Human Resources

An important component of bringing your best self to work is to bring your authentic self to work. This course strives to show you how being vulnerable while setting appropriate boundaries may improve your work relationships and reduce the impact that work stress has on your personal life. Additionally, we will discuss the benefits of self-care in order to boost your resiliency and emotional intelligence, two important factors that contribute to feeling more fulfilled in your job. Please join us for this interactive course and make a plan to manage stress and improve your overall wellness.


 

Many people struggle in the area of de-escalating conflicts with difficult people who become loud, rude, and obnoxious. Are you confident handling stress and conflict in a way that will not escalate the situation? 

If basic de-escalation techniques can be applied to stressful situations, the better the outcome can be.  Once you can connect and identify with something that is creating stress and frustration in a person, you are on your way to de-escalating the situation.

In this training, you’ll learn the basics of verbal de-escalation to give you confidence when dealing with difficult people. This includes risk factors/red flags, de-escalation tips, physical warning signs of violent behavior, and scenarios. You’ll leave with strategies to make you a more confident and assertive communicator, especially when dealing with difficult people!

Learning objectives:

• Recognize physical warning signs of escalating behavior

• Listen actively

• Remember to show empathy

• Use positive body language

• Exercise situational awareness
   

Location:

This course will be held in-person at the Madison Municipal Building (MMB), room 215. (215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd)
When adding to your calendar, please be sure to note the location in your event. Please also plan ahead to arrive on time or early for minimal course disruption.

You may have grown comfortable with Zoom for meetings and trainings…maybe so comfortable that you don’t realize that the status quo may be unintentionally excluding participants. Did you know that there are strategies and tips that you can use that can make your trainings and meetings more inclusive and effective for people with disabilities? This session will broaden your perspective and you will leave with actionable tips to use in future trainings and meetings.

Learning Objectives:

• Increase your understanding of disability-related barriers in virtual meetings
• Obtain practical skills to remove access barriers
• Be a better disability ally at work

Course Handouts:

• Course Agenda
• Slide Deck
• Slide Deck - Text

How can you be inclusive and respectful with people of all genders? With verbal and written examples, you will leave this training with specific strategies in using language that shows your coworkers and community members of all genders that you value them.
 

This course is part of the series of offerings related to the implementation of APM 2-52 as we work towards realizing our vision of being an inclusive organization.
 

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe how gender neutral and transgender inclusive language differ

2. Name at least 2 strategies for creating gender inclusion with language other than using they pronouns

3. Explain the importance of using correct name and pronouns

4. Demonstrate how to introduce a coworker’s pronouns

5. Identify two ways to correct a pronoun or name mistake

Resources:

• Gender-Inclusive Language Style Guide
• Resource Guide for Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming, and Non-Binary Employees

Handling Confidential Information is an essential training for any City employee that works with verbal or written forms of confidential information. Patty Lauten, from the City Attorney's Office, and Tory Larson, from Human Resources, will define what is confidential information, discuss the legalities of confidentiality, explain the right to privacy, and outline confidentiality best practices.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain an understanding of what is considered confidential
• Improve understanding of the legal obligations related to confidentiality
• Increase awareness of confidentiality best practices

Making decisions can be one of the most difficult and stressful things leaders do. Involving others can relieve some of that stress as you gain new perspectives. Inclusive leaders make decisions with, not for, those who are impacted. This improves the quality of our work and relationships with each other. This session will cover basics of stakeholder mapping and group decision-making. 

Course Materials

• Course Handout
• Fillable Empathy Map
• Course Slides

In-Person Sessions

The following training dates are being offered in-person to City Employees only. These sessions may be switched to virtual - if this happens, participants will be notified and sent a Zoom link to join.

• April 27, 2023 - Madison Municipal Building, Room 204 (215 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd)
• July 12, 2023 - Madison Water Utility's Heim Building Conference Room (119 E Olin Ave)

You will notice there are separate registration buttons on this course page for these sessions - be sure to select the session you want and to note the location when adding to your calendar. This will help you plan for travel day-of and to ensure you arrive at the correct training since locations vary for each in-person session. 

In order to build and sustain inclusive and multilingual spaces in our organizations, everyone’s voice and lived experienced needs to be valued and recognized. It is critical that all City staff have the necessary tools and information to communicate with those whose primary language is not English. Do you know how to support individuals who drop by or call your office in a language other than English?

Attendees will learn how to connect with an On-Demand interpreter, inclusive practices in working with interpreters, and participate in scenarios to practice learned skills, including communicating with people who use sign languages. Also, you will learn about the City of Madison’s Language Access Program, services, and compliance requirements.

Learning Objectives:

1. Connect with an On-Demand interpreter
2. Use inclusive practices when working with interpreters
3. Communicate with people who use sign languages
4. Explain the City of Madison’s Language Access Program, services, and compliance requirements

People with disabilities use service and support animals to meet their access needs and maintain safety and independence. If a person with an animal comes to your building or meeting, do you know how to avoid discrimination and when to grant access? This interactive training will help agencies better understand relevant laws and city ordinances, know how to identify service animals and emotional support animals and how to provide excellent customer service to people who use service and support animals in public places.

Learning Objectives

1. Increase understanding of relevant laws and city ordinances
2. Identify service animals and emotional support animals and avoid discrimination
3. Provide excellent customer service to people with disabilities who have animal assistance

Does it feel like everyone is on edge lately? Where people are angry or lashing out? Do you need additional skills to better handle this? Then join us in learning about Trauma-Informed Customer Service, which is all about how we can provide customer service to people who have had bad things happen in their lives.

As humans, we tend to internalize our negative experiences and the stress that comes with those. An example is the communal trauma that we all have been experiencing with the pandemic. The stress can accumulate and make us feel anxious or angry, and make it easy to lash out at others. Come learn about how to reframe these situations and acquire some techniques to better handle challenging customers.

On Demand Option:

Now available as a 45 minute recorded video presentation so you can watch at your convenience or use as a refresher if you attended the live version. We encourage viewers to use the Questions handout to process the concepts presented, whether you watch on your own or with your work group. If you prefer a more interactive experience, please register for one of the upcoming sessions by clicking the button on the right.

Course Resources

Please read through the following materials before viewing the recording:
Handout: Trauma-Informed Customer Service Training
Handout: Trauma-Informed Customer Service Training Questions