New Professional Development Classes Offered

Duke's Learning and Organization Development office is offering four new courses this spring to help employees expand professional skills in areas of communication, presentation and leadership.

Keisha Williams, director of Learning and Organization Development (L&OD), said the classes have been added to the course portfolio based on a survey of employees late last year to assess needs in professional development offerings.

"These were elements of work life that many individuals said they were interested in learning more about, and many supervisors said would be beneficial for their employees," Williams said. "They cover skills that are useful to a wide variety of employees from senior leadership to entry-level employees." 

The following new classes will be offered. 

• Personality and Effective Communication - a two-day course focusing on how temperament and behavior influence communication practices. The course will include two personality assessment tools. March 27 and 28, $130
• Professional Branding - a half-day class about using a personal brand and basic business etiquette skills to create a competitive edge. April 2, $65
• Dimensions of Management for Successful Leaders - a two-day workshop on best practices to enable improved performance of employees and teams. This workshop includes a 360 profile assessment. April 24 and 25, $260
• Presentation Skills - a one-day course highlighting best practices for planning and delivering presentations. May 14, $130

Williams said that class size for each offering is limited and may include pre-class assignments to help participants easily connect the class to their workplace. For example, participants in the "Presentation Skills" course will be asked to come with a completed or in-the-works five-minute presentation to rework and practice during class.

L&OD will also offer other technology and work skills classes that have been popular over the past few years.