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Professional Development & Training

Professional Development Opportunities


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Human Resources Compliance and Toolkit Series

The HR Compliance and Toolkit series is a detailed overview of the manager/supervisor’s role in the organization and the policies that govern employee relations. It is designed to equip new and experienced managers with the knowledge and practical applications necessary for successful workplace management.

To read comments from past participants about this seminar, please click here!
HR Compliance and Toolkit Overview and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) - HYBRID*
David L. Wagner, Vice President, Human Resources
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Summit Room, University Union - 3rd floor

Ethics and Auditing Services
Kathi McCoy, University Auditor
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Summit Room, University Union - 3rd floor

Living in a Collective Bargaining Environment
Julie Thue, Manager, Employee Relations
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Desktop-to-Desktop (URL will be emailed to you prior to workshop date)

Hiring and Payroll - HYBRID*
Liz Redmond, Associate Vice President, Human Resources
Jackie Kernen, Manager, Employment and Faculty Compensation
Jackie Fierros, Manager, Payroll Services
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Summit Room, University Union - 3rd floor

Harassment/Reasonable Accommodation/Americans with Disabilities Act - HYBRID*
Peter Lau, Director, Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/ADA Coordinator
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Summit Room, University Union - 3rd floor

Workers’ Compensation and Disability Leaves - HYBRID*
Joanne Davis, Manager, Workers’ Compensation and Disability Leaves
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Summit Room, University Union - 3rd floor

Classification and Compensation
Margaret Blair, Senior Manager, Classification and Compensation
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Desktop-to-Desktop (URL will be emailed to you prior to workshop date)

*HYBRID: Human Resources is experimenting with the delivery of workshops using hybrid/online modalities. This will allow faculty and staff to participate in workshop activities at a distance.



Communication and Service Series
Building a Shared Sense of Purpose

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Napa Hall

These four workshops will allow participants to sharpen their skills sets for effective workplace communication and public service delivery. The program is sequential with participants attending all four workshops. The first session introduces the skills set for effective and respectful interpersonal interaction. Assessment of each attendee’s interpersonal orientation will form a basis for developing a skills set for effective collaboration with co-workers and clients. The second workshop focuses on competencies for powerful listening and for collaborative information sharing, which form the foundation. Workshops three and four build on the earlier workshops and provide an integrated approach to strengthening cultural competencies, respecting differences and managing conflict.

Interpersonal Skills Development
Spring 2009


Effective Listening
Spring 2009


Conflict and Resolution
Spring 2009


Intercultural Communication
Spring 2009




Building Bridges to Workplace/Institutional Effectiveness:
Rapport – Relationship – Recovery

The goals of this seminar will focus on advanced communication knowledge and skills sets for participants to use to enhance respect and workplace productivity. At the end of the seminar, participants will:

  • Increase awareness and knowledge of specific communication patterns that establish and maintain credibility and rapport.
  • Enhance specific communication skills that support effective listening.
  • Learn and practice specific strategies for delivering difficult news while preserving workplace relationships.
  • Practice learned skills and receive specific coaching support.
  • Understand the variety of contexts to which these communication skills can be applied and how they can improve congruence between the intended message and the perceived message.
To read comments from past participants about this seminar, please click here!


Tuesday, September 30, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Forest Suite, University Union – 2nd floor



Survival Skills for University Administrators
Dealing with Conduct that Exceeds the Boundaries of Acceptable Collegial Behavior

Academics who take on administrative responsibilities often feel inadequately prepared for dealing with difficult colleagues and conflict situations. This seminar on survival skills focuses on techniques for handling complaints from or about colleagues and then explores the complexity of dealing with bullies in an academic environment.

Universities are designed to accommodate a wide range of creative styles and personalities; a person whose conduct exceeds the boundaries of collegial behavior can damage the productivity and morale of others in the environment. Explore where the boundaries are - or ought to be - and how to set and enforce those boundaries. Case studies and open dialogue about problem situations you (or others you know!) might have experienced are an integral part of the learning opportunity.


October 9, 2008
1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Space to be arranged



Service With A Purpose

You have a critical role to play in the public perception of California State University Sacramento. Every time you answer the phone, greet a visitor/student, or process a letter for mailing, you represent the University. To the person on the other end of the phone, across your desk, or at another educational institution, you are Sacramento State. Your contact with that person may be the first - perhaps even the only – contact he or she ever has with our campus. Since you seldom get a second chance to make a first impression, how you handle these important contacts impacts the University community and its image as a whole.


Spring 2009
8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon
Napa Hall



Supervisor/Management Development Series
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Napa Hall

It is important to note – all managers may be supervisors, but not all supervisors are managers. As a supervisor or manager, you must create a work environment that encourages all employees to contribute to the organization, build and maintain strong communication links within and across departments, and foster respectful/collaborative working relationships. This series addresses the basic professional development needs of managers and supervisors. The seminars in this series serve as the core knowledge and skill base for the new and experienced supervisors.

Role of the Supervisor
October 23, 2008

A supervisor's greatest challenge is guiding employees to perform as one unit. Access the storehouse of knowledge and skills your employees possess so that their achievements become the best reflection of your skill as a supervisor. Benefit from the practices of participatory goal-setting, work delegation and empowering employees to take necessary risks. Explore the supervisor's role within an organization as a change agent, leader, role model, and member of management. Learn strategies that allow you to balance leadership and delegation to meet the organization's mission, the needs of employees, and the expectations of customers. 0.7 CEUs

The Decision-Making Process
October 30, 2008

Determine when situations require fact-based decision-making or subjective consideration. Develop strategies to arrive at an outcome that meets the organization's mission, employee's needs, and customer's expectations. Become adept in data collection and analysis, the use of long-range planning, decision-making strategies, group decision-making processes, informed responses to unanticipated situations and empowering employees to make decisions. 0.7 CEUs

Conflict and Resolution
November 5, 2008

An effective supervisor must acknowledge conflict, identify its source, effectively deal with it, and learn from it. Conflict resolution requires a supervisor to use good communication skills, flexibility, equanimity, and objectivity. Learn to recognize conflict as a normal part of business life, understand the five-step conflict resolution process, distinguish the need for informal or formal communication styles and know when to mentor, coach, counsel or refer situations to management. Develop inter-departmental cross-functional communication and assess the impact that communication and conflict have on the organization's ability to meet goals, employee needs and customer expectations. 0.7 CEUs

Managing Diversity
November 13, 2008

As a supervisor, one of your challenges is to make the work environment a place where productive relationships can be developed and nurtured among co-workers, management, and customers. Discover techniques to leverage diversity in the workplace, build strategies to overcome barriers and promote opportunities for employees to contribute to organizational excellence. Learn to focus your employees' diverse talents, viewpoints, and experience to foster synergy, creativity, and innovation that will increase productivity. Take a look at how ADA, FMLA and changing federal and state laws affect diversity in the workplace. 0.7 CEUs



Building Trust and Positive Workforce Dynamics

Fostering respect between employees improves communication and productivity. The program design challenges participants to think about their own actions in producing a positive workforce through experiential activities including observed feedback practice and small group dialogue. Learn how to assess your personal impact on your colleagues, give and receive effective feedback and set limits when working with difficult people. Program modules include: Your Attitude Toward the Workforce; Respect – the Essential Step; Behaviors in the Workplace; Enduring Change and Managing Transitions; and the Importance of Feedback.


November 20, 2008
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Napa Hall