Instructor Led Programs

Survey Design Basics

This course will serve as an introduction to the foundational concepts of survey design, including an understanding of the psychology of survey sampling, best practices in writing questions, and tips for improving data quality. We will focus on surveys designed for measuring the opinions, experiences, preferences, feelings, and intent of a population of people – such as engagement surveys, feedback surveys, program evaluations, and polling.  Content will focus on theory and design considerations, rather than on technology or data analysis. This session will include a mix of lecture, hands-on activities, and discussions. 

Managing Change: How to Think About It in a Different Way

Change is an essential element of the world and can be perceived as “good” or “bad”. Change affects everyone differently, so there is no “normal”. And, in many ways, how we adapt to change is impacted by our attitudes and perspective.

Therefore, our past experiences, attitudes and our energy influences our perception of change. Thinking about how to manage change differently can help us move forward even in difficult times.

Leading By Developing People

Are you responsible for developing others?

Developing people is an important key to effective leadership.  In this facilitated discussion, we will review the concepts introduced in the Leading by Developing People Skillsoft video training that you will complete before the session and discuss opportunities and challenges for you to put them into practice.

Resume Crafting Strategies Workshop

In this session, you will learn about the vetting process that recruiters use when reviewing candidate resumes, along with the implications this has on what you decide to include on your resume and how you plan on formatting it.  The presenter, Dr. Bob Orndorff, will reinforce the importance of crafting your resume strategically versus slapping your content onto a piece of paper.  You’ll also learn how to customize and tailor your resume to the needs and values of the recruiter and their organization.

SupportLinc EAP Overview for Benefits-eligible Employees

Life can be a juggling act. It takes time and energy to balance your work, family and personal wellbeing. Beginning January 1, 2024, the new SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available around-the-clock, 365 days a year, to help manage life’s challenges, at no cost to Penn State benefit-eligible employees and their families.  This seminar will provide an overview of SupportLinc services, expert guidance, and valuable resources – all 100% confidential – for a wide array of personal and work-related concerns, including stress, anxiety, grief, mindfulness, relationship issues, dependent care and much, much more.

Run Hide Fight: Active Attacker Response Program

Guidance on how to respond to an Active Attacker situation for Faculty, Students and Staff can be obtained through the Run Hide Fight: Surviving an Active Attacker Program, presented by the University Police. The Run Hide Fight: Surviving an Active Attacker Program provides information on the steps you can take to mitigate the actions of an Active Attacker.

Interviewing Skills – Best Practices for Employees

Interviewing is the final step in the job-search process that makes all the difference. In this seminar, Dr. Bob Orndorff will share strategies for creating the best responses to interview questions and for presenting your very best self.  It’s not only “what you say” that matters, but also “how you say it!” Bob will also provide tips on how to navigate challenging interview venues including group interviews and virtual interviews. 

SupportLinc EAP Overview for Managers and Supervisors

Approaching difficult situations and assisting employees in need can be a challenge. Beginning January 1, 2024, the new SupportLinc Employee Assistance Program (EAP)  is an important benefit offering confidential, professional assistance for problems of concern to you, your benefit-eligible employees, and their immediate family members. This seminar will provide Penn State Managers and Supervisors with an overview of SupportLinc services, expert guidance and valuable resources that can help you respond to employee mental health and work-life balance concerns, as well as take care of your own. 

PNC: Debt Management

Is debt compromising your financial health?. In this workshop, you’ll learn to build a budget that helps pay down your debt, explore different debt management strategies, and create a personal plan for reducing your debt and improving your credit score. We’ll also discuss the difference between good debt and bad debt and see how your credit score affects how much interest you pay.

Enhance Your Personal Brand: Lessons from the World's Most Successful Companies

Apple.   Google.  Target.  Twitter.  Coca-Cola.  Starbucks.  These are some of the most famous brands in the world.  But did you know that you have a brand as well?  Your personal brand is the essence or promise of what will be experienced by others when interacting with you.  Through self-reflective exercises and creative thought experiments, this program will show participants what factors comprise their personal brand, which ones may be increasing or decreasing their effectiveness, and how to develop a personal brand that enhances personal and professional success. 

