Department of Human Resources

The University of Minnesota Duluth offers development opportunities for supervisors and managers, at all stages of their careers.

Supervising Student Employees

Student employees are an important factor in the success of our UMD services to the campus. For supervisors, they offer a unique set of challenges and rewards. This session will provide an overview of the process for recruiting and hiring student employees and will provide guidelines for their effective management.
Participants will learn:
• Steps, rules and policies associated with the hiring process.
• How important is it to create performance standards/outcomes for student employees?
• And participate in a discussion – Are the needs of student employees different from other employees when it comes to interviewing, orientation, training, scheduling, motivation, and performance management?

A Teleconference - The destructive effects of gossip, gab, and grapevine don’t just make for an unpleasant work environment. They also undermine performance, increase turnover, and can infect an entire department.

Too often, managers are tempted to throw up their hands and "just give up" on people that spread negativity and cynicism. Maybe "that's just the way they are." Or maybe the strong performance of these employees outweighs their behavior. Whatever the reason, doing nothing to stop it is NOT the best solution.

In this audio conference, you will learn how to take back control and successfully defuse the negative impact of gossip, gab, and the grapevine. Participants in this conference will learn:

• The two questions you can ask to learn why employees feed the grapevine
• How to stop trying to change "attitudes" and start focusing on behaviors
• How to know when it's time to say "STOP"
• The 7 key conversation principles that will help you turn negative behavior around
• How to hold employees accountable for the negative impact of their gossip
• Techniques for responding to employees who deny their negative impact or "play dumb"

Space is limited
Register early

Supervisory Cinema: Communicating Non-Defensively

Defensiveness creates huge barriers to communication, but it's a human reaction to stressful situations. This is a good summary of ways both the giver and receiver of feedback can understand the other's position and avoid “taking it personally.”

Supervisory Cinema: The Practical Coach

The Practical Coach is an everyday guide to encouraging good work, correcting poor work, using good judgment and caring about each member of your team. It includes tips and examples of how coaching can be a key tool in developing and supporting employees.

Facilitator: Judith S. Karon is the Director of UMD Department of Human Resources.

Creating and Maintaining a Healthy Work Environment via UReturn and the Environmental, Health and Safety Office

Healthy faculty and staff are essential for UMD’s dedication to excellence in all of its programs and operations.

To create and maintain a healthy work environment, various tools and resources are provided by the Environmental Health and Safety Office (EHSO) and U-Return Employee Services which assess, communicate, facilitate, encourage and finance reasonable accommodations or adjustments for employees.

Supervisors and managers are encouraged to attend this session and learn about selected programs and opportunities available to UMD employees through EHSO and U-Return.

Facilitators:

Laura Lott, MIS is a Public Health Specialist in UMD’s Environmental Health and Safety Office.

Mary Harris, MS, CRC, is a Disability Specialist with UReturn-Employee Services on the UMD campus.

Keys to Supervision

For new and experienced supervisors and managers

These session will present tools and resources to help us succeed at our jobs. Topics will include an updated perspective on management at the University, creating healthy and productive workplaces, understanding the importance of leadership and communication styles, and labor/management issues. There will be participant interaction and the opportunity to address specific supervisory concerns.

Note: This is a two-part session. Light lunch will be provided on November 3. Light breakfast will be provided on November 4.

Facilitator: Mike McGlynn is an HR Consultant and Program Manager for the UofM Office of Human Resources.