Human resource management, Negotiation and soft skills

Increasing Employee Productivity and Performance: Being Aware of Unconscious Bias

Learn the theory behind the concept of ‘unconscious biases’ and make the knowledge transfer into your daily management a success. Increase employee productivity and performance and contribute to diversity, equity and inclusion in the new world of work.

About this course

Executives and specialists in both the public and private sector have many competing priorities to cope with in times of ongoing crisis and shaping the future world of work (‘New Work’).

As leaders, we are all concerned with people, but most of us know more about how our own computer works than the most powerful ‘computer’ in the world that resides inside us. Top leaders invest in people and help organisations accelerate development and performance. Both the public sector and other organisations need inspiring or transformational leadership to contribute to the value and effectiveness of the organisation in general.

To do this
, inspiring leaders – those who have evolved, mastered themselves and have a clear strategy to promote staff – transform their people in terms of mindset and thinking, the work environment and culture. Anything less than this means being overtaken by those organisations and companies with highly engaged employees and leadership.

It is not always easy to convey a message and convince people of our ideas and position if they come from the same background. But the challenge is even greater when they have different values and beliefs, organise their work in alternative ways, communicate and listen differently. Diversity needs to be managed well to attract new talent, give them challenging tasks, and the opportunity to learn and improve their skills. Effects of unconscious biases, especially in recruiting and talent management, can threaten business success as high potential is identified less often. Diversity in the context of New Work is seen as the key to success in the future.

The skills and competences
required of public servants evolve along with the changes in society and technology. Substantive knowledge in specific policy areas will continue to be the building blocks of public service capability. Yet traditional skills and competences, such as policy analysis and service design, are complemented and transformed by emerging technical skills related to digital, data and innovation. In addition, transversal behavioural and analytical competences will play an important role in how public service workforces are equipped to handle policy challenges. Cognitive, social and emotional skills, such as the ability to learn, and adapt and manage ambiguity, will become increasingly important in all public service professions.

What will you learn:

You make decisions every day. Most of them are made by the subconscious mind or are involved in it. Without realising it, you may encounter prejudices. Our brain helps us to assess situations quickly to make resource-saving decisions. These abbreviations of the brain offer benefits, but can also lead to misjudgements and wrong decisions, and even discrimination.

This programme will help you to understand how the achievement of objectives and thus the success of the organisation is influenced by behaviour, personality, and methods of communication, experience and culture. It gives concrete advice on how to think about our own behaviour and how to understand that of our counterparts to improve communication skills, especially in the context of interactions within a diverse and multicultural environment. The techniques analysed will deal with general and specific principles on bias parameters related to processes, methodology, strategic thinking and communication, and decision-making. Cultural differences in these areas will be emphasised during the training.

To influence a communication and negotiation process with integrity, we must first reflect on our own behaviour in interpersonal, diverse and intercultural relationships.

Course methodology/highlights:

Join this dynamic two-day programme to build networks and improve your skills by being immersed in a collaborative and mainly interactive working environment. It is important to understand the theory behind the concept of ‘unconscious biases’ – it is even more important to make the knowledge transfer into your daily management a success. ‘Learning by doing’ will be our credo during the course: situation rooms, case studies, discussion groups and a methodology mix to match your learning needs. You also have the opportunity to learn in a small group limited to 15 participants.

Lifelong learning is also becoming increasingly important for leaders and specialists in a world full of uncertainty, volatility, agility and complexity. This two-day training aims to increase the capacity of managers and specialists to address interpersonal and intercultural challenges through a range of methodological, awareness-building and highly practical tools. We bring theory and practice together to support your individual performance, but also to contribute to diversity, equity and inclusion in the new world of work. You will also have the opportunity to learn from others and their experiences, and to build networks.

To provide course materials and to facilitate learning, we make use of the online platform Moodle.

You will have access to the materials for a duration of three months after the course.

This training is designed for executives and specialists who want to accelerate their personnel development by making better decisions and building new skills. This will enable a more effective management of diverse staff – from technical decisions to personnel decisions regarding talent management and more, in daily practice.

Online Course
For this online course we make use of Zoom

Programme Organiser
Ms Belinda Vetter
Tel: +31 43 3296382
b.vetter@eipa.eu

Discounts
EIPA member fee
EIPA offers a discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency

Who are the supporting countries?
Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies

Early bird discount
The early bird discount is not cumulative with other discounts or promo codes, except for the EIPA member fee.

Who are the supporting countries?
Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies.

Confirmation
Confirmation of registration will be forwarded to participants on receipt of the completed online registration form.

Payment
Prior payment is a condition for participation.

Cancellation policy
For administrative reasons you will be charged € 50 for cancellations received within 7 days before the activity begins. There is no charge for qualified substitute participants.

