Business » Workforce Development » Employers » Business Services » Business Workshops

Business Workshops

Font Size: + -
Share & Bookmark, Press Enter to show all options, press Tab go to next option
Print
logo
Employer Virtual Workshop Series

Oakland County Michigan Works! Employer Workshop Series

Join the Oakland County Michigan Works! Business Service Team and featured guest speakers to discuss and explore educational and informative topics geared towards workforce needs of employers.

Upcoming Events

Employer Workshop Series - National Apprenticeship Week is Here!

Wednesday, November 15 |10 - 11am

It is no secret U.S. employers continue to face a shortage of skilled workers in critical industries. More are turning to registered apprenticeship programs to build their own workforce for the future.

Celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, Nov. 13-19, 2023, by joining us for a special free, in-person employer workshop on the components of a registered apprenticeship program and the resources available to help expand your team.

Apprenticeship experts from both Oakland County and state of Michigan will provide an overview of resources available to support a registered apprenticeship program, including available grants.

The speakers also will introduce the RAPTOR system, a free, digital platform that allows employers to track the progress of registered apprentices as they learn and earn on the job.

DID YOU KNOW?

There are nearly 600,000 active apprentices in 27,000 registered apprenticeship programs in the United States today. U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship 2022

Your Hosts:

Liz Rivard-Weston, Apprenticeship Success Coordinator, Oakland County Michigan Works!

Callan Eschenburg, State Apprenticeship Expansion, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity

Kartav Patel, State Apprenticeship Expansion, Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity

Event Flyer

Register Now

No results found.

Past Events

Employees with Disabilities
Addressing Misconceptions and Celebrating their Work

Oct. 25, 2023 | 1:00-2:30 PM

Virtual Webinar

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. It also marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The U.S. Department of Labor and its Office of Disability Employment Policy is recognizing these events by continuing to advance access and equity in job placement success for those with a recognized disability.

Join us for a free, virtual workshop that celebrates the contributions of workers with disabilities and showcases the supportive, inclusive policies and practices in place that benefit employees and employers alike. The goal is to recognize the importance of ensuring people with disabilities have equal opportunity to prepare for and succeed on the job.

WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Review of the legal definition of disability
  • Challenge assumptions and increase one’s knowledge related
    to disabilities
  • Increase one’s understanding of the Americans with Disabilities Act
    and its impact on your organization

Six Elements of a Leadership Mindset

September 19, 2023 | 10:00-11:30 AM

Virtual Webinar

Leaders are made, not born. The right behavioral mindset is critical to the success of a leader. There are practical, actionable traits that affect
a leader’s effectiveness.

Oakland County Michigan Works! is hosting a virtual employer workshop, “Six Elements of a Leadership Mindset,” led by an expert committed to helping organizations create thriving workplace cultures. Places where people come first, relationships flourish and success is the norm.

WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Impact of the right mindset on personal happiness, health and wellbeing, goal achievement and success.

  • Importance of mindset to foster a leadership skill set that influences how one behaves at work, from interacting with colleagues to problem solving and decision making, to viewing the future.

  • Six elements of a leadership mindset: growth orientation, resilience, drive, future focus, accountability and inclusivity.

Let's Get Down to Business
Learn how to start a successful business and access resources that can help

Friday, September 8, 2023 | 2:00 PM

Oakland County Michigan Works! Oak Park | 22180 Parklawn Street | Oak Park, MI

This September, join Oakland Thrive, Bamboo Royal Oak and Oakland County Michigan Works! Oak Park for an in-person Business: 101 workshop.

Starting your own business requires more than just an inventive idea. Business owners are learning that utilizing additional support plays a major role in helping their business grow.

Interested entrepreneurs can register to attend this free workshop and hear from staff dedicated to helping small and emerging businesses succeed. Learn how to access county resources that can help your business thrive and connect with additional supportive services to help your local business flourish.

WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Importance of a strategic business plan
  • Developing messaging to attract potential customers
  • Relevant labor market data
  • Flexible thinking to adjust to a changing market
  • Impacts of local resources and services
  • Breaking down roadblocks to running a successful small business

Work-Life ALIGNMENT
Management Must-Do's for Employee Well-Being in Today’s Workplace

July 18, 2023 | 10:00 - 11:30 AM

Our society’s desire for work-life alignment has taken center stage, with people of all ages striving for more balance in the aftermath of the pandemic. The spotlight has produced mixed results. According to Deloitte’s recent global survey of Gen Z and Millennials, while satisfaction with work/life balance has improved, there is plenty of room for improvement and employers need to take notice.

