Training & Education
For the better part of twenty years, ADR Education has been providing training in negotiation, mediation and other forms of conflict resolution to federal and provincial government agencies, departments, boards, commissions, and to private corporations.
ADR Education’s unique training philosophy emphasizes the integration of Attitude, Process and Skills. Learners need to build capacity in all three dimensions; consciousness of philosophy and approach, a keen awareness of methodology and direction backed by a strong set of skills and techniques. Our learning solutions are carefully designed to meet our clients’ expectations and context. We don’t normally provide courses as public offerings. We emphasize experiential learning and rely on coached role plays, demonstrations, mixed-media presentations and skills-building activities throughout.
ADR Education is nationally recognized for its curriculum development, course design and workshop delivery expertise.
Assisting other peoples’ negotiations and difficult discussions requires considerable skill, process expertise and plenty of practice. From the beginning of engagement, through preparation, identifying of problems, exploring objectives and finding solutions, the methodology we teach is tailored to the cultures and contexts of our clients. ADR Education works with learners in sequenced phases to expand on what they do well.
Demonstration and role play are used extensively. We include experienced coaches to give immediate, detailed feedback to participants so they can quickly integrate new skills and process interventions. Our mediation courses encourage conscious reflection about how the mediator’s attitude and philosophy motivate the process and skills choices they make. Above all, our training builds the capacity to help.
We teach an interest-based negotiation approach that equips learners to reach maximum performance in problem solving discussions. Being grounded in a negotiation philosophy that focuses on meeting objectives rather than arguing over opposing positions, negotiators not only achieve results but can also build relationship. Our courses feature extensive practice, experimentation and skills development.
We advocate a procedural model that helps negotiators structure their work and make their discussions more efficient. We regard the skilled negotiator as a principled communicator with process expertise and problem solving capacity. ADR Education delivers fundamentals courses, advanced clinics and multi-party specialized learning programs catering to the context and culture of our clients.
Communicating effectively is a foundational life skill. Doing so in situations of conflict is especially challenging. We work with learners to develop conflict competency by developing skill-sets to apply in difficult conversations. This means fostering greater awareness of conflict dynamics and recognizing personal conflict styles that show up in communication patterns. It also means building strategies to effectively engage when there is disagreement, resistance, defensiveness and escalation.
Communication models are built, questioning techniques are practiced and reflective listening behaviours are reinforced. This course is invaluable for every kind of workplace and group striving to sustain a climate of productive dialogue and cooperation in the midst of conflict.
We teach people how to deliver procedural support to the discussions of others. This includes how to design, plan and prepare for facilitated events of every kind. Literally speaking, facilitation is about “making easy” the communication between individuals and groups. Our courses emphasize the procedurally helpful role that facilitators should play. This role is characterized by a skill-full ability to intervene and address group dynamics and challenging communication patterns.
Facilitators learn a wide range of tools and techniques to improve the discussion process and enhance problem-solving capacity among groups. They practice using a framework to help organize and order the discussions they are helping with. This ensures that issues are clearly framed, interests are explored and understandings are reached.
As a mixture of training and intervention, we approach team building as an opportunity to increase collaborative capacity and strengthen relationships. The course responds directly to the unique circumstances and cultures of the teams we help. Drawing on an extensive inventory of team building and collaboration exercises, teams are taken through experiences of improved cooperation and relatedness in a safe learning environment. Effective group decision making and dialogue is featured, as are activities that promote familiarity, trust and inter-personal awareness.
Since it is particularly important that team building is also fun and entertaining, we ensure that our sessions are refreshing, honest and practical! We work with teams of every kind and in varied states of functionality; whether it be time for renovation or complete rebuilding, this course will be ideal.
Building and sustaining a respectful workplace requires intentional commitment and active modeling. A mere lack of disrespect is not enough! People need awareness and sensitivity about harassment, discrimination and disrespect. Typically, staff have an intuitive sense of harassing behaviour but are often not up to speed with an organization’s policy or the Human Rights legislation about harassment. The training is based on the definitions of harassment, discrimination and disrespect in federal and provincial policy, but go well beyond providing mere information.
This course develops an inventory of skills so participants have practical knowledge about how to address harassing or disrespectful behaviours. It also helps develop respectful workplace cultures by identifying organizational best practices.
People in leadership positions require specialized skills and expertise to respond to the demands of increased responsibility and accountability. Supervisors, managers and team leaders play a multitude of roles that benefit from intensive training and learning. This course is carefully designed to cover a broad range of themes that collectively address major areas of leadership development. The course content develops skills and approaches that include: giving and receiving feedback, motivating teamwork and collaboration, managing meetings, reflective decision making, and conflict facilitation.
In addition, a coaching component is integrated into many course segments, as are case studies, practice scenarios and peer discussions. This course is invaluable for leaders looking to enhance their performance and effectiveness at work.
The presenter showed skill in weaving between theory and practice... from theoretical examples to sensitive hot topics.
ADR's approach is exceptional. They are able to take a complex subject and distill it into digestible components
Teaching methods are fantastic!
The team was effective. Our case was set for a two week trial but was mediated in one day!
I've seen a lot of manuals for this kind of thing in my time, and this one is by far the best.
Very accomplished presenters excited about what they are teaching...easy to be with and very approachable.
Excellent facilitating. Keeping on track, taking control at the appropriate times.
For our staff to see how the skills can be used specifically in their work makes them take notice.
Your ability to customize the course so it was directly relevant to the work we do made it all the more useful.