The Employment Equity Act aims to eliminate unfair discrimination and achieve equitable representation at all levels in the workplace. To assist you to understand the provisions of the Act, AstroTech is running a training programme which covers the following key topics:

The course includes the following:

TOPICS

• The purpose of the Act
• Unfair discrimination
• Affirmative action
• Analysis of Employment Equity strategies, policies & procedures
• Developing Employment Equity plans
• Compiling the Employment Equity plan
• The Employment Equity report
• Income differentials
• Monitoring, enforcement and legal proceedings
• Medical & Psychological testing
• The consultation process
• The EE committee: members, roles and responsibilities
• Disclosure of information

And much more!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• HR managers and directors
• Line managers
• Supervisors
• HR professionals
• Recruitment professionals
• Training and development managers and staff

OUTCOMES

• Build an Employment Equity strategy in line with your organisational goals
• Learn practical approaches to Employment Equity implementation
• Understand the implications of the Act on your organisation
• Understand how to ensure no unfair discrimination in your organisation
• Learn what an Employment Equity plan & report involves

The post The Employment Equity Act and it’s Implications in the Workplace first appeared on Astrotech Learning.

Very few, if any, companies are immune from change these days. Change is usually initiated because businesses have to respond to pressures and constraints to remain competitive. During change there is, however, a danger of productivity plummeting because of morale problems associated with poorly managed change. Therefore equipping you or your team to empathise, support, guide and communicate positively about change may be one of the best investments you could make to grow and sustain your business.
If your company is preparing for change, in the middle of change or even having a hard time recovering from change, then helping your people manage change is essential.

TOPICS

• Defining a Change Management Strategy
• Identifying a Change Management Team
• Preparing a Change Plan
• Integrating organizational and technology changes into a single change management plan
• Identifying and outlining the change process
• Proactively gaining support for change
• Understanding the role of the sponsor
• How to implement systematic change
• The role of training in change management
• Collecting & analyzing feedback
• Change Management Best practices
• Effective leadership styles in a change environment
• Managing performance & productivity during the change process
• Knowing the traits of a change leader and how to develop them in yourself
• Recognising how change benefits an organization
• Identifying why employees resist change and managing the resistance
• Gaining commitment for change from your team/the organization
• Developing a strong communication strategy
• Communicating the benefits of change to the organization
• Managing the impact of the grapevine!
• Understanding common emotions experienced by people during change
• Dealing with fear and resistance
• Celebrating Change Successes

And much more!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• Managers of organizations undergoing change
• Change management team leaders and members
• Anyone in an organization which is restructuring, merging or downsizing
• Anyone involved in the management of a project which is set to have a high impact on their organization
• Anyone else with an interest in better managing change within their organisation

OUTCOMES

• Learn how to approach change management using a structured approach
• Better understand the change management lifecycle
• Get exposure to best practice change management processes
• Be ready and prepared to deal with complex people issues surrounding change management

The post Taking Charge of Change first appeared on Astrotech Learning.

Employers and their employees very often have different and diverse needs, interests and goals, which, if not met, can lead to conflict situations. The resulting confrontation results at best in poor work relations and at worst, in strike action. To avoid such conflict and confrontation, it is vital that staff are equipped with the ability to conduct negotiations in such a manner that win/win outcomes are achieved and all parties are satisfied with the various agreements reached and will continue to carry out their functions efficiently. In order to assist organisations in performing effective industrial relations, AstroTech is offering a training programme on Staff & Union Negotiations.