Join us for a free, virtual workshop on July 18, 2023, from 10:00-11:30 a.m., Work-Life Alignment: Management Must-Do's for Employee Well-Being in Today's Workplace. Learn about the essential strategies that help managers increase employee engagement, optimize employee well-being and improve work-life arrangements

WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS:

  • The devastating impact on both productivity and morale when managers ignore the work-life issues of employees.
  • Critical role of people managers who act as lynchpins and can directly interact with employees to reduce the work-life stress they experience
  • Essential strategies for managers to promote work-life balance, targeting four key areas: connect, respond, rethink and model.

YOUR WORKFORCE AND THE LAW
Navigating the Top Challenges Facing Employers and HR Leaders

June 21, 2023 | 10:00 - 11:30 AM

Today’s business leaders are tasked with managing an evolving workforce, often addressing significant challenges that meld both human resources and legal concerns. From hiring to firing, they must comply with ever-changing and overlapping laws. The key to success is to effectively evaluate organizational practices and recognize their real impact on operations and your people.

Join us for a free, virtual workshop on Wednesday, June 21, 2023, where we will discuss current legal challenges, from both a human resources and legal perspective. Through storytelling and other tools, participants will be introduced to a variety of proactive strategies to help avoid common mistakes. SHRM credits (1.5) are available for attending this live virtual event.

WORKSHOP HIGHLIGHTS:

  • Current employment trends impacting employers in 2023.
  • A review of employment case law and applicable lessons learned
  • Steps to proactively avoid legal risk

WORKFORCE MENTAL HEALTH

Wednesday, May 17, 2023 | 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Recognizing the Need and Resources to Support A Happy, Healthy Workforce

With their work environment turned upside down over the past three years due to the pandemic and other factors, 39 percent of respondents to the American Psychological Association’s recent Work and Well-Being Survey said their job has had a negative impact on their mental health.

The fallout: unhealthy job stress and burnout for more Americans who work full-time and spend about half of their waking lives on the job. Join us for a free, virtual workshop on Wednesday, May 17, 2023,
where we will be discussing this growing concern and the mental health resources available to help stressed workers.

EMPLOYING SKILLS-BASED HIRING

Tuesday, April 18, 2023 | 1:00 PM 

Expanding Your Pool of Candidates with “Good Fit” Talent

Join us for a free, virtual workshop to learn about the advantages of employing skills-based hiring and keys to deploying it successfully in your organization. A growing number of employers are adopting a new hiring practice that focuses on the skills of a job seeker or employee, rather than simply one’s degree.

Employer Workshop Series - Employee Retention Strategies

Tuesday, March 14, 2023, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM

According to recent data from the Society of Human Resource Management, the average company experiences nearly 20 percent turnover each year.

Employers are learning it takes more than just a competitive wage and benefits package to attract and retain their best employees in today’s tight labor market. Employees are demanding more.

Join us in March for a free, in-person employer workshop, presented by Oakland County Michigan Works!, that will highlight how to foster a healthy, productive and engaging work environment. Learn how to incentivize your staff members to encourage them to stay on the job.

Workplace Bullying

Recognizing It and How to Effectively Address the Situations

Tuesday, February 7, 2023 | 1:00 PM

School playgrounds are not the only settings for bullying. Such situations can arise at work, too, resulting in a hostile work environment. Nobody should have to endure it.

Join us in February for a free, virtual workshop on effectively handling such harassment at work. The key for leaders is to launch intentional and crucial conversations about bullying, including the identification of common workplace bullying characteristics, sharing insights into addressing such situations, and imparting change-based knowledge to end bullying on the job.

 

Managing Remote Workers

Providing your team with flexibility while maintaining productivity and effectiveness

Tuesday, January 24, 2023 | 1:00 PM

One of the biggest long-term impacts of the pandemic has been the boom of people now working remotely, whether on a full-time or hybrid basis. This popular trend has significantly changed how workplaces operate today and possibly well into the future.

Join us this month for a free, virtual workshop on effectively managing this growing population of workers, including the unique skills needed and an understanding of what motivates people to pursue a remote work arrangement.

OCMW!/SHRM Foundation HR Registered Apprenticeship Program Info Session

September 22, 2022 | 9:00 - 10:00 AM

Online Event

Does your organization need talented human resources professionals? Perhaps it is time to consider a new approach to building your team. Mold your own through a registered apprenticeship program.