EIPA reserves the right to cancel the activity up to 1 week before the starting date. In that case, registration fees received will be fully reimbursed.

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Our experts

Beatrix Behrens
Project leader

Beatrix Behrens

HRM Policies and Public Management

Programme

08.55Opening of on-line platform, Central European Time (Amsterdam)
09.00Opening
Dr Beatrix Behrens, seconded Expert HRM and Public Management, EIPA. Head of Division HR Policies/HR Development at Bundesagentur für Arbeit (BA) (Federal Employment Agency) Nürnberg

Prof. Gundula Gwenn Hiller,
Professor for Career Guidance and Counselling with a focus on intercultural competence and migration, University of Applied Labour Studies, Mannheim

Frank Lavadoux,
Senior Lecturer on EU policy implementation, Team Leader on international negotiation processes and skills, EIPA
09.30The new roles of leaders in the future world of work to promote sustainable change
10.30Coffee break
11.00Enhancing your individual performance and business success – reflect on your own behaviour and be aware of your own biases – workshop
Gaining knowledge about unconscious bias helps to gain more awareness of several processes of our mind, e.g. how we make decisions or how we judge other people, involving hiring, promotion, performance, communication, negotiating and leadership, and collaboration. It is important not to blame us because of our biases, because having biases lies within human nature. However, it is very useful to learn how to manage them better with regards to our individual performance – being aware of unconscious biases helps us to deal more mindfully and fairly. Thus, the aim of the Unconscious Bias Workshops is to raise awareness of cognitive shortcuts we use in our daily life.With a mixture of information, experience, discussion and joint strategy development, the sessions aim to clarify cognitive functioning, raise awareness of diversity and develop sustainable approaches for individual practices. The content is interactive and based on varied methods; it is practice- and experience-oriented to encourage a change of perspective and reflection through dialogue and discussion.
Situation room – what does unconscious bias mean?
How might unconscious biases surface at work, and how do you avoid them so you can build a more inclusive and diverse workplace, and tap potentials?
11.30Reporting in plenary and introduction to the unconscious bias – a glimpse into our brain

  • The broad diversity of unconscious thought patterns that challenge our brain;
  • Pigeonhole thinking – how quickly do I fall prey to my own unconscious thinking patterns?
  • Neuroscientific explanations for unconscious thought patterns and stereotypes;
  • Watching the brain think – detecting and analysing unconscious thinking patterns.
12.30Lunch break
13.30Presentation – different types of biases

  • Misjudgement and factual bias
  • Unconscious biases as barriers to diversity and innovation
14.45Coffee break
15.00Case study – how does unconscious bias affect the workplace?

  • Better performance, more creativity – what are the effects of consciously dealing with unconscious biases in teams?
16.30Wrap-up

Conclusions and recommendations

  • The way out of the pigeonhole trap – strategies and recommendations.
  • How to bypass unconscious thought patterns consciously.
17.00End of day 1
08.55Opening of on-line platform, Central European Time (Amsterdam)
09.00Discussion and synthesis of the learning points of day 1
Daily communication and negotiation challenges
Strategy of influence: how to master the art of effective communication in your organisation. This could offer the possibility to convert, concisely, most of the issues that will have been covered in the previous sessions:

  • Identifying behavioural and communication patterns;
  • Drawing up a list of behavioural parameters to be considered in communication and negotiation processes as a leader (from a managerial point of view, but this is also applicable to all staff in charge of managing projects involving more than two people);
  • Being conscious of the main golden rules regarding communication and influence.
09.15Workshop Part I: The dos and don’ts in communication and negotiation processes
10.00Workshop Part II: Practical tools for a better communication and interaction  
the three dimensions of any negotiation and communication process
10.30Coffee break
10.45Presentation and preparation of the first simulation exercise
11.15Simulated negotiation 1
12.30Lunch break
13.30Debriefing: The level playing field of communication and negotiation
14.45Presentation and preparation of the second simulation exercise
15.15Coffee break
15.30Simulated negotiation 2
16.00Debriefing: Strategic considerations and the ‘3P’ approach, and golden rules on communication and efficient public speaking in an intercultural environment
16.45Final considerations and recommendations: formalisation of an individual progress plan
17.00End of the online course

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Increasing Employee Productivity and Performance: Being Aware of Unconscious Bias

7 Nov 2022 - 8 Nov 2022
Online
Register before: 21 Sep 2022

Simultaneous interpretation can be offered. Contact the programme organizer for more information and conditions.

 700 per attendee
 630 for EIPA members
Registration closed

Discount policy

EIPA offers a discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency.

Who are the supporting countries?

Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies.

Early bird discount

For a limited number of training courses, EIPA offers an early bird discount.

For more information please contact us.

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Register before: 21 Sep 2022
Registration closed