HR Essentials (Lightning Skills Bundle) Certificate

HR: Creating an Employee Handbook Certificate Course

Developing a comprehensive and robust employee handbook is crucial if you want to see your organisation thrive. Handbooks tell employees exactly what is expected of them, helping them feel more confident in their positions. These documents also help deliver valuable information about company policies and procedures, so there is never any guesswork involved. This helps to keep you, your staff members and your entire company safe, even in an emergency situation. Additionally, handbooks can protect you from liability, since you can easily prove that all staff members are well-informed of the rules.

This course goes into detail about how to create an employee handbook. We begin by telling you exactly how to start brainstorming ideas, while also letting you know what sections are crucial for you to include regardless of your industry or the type of workplace you are running. The course also reviews important facts to keep in mind while drafting your policies to encourage greater employee compliance. Finally, we talk about a step that is often forgotten, reminding you of who you should consult with when you have finished drafting the document.

You Will Learn:

• What a mission statement is and why your organisation needs one
• How to write meaningful policies
• Understanding why your staff members need certain polices explained
• How to divide your handbook for maximum readability
• What type of language you should focus on using throughout the handbook
• Why visiting a solicitor upon completion of the handbook is essential

Benefits of Taking This Course

• Understanding why you should never start your handbook by delivering dry information
• Learning how to incorporate your mission statement into new employee materials
• Learning the steps you should take to write an employee handbook from scratch
• Learning the steps you should take when you are revising an existing document
• Being able to determine which sections are necessary, regardless of industry

HR: Protecting Confidentiality Certificate Course

Regardless of the type of organisation you are running, your industry or your company size, at some point, your staff members are going to have to deal with confidential information. Knowing how to handle this information is a crucial part of running a successful organisation. In most cases, it is your human resources department that handles most of your confidential information, such as the contents of employee files. However, for some organisations to run smoothly, other people also need to handle sensitive and confidential information, such as proprietary information or personal information about your clients.

This course goes into detail about how to protect confidentiality within your organisation. It begins by telling you why you need to control the flow of information in and out of the workplace and gives you several tips for doing so successfully. Your legal obligations and other responsibilities are covered, ensuring that all staff members are compliant with the relevant legislation. The use of various agreements to ensure privacy is maintained is also reviewed at length. Finally, we talk about certain ethical considerations you may need to keep in mind relating to privacy and confidentiality.

You Will Learn:

• What pieces of UK legislation are crucial for you to understand
• How to handle information your organisation obtains about staff members
• How you can use non-disclosure agreements to protect your organisation
• Who should be able to access confidential information and under what circumstances
• How to keep digital and paper files safe and secure

Benefits of Taking This Course

• Understanding the importance of physical locks throughout the workplace
• Learning how to create a secure password
• Learning how an organisation should record employee passwords
• Understanding how to train new employees to ensure compliance with your confidentiality policies
• Understanding what to do if you are faced with ethical considerations that may require you to violate confidentiality

HR: Working with Vendors Certificate Course

Some of the most important relationships you forge throughout your career are not with your colleagues or co-workers, but instead the vendors you work with on a regular basis. Finding the right vendor and developing a working relationship with them can ensure your company thrives in today’s incredibly competitive marketplace. The wrong vendor can quickly send you into the red, with poor delivery, sub-par products and high prices. This makes finding the right one, and learning when it is time to leave, a crucial skill to develop.

This course goes into detail about how to forge and maintain good relationships with your vendors. It begins by telling you how to find the right vendor for your organisation’s specific needs. Next, we discuss how to maintain a good working relationship with all your vendors, including how you should handle any invoicing concerns. Finally, we spend time reviewing the ways you can deal with difficulties you may experience when working with a third-party vendor. Keeping all of this information in mind guarantees you can always work well with your vendors, keeping your company firmly in the black.

You Will Learn:

• The three key factors you should look for when finding a new vendor
• Why each of those three factors is important
• Understanding how to deal with invoicing concerns
• Why it is important to spend time learning about your own responsibilities and obligations
• Who you should speak with if an order is wrong
• Why price should never be the determining factor when picking a vendor

Benefits of Taking This Course

• Understanding the role vendors play in your organisation
• Learning what steps you should take if you cannot pay an invoice on time while still maintaining a good relationship with your vendor
• Learning the steps you should take if you have concerns about chronic vendor issues
• Learning about the role delivery plays in vendor selection
• Understanding when you need to terminate the relationship with your vendor

Importance of Good Housekeeping at Work Certificate Course

Everyone seems to be aware of their obligation to keep a workplace clean. This is why company owners often hire professionals to scrub down offices at night or go through periodic shutdowns. However, good housekeeping at work requires a lot more than simply using cleaning products. It also means keeping your own workspace free from obstacles and debris that could cause trips or other hazards. Practicing good housekeeping at work ensures that the workplace is safer and as free from injuries as possible.

This course goes into detail about the importance of practicing good housekeeping at work, whilst also providing you with instructions on how to do so. We begin by reviewing what poor housekeeping is, as well as highlighting the risks involved with working in that kind of environment. We also review the key benefits of using good housekeeping strategies at work. Next, we discuss why you need to develop a housekeeping programme regardless of your industry. Finally, we review why you need to evaluate your housekeeping efforts on an ongoing basis.

