Services

Training methodology

Accrete has been delivering face-to-face leadership and management training for 17 years. Our face-to-face delivery model is premised on:

Adult Learning Principles: we understand that adult learners bring their own experience and skills to the learning environment and we capitalise on that by incorporating group discussions and experience-sharing in all our programs. This acts to expose participants to a range of views and approaches to an issue or topic, as well as providing engagement for our participants.
Catering to a range of learning styles through a diversity of training approaches: we design our programs to include a combination of PowerPoint presentations, whiteboard drawing and flowcharting, group discussions, scenario-based discussions, question and answer sessions and practical activities.
Story-telling: We believe in the power of story-telling and ensure that we use simple, everyday examples to help participants to understand the application of concepts, policies and processes that may otherwise appear to be overwhelming or abstract.
Quizzes: We routinely include quizzes to check understanding and allow participants an opportunity to apply their knowledge. Our quizzes are designed to be:
- interactive - participants complete the quizzes individually and then debrief with their group before debriefing with the wider class
- high energy - usually a short exercise that is conducted several times throughout a session
- engaging – we ask a range of quiz questions from simple through to challenging to enable all participants to contribute
Hypotheticals / scenarios: We often present participants with a scenario or hypothetical situation for them to collectively consider. This exposes participants to the knowledge and experience of their peers and encourages collective learning.
Shared learning: Accrete believes in the value of networking and shared learning during training courses. All opportunities for group work or collective learning provide this potential advantage for our participants and we are mindful to facilitate this as much as possible.

Tailored / Contextualised training

Most of the courses we deliver are tailored or contextualised. Tailored courses have been designed to meet the needs of a specific organisation or workplace and involve providing training based on internal policies and processes, scenarios and focus areas. Accrete works closely with our clients to ensure that these programs are user friendly, practical and designed to provide participants with the necessary knowledge and understanding so that they can confidently carry out their responsibilities. Design and development of these programs will usually involve: meeting with subject matter experts within the organisation, reviewing all relevant policies etc, delivering a pilot program attended by relevant personnel, and finally rolling out the finished product.

In our experience tailored programs deliver the best opportunity for an organisation's team to obtain practical, relevant training that increases the participants' skills, understanding and confidence.

Facilitation of planning days

Accrete has conducted a number of planning days including:

Strategic Planning Days
Business or Operational Planning Days
Culture Refresh Days

In order to prepare for the conduct of a planning day we work closely with the management team to determine desired outcomes, the approach that will be taken and the agenda for the day.

Example approach for recent planning day

1. Meetings with the Director and senior managers to:

Review strategic / operational direction for upcoming period
Reach agreement on those areas where input would be sought from their team members, and those areas which would just involve a short presentation / update from key personnel
Review current performance against organisational KPIs
Reach agreement on agenda and allocation of roles

2. Agenda prepared and discussed until all parties were satisfied with the order of the day, timings and speaker nominations

3. Facilitation of the day

80 team members (urban and regional) attended this planning day and the event was held off-site. The venue was large enough to enable team members to sit in tables of eight. Catering was provided to enable mingling and networking during meal breaks.

The day was a mix of relatively short and punchy update sessions delivered by appropriate team members, together with brainstorming sessions that involved all groups. Each brainstorming session began with a relevant leader or subject matter expert speaking to the topic briefly to provide necessary context. Attendees would then brainstorm possible strategies to achieve the objective, and record their ideas. A short debrief was held at the end of each brainstorming session to hear key ideas from each group.

A key person or team was appointed to drive each area which had been brainstormed. Strategies were collected by that person / team and they were then responsible for considering the strategies, and creating an action plan implementing the strategy that best positioned them to meet the goal. All key persons/teams would then meet again one month after the planning day to review progress. Attendees were told this follow-up plan on the day so that they were aware and were offered the opportunity to contribute to those areas they felt connected to.

Team building

Teams are more efficient and collaborative when they have a clear and common aim, a shared understanding of their purpose and the role that each team member plays in achieving that purpose, and when the relationships within the teams are built on trust and mutual respect. In much the same way that we service our cars, it is prudent to consider putting your team in for a service every now and then.

Our team building courses are tailored to meet your needs. Most courses go for one day and are made up of a balance of themed workshops (30 - 60 mins in length) and activities. We choose activities that build on the learning in the workshops, whilst also providing an opportunity for team members to have fun together.

Some popular themes for these workshops include:

The big picture (Vision, Mission, Strategic and Operational objectives)
Workplace culture (Values and expected behaviours, common team dysfunctions)
Communication skills and how to have difficult conversations
Emotional intelligence
Professionalism: What is it and what does it look like in our team?
How to build a high performing team

Profiling tools

We have facilitators who are accredited to conduct the following profiling tools:

DiSC: Behaviour profiling tool

DISC is the most widely used behavioural model in the world and has been utilised:

In over 50 countries
By more than 350 of Fortune 500 companies
By in excess of 40 million people

DISC Profile® is tested, tried and trusted. It is the assessment favoured by organisations such as Australia Post, Dodo, SBS, iPRIMUS, University of NSW, Commander Phone Systems, Fire & Rescue NSW, Datacom, Salvation Army Employment Plus, Royal Flying Doctor Service and many more.

The DISC Profile® Assessment is a resource for individuals and organisations desiring to improve performance, increase productivity and to positively persuade other people.

The ability to create rapport with people is a fundamental skill in management, personal relationships, and everyday life. The goal of the DISC Profile® Assessment is to help you create personal chemistry and productive relationships. You don’t have to change your personality; you simply have to understand what drives people and recognise your options for effectively dealing with them.

The DISC Profile® assessment is valuable for individuals and all types of organisations; public or private; large or small. Unlike many other behavioural assessments, the DISC Profile® Assessment is as much prescriptive as it is descriptive! In other words, the assessment spends as much time teaching you how to improve your own productivity and interpersonal interactions as it does describing your natural DISC behavioural style.

For more information on the DiSC tool please visit the official DiSC website at www.discprofile.com.au.

Get in touch with us to discuss how these tools can help you and your team better understand each other and improve working relationships.

Coaching

We provide one-on-one leadership and management coaching for senior, middle and first line managers or supervisors. As the responsibilities of being a leader have become increasingly complex it is sometimes prudent to seek the perspective and counsel of an outside party in relation to the many confidential and delicate issues that a leader faces.

Our approach: We believe that the key to a successful coaching relationship is a good fit between the two parties. Before we agree to provide coaching services we will meet with the candidate to discuss the outcomes that are being sought and the level of time and effort that will be required. This also provides the parties with an opportunity to get to know each other well enough to determine if the fit is an effective one. If both parties agree to proceed then regular discussions are held to workshop issues as they arise.