Oakland County Michigan Works! and the Society of Human Resources Management Foundation are partnering to offer employers the opportunity to develop a registered apprenticeship program for human resources professionals.

The apprenticeship focuses on eight behavioral competencies and 15 knowledge areas. Upon successful completion, apprentices are ready to take the SHRM-CP certification exam.

During the meeting, we’ll share:

  • Details on the Foundation’s new competency-based HR registered apprenticeship program and how it develops human resource management skills
  • How registered apprenticeships play a key role in meeting DE&I goals
  • The process for accessing funding from Oakland County Michigan Works! to offset the cost of apprentice wages and supportive services, as needed

Funding Sources to Fuel Your Workforce

Increase your talent pool, gain access to tax credits and offset training expenses.

August 10, 2022 | 1:00 - 2:00 PM

Recruiting, hiring and training workers is quite a challenge for many employers. It takes time and funding. There are programs and incentives available, however, to help employers complete these important tasks and build a skilled staff.

This free, virtual workshop highlights how Work Opportunity Tax Credits (WOTC) benefit employers and job seekers, as well as funding available to support registered apprenticeships and on-the-job training.

Workshop Highlights

  • How the WOTC program provides employers with cost savings
  • Applying to the WOTC program and hiring eligible employees
  • Building a registered apprenticeship program. Measuring the progress and effectiveness of the newly embraced practices
  • Leveraging on-the-job training programs and state funding sources to nurture talent

Hiring Through an Equity Lens Pivot From Tradition and Change Your Company’s Culture

Wednesday, July 20, 2022 | 10:00 a.m.

More and more business leaders are striving to embrace equity in their organizations. A key to achieving this is to reflect on your traditional hiring practices that may encourage an unhealthy workplace culture and then enacting real change.

Join us in July for a free, virtual workshop to learn how to pivot from this historical approach to hiring staff and greatly impact two key areas: the evaluation of an applicant’s experience and the steps taken to actually hire someone.

Workshop Highlights

  • Evaluating examples of how racism and historical hiring systems impact the workforce
  • Identifying best practices in the hiring process in order to create more equitable and inclusive hiring practices
  • Measuring the progress and effectiveness of the newly embraced practices

Tapping the Non-Traditional Talent Pool: Tackle Your Staffing Challenges by Building a More Inclusive Workforce

Tuesday, May 17, 2022 | 1:00 p.m.

Hiring, building and retaining a quality team are arguably the greatest obstacles to success for virtually all employers in today’s post-pandemic world. You can address them by building a more inclusive workforce through the recruitment of non-traditional workers.

Join us in May for a free, virtual workshop featuring a panel discussion on the benefits of hiring returning citizens and others with justice-related hurdles, workers with disabilities, and older citizens who want to extend their careers.

Workshop Highlights

  • Attracting candidates from targeted populations – tips and techniques
  • Making the most of work incentives, including fidelity bonding and WOTC
  • Creating a more inclusive workforce within your organization
  • Changing lives and making a difference in your community

Busting Employee Burnout: How to Stop It from Taking Over Your Business

Tuesday, April 26, 2022 | 1:00 p.m.

Employees have faced unprecedented challenges over the past couple of years, learning how to survive at work amidst a global pandemic that only now seems to be waning.

We have all seen how today’s “always on” culture can quickly deplete a person’s energy and drive, leading to the burnout, including your team’s best talent. This can increase your costs associated with recruitment and retention and, unfortunately, impact the company’s worth and competitiveness.

Join us in April for a free, virtual workshop on the measurable steps you can take to ensure you are not fostering a culture of burnout in your organization.

Workshop Highlights

  • Defining burnout and how it differs from stress
  • Recognizing the impact of burnout on your organization
  • Understanding common misconceptions and mistakes in identifying and preventing burnout
  • Promoting burnout recovery and creating lasting change

Workforce Retention: Culture, Leadership and Law

Tuesday, March 15, 2022 | 1:00 p.m.

With four million Americans quitting their jobs last November alone, perhaps the greatest challenge facing U.S. employers today is the retention of their best employees.

According to business and labor experts, overcoming this obstacle focuses on creating a retention culture for employees that benefits everyone. Join us this month for a free, virtual workshop where hosts and participants will discuss how to accomplish this and position employers for success.