You Will Learn:

• How poor housekeeping puts you and others in your workplace at risk
• Examples of poor housekeeping, including common mistakes made by many companies
• How employing good housekeeping skills can increase productivity and reduce the number of sick days taken
• The items that many people overlook when developing a housekeeping programme
• The steps you can take to ensure that your workplace stays tidy

Benefits of Taking This Course

• Being able to enjoy a safer workplace, as free from hazards as is possible for your industry
• Understanding the role employees play in keeping areas clean, neat and free from debris
• Learning how to avoid common mistakes made when implementing housekeeping policies
• Understanding that good housekeeping is an ongoing task, not something that you only need to worry about once
• Learning how to encourage your employees to keep their space clean and free from debris

Interviewing Skills Course

One of the best things that you can teach yourself is how to have success during an interview. Interviews are very intimidating for most people, because they are so important. You can’t get a job these days without going through the interview process - and that one moment can make or break your chances of getting the job of your dreams.

This course gives you a full overview of everything you need to know about the interview process. We talk you through the steps you should take in the days before the interview and then we present several tips on what you should wear when interviewing. On top of this, we share some of the most common interview questions and how to answer them and give you examples of questions that you can ask the interviewer before leaving.

You Will Learn:

• Why there are different types of interviews and what happens at each type
• The steps that you should take in order to fully prepare yourself for the interview
• What you should wear to an interview, based on your gender
• What the most common interview questions are and how to answer them in a way that impresses the interviewer
• What you should do in the hours and days following your interview to ensure success

Benefits of Taking This Course

• Learn more about the interview process and why interviewers ask certain questions
• Understand how to make a great impression with the interviewer, no matter what type of interview you are doing
• Learn about what questions you can ask to impress the interviewer and also, what type of answers they are looking for to their own questions
• Understand the proper things to do following an interview to boost your chances of getting a job
• Learn how to get feedback if you are passed over by another candidate

Office Etiquette Certificate

Understanding the unspoken rules of the workplace will increase your chance of getting a promotion. Office etiquette ensures that everyone benefits from a pleasant working atmosphere free from harassment and uncivil behaviour.

In this course, you will learn the fundamental office etiquette that everyone needs to follow. You will discover how to present yourself at work, how to interact with others, how to resolve difficulties, and how to build a reputation as a valuable team member.

You Will Learn:

• How to show consideration for other people’s time
• How to be a good team player
• How to maintain a professional image at work
• How to send appropriate emails
• How to conduct yourself at office parties and other special events

Benefits of Taking This Course:

• If you want to advance in your career, a sound grasp of office etiquette is essential
• If you manage or supervise others at work, this course will help you lead by example
• If you are responsible for putting together official policy documents at work, this course will help you cover guidelines pertaining to office conduct
• This course will help you build positive relationships with your co-workers, which will make your work life more enjoyable

Strategic Planning/Mission Statement Course

Mission statements are important aspects of businesses, especially start-ups. They describe many elements of businesses, including why they are in operation.

Strategic planning also goes hand in hand with the creation and delivery of mission statements. It guides businesses and their operations in many ways. It can be the link between a business and its success.

This course has been tailored to introduce mission statements and strategic planning and their roles in businesses. First, we explain the phrase “mission statement” and give a detailed description of what it is.

The course also defines a strategic plan and states the main components of mission statements to help better understand the concept. Next, we briefly describe how to create a mission statement and provide a sample statement to better understand the idea under exploration. We also explain how a business can create a good strategic plan to aid in the realisation of its mission statement.

The course also explains the link between a strategic plan and mission statements. We also discuss what happens when a strategic plan fails or a business is unable to realise its mission statement either wholly or in part. Different terms related to strategic planning such as mission, vision and values have also been differentiated. Finally, we cover the benefits of strategic planning and mission statements in any business.

You Will Learn:

• The definition of strategic planning and mission statements
• What a mission plan or strategic planning entails
• The difference between a strategic plan and a mission statement
• The main components of a mission statement and how to create one
• How to create a mission statement and a strategic plan
• The relationship between a strategic plan and mission statements
• What happens in case a mission statement or strategic plan fails
• The differences between various terms such as mission, vision, strategy, values and a balanced scorecard
• The benefits of strategic planning and writing mission statements

Benefits of Taking the Course

Taking the course will help you:
• Understand mission statements and strategic planning
• Understand the essence of the two in business operations
• Learn to develop your own mission statements and strategic plans
• Learn what to do in case an existing company mission fails
• Prepare to run your business venture in the future
• Develop an interest in taking up a business course or career along those lines

Tackling Sensitive Workplace Conversations Certificate Course

An inescapable and unavoidable part of managing any workplace or leading any team is dealing with difficult situations. Having sensitive workplace conversations with anyone, regardless of their position or the purpose of the talk, is not something that anyone looks forward to.

