Introducing: Building a Respectful Workplace online course!

We are proud to announce the much anticipated Building a Respectful Workplace online course! Those who were on the waiting list should have already heard from us directly, but for the rest of our community: consider this your formal invitation to join us in our online retreat at the lake.

Are instances of disrespect, or perceived disrespect, damaging your workplace culture? Are you unsure if/how you can respond to situations like these if you are a part of them, whether in a passive or active way, no matter how big or small?

You’re not alone.

Building a Respectful Workplace brings together three experts in the field of conflict resolution who each provide a unique perspective to this important area of need:

• Paul Kruse: currently serving as a mediator for the Manitoba Human Rights Commission, Paul is also the arbiter of reason for his five children.
• Tanya Clarke-Marinelli: as a life coach, grief and loss trainer, and mediator, Tanya has walked a diverse path towards creating healthy relationships within the workplace and pairs this with her passion for cultivating healing within Indigenous communities.
• Janet Schmidt: in university, Janet had pursued two different interests – one in business and another in psychology. Since 1996, she has merged these two passions by becoming an expert on workplace mediation. With decades of broad hands-on experience, she continues to serve in the community and occasionally teach courses on conflict resolution at both the University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg.

Together, these three experts have built an extensive curriculum that draws upon their collective decades of experience. This online course is packed with pragmatic advice and tools that will assist workplaces in becoming respectful environments where we can all collaborate and thrive.

What exactly do we mean by respect? Here is our working definition:

Respect (pronounced ri-ˈspekt): Due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, and traditions of others.

This is something we all value in our places of work – never mind life in general. The question becomes: how can we ensure mutual respect?

Conflict is natural; disagreement about issues and ideas can even be healthy if they produce broader perspectives and learning opportunities. This, however, is subtly distinct from respect – which is about behaviour.

Whether our roles are small or large, conscious or unconscious, we each play a part in affecting the culture at our places of work. Together in Building a Respectful Workplace, we will look closely at the diverse cast of characters involved in the all-too-common drama that is disrespect in the workplace. As with most stories, at the heart of the conflict is a target and a source (avid readers might instead know these folks by their colloquial names, victim and villain, respectively). Beyond the epicentre of this scene, there’s also an individual playing the role of observer – someone bearing witness to the event. And lastly there is an authority – someone carrying the responsibility to intervene and resolve the situation.

Do any of these roles sound familiar? Have you played any (or all) of them in the past? Through case studies and examples, we will unpack the skillful actions available to us in these difficult moments. This course will prompt us to carefully consider our influence in creating the kind of work environments that we would enjoy spending our days in.

This online course is a comprehensive webinar that scales to meet both the needs of an individual and their organization. Relationships are an integral part of our livelihoods, and tending to them is important for setting us all up to flourish – whether that is with clients or colleagues, or if we are sole proprietor or a team leader.

A detailed manual is provided as a course companion for Building a Respectful Workplace. This can complement a workplace policy that your organization already has in place, or be tailored to suit your current guidelines. Our goal is to ensure the fostering of happy and healthy workplaces; reach out to us at the links below to open up a discussion about how we can provide extra customizations to meet your specific needs.

Regardless of the size of your business, we strongly recommend that your entire team take this course together and that new hires are enrolled as early as possible. Laying the foundation of a respectful workplace culture is vital for each employee’s future within your company – and is an investment that will pay off in leaps and bounds.

To inquire about registering your whole team for this webinar (bundle pricing) or to schedule a live training for your group, please reach out via email, phone, or our website contact form.

Cultivating respectful environments is a foundational aspect of any workplace, regardless of the industry. To accommodate for tight schedules and space limitations, this course is offered online and on-demand so you can begin learning right now.

We are proud to offer the Building a Respectful Workplace course as an extension of the in-person work that Mediation Services has been doing for Winnipeg’s local community since 1979 – and an opportunity to use technology to share the expertise we’ve garnered, with each and every one of you.

Please join us in building your respectful workplace. It’s a goal that is close to our hearts and we hope to support you in creating it together.