Human Resources

Toxic acts have no place at work, yet too often, people experience harm. Without the right mindset, leaders might overestimate the problems their people face. Preventing harm takes more than only stopping the most severe behaviors. Unaddressed, minor behaviors and violations at any level heighten isolation, derail creativity, and erode trust. Research estimates that only 3 of 10 workers feel like their voices matter. And almost 75% of violations faced at work go unreported. 

Your people’s unfiltered opinions and creative ideas are your greatest assets. How can you be sure they feel safe enough to speak up? How can you guarantee they feel empowered to advocate for themselves and others?
 
Attendees will adopt an empathy-driven framework to label rooted issues and identify organizational initiatives that restore trust. Managers will acquire skills to ensure that their people feel empowered to speak up, regardless of their role, tenure, or social capital.
 

Prior to the Course:

• You are encouraged – but not required – to complete this survey.

The survey will help customize content for the three upcoming virtual workshops brought to you by Create Safe on behalf of the City of Madison. During the workshops, the Create Safe team will never share data collected from an individual response, but overall trends will be discussed. Create Safe will only share the overall trends with the City, and will clean and make anonymous all provided information when weighing the total feedback.

We matter. Since we spend nearly 90,000 hours working, we deserve to feel this at our jobs. Neurologically, a lack of safety prevents us from experiencing this truth. No matter the reason, when safety gaps emerge, we have no reason to show up and meaningfully engage. 

Our voices matter. To believe this, we must trust that our leaders value our perspectives and care about remedying issues. How can we advocate for others if we lack the skills or practice advocating for ourselves? And how can we ensure that everyone feels comfortable speaking up? 

This program challenges ineffective and outdated status quos to address what truly matters when building healthy, people-centered workplaces. In an authentic discussion, we will explore the importance of and how to define our safety needs. By adopting skills that enhance work relationships, participants will learn to advocate for themselves and others confidently.
 

Prior to the Course:

• You are encouraged – but not required – to complete this survey.

The survey will help customize content for the three upcoming virtual workshops brought to you by Create Safe on behalf of the City of Madison. During the workshops, the Create Safe team will never share data collected from an individual response, but overall trends will be discussed. Create Safe will only share the overall trends with the City, and will clean and make anonymous all provided information when weighing the total feedback.

The March 15, 2023 session has been canceled due to upcoming staffing changes. Please keep an eye on our upcoming courses should future offerings become available. Thanks for your understanding! 

Burnout is a growing challenge for leaders and teams. Many employees are struggling with exhaustion, loss of confidence, and disengagement. But burnout is not just an individual problem, it’s a systems and leadership issue too. This session focuses on workplace culture and leadership factors that contribute to burnout. This course is not a lecture; most of your time will be in small and large group discussion to analyze strategies for improving our workplace.

Note: If you are having a personal struggle with burnout, you are not alone. Consider reaching out to the Employee Assistance Program or their external partner, FEI Workforce Resilience for free, confidential support.

Learning Objectives:

• Define burnout
• Describe six common causes of employee burnout
• Discuss leadership actions that contribute to workplace vitality

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.


 

Resiliency is our ability to bounce back from adversity. During these uncertain times, it is important to actively work towards being more resilient by learning to thrive within the stress. It is important to be conscious of how you are feeling, to be compassionate with yourself, and to be aware of how you have been impacted by the changes happening in our world.  Join us for one or all 6 sessions, to discuss how we can build skills of being happy and building resiliency: mindfulness, human connection, gratitude, positive outlook, purpose, and generosity.

This is a welcoming space for anyone in any department to share ideas, find support, and explore how resiliency can prepare us for whatever comes next.

NOTE: This is a repeat of our Fall 2020 series, but this is not a "training" per se and lots has changed since we first discussed these topics -- we encourage you to join us again or for the first time!
 

Complete the week's Prework before attending the session.

• Prework: Building Resiliency Series

• Prework: Building Resiliency Series

Register once and you're set for the series.

A single Zoom link means that you can log into any session on any date.  

Wednesdays 8:00 - 9:00 AM

• July 7th - Week 1 - Mindfulness

Curated Resources

The following curated resources have been generously shared by Building Resiliency Series session participants. Some hyperlinks have been added, to assist users with locating digital resources.

Please note that none have been formally researched or vetted by the sponsoring departments (HR and EAP), nor should the resources be construed as “recommended by” the City of Madison or sponsoring departments. If you have concerns about any of the resources, please contact us at OrganizationalDevelopment@cityofmadison.com

Books

• Unshakeable Confidence (Chapman, M.)
• Think Like a Monk (Shetty, J.)
• Atomic Habits (Clear, J.)
• Poetry of Mary Oliver
• Strength Finder 2.0 (Gallup)
• The Body Keeps the Score
• What Color is Your Parachute?
• The Geography of Bliss (Weiner, E.)

