UC Berkeley - Staff Ombuds Office

The Staff Ombuds Office offers a variety of classes and workshops to help manage and resolve conflict in the workplace. Along with our classes listed through the Interactive Class Enrollment System we can tailor classes and workshops to the singular needs of individual departments or groups.

Below is a schedule and general description of classes we offer. Please contact our office directly for more information (2-7823). All classes will be available for enrollment on the new UCB Learning Center system (through Blu). This year these classes will be held in room 24 University Hall.

FUNDAMENTAL WORKSHOPS: The following classes serve as introductions for our advanced workshops.

Civility: Respect In Action

Civility is essential to building and sustaining effective work relationships within the UC Berkeley community. This new workshop, offered to staff at all levels, supervisors, managers, and faculty who supervise staff, focuses on practical steps you can take to promote civility within your own work environment.

In a culturally diverse work environment in which values and norms can differ tremendously, it is difficult -- yet essential -- to learn how to address behavior (including our own) that is perceived as uncivil if we are to establish faculty-staff partnerships founded on mutual respect.

Topics include:

The incivility spectrum: how to recognize and deal with incivility from its most subtle expressions (insensitivity, unintentional violation of norms), through intentional affronts, to the more extreme forms (bullying, threats of violence).
Effective feedback: how to give and receive it in the face of real or perceived disrespect.
Apologies: when and how to use them effectively.
Establishing norms: how to develop norms tailored to your specific work setting, and how to put them into action effectively.
The human element: how to restore it in an increasingly technologically-driven environment

Instructor:Sara Thacker, Ombudsperson
Schedule: 3 hours (9:00 -12:00)
Date: 6/10/10
Fees/Requirements: No fee; no prerequisites
For information: Call the Staff Ombuds Office, 2-7823
TO ENROLL: Use the online UCB Learning Center enrollment system (formerly ICE) <http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/ice/home>

Communicating Effectively During Conflict - For Non-Supervisors

Sharpen your communications skills so you can make your voice "heard" by those with differing points of view. Learn techniques for listening and speaking strategically--even when communications have broken down. Gain expertise in dealing with conflict. This workshop is targeted to employees who do not supervise.

Instructor: Sara Thacker, Ombudsperson
Schedule: 3 hours (9:00 -12:00)
Date: 12/10/09
Fees/Requirements: No fee; no prerequisites
For information: Call the Staff Ombuds Office, 2-7823
TO ENROLL: Use the online UCB Learning Center enrollment system (formerly ICE) <http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/ice/home>

Managing Conflict in the Workplace (for managers/supervisors only)

NOTE: This class is for current managers and supervisors only.

Effective management of conflict in the workplace is a key management responsibility. When conflicts are not resolved work groups, work teams and, occasionally, the entire department may become dysfunctional. Managing conflict requires skills that can be taught.

In this workshop you will:

Learn how to analyze and map workplace conflict
Assess your own style of dealing with conflict
Learn how to select the appropriate strategy for managing workplace conflicts
Learn the skills of effective listening and speaking

Instructor: Sara Thacker, Ombudsperson 
Schedule: 3 hours (9:00-12:00) 
Date: 12/3/09
Fees/Requirements: No fee; no prerequisites; this class is for current mgrs/supvs only
For information: Call the Staff Ombuds Office, 2-7823
TO ENROLL: Use the online UCB Learning Center enrollment system (formerly ICE) <http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/ice/home>

ADVANCED WORKSHOPS:

Staff are encouraged to attend one of the Fundamental Workshops prior to attending the following Advanced Workshops.

Bullies and How to Deal With Them

Bullying can take many forms, some of which are obvious and others of which, though more indirect, can be equally destructive to working relationships. Learn constructive approaches to dealing with various types of bullies in the workplace.

Instructor: Sara Thacker, Ombudsperson
Schedule: 3 hours (9:00 -12:00)
Date: 3/9/10
Fees/Requirements: No fee. You are encouraged to first take one of these basic classes: Civility: Respect in Action, Communicating Effectively During Conflict, or Managing Conflict in the Workplace
For information: Call the Staff Ombuds Office, 2-7823
TO ENROLL: Use the online UCB Learning Center enrollment system (formerly ICE) <http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/ice/home>

Dealing With Difficult Situations and Behavior in the Workplace

Dealing with difficult situations, our own emotions, and incompatible styles presents a most difficult challenge in the workplace. This workshop will help participants learn to analyze and deal with problematic situations, people, and personal styles in constructive ways. Content will include discussion of difficult styles and strategies for dealing with them; effective communication using role playing, listening/speaking skills, and body language awareness; difficult situation role playing; giving and receiving criticism; as well as appropriate means of communication.

What you will learn in this workshop:

How to select appropriate strategies for dealing with situations, other people, and yourself under difficult circumstances
How to identify your own roadblocks to managing difficult situations effectively
How to practice effective communication skills through role playing
Assertive ways to address your concerns and make requests for change

Instructor: Sara Thacker, Ombudsperson
Schedule: 3 hours 9:00-12:00:
Date: TBD
Fees/Requirements: No fee. You are encouraged to first take one of these basic classes: Civility: Respect in Action, Communicating Effectively During Conflict, or Managing Conflict in the Workplace
For information: Call The Staff Ombuds Office, 2-7823
TO ENROLL: Use the online UCB Learning Center enrollment system (formerly ICE) <http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/ice/home>

SPECIAL WORKSHOPS:

E-Mail Civility

E-mail is a wonderful tool, but when used improperly it can inflame existing conflicts or even create new ones. Learn how to use e-mail effectively -- and when it's best not to use it -- so that you can foster a more civil and effective workplace.

Instructor: Sara Thacker, Ombudsperson
Schedule: 1 1/2 hours (10:30-12:00)
Date: 4/29/10
Fees/Requirements: No fee; no prerequisites
For information: Call the Staff Ombuds Office, 2-7823
TO ENROLL: Use the online UCB Learning Center enrollment system (formerly ICE) <http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/ice/home>

Introduction to Mediation: Facilitating Workplace Disputes

This introductory course explores how mediation can be an effective approach to resolving workplace disputes. Participants learn how the mediation process works and how to facilitate communication and increase understanding among individuals in conflict.

Instructor: Sara Thacker, Ombudsperson
Schedule: 3 hours (9:00 -12:00)
Date: TBD
Fees/Requirements: No fee; no prerequisites
For information: Call the Staff Ombuds Office, 2-7823
TO ENROLL: Use the online UCB Learning Center enrollment system (formerly ICE) <http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/ice/home>

Tailored Classes on Conflict Resolution

The Staff Ombuds Office can tailor any of our regular classes/workshops to the needs of individual campus departments or units. Please call the office directly (2-7823) for more information and to set up a "needs assessment" appointment.

Instructors: Ombudspersons
Schedule/Location: tailored to the needs of requesting unit
Date: by individual arrangement
Fees/Requirements: No class fee; there may be a small materials fee
For information: Call Asst. Ombudsperson Michele Bernal at the Staff Ombuds Office, 2-7823

Instructor Profile: Sara Thacker is Acting Director and Ombudsperson for the Staff Ombuds Office. She is a certified mediatior and has extensive experience teaching mediation, negotiation, multi-party dispute resolution, and alternative dispute resolution techniques.

Staff Ombuds is a unit of Administration at the University of California at Berkeley.