Unfortunately, failing to have these critical conversations can backfire, leading to tense situations, repeated mistakes and increased workplace drama. Having conversations regarding sensitive topics is just as important to keeping your workplace running smoothly as paying the bills and hiring skilled staff members.

This course goes into detail about sensitive workplace conversations, recognising how hard they are to have and how stressful they can make you feel beforehand. We begin by discussing four specific issues that often arise in workplaces, along with a few suggestions on how to start these conversations.

Next, we give you the information that you need, to adequately prepare for these conversations and explain why you should never discuss a sensitive topic without preparation.

Finally, we discuss the best locations in your office to host these types of conversations and explain why you should focus on privacy.

You Will Learn:

• Information regarding the four most common sensitive topics
• Tips on how to broach these topics, along with examples
• Why you need to prepare for these conversations in advance
• Preparation tips and cautionary advice on how to make these conversations more effective
• Where you should have sensitive conversations to ensure privacy

Benefits of Taking this Course

• Learning how to effectively manage your staff with less stress
• Learning the tools that you need to handle sensitive conversations on all topics
• Understanding the importance of listening, when having these talks
• Understanding the importance of timing, when having these conversations
• Learning who you should follow up with after your sensitive conversation

Working With Aggressive People Certificate Course

Unfortunately, aggressive people are everywhere. Regardless of what your type of job is or your role within your organisation, there is a good chance that you are going to have to work with an aggressive individual at some point. If you are not prepared, this can create a lot of stress and anxiety, which can make work seem unbearable and it can quickly spill over into your personal life.

Learning how to cope before it becomes problematic is the best way to handle what could otherwise be a potentially difficult situation.

This course goes into detail about how to work well, even if one or more of your colleagues has an aggressive personality. It begins by discussing the various types of aggression that you are likely to encounter at work.

Next, we review a few strategies that are successful when used with aggressive people. One of these strategies is to become more assertive in your own communication, which is covered in detail.

Finally, we give you instructions on how to quickly resolve workplace issues to reduce the impact of any aggressive behaviour.

You Will Learn:

• The difference between hostile expressions, obstructive behaviours and direct aggression
• How to identify which category of aggressive behaviour you are dealing with at any given time
• The different ways in which passive-aggressive and overtly aggressive individuals behave at work
• The best strategies you can use in order to deal with aggressive behaviour
• The importance of assertive communication at work, especially when dealing with aggressive colleagues

Benefits of Taking This Course:

• Working in a calmer, healthier and more positive environment
• Learning the importance and versatility of ‘I’ statements when dealing with an aggressive person at work
• Learning how to build up your assertive communication skills
• Learning the three-step conflict resolution method and how you can apply it to tense situations involving aggressive individuals
• Feeling less stressed while at work

Workplace Monitoring and Data Protection Certificate Course

Learning about workplace monitoring and data protection is absolutely essential for anybody in any organisation of every type and size - whether you’re an employer, employee or directly responsible for data collection compliance.

This course provides a comprehensive guide to understanding the legal requirements involved with employee data collection and the legally binding stipulations of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for all UK organisations.

From a comprehensive look into GDPR principles and the definition of ‘personal data’, to ways to ensure compliance as an employer and the rights and responsibilities involved in workplace monitoring, this course covers everything you need to know about workplace monitoring and data protection.

You Will Learn

• The general principles of the GDPR and how they pertain to your organisation
• A comprehensive definition of ‘personal data’ and all it entails
• How to ensure full legal data protection compliance
• The rights and responsibilities of workplace monitoring for employers and employees

Benefits of Taking This Course

• You will avoid the serious legal implications of non-compliance of the GDPR
• You will increase productivity by improving employer/employee trust
• You will avoid the costly process of hiring data protection consultants
• You will improve your reputation within the industry and attract new business

The course is broken down into 0 individual modules. Each module takes between 20 and 90 minutes on average to study. Although you are free to spend as much or as little time as you feel necessary on each module, simply log in and out of the course at your convenience.

You can study the course any time you like. Simply log in and out of the web based course as often as you require. The course is compatible with all computers, tablet devices and smart phones so you can even study while on the move!

Once you have completed all 0 modules there is a multiple choice test. The questions will be on a range of topics found within the 0 modules. The test, like the course, is online and can be taken a time and location of your choosing.

The pass mark for the test is 70%.

If you don’t pass the test first time you will get further opportunities to take the test again after extra study. There are no limits to the number of times you can take the test. All test retakes are included within the price of the course.

Once you have completed your test you can log in to your account and download/print your certificate any time you need it. If you would prefer us to post you a certificate to a UK address, there will be an admin charge of £10 (certificates sent internationally may cost more).

You can either use your Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Solo cards or PayPal account to pay for the online course. Our site uses the latest SSL encryption to ensure your safety. All payments are handled securely by PayPal.

You can begin the course immediately after your payment has been received. You will create your login details during the checkout process. We will also send you an email confirming your login details.

We estimate that the course will take about 6 hours to complete in total, plus an additional 30 minutes for the end of course test.

Once you have been awarded your certificate it is valid for life. The certificate does not expire or need renewing.