Video

• Take a Breath (Calm, via YouTube)
• Meditation (The Mindfulness Moment, via YouTube)
• Playing for Change (Movement to inspire and connect through music, via YouTube)
• The Good Place

Quotes, Mantras

• Serenity Prayer: “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”
• “Worrying won’t stop the bad stuff from happening. It just stops you from enjoying the good.”
• “Life is never not now.” Ekhart Tolle
• “Water the flowers, not the weeds”
• “We belong to each other”
• “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference”

Activities

• Walk at the parks
• Shoot pool
• Fishing
• Coloring books
• Crafts (painting, wood burning, etc)
• Meditation every day while my French press coffee brews
• Exercise
• Not too much TV
• Box breathing, Rhythmic Counting breathing
• Noticing and watching the trees and leaves
• Paying closer attention to the taste of foods
• Group discussion
• “Forgotten” hobbies
• Using my Fitbit to better track my exercise

Support and Affinity Groups, Organizations

• Black and African American Affinity Group
• Book clubs

Apps

• Healthy Minds app
• Calm app
• iSleep Easy Meditation app

Podcasts

• The Cultivating Place (Co-production and podcast of North Country Public Radio).  Conversations on natural history & the human impulse to garden

Websites

• UW Center for Healthy Minds (University of Wisconsin – Madison).  Founded by world renowned neuroscientist Dr. Richard J. Davidson, the Center for Healthy Minds envisions a kinder, wiser, more compassionate world. Our mission is to cultivate well-being and relieve suffering through a scientific understanding of the mind.

During Conflict Management, participants will have an opportunity to increase their self-awareness regarding their common styles to approaching and navigating conflict. Additionally, attendees will be encouraged to recognize different behaviors that they may engage in that lead to inadvertently increasing tension during a conflict. Finally, they will also be offered strategies and tools to defuse and resolve conflict in ways that honor their values, boundaries, and those of the other person involved. In spite of our focus being on the professional and collegial setting during the training, all of these skills are transferable to other contexts.

Learning Objectives:

• Increasing self awareness about one's personal style of managing conflict

• Recognizing how different behaviors may increase tension
• Exploring tools and strategies to successfully navigate conflict

Note:

Because this course is interactive, we request that you join from a computer or smart device. This course incorporates break-out sessions and we encourage your full participation in the virtual space.

Are you living a rich and joyful life despite the ups and downs which are often beyond your control? Being mentally well is not just luck, it takes practice to develop the skills to build resiliency and become emotionally intelligent. This work is done from the inside out and empowers you to be your best despite what external circumstances you face.

This 4-session course dives deep into the many components that contribute to our well-being: Self-Awareness, Stress Management, Human Connection & Conflict Management, Positive Psychology & Wellness. We’ll work together on skill building and encourage each other through group discussions. Please join us and make a plan to be well!

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will get a better understanding of resiliency, emotional intelligence, and happiness

• Participants will bring awareness to their level of resiliency and emotional intelligence, identifying areas of improvement.

• Participants will make a plan for how to improve their wellness, resiliency, and happiness.

Note: 

Because this course is interactive, we recommend joining from a computer or smart device. Phone-only participation is not recommended.

Encendiendo el Crecimiento es una sesión completamente en Español enfocada en explorar áreas como el duelo, la ventana de tolerancia y estrategias para facilitar el balance y la salud mental. Acompáñanos en esta sesión interactiva donde descubriremos componentes de salud mental y practicaremos estrategias para ayudar con la regulación emocional y el balance. Partirás de este entramiento con técnicas prácticas y conocimiento para desarrollar tu bienestar en casa y tu espacio de trabajo.
 

Sparking Growth is a training, completely in Spanish, focused on exploring topics like grief, the window of tolerance, and strategies to foster balance and mental health. Join us for this interactive session where we will explore components of mental health and will practice skills to assist with emotional regulation and balance. Leave the space with practical tools and knowledge to foster your wellbeing at home and workplace.

Feeling safe is vital in creating spaces where people can engage as their best selves. On a neurological level, it is impossible to be present if we feel unsafe. This is true no matter the type or severity of harm faced. Unaddressed or recurring safety gaps erode organizational trust, limit productivity, stifle people's voices, and ultimately cause us to check out.

But when we do feel safe? The results are profound. People who feel safe build stronger relationships, are more engaged, make creative decisions, and experience a deeper sense of belonging.

Creating safe environments doesn't happen by chance. It requires intentional organizational efforts and investing in our people's voices to drive inclusive change.

Applying the Feel Safe framework to their culture, participants work through a process that empowers them to reimagine a people-centered workplace. Participants will diagnose safety gaps before distinguishing individual and organizational paths that foster feelings of safety.
 

Prior to the Course:

• You are encouraged – but not required – to complete this survey.

The survey will help customize content for the three upcoming virtual workshops brought to you by Create Safe on behalf of the City of Madison. During the workshops, the Create Safe team will never share data collected from an individual response, but overall trends will be discussed. Create Safe will only share the overall trends with the City, and will clean and make anonymous all provided information when weighing the total feedback.

Additional City of Madison offerings by Tim Mousseau:

• People-Centered: Because We Matter: Advocating for Each Other to Build Healthy & High-Performing Teams
• Manager-Centered: Alone In A Crowded Office: How Leaders Can Overcome Harmful Behaviors That Foster Isolation

Have you experienced a stressful, perhaps traumatic event in the workplace? As a supervisor or manager do you feel prepared to handle and support your staff through these abnormal events? Join us to learn more about critical incidents, how they present in the workplace, normal reactions your employees may experience, and your role as a supervisor. We will share resources, skills, and information to better prepare you for handling these events in a trauma-informed way that will leave your staff feeling supported and will provide a smoother transition back to normal operations.

