Earlier this month, Paula Garlen, VP of Training Services at ELI, hosted a Certified Instructor Community (CIC) Town Hall webcast for graduates of the ELI Certified Instructor Program. The webcast provided the newly-certified professionals a forum to ask questions and share their experiences with facilitating the Civil Treatment series in the classroom.
Implementation and scheduling considerations
During the town hall webcast, many topics related to implementation best practices were discussed. Attendees explored the best ways to implement and schedule the Civil Treatment sessions for employees. Some participants had utilized a full-day of training while others opted for two half-days. Students discussed the pros and cons of both approaches with the moderator offering guidance as to what works best and why.
How to keep training on schedule
Several of the Civil Treatment certified instructors shared their experiences with time management and spoke about guarding against getting side-tracked on other topics and the importance of keeping the meeting on schedule. “It’s critical to know the group you’ll be training and be prepared to give and take with the agenda.” stated Paula Garlen. Many practical tips on how to manage the schedule were shared, including:
- Adjust how much time you spend on a topic based on how much the group already knows
- Avoid saying, “We have to stop soon,” or “We’re behind,” because the audience will sense your angst
- Write the start and stop times in your modules
- Be aware of where you can make up for lost time
Helpful resources
During the webcast, Paula cited several books as tools to help facilitators, including The Cost of Bad Behavior, Mastering Civility: A Manifesto for the Workplace, and Fearless Facilitation. She also referenced the ELI Blog for relevant articles and recommended websites like the Workplace Bullying Institute, Gallup, and EEOC as additional resources.
Interested joining the ELI Certified Instructor Community? Click here to learn more about the Certified Instructor Program and how to get involved.