The course covers the following key topics:

TOPICS

• The Nature & Purpose of Negotiation
• The Structure of a Negotiation
• Factors Influencing Negotiations
• Personal & Organisational Elements of Power
• The Negotiating Process
• Preparing & Planning for Negotiations
• Selecting the Negotiation Team
• The Negotiation
• Behavioural Skills
• Tactical Skills
• Selling the Agreement
• Implementing the Deal
• Employer’s Duty to Bargain & Duty to Disclose Information
• Duty to Bargain
• The Bargaining Unit
• The Scope of Bargaining
• The Level of Bargaining
• Duty to Disclose Relevant information
• Workplace Forums
• Handling Difficult Situations & Dirty Tricks
• Avoiding conflict & Deadlock
• When to Walk Out
• Closing the Negotiation
• Implementing the Negotiation
• Evaluating the Negotiation

And much more!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• Company Directors
• Company Managers
• Industrial Relations Staff
• Human Resources Personnel
• Anyone else with an interest in the topic

OUTCOMES

• Be better prepared for Industrial Negotiations
• Improve your chance of achieving a Win-Win Outcome
• Reduce the impact of industrial action on your business and customers
• Better Understand the Negotiation Process
• Network with other professionals with similar interests

The post Staff & Union Negotiations first appeared on Astrotech Learning.

Performance management of staff is a task that is disliked by many managers and for good reason. Addressing performance problems is never easy, while not addressing them means not performing yourself. To make things more complicated, there is a minefield of legal requirements that need to be considered to ensure that you avoid ending up at the CCMA. In order to assist managers, supervisors and HR personnel achieving successful Performance Management, AstroTech is offering a training course on Performance Management.

TOPICS

• Learn how to Set Realistic Performance Goals and Expectations
• Performance Measurement of Goals Set
• When to coach and when to take Disciplinary Action
• Employee Counselling
• How to Conduct Meaningful Performance Appraisals
• Methods for Handling Difficult Situations with Staff
• The Value of Confronting Employees with Performance Problems
• Mistakes made in giving Performance Feedback
• Constructive Feedback that Results in Improved Performance
• Implementing Disciplinary Action
• Why documentation is Critical

And much more!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• Managers and Supervisors
• HR Personnel
• Senior Management
• Anyone else with staff reporting to them

OUTCOMES

• Improve the performance of your team
• Learn how to deal with non-performing staff effectively
• Avoid the CCMA

The post Performance Management first appeared on Astrotech Learning.

Occupational Health & Safety is an issue that impacts all organisations and companies cannot afford to adopt a reactive approach when dealing with it. A proactive approach is the only way to prevent problems before they arise. Motives for compliance with OHS vary from company to company and include concern to prevent litigation, concern for workers, concern for the productivity impact of safety problems as well as many more.

What is unquestioned is the importance of Occupational Health & Safety to any organisation. To assist organisations to understand all the complexities and legal requirements of OHS, AstroTech is offering a training program on Occupational Health & Safety for Industry & Commerce

The program will both cover the following key topics:

TOPICS

• Awareness of your legal duties as an employer
• Establish who bears the ultimate responsibility for all your employees
• Establish who bears the ultimate responsibility for all persons who visit your premises
• How to ensure that all employees are made aware of their responsibilities as regards health and safety in the workplace
• Ensuring that the elected Health and Safety representatives are informed of their responsibilities and duties
• Conducting safety checks in the workplace
• Developing appropriate health and safety policies and procedures for the workplace
• Identifying unhealthy and/or unsafe situations in the workplace

And much more!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• Shop stewards
• Management’s appointed health and safety representatives
• Workshop managers
• Managers delegated with the responsibility of ensuring health and safety in the workplace
• Office managers in an admin environment
• Senior management and CEO’s
• Human Resource managers

OUTCOMES

• Gain an understanding of legal duties of the various parties

• Gain an understanding of responsibilities of the various parties

• Identify and develop appropriate safety policies and procedures, in the work place.

• Protect your organisations against possible litigation

• Ensure the safety of your workforce

The post Occupational Health & Safety first appeared on Astrotech Learning.

In the global war for talent, companies are seeking out and securing relevant skills and people with potential any way they can. In the South African context, Employment Equity and Labour Relations legislation render the field of recruitment and selection even more complex. A contested selection process or decision where the CCMA rules in favour of the aggrieved party can cost a company dearly. In addition, the application of a poor recruitment and selection process can be equally costly in terms of inappropriate person-job-organisation fit selection decisions.