Life Blend (previously known as Work-Life Balance)

Balancing the demands of work and family can be a difficult job. Most of us juggle a number of important jobs that all require our time and energy. Your roles might include being a spouse, parent, child, sibling, employee, organization member and neighbor. All of these roles carry responsibilities and rewards. But, if we aren’t careful, the stresses and demands of all of these roles can engulf and drain us. In this presentation, attendees will learn how to balance their work life with their personal life, in an effort to avoid burnout.

Coaching Conversations for Supervisors

Coaching conversations will provide supervisors the basic skills necessary to have effective coaching conversations.

Accessibility @ PSU 102 – Accessible Word Templates

In this session, we will walk through using a Word template to create accessible documents using Microsoft Word with templates as an example. We will reformat a report so that it includes headings, image ALT text, accessible tables, and an accessible bar chart with a description. We will also discuss how to share an accessible template for multiple documents and how to modify the styles of a template. - part of the BUILD curriculum

Thinking Critically

In this facilitated discussion, we will review the concepts introduced in the, “Developing Your Critical Thinking and Cognitive Flexibility Skillsoft video training that you will complete before the session.  

This session will help you improve your critical thinking skills. You'll learn about the intake, investigate, and act stages of critical thinking, as well as how to use analytical techniques to assess information. You’ll also learn the advantages of keeping an open mind through cognitive flexibility.

Providing Exceptional Customer Service in a Hybrid Workplace

Life as we know it is very different; we are living and serving our internal and external customers in ways we could not have even imagined even one year ago. But are we achieving success or are we finding excuses to explain why customer service is falling behind? 

Supporting Neurodiversity in the Workplace

Maximizing employees’ strengths to create successful teams requires an objective awareness of those strengths. One way to do this is to examine biases of what is “normal”. In this presentation, attendees will be given an opportunity and tools to recognize the benefits of supporting and maximizing the resources that neurodiverse employees bring to the workplace.

RETIRE! Live with confidence in retirement

If you’re thinking about making the transition to retirement, this presentation is essential for understanding how to create an income plan that helps you maximize your savings.  

Professional Writing Essentials: Punctuation

Words are only part of writing. Punctuation keeps your writing easy to understand and expressive! This course reviews the basics of punctuation and how to properly use it. Individuals will gain confidence as they learn the building  blocks to create properly punctuated, effective communication. Learners will participate in discussions and exercises to build their punctuation comprehension.  

Personal Safety and Awareness

In-person: A 75 minute session that introduces key strategies for personal safety, including physical resistance strategies that includes self-defense technique demonstration.

Talking About Mental Health in the Workplace

1 in 5 adults in the United States experiences a mental health concern every single year. While emotional distress is not always a sign of mental illness, it can still take a major toll on employee wellbeing – not to mention productivity. In the end, everyone suffers when emotional distress and mental illness are left unaddressed in the workplace. Fortunately, employees and organizations can take steps to create a supportive environment, or what is often referred to as a psychologically healthy workplace. Taking these basic steps not only helps employees in distress and connects them to care – it increases employee resilience and engagement, as well as productivity.

Workplace Stress

There are many well-documented benefits of mindfulness, from stress reduction to relationship satisfaction to job performance. However, many employees find it difficult to make mindfulness a part of their everyday life. Fortunately, it isn't necessary to dedicate a lifetime to learning ancient meditational practices to begin to reap many of the rewards of greater mindfulness. In this presentation, attendees will learn simple yet powerful strategies to help them begin to cultivate the type of greater awareness and active, open attention to the present that experts agree can lead to better health and optimal performance.

Navigating Return to School

Navigating Return to School This presentation is a resource to help you address concerns your child may have returning to school, support family systems in becoming more resilient, and help you to identify your children’s mental health needs and ways to effectively connect with and support them. This is not designed to provide specific educational options for attendees as each family’s needs and options are unique.