Workshop Structure

  • Creating a culture
  • Leading to retain and attract
  • Understanding of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
  • Recognizing what employees want
  • Managing virtual and flex work
  • Increasing employer protections
  • Examining recent employment case laws

This program is approved for 1.0 (General) credit hour. Dinsmore & Shohl LLP is recognized by SHRM to offer Professional Development Credits (PDCs) for the SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP®. This program is valid for PDCs for the SHRM-CP® or SHRM-SCP®. For more information about certification or recertification, please visit shrmcertification.org.

Business Succession: Do You Have a Plan in Place?

Wednesday, January 19, 2022 | 1:00 p.m.

Learn about the succession planning tools that increase the stability of the business you’ve built for those who depend on it.

Business owners invest so much work, sacrifice and stress to make their businesses grow and succeed. The best also focus on making sure their employees develop and grow professionally. The goal is to assure a change in leadership goes smoothly, with minimal if any, business disruption. Succession planning involves a broad array of tools that can be customized for each business to help provide stability, both for those running your business today and those driving decisions tomorrow.

Workshop Structure

  • Common Legal Issues and How to Spot Them: Every business is unique, but we will discuss some of the more common legal hurdles to succession planning.
  • Common Financial Gaps and Which Tools Can Help: While there are many financial tools available, we will review some prevalent ones and how they can assist with succession planning.

Veterans + Apprenticeships: The Perfect Equation

Tuesday, November 16, 2021 | 1:00 p.m.

Those who served our country want to build civilian careers and apprenticeship programs provide the ideal setting to showcase their various skills and obtain others.

Employers looking for a competitive edge, an advantage over their competition that will pay dividends today and well into the future, should consider launching a registered apprenticeship program. Veterans who served our country are ideal candidates for apprentice positions, given their work ethic, loyalty and skills sets. What they may not know they are eager to learn.

Celebrate National Apprenticeship Week with Oakland County Michigan Works! and its partners, as they make a case for hiring veterans to complete registered apprenticeships in a variety of industries. Also learn about funding provided by Oakland County Michigan Works! to help offset the costs of launching an apprenticeship program.

Workshop Structure

  • Overview of registered apprenticeships – requirements and structure
  • How companies can build apprenticeship programs that enable veterans to use their earned benefits
  • Hiring veterans – employer and apprentice testimonials, personal experiences
  • Summary of apprenticeship-focused grants available to employers
  • Other county resources available to employers and veterans

Recruiting Employees Today and Tomorrow

Using traditional and modern marketing tools to reach the best candidates available

Tuesday, October 19, 2021 | 10:00 a.m.

In today’s tight labor market, undoubtedly impacted by the pandemic and worker shortage, recruiting quality candidates is more challenging than ever. Hiring managers are employing innovative strategies to find the best people available to employ today and the future, including a combination of traditional and modern marketing tools. Learn how these can ignite your organization’s recruiting efforts from an experienced newspaper advertising professional and the “Job Doctor” featured on WXYZ Channel 7.

Workshop Structure

  • Using newspapers to recruit – a fresh look at a proven method
  • Advertising a job opening most effectively via print media
  • Preparing the perfect job and recruitment ad
  • Understanding the new mindset of today’s job candidates
  • Leveraging “social recruiting” to grab their attention
  • Selecting the right social media platforms for your industry
  • Executing a social media recruiting strategy with guerilla marketing engagement

Networking for Talent in a Pandemic World

Tuesday, September 21, 2021 | 10 a.m. - Noon

There is no going back to the pre-pandemic workplace. Organizations and individuals have no choice but to discover new ways of working together. It's critical to learn how to adapt to this new environment and recognize how networking has changed, and what skills are required to truly succeed in engaging with your customers and workforce. Oakland County Michigan Works! is hosting a virtual panel discussion, "Networking for Talent in a Pandemic World," led by experts in workforce recruitment and marketing, business growth, and culture-shifting efforts for business.

  • Learn how to effectively brand your company in a pandemic world
  • Identify new networking tools available to everyone
  • Improve your networking skills, adapting to the new normal as our country moves forward
  • Enhance your recruiting efforts, build your workforce and grow your business

The pandemic has uncovered new networking trends and opportunities. We can now network from anywhere and at any time. With networking tools and platforms, we can gain more insight about a person than ever before.

Hosted by:

  • Emma Gougeo, Marketing and Community Affairs Coordinator, Entech Staffing Solutions – workforce recruitment / development / marketing
  • Marie Hauswirth, Executive Director, Waterford Chamber
  • Chad Ever, Founder/COO, Ever Studios – culture-shifting efforts for business professionals

Opening Your Doors to International Talent

Closing the skills gap and building your future workforce with people from other countries.