Learning Objectives:

• Discussing what a critical incident looks like and how it impacts employees
• Increasing awareness about supervisor’s/manager’s role in addressing the critical incident and supporting employees who were impacted
• Learning about resources to assist when a critical incident occurs and how EAP will be involved in the response

Because this course is interactive, we request that you join from a computer or smart device. This course incorporates break-out sessions and we encourage your full participation in the virtual space.

Sparking Growth is a training focused on exploring topics like grief, the window of tolerance, and strategies to foster balance and mental health. Join us for this interactive session where we will explore components of mental health and will practice skills to assist with emotional regulation and balance. Leave the space with practical tools and knowledge to foster your wellbeing at home and workplace.

Learning Objectives:

• Gather understanding about topics like grief, stress curve, and window of tolerance.

• Practice emotional regulation and grounding skills.

• Build community by connecting with other colleagues at the City of Madison who are practicing similar skills.

Because this course is interactive, we request that you join from a computer or smart device. This course incorporates break-out sessions and we encourage your full participation in the virtual space.

This training is intended for folks who would like to learn ways of supporting individuals struggling with thoughts of ending their life. We hope to offer foundational information on suicide risk identification and effective ways of offering support while working toward safety. In this training you will learn about suicide warning signs, protective and risk factors, how to have a conversation about this topic in ways that minimize potential for harm, and how to apply the learning within a workplace setting. This training may cause unintended reactions in participants due to the sensitivity of the content. Please take care of yourself as you navigate this topic. 

Learning Objectives:

• Increasing awareness about suicide risk signs and factors impacting it

• Establishing language and ways of communicating with a person experiencing risk that would lead to safety and support

• Learning approaches to safely supporting individuals experiencing risk in the workplace

Because this course is interactive, we request that you join from a computer or smart device. This course incorporates break-out sessions and we encourage your full participation in the virtual space.

Even before the COVID pandemic, trauma was widely prevalent in our society. The collective trauma we are all experiencing now as the result of this pandemic has only exacerbated the issue. Moreover, trauma has negatively affected organizations, taxing already stressed systems of care and practitioner wellness. Trauma-informed care (TIC) is an intervention and organizational approach that focuses on how trauma may affect an individual’s life and their response to supervision. Trauma-informed supervision (TIS) is taking the key principles of TIC and applying them in a relational way with supervisees. This presentation will take a closer look at how the application of the six values of trauma-informed care in supervisory practice can and will drive connection and can be applied in multiple service settings. We will also examine implicit bias and ways supervisors can address their own biases to better connect with a diverse and inclusive workforce. Never has this topic been more relevant and needed in our workspaces.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the significance of the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) study as a public health and workplace concern.
• Define and identify key terminology and concepts related to trauma
• Articulate what trauma-informed care is and identify the six principles of a trauma-informed, compassionate work culture.
• Understand how past trauma and a traumatized workspace can affect employee engagement, health, and productivity.
• Identify some of the best practices of trauma-informed supervision.
• Define implicit bias and identify ways to overcome it.
• Become familiar with diversity, equity and inclusion and its place in the trauma-informed workspace.
• Describe the next steps to implementing trauma-informed care in the workplace.

Note:

Course Materials:

• Trauma-Informed Supervision One-Pager
• Four Steps to Identifying and Stopping Implicit Bias for Managers
• The CLEAR Model
• Trauma-Informed Supervision Practice Opportunities

“We must transform ourselves to transform the world.” -Grace Lee Boggs

As managers and leaders who recognize there are systems of oppression in the workplace that we must reckon with and dismantle, we must also tend to the internal work within ourselves to build equity, inclusion, and belonging. We cannot wait for the “system to transform” – we also have to “transform ourselves.”
This session is for managers, or anyone who leads teams, to explore how their own identities shape their worldview and thus their management style and approach. Participants will explore concepts such as intersectionality, positionality, identity salience, reflective practice, and deep listening. Through individual and group activities and a case study, participants will use their own self-awareness, behaviors, and interactions as sites of learning.

Learning Objectives:

1. Exposure to the concepts of intersectionality, positionality, identity salience, and reflective practice
2. Practice reflecting on one’s own identities
3. Practice deep listening skills with colleagues
4. Practice a liberating structure model for solution building

Join us for a deep dive into what it means to live trauma-informed. We will explore the impact of trauma on a personal level and how it shows up in the workplace. We will provide you with skills to navigate this in the workplace by learning more about how to have difficult conversations, how to regulate, and how to set appropriate boundaries.

Learning Objectives:

• Discussion about types of trauma and how it shows up for different individuals
• What trauma looks like in the workplace
• Learn skills to help have difficult conversations, regulate, and set appropriate boundaries

Because this course is interactive, we request that you join from a computer or smart device. This course incorporates break-out sessions and we encourage your full participation in the virtual space.