To assist organizations in applying legally compliant recruitment and selection practices which result in quality placements, AstroTech is offering a course called “Minimising Recruitment Risk”. The course includes the following:

TOPICS

• Minimising the risk of appointing the wrong person
• Matching the recruitment needs to your business context
• Determining job relevant requirements
• What makes a recruitment and selection process fair?
• Increasing the objectivity of the selection process through competency based interviewing skills and panel interviewing (practical skills application)
• Additional methods of enhancing the selection process
• Conducting fair yet legally compliant pre-employment checks
• Making a fair selection decision
• Legislative Overview

And much more!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• Team Leaders, supervisors and Line Managers whose roles include the recruitment and selection of staff
• Recruitment/Human Resource Officers who need to acquire these skills

OUTCOMES

• Understand how to make better quality placements
• Avoid costly recruitment and selection mistakes
• Understand employer obligations in respect of the legislation
• Minimise the Risk associated with recruitment

The post Minimising Recruitment Risk first appeared on Astrotech Learning.

Love it or hate it, BEE is a fact of life for South African business today! However, while many companies have good intentions, developing and implementing an effective and sustainable BEE strategy is not easy. This process is made ever more difficult in the environment of ever changing legislation, charters and scorecards.

To assist companies to understand the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and better develop and implement BEE strategies that will work for them, AstroTech is offering a training program on “Mastering Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment”.

TOPICS

•  Master the key issues for business surrounding the:
  – Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act (BBBEE Act) 2003
  – Codes of Good Practice
  – Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA) 2000
  – Transformation Charters or Sector Codes
• Understand the practical implications of the 7 pillars of the Codes of Good Practice
• Learn about the specific challenges and solutions for different types of companies
  to implement BBBEE from multinationals to SMME’s
• Find out about what constitutes a “front” and develop practical measures to combat fronting
• Understand the Qualifying Small Enterprises (QSE) scorecard
• Develop effective and sustainable strategies for your organization for:
  – Enterprise Development
  – Preferential Procurement
  – Corporate Social Investment/Residual
• Implement practical solutions to achieve compliance in Employment Equity, Management
  and Skills Development codes
• Unpack and understand the new Organisational Transformation requirement of the Codes of
  Good Practice
• Participate in interactive discussions aimed at enhancing an in-depth understanding and identifying
  practical solutions of BBBEE implementation

And much more!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• BEE compliance Managers
• Transformation Managers
• CSI managers & Staff
• Procurement practitioners
• BEE Procurement Managers
• Enterprise development specialists
• Organisational Development Professionals
• BEE specialists
• Small business owners
• Compliance Managers & staff
• HR Professionals
• Skills Development Managers & Staff

OUTCOMES

• Learn practical tools for the implementation of BBBEE in your organisation
• Understand all pillars of the generic and the qualifying small enterprises (QSE) scorecard
• Develop your own strategies and policies for BBBEE during the course with the assistance of an industry specialist
• Prepare your organization for verification by an accredited verification agency

The post Mastering Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment first appeared on Astrotech Learning.

Organisations are increasingly realizing that their competitive edge no longer lies only in their products and services, but in their people or human capital. Attracting the right people, motivating and retaining them is fast becoming the priority item on business agendas. At the heart of retaining organisational talent and intellectual capital is the ability to provide developmental opportunities. Managing employee learning, development and growth involves the careful diagnosis of skills, knowledge and attributes required for the business to achieve its mission and goals and the selection of appropriate learning and development interventions which will contribute positively to both individual and organisational performance.

To assist organisations in viewing employee learning and development as a strategic and integrated process and ensuring managers get the best performance from their team, AstroTech is offering a training programme called “Managing Employee Learning and Growth”. The programme includes the following:

TOPICS

• Human, intellectual and emotional capital
• Building a learning organisation culture: piped dream or tangible possibility?
• Career Pathing: myth or reality?
• Career Management: organisational and individual responsibilities
• Skills Development and Learning: SA context and frameworks
• Aligning learning and development strategies to business strategy
• Competency Based Job Profiling
• Competency Assessment
• Performance Gap Analysis
• Competency based skill building and development
• Understanding individual learning styles
• Integrating learning approaches and methods
• Fostering an environment of lifelong learning
• The Manager as Coach
• A practical approach to Mentoring
• So now you’ve invested in their growth and development, how do you measure your ROI?

