ACEC Online Classes Next Week: Employee Retention, Project Manager Communication, Crisis Management

ACEC News / Education

February 17, 2021

ACEC Online Classes Next Week: Employee Retention, Project Manager Communication, Crisis Management

Why Retention Is You and Not Them
Tuesday, February 23, 1:30–3:00 PM (Eastern)

The time, energy, and money used to attract new hires almost always prove to be more costly than efforts to retain key staff.

What are some of the key reasons people leave? Why is this a leadership issue and NOT a performance issue?

Simon Goodhead of The Coxe Group will delve into organizational behavior theories and demonstrate how leaders can be part of the solution in helping stem “brain drain” from their firms.

You will learn:

• The tie between individual performance and organizational commitment, and group mechanisms
• Why performance drops before people leave which makes you think it is them and not you
• What leaders can do about the top reasons people leave and stay

Click here to register.

Essential Communications Skills For Engineering Project Managers
Wednesday, February 24, 1:30–3:00 PM (Eastern)

Technical expertise alone won’t help you excel as a project manager.

For engineers who become PMs, technical skills are important, but these are needed to support, not replace your ability to be effective project managers. The real difference-maker is good communication.

In this online class, Howard Birnberg, executive director of the Association for Project Management, will explore the value of becoming a good communicator, especially when it comes to managing scope creep, running meetings, and preparing written materials.

Attendees will:

• Understand the importance of effective communications skills
• Learn how to have more effective meetings
• Recognize the steps to improve your written materials
• Learn how to become a better public speaker and why this is important
• Develop methods to communicate scope changes to the client, your staff and your other team members

Click here to register.

A Path Forward: How High-Impact Teams Emerge from Crisis
Thursday, February 25, 1:30–2:30 PM (Eastern)

COVID-19 may seem like an “unprecedented challenge” but the simple truth is that challenges create opportunities.

Even now, nimble, innovative teams are emerging to take over as the preferred expert advisors. These teams who can help community leaders and owners understand how to assess, prioritize, and move forward from a crisis can outperform their competitors or an entrenched partner.

How are you and your managers leading? How is your team responding? How well are your systems and process performing during this time of testing? Are you course-correcting your plan?

In this session, DeWAyne Ables, president/CEO of Pioneer IQ will explore:

• How the needs of markets are changing
• Why some teams are quickly evolving and others are stagnant
• How to equip leaders to understand and respond to the changing needs of their customers
• Techniques to course-correct your plan to leverage COVID-19 insights for your team to quickly adapt and emerge ready to champion the next 8-10 years

Click here to register.

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