Improving Managerial Skills: management development workshops for planners
Getting the most out of local authority staff and resources, through enhanced management skills and practice, is going to be the key to achieving quality outcomes at a time when financial constraints mean an increasing need to "get more from less". Despite the forthcoming freeze on Council tax and planning budgets continuing to be under severe pressure, spending a relatively small amount of time and money now on developing and/or updating management skills could well be one of the best investments to make for both the short and long term.
TRA's programme of one-day in-house Management Development Workshops is aimed specifically at those working in the planning and development field. Workshops can be organised for individual authorities or for groups of neighbouring authorities working jointly.
Benefits of TRA's Management Development Workshops
Features and benefits include:
- training designed specifically to meet the needs of local authority planners
- workshops incorporating up-to-date examples and case studies from LPAs across the country
- an interactive and relatively informal format to encourage participants to get involved and get the most out of the training
- applicability to both those already in management positions and aspiring managers
- scope for tailoring of the training to meet the specific needs of individual client authorities
- all the other benefits you would normally expect from in-house training.
Download our flier on the features and benefits of in-house training.
Workshops available
- Managing in Planning Today: achieving more from less (NEW)
Has it ever been a harder environment to manage in? Managers today have to balance incorporating new legislation, prospective new national planning guidance and new thinking associated with localism about how things are done, with maintaining and where possible improving delivery and performance. At the same time, budgets are under threat, staff are worried about their futures, and in many cases morale is falling. This workshop explores how changing processes and practices has to be complemented by changing human and cultural behaviours. Focusing on three key skills of leadership, motivation and handling resistance to change, participants will come away with a better understanding of how they can proactively influence service delivery in these challenging times. They will also better understand where their own strengths and weakenesses lie and how they impact upon their managerial qualities. - Negotiation Skills
Planning staff engage in some form of negotiation almost every day. These negotiations, whether with colleagues, the public, developers or agents, are very often carried out without the benefit of a clear understanding of the principles and techniques involved. Yet this kind of awareness, when coupled with experience, can make a formidable difference to an officer's effectiveness. - Negotiating Financial Agreements
Negotiating financial agreements is increasingly becoming a key element of a planner's workload. Yet, many planners lack either the negotiating skills or a sound understanding of development finance (or both) and this can severely hamper their effectiveness in these situations. This workshop is designed to link a number of key skills and techniques with an understanding of how they can best be used within financial negotiations. - Creating, Managing and Inspiring Teams
Teams and how they function can often be taken for granted and managers may lose sight of how they can influence how their team operates. This workshop offers an insight into how to create, successfully manage and inspire new and existing teams to achieve better and more cost-effective results. - Managing and Leading Professionals
This course focuses on people management skills, of understanding your professional staff and yourself as a manager. It looks at key managerial skills in the context of tricky personnel issues and how to provide the leadership required to lead staff through challenging and changing times. Its concepts are equally applicable across DM, planning policy, enforcement etc. - Managing the Planning Customer's Experience
In a society that expects a high quality service at minimum cost, delivering a quality service that leaves the customer satisfied and reduces the number of unnecessary "interactions" has to be a high priority for any successful manager and their staff. This workshop provides an understanding of why customer care matters more than ever before and it is equally applicable to professional and support staff. - Managing the Development Management Process
This workshop is designed to help you manage the transition from regulation to facilitation and bring your team along with you. It examines how you can develop your staff and get the best possible outcomes for your customers. It focuses on how best to manage both Development Management staff and processes to achieve those optimum outcomes. - Presentation Skills for Planners
Planners, and particularly middle-tier managers often find themselves thrust into the spotlight by having to make presentations to Planning Committees, Area Committtees, pressure groups, other stakeholders etc. These presentations often represent "make or break" occasions and how they go can have a significant impact on the quality of the outcome being sought. This interactive workshop will raise participants' awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses and provide some tried and tested tips and techniques to help them get their message across.
For further information on individual topics or the programme as a whole, or to discuss your particular requirements, please contact Angela Holmes, without obligation.