OpenCircle is proud to launch our Leadership in Business Series. Several instructor-led online courses designed to help grow and sustain your company.
Working in collaboration with MNP, these courses are designed to build and evolve fundamental skills as a business owner. including finance, strategy, and leadership.
Understanding the need for options – you can take as few, or as many of the courses as you like.
Member exclusive offer
Sign up for the entire series and you’ll get one of the $250 courses for free.
To receive this exclusive offer, please register by contacting our Learning Team at learning@opencircle.ca
Finance
Financial Fluency (Part 1)
Reading and understanding financial information is one of the most important tasks of a business owner. However, for business owners, the accounting and financial aspect of the business is not their area of expertise and learning financial fluency is a necessity in today’s marketplace.
After completing this course, you will be able to:
- Read and understand basic financial statement concepts
- Understand the inter-relationship between financial statement items
- Find practical ways to use financial information to identify the areas of the business that are flourishing and the areas that require improvement
- Understand cash requirements and what budgeting is required
Next course date: September 7 Register here
Part 2 of this course builds on the learnings from Part 1, focusing on interpreting financial information and using it for decision making. Topics covered include:
- Discuss drivers of profitability for your business
- Identify key areas of financial statements that determine if fraud is a factor in the business
- Learn common ratios and how to compare to benchmarks and trends
- Identify immediate business strategies to increase revenues and decrease expenditures
Next course date: October 4 Register here
A large percentage of business failures are not due to a poor business concept but rather are attributed to the lack of a proper cash flow management program.
In this session, we will use a case study exercise to:
- Identify the steps in developing a cash flow statement
- Learn basic tools to help effectively manage cash flow
Next course date: November 2 Register here
Strategy
Creating value in your business is not a nice to have, but a requirement as you build for the future. Business valuation techniques vary depending on the industry and market, but there are simple guidelines and rules available to maximize value.
In this session we will:
- Learn techniques business valuators use to value a business
- Provide case examples, along with terms and strategies to maximize value
Next course date: September 29 Register here
As a business, you need to identify the value you can provide to your customers and ensure your processes are built so customers come first.
This can be a daunting task, but understanding business process improvement, how to identify and eliminate wasteful activities and focus on high value activities, is crucial to meeting customer expectations and running an efficient business.
In this session, you will learn:
- The concept of process improvement and how it applies to your business
- Specific tools that can be used to implement process improvement within your business
- How to define value for your customers
- How to capture your current state of processes and develop future state
- How to improve your business processes
Next course date: October 18 Register here
Leadership
Businesses must ensure that their planning process is well outlined and covers all essential components. In a typical business cycle this is important, however with the recent COVID-19 pandemic, planning is even more critical for business success and sustainability. This course is designed to cover the essential components of an effective business plan and will assist participants in addressing questions or concerns they have regarding the scope and depth of the proposed plan and provide a guide to build this comprehensive plan and adapt it to the new economic realities.
In this session you will learn how to develop:
- The essential components of a well-written business plan
- A clear and simple method of developing an operational guide for business
- A comprehensive business plan outline that is simple and easy to follow
Next course date: September 28 Register here
Business owners need to support team members in achieving their goals and successfully completing their work. Supervisors will discover how to be more effective in their role through reinforcing with praise, redirecting with constructive criticism, and developing with the GROW model. The skills learned in this session can be applied to all aspects of the performance management and staff development processes. The focus of this course is on the performance conversations – not the process, tools or forms.
Upon completion of this course, participants will understand:
- The facilitation of continuous improvement and career development through ongoing performance coaching conversations with team members
- The principles of effective coaching and communication in performance discussions with team members
- The principles of confidently providing ongoing feedback to team members and handling emotion in discussion
- The process for performance coaching and formal and informal performance discussions
Next course date: October 24 Register here
Supervisors and Project Co-ordinators play an integral role on the worksite. Although you may have more experience than the employees you supervise, you may not have the leadership knowledge or adequate skillset to ensure your success. The courses in this program will help build the skills you need so you become effective in your role.
This training program has been designed to help you become a more effective supervisor in the construction industry. By training you in the various aspects of successful communication, productivity, and time management – among other things – this course will help you build the skills necessary to expertly coach, connect with, and create a safe and respectful working environment for your team.
Next course dates:
Online:
July 11 Register here
November 7 Register here
In person:
Edmonton
September 26 Register here
Calgary
September 26 Register here
*Participants will earn 5 Gold Seal credits, 33 Blue Seal hours upon successful completion of this program*
To have us come to your company to train your employees in person, please contact learning@opencircle.ca
Effective leadership is both challenging and highly demanding. Managing communication, budgets, and schedules can be a daunting task without an experienced and dedicated leader. This program was designed for supervisors, managers, forepersons, and project managers to enhance the skills required to lead in today’s complex and diverse work environment.
Next course dates:
Online:
October 30 Register here
*Participants will earn 5 Gold Seal credits, 27 Blue Seal hours upon successful completion of this program*
To have us come to your company to train your employees in person, please contact learning@opencircle.ca
This on-line course introduces valuable tools and techniques that will assist Project Co-ordinators in their daily activities and prepare them for the transition to Project Manager.
Designed for the Construction Project Co-ordinator, new-to-role Project Managers, Safety Co-ordinators and new-to-role Estimators.
Next course date:
Online
September 18 Register here
*Participants will earn 3 Gold Seal credits upon successful completion of this program*
There are many misconceptions and stigma surrounding mental health issues and often construction and trades people suffer in silence. Below are just a few of OpenCircle’s courses that help bring awareness and understanding of mental health in the workplace.
People leaders play a pivotal role within the organization by helping to create an environment that promotes mental health. This includes addressing behaviour and performance issues effectively and sensitively. This program encourages people leaders to take an active role in preserving and enhancing workplace well-being.
This program also explores the people leaders’ responsibilities towards individuals, the team and the business during each stage. People leaders get to explore their role and scope of influence in promoting mental health in the workplace.
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
- Explain the importance of sustaining a mentally healthy workplace
- Describe the best practices outlined in the stages of workplace mental health support
- Identify and locate resources for support
This is a virtual, self-paced course. Register here
The Workplace Mental Health Leadership™ certificate program is the first of its kind in Canada, developed in partnership with the Bell Canada Mental Health and Anti-Stigma Research Chair and Faculty of Health Sciences at Queen’s University. This 2-day certificate program focuses on fostering leadership practices and competencies that support the development of a mentally healthy workplace. It equips leaders to effectively respond to and manage mental health challenges in the workplace.
Next course dates:
November 7 & 16 Register here
November 21 & 23 Register here
This six-module program is designed by Telus Health to help employees expand their awareness of mental health so they can maintain their own mental health and offer a bridge to support for co-workers experiencing a mental disorder or temporary mental health problem. Modules include What is Good Mental Health, Reducing Stigma, and Exploring Emotional Intelligence.