Faculty and Staff Services offers a variety of educational opportunities for University of Iowa departments and workgroups.
Fee-for-Service Workshops
A nominal fee is charged for these workshops.
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Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) -- The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a practical instrument for gaining a clearer understanding of "self" and of others. Focus may be on team building, leadership styles, communication or change management. The MBTI can be provided to interested persons/groups at the worksite over a 2-3 hour initial time frame. Additional workshops, applications or retreats are also available and can be facilitated in 1-2 hours. This service is provided on a fee-for-service basis at the rate of $25 per person, including book.
Free Educational Seminars
These 30-90 minute sessions may include information sharing, facilitated group discussion, videos, and interactive exercises. They require a minimum of 10 participants to be held on-site, and 2 weeks to schedule. They are offered free of charge.
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The Respectful Workplace -- This workshop consists of a video and a series of exercises where employee groups are asked to help define what is respectful and disrespectful behavior in the workplace. The training explores relationships in the workplace: How am I going to treat you? How should I expect you to treat me? What are the organizational values behind our behavior? How do we transform value statements into truly respectful workplaces?
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Drug-Free Workplace -- Review the university's Drug-Free Workplace Policy and discuss case studies of its application with other university employees. Handouts will be provided.
- Managing Substance Abuse in the Workplace -- New two-minute online presentation for supervisors
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Managing Stress in the Workplace -- This 60-minute seminar will include a stress assessment, a definition and symptoms of stress, and ways to take action. Explore a new stress angle: Your Emotional Response. Experience your "rest and restore" system with an optional deep breathing exercise. A brochure entitled "How to Handle Stress at Work" will be provided.
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Dealing with Loss and Grief -- Losing someone or something you care about is painful. And grief always follows. It is a normal process, with both physical and emotional signs. If a loss has affected a work group, a counselor can come on site to facilitate a one-hour group session. These sessions can provide a forum in which employees have the opportunity to express their feelings and talk about the loss, experiences that are important in moving on.
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Effective Meeting Management -- Some of the skills taught are ground rules, meeting roles and meeting agendas. Follow-up facilitation of group meetings can also be arranged to provide team members an experience of the structured meeting process.
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Conflict Resolution/Team Building -- A variety of activities and videos are available to facilitate people working together.
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Gender Differences -- When men and women understand each other better, they can work together more effectively. A 35-minute video called The Dead-Even Rule with Dr. Pat Heim is shown, and a follow-up discussion is facilitated. Learn some of the "invisible rules" each gender culture uses to define appropriate adult behavior. Learn how to improve team and leader/employee communications between men and women, instead of placing the blame on either gender.
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Living with Alcohol or Drug-Related Problems -- Is someone you care about in trouble? Learn about the stages of drug/alcohol use, common signs and symptoms, and examples of enabling and codependency in the workplace and the home. Confronting someone can be scary, so we will also discuss some common fears and some reassuring facts.
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Balancing Work and Life -- Too many tasks and too little time? How can you take care of yourself and your personal relationships? What if work thoughts invade your personal life? Assess your work/life balance and identify coping strategies. Emotional intelligence/self-awareness and relaxation/deep breathing are optional content areas. Handouts will be provided.
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Diversity Card Game -- This 60-minute exercise offers a group of individuals the opportunity to appreciate and understand differences in values and behaviors that may exist within the workplace. It is very interactive and is utilized to improve communication and team building within a workgroup.
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Coping with Change --
For Managers: The process of transition is often confusing and met with resistance and lack of productivity among the work force. This course provides strategies and skills that will help managers through the change process.
For Everyone: Changes are happening around us all the time, in both our jobs and our personal lives. They encompass a loss as well as introducing something new. Explore your own change process in response to these life events.
The following sessions for supervisory staff are offered through Learning and Development or may be scheduled at your site.
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What You Need to Know about Managing Substance Abuse in the Workplace -- This workshop is designed to assist supervisors and managers in understanding their role and responsibilities related to the University's substance abuse policy and addressing substance abuse concerns in the workplace. Topics include: an overview of substance abuse and the University's Drug Free Environment Policy, and your role in building a successful drug-free workplace program, including an understanding of how your beliefs about substance abuse may impact your actions.
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A Positive Approach to Employee Performance Problems -- There are unlimited influences upon an employee's work performance. Some influences occur in the workplace, others outside of work hours. We cannot always bring about corrective action for this problem, but we can offer direction and support for defining and accepting responsibility on the job setting, and reaching goals, and restoring acceptable performance.