New Managers portfolio offer

Personal development review (PDR)

Guidance for reviewees and reviewers’ responsibilities in the PDR process.

Faculty specific sessions can be arranged for a minimum of 8 staff.

Recruitment and selection

Training in employment legislation issues, the University’s recruitment and selection policies and procedures, equal opportunities issues and interview techniques. The course is practical, and appropriate levels of training are given according to the delegates’ previous experience.

Recruitment and selection refresher

This refresher is required for anyone who attended the two-day course more than three years ago. It focuses on Brookes-specific recruitment policies, and on recent legal changes that affect recruitment and selection decisions.

Introduction to leadership and management for new managers

This is a 2-day course which will give new managers insights into their management and leadership role and practical strategies for carrying out the tasks of the role.

Topics include: managing workload, management/ leadership styles, the management relationship,  communicating as a manager/leader, delegation, encouraging engagement, agreeing objectives, performance management.

Improving financial awareness for non-financial managers

This is a 1-day course for managers to improve understanding of basic finance principles and methods, accountancy terms and procedures and make better use of financial information.

Topics include: accounting profit and cash, accruals, provisions and depreciation, the nature of costs, cost control, adding value and adding cost, budgets and forecasting, communicating financial data to others.

Stress management and resilience

Two half-day courses, on the same day, which combine to provide information on the responsibilities of managers in preventing and managing stress in their teams (morning), and strategies for individuals to prevent and manage stressful feelings by increasing resilience (afternoon).  

The first session is important for line managers and the second is of interest to both managers and non-managers.

Book one session or both.

Managing attendance

This course is designed to give managers the tools and techniques to better manage sickness absence as well as raise awareness of the support available. Jointly facilitated by Human Resources and Occupational Health, you will better understand your role as the line manager in dealing with issues involving sickness absence, how and when to involve Occupational Health and when support/intervention is also needed from Human Resources.

Manager as coach

This workshop is held over 2 half days, and will provide you with a range of coaching tools and techniques to enhance working relationships and get the best out of individuals and teams.  The second session will offer an opportunity to further develop and practice a coaching style to enhance working relationships.

Introduction to performance management

‘Performance Management’ to many people means a focus on poor performance; however this is not necessarily the case. This workshop gives an introduction to all aspects of performance management, including the day-to-day informal management of the performance of your team and tools and techniques to inspire your team as well as preventing underperformance developing.

Managing underperformance

This workshop follows on from Introduction to Performance Management (although it is not vital to have undertaken that workshop before this course).  It will give you tools and techniques to identify underperformance and manage it appropriately through the formal stages across the whole spectrum of employee relations issues (e.g. capability, disciplinary, sickness absence and grievances).

Using the capability procedure to improve performance

This workshop (based on the capability policy) offers an opportunity to look at practical ways to raise your initial concerns about individual performance and setting a measurable action plan and the way forward.

Managing the work of your team

This workshop will help you to plan and monitor the work of your team, develop your understanding of motivation of individuals and teams and provide feedback.  It will contain a mixture of theory, discussion-based sessions and practical exercises.

Managing lawfully

This workshop is led by internal speakers, who, utilising their specialist knowledge and experience across the University, to help you to understand and explore your legal and ethical responsibilities as a manager.

Facilitating change

This workshop seeks to examine some of the factors to take into consideration when a manager introduces changes to their work area. The workshop reviews a variety of problem solving/decision-making techniques, which can be applied in response to various problems, issues and opportunities.

Leading your team

This workshop uses your own positive experiences of leadership and draws on case studies, and leadership and motivation models, to help you to understand the differences between leadership and management and to identify leadership approaches relevant to your role.

Positive management and motivation

This workshop is designed for managers who want to be proactive in managing their team to get the best out of them. Including areas of Positive Psychology, motivation, and Emotional Intelligence, this half day course should leave you energised and with lots of practical tools and techniques to take away.

The project management workshop programme

The focused project manager at Brookes

In this workshop Managers would gain an over view of how the project management process/governance works within Oxford Brookes and an insight into the benefits of adopting a business case approach when commissioning new initiatives within their areas of responsibility.

Practical tools and techniques for project management

Risk management

Negotiation skills