The WTN Blog

 

Seeing the Light

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By Kit Goldman, President of Workplace Training Network, Inc.

Characters:
Nancy: a senior manager at a fictional company or government agency
Roger: a supervisor, Nancy’s direct report, former peer, long time friend

Scene: Nancy’s office. Roger arrives for a meeting

R: (At door) Good morning, stranger.

N: What’s so good about it?

R. Another person blown away by my charm and charisma.

N: Sorry, Roger. It’s been a stressful day. Come in. Sit down. (overly perky) Let’s talk.

R: Uh oh. The last woman who said “let’s talk” like that was my second wife. Just before she became my second ex-wife. Is this gonna cost me?

N: Possibly.

(more…)

Crossing the Line

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By Kit Goldman, President of Workplace Training Network, Inc.

Characters:
Lynn Ross: a middle school English teacher
Ed Silva: father of one of her students

SCENE: A classroom after school. Lynn is at her desk, grading papers. Ed enters.

 

E: Excuse me, are you Mrs. Ross?

L: Yes, I’m Ms. Ross. May I help you?

E: I’m Ed Silva, Eric’s father.

(more…)

 

Different Worlds

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By Kit Goldman, President of Workplace Training Network, Inc.

Characters:
Felicia: a Hispanic employee at a fictional company
Frank: her Anglo co-worker and team leader

SCENE: Frank is in the break room. Felicia enters.

Different Worlds Scene 1

Felicia: Hey, Frank! Glad I found you. Sorry to interrupt your break but I need your input right away on a couple of items for the Inter-Tech project. (calls out to someone across the break room in Spanish) Luis! Entonces me vas a conseguir los graficos para el final del dia, OK? Excelente! (to Frank) Luis is re-working the graphics for Monday’s presentation. That’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about, actually.

Frank: Re-working it? Why? Barb’s graphics are fine. She’s got about 60 hours in those graphics.

(more…)

 

Do or Die

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By Kit Goldman, President of Workplace Training Network, Inc.

 

Characters:
David: a newly appointed manager at a fictional company
Sheila: an employee, formerly David’s peer, now his subordinate

SCENE: a local restaurant/bar. Sheila’s at a table waiting for David. He enters.

 

S: David! Over here! I was getting worried.

D: Hey, sorry. Meeting went over. It’s bumper to bumper. Cell phone’s dead. What a day. And it’s only half over. I never do this during the work day, but I’m having a beer. Want one?

S: You’re the boss now, so sure. (David orders beers) Anything I can do to help relieve that stress?

(more…)

“Edutainment”: Harnessing the Power of Entertainment to Enlighten and Educate about Harassment, Retaliation, and Related Topics

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“Edutainment”: Harnessing the Power of Entertainment to Enlighten and Educate about Harassment, Retaliation, and Related Topics

by Kit Goldman

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Employing an “edutainment” methodology for training on critical workplace topics can achieve extraordinary levels of engagement and retention.

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The “Edutainment” Genesis

It was October 1991. In my office, above the stage of the playhouse I built and operated in San Diego’s historic Gaslamp Quarter, I sat riveted — nay, mesmerized — watching the Clarence Thomas–Anita Hill hearings on a tiny, desktop TV.

For many of us outside the labor law community, that was the dawning of awareness about sexual harassment — an issue now in the consciousness of pretty much anyone not dwelling with the forest animals or contemplating their navel in a cave.

After a long run as an entertainment industry professional and early Gaslamp Quarter pioneer, I was ready to move from arts into business. I had built two theaters, produced over one hundred professional shows, had written, directed, and performed in dozens of productions, and longed to merge that passion with another passion: education, where a prior career track and my academic creds lay.

Watching those hearings, I had a prophetic thought: “This would make an amazing play.”

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No Big Deal

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By Kit Goldman, President of Workplace Training Network, Inc.

 

Characters:
Arturo: A customer service supervisor at a fictional company
Tracy: An IT employee

Scene: Arturo’s office. Tracy dashes in holding a cup of coffee.

 

T: Sorry I’m late. Stopped in the break room to get some coffee and that new temp… Ron… was in there passing out birthday cake and doing his thing.

A: “His thing”?

T: (takes off jacket, puts on chair) Yeah, the “spank me, it’s my birthday” thing. Putting on a big show even though he’s only been here 27 and a half days, not that I’m counting. The whole thing’s juvenile and disgusting. Anyway, sorry. What’s going on?

(more…)

 

Nuts and Bolts

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By Kit Goldman, President of Workplace Training Network, Inc.

 

Characters:
Colleen: Newly promoted Facilities Supervisor at a fictional company
Lonnie: A veteran employee on her crew

Scene: Repair shop at the facility. Tools, hardware, schematics scattered on table and floor. Coffee on table, water bottle overturned, liquid on papers. Colleen enters.

C: What the…? (picks items off floor, lifts wet schematic, looks offstage) Lonnie? Lonnie, you here? (dials phone) Janice, I’m in the shop. Lonnie’s not here and it’s a pigsty. What’s his break schedule? Yeah, I’ll hold.

Lonnie enters, looks like he just woke up, startled to see Colleen

L: Hey Colleen (yawns, tucks shirt, rubs eyes)

C: (to phone) Right. OK, thanks. (To him) Taking a little snooze?

L: Who? Me?

(more…)

 

Safety Yardsticks: Harassment, Bullying, Respect

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By Kit Goldman, President and Founder, Workplace Training Network, Inc.

Three important measurements of safety in your workplace are:

  • Your team’s awareness of the risks harassment and bullying can pose
  • Their commitment to respectful conduct
  • Supervisors and employees who know the warning signs of violence and what to do if they occur

Training is essential for achieving all three!

Ok, picture the following scenario. You’re a manager dealing with a difficult employee. We’ll call him “Jeff”. Jeff was great for a while – even employee of the month — but lately, there have been performance issues.

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Take Harassment Off the Menu!

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Welcome to a fictional Restaurant. Meet Roger, a high-performing manager with a very touchy-feely style and edgy sense of humor.

Today, Roger is meeting with Margo, an employee, about a promotion. When Margo arrives, she overhears him joking on the phone about a gay employee. His screensaver is a picture of his wife in a Brazilian bikini.

Margo is known to be easily offended. That concerns Roger re: the promotion.

Roger speaks honestly with her, acknowledges she’s qualified,  but she’s uptight. He says she needs to loosen up, “liberate herself from that Catholic School upbringing”. Reminds her she’s in the restaurant business, things move too fast for co-workers to walk on eggshells around her, and you certainly can’t get be judgmental of the customers.

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Life Imitating Art

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Imagine this: you’re attending the CAMSS (California Association of Medical Staff Services) annual conference in Long Beach last June. You grab a seat in the breakout session presented by dynamic Nossaman LLP attorney, Carlo Coppo.

About halfway through the program, a clearly distressed woman stands up in the audience, says she is the Operating Room Supervisor at her hospital and asks if she can speak. As she starts to describe a disturbing incident, an enraged physician comes out of the audience and confronts her. He is hostile, aggressive, verbally abusive.

(more…)