And much more!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• Managers and Team Leaders whose key responsibilities include the formulation and implementation of staff learning and development plans
• Human Resource Development specialists who wish to adopt a more strategic approach to training and development
• Anyone with an interest in staff learning and development

OUTCOMES

• You will learn how to manage the career of your staff
• You will learn how to measure the return on your investment in staff
• You will learn how to perform competency based job profiling
• You will learn how to perform a Performance Gap Analysis

The post Managing Employee Learning and Growth first appeared on Astrotech Learning.

Diversity in the workplace goes without saying in any South African business and yet, as a nation we are still experiencing some impediment to working harmoniously and productively together. The benefits of a diverse team working positively and constructively together are huge but common understanding, respect, tolerance and appreciation of differences needs first to be cultivated.

The course includes the following:

TOPICS

• Understanding the business context of diversity
• The benefits of diversity
• Acknowledging differences and treating others with respect
• Discrimination around:
  • Race
  • Gender
  • Sexual Orientation
  • Disability
  • Age
  • Religious Belief
• Generalisations, stereotypes and prejudices
• Self-awareness and consciousness of issues
• Communicating effectively in a diverse environment
• What terms are politically correct and what are not and why
• Transforming team members in a healthy and respectful way
• Achieving workplace transformation
• Increasing retention of diverse employees
• Attracting diverse employees that can add value to the business
• Diversity barriers and overcoming them:
  • Lack of influential mentors
  • Lack of informal networking
  • Lack of role models
  • Lack of high-visibility assignments
  • Diversity Best Practice
• What about when you are outside the office?
• Legislative factors and company policy
• Leadership behavior
• Preventing and correcting inappropriate behavior
• Creating a positive working environment that is not sterile and is okay to still have some fun

And much more!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• Employment Equity, Transformation and Diversity Managers
• Human Resources Managers, Practitioners and Supervisors
• Line Managers and Supervisors
• Team members with a diverse make-up

OUTCOMES

• Be able to present a business case for the need for diversity
• Facilitate improved staff understanding and relations and, therefore, staff dynamics
• Be able to develop a working environment that values diversity
• Understand how to lead a diverse team effectively

TRAINING CHANNELS:

Choose your preferred training type/method of delivery below.

IN-HOUSE TRAINING

We come to you!

ON DEMAND TRAINING

Flexible Training: No minimum delegates. Your Date. Your Duration. Face to Face or Online.

The post Managing Diversity first appeared on Astrotech Learning.

Addressing staff discipline issues is never easy and at times can be an absolute minefield of problems for managers. It is, however, an issue that all managers and supervisors do have to deal with from time to time and being prepared and educated is the only way to ensure a trouble-free work environment. Notwithstanding this, the application of effective and fair processes is equally important from a staff morale and motivation perspective and, therefore, an essential skill for managers to master.

The programme will be presented by Celeste Allan, a practicing labour attorney and industrial relations specialist and will include the following key topics:

TOPICS

• Managing Discipline Effectively
• Disciplinary Code and Procedure
• Fairness
• Handling Misconduct
• Disciplinary Hearings
• Investigations
• Managing Grievances
• Grievance Codes & Procedures
• Managing Poor Performance
• Setting Performance Standards
• Performance Measurement
• Counselling for Improvement
• Discipline and Dismissal
• Practical case studies and role plays to allow attendees to immediately test their newly acquired skills

And much more!

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• Any Manager who has staff reporting to them or deals with disciplinary processes e.g:
• IT Managers
• Finance Managers
• Production Managers
• Mining Managers
• CEO’s
• HR Managers etc.

OUTCOMES

• Gain an understanding of the key issues relating to disciplining staff
• Gain an understanding of how to improve performance
• Gain an understanding of the grievance procedures

The post Managing Discipline Effectively first appeared on Astrotech Learning.