Wednesday, August 18, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. EST

Southeast Michigan faces a critical STEM talent gap that is only expected to widen in the future, as baby boomer retirements accelerate. Unless something changes, experts predict the continuous introduction of advanced technologies will lead to more than 2.4 million unfilled jobs in STEM fields by 2028, due to a lack of skilled candidates.

There is a solution, however, to address this workforce challenge: highly qualified international students can fill the skills gap. They can use OPT to work for American employers for up to three years without visa sponsorship. This interactive workshop, led by the professionals at Global Detroit, will show companies how to take advantage of this international STEM talent pipeline and others. In addition, they will also discuss the topic of hiring skilled immigrants and refugees.

Global Detroit is a regional economic and community development organization, focusing on immigrants and global talent.

Get an Inside Look at Internship

Engage talented young people and build your future workforce.

Tuesday, June 15, 2021 | 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Internship programs continue to grow in popularity despite the COVID-19 pandemic, providing employers in a variety of industries with access to young talent, while young people ages 16-24 obtain valuable work experience.

A recent survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers this spring indicated 43 percent of businesses plan to offer hybrid internship programs this summer and beyond, featuring both in-person and remote experiences. The poll also revealed 38 percent plan to exclusively offer virtual internships, with 13 percent plan to offer just in-person experiences.

This free workshop hosted by Oakland County Michigan Works! in partnership with Oakland Community College will provide you with a valuable introduction to internship programs:

Workshop Structure

  • Discussion of the frustrations that entrepreneurs face in building a company for long-term success in today’s business environment
  • Overview of the Entrepreneurial Operating System® or EOS®, a set a simple, practical concepts and practical tools to help entrepreneurs achieve their goals by attracting great people, customers and investors
  • Importance of maintaining discipline and transparency to build a business that thrives on a consistent use of proven processes

Achieving Business Success through Shared Accountability

Wednesday, May 12, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. - Noon

Small and mid-sized grow-oriented businesses led by entrepreneurial leadership teams face a myriad of challenges, including how to build effective teams that share their drive and vision. It is not uncommon for an organization’s leaders to feel the business is stuck in neutral, especially in the midst of a pandemic.

This free, virtual workshop highlights the six key components to turn a business’s frustration to “elation” – led by building a greater sense of accountability throughout your organization.

Workshop Structure

  • Discussion of the frustrations that entrepreneurs face in building a company for long-term success in today’s business environment
  • Overview of the Entrepreneurial Operating System® or EOS®, a set a simple, practical concepts and practical tools to help entrepreneurs achieve their goals by attracting great people, customers and investors
  • Importance of maintaining discipline and transparency to build a business that thrives on a consistent use of proven processes

Addressing Employee Turnover

Helping Employees Overcome Common Obstacles on the Job to Keep Them Happy and Productive

Tuesday, March 16, 2021 | 10:00 a.m. - Noon

Good employees are invaluable and keeping them is a priority. Learn why many employees struggle to hold onto a job and at least one solution to helping them stay employed.

This free, virtual workshop highlights the Oakland County Business Resource Network (BRN), an employer-led program that addresses a variety of concerns causing employee turnover and disengagement. The goal: employee retention.

Assistance from success coaches in existing BRN programs can increase employee retention to 90 percent or higher*, saving companies thousands of dollars in training costs per employee.

*ERN-USA 2019

Workshop Structure

  • Review of employee turnover trends, using data from the most recent Oakland County Turnover Study
  • Overview of employer and employee concerns addressed by the Business Resource Network, including success stories from current members
  • Key role of success coaches from Oakland Livingston Human Services Agency (OLHSA) in helping employees
  • Fee structure and contract requirements for joining the Business Resource Network

Hiring Veterans - How to Turn America’s Heroes into Valued Employees

Wednesday, January 27, 2021 | 10 a.m. - Noon

U.S. veterans of all ages provide unique skill sets which are often transferable to the civilian workforce. Providing them with challenging employment opportunities benefits everyone, helping them transition home and strengthening your team.

Join us remotely for a special, free workshop for employers, designed to increase your general understanding of how to find, hire and retain America’s heroes.

Workshop Structure

  • Using Onet to evaluate military skills for civilian positions
  • Finding and accessing the veteran workforce
  • Making your company veteran friendly and veteran attractive
  • Retaining veteran employees