Summary
This programme aims to develop and enhance the key knowledge and skills required of front line and middle level managers to establish and maintain positive employee relations within their organisations.
To be eligible to receive the accreditation award from TU Dublin, 100% course attendance is required.
Assessment – To successfully complete this award, students will be required to pass their learning journal for each day of the programme and a quiz on the content of each module.
At the end of the programme participants will:
- Understand and appreciate the full extent and importance of their role in managing people
- Be able to think in terms of building positive employee relations through better employee engagement and involvement
- Improve interpersonal skills to enable them to deal more effectively with colleagues at all levels within their organisation and act with greater confidence
- Be more self-aware and therefore, more competent holding critical conversations
- Learn how to handle grievances and disciplinary meetings with more confidence
- Understand what bullying and harassment is and the procedures for dealing with such complaints
- Acquire the key tools for conducting investigations effectively
This programme is for:
Managers who want to build the skills and knowledge to maintain and grow positive employee relations within their organisations.
Approach
There are a number of activities and case studies used throughout the programme which ensures that all of the learning is applied in a real way. The programme leader encourages group discussion and involvement throughout each session, ensuring opportunities for questions and real issues are discussed at all times.
Programme Schedule
Building Positive Employee Relations & Engagement
- Understanding employee relations and achieving employee engagement
- What drives employee engagement?
- Impact of the engagement deficit
- Key steps for improving engagement
- Symptoms of poor employee relations
- Diversity, Inclusion and unconscious bias
- Resolving conflict effectively
- Dealing with grievances
Understanding your role as a Manager
- The role of the manager
- Managing Vs operating
- Identifying key management skills
- Your leadership style
- Personality testing
- Understanding your behaviour and its effects
- Effective Team Building
- Stages in team development
- Giving Feedback/Managing Problem People
- Feedback techniques
Dealing with Disciplinary Issues and Bullying and Harassment
- Fair procedures / natural justice
- Corrective Action, Disciplinary Investigations
- Informal & formal corrective action
- Poor performance & absence
- Conducting investigations
- Disciplinary Hearings and appeals
- Dealing with workplace bullying & harassment
Mediation Skills, Assertiveness and Negotiations
- Assertiveness and Personal Effectiveness
- Mediation – stages and skills
- Managing the mediation process
- Dealing with challenging behaviour
- A mediation model that works
Accredited Partner
Collaborating since 2008 to deliver pragmatic education to support careers and organisational development

Programme Facilitator
Patricia Sugrue
Patricia joined Ibec in 1990. She has been actively involved in training managers in managing people skills throughout her career. She currently runs a number of specialised Ibec public programmes including Diploma & Certificate courses in Industrial Relations, Discipline and Dismissals and negotiations workshops. She is also actively involved in in-company training programmes.
Her areas of expertise are industrial relations, employment law, discipline and dismissals, managing absenteeism, poor performance and bullying & harassment, dispute and conflict resolution, preparation and presentation of cases to the Labour Court, the Conciliation and Adjudication Officers’ Services of the WRC.
