn the fundamentals necessary to be an effective manager in a unionized workplace. This course will provide even experienced managers with a renewed sense of confidence in addressing issues routinely encountered in a unionized environment. Participants will become conversant with the relevant law and related principles that regulate interaction between employers and unions. Interactive discussions will detail proven strategies for forging constructive relationships with both employees and their union representatives. Best practices for avoiding common pitfalls will also be explored through a comprehensive overview of the legal requisites for establishing enforceable policies and procedures, as well as the essential elements of sustainable employee discipline. The program will also seek to instill an understanding of proper contract administration by highlighting key provisions found in collective bargaining agreements and explaining important concepts related to their interpretation and enforcement, with a particular emphasis on demystifying the grievance procedure.

What you will learn:
• The legal/statutory  framework that establishes the rights and obligations of unionized employees and their representatives;
• Effective techniques for promulgating and implementing enforceable policies and performance standards;
• Reliable methods for fostering a cooperative and productive relationship with shop stewards and other union representatives;
• The essentials of employee discipline, including a detailed treatment of the often misunderstood SCOTUS Weingarten decision and its ramifications for investigating employee misconduct and administering discipline;
• The basics of contract interpretation and administration with a particular focus on commonly misunderstood concepts such as past practice and management rights.

Who Should Attend:
Supervisory/Management staff responsible for overseeing unionized employees