Tired of wishing staff were a little (or a lot) more professional?
Let's Change That!
Give your staff practical tools to communicate effectively, follow through, navigate tricky relationships, show empathy without getting sucked in, and provide professional customer service, even when the people stuff gets complicated.
Then use that training over and over again.
One purchase gives your agency a complete, facilitator-led training system you can use with as many employees as you want - for orientation, in-services, training, annual training, or whenever your team needs it.
No per-person licenses. No annual renewals. No starting over next year.
Your staff have to deal with a whole lotta people.
Individuals, coworkers, supervisors, families, guardians, case managers, other providers, community members...
And nobody has given them a playbook for all this people stuff.
Consequently:
Staff don't follow through.
Messages are misunderstood.
People become defensive.
Boundaries blur.
Drama squashes work.
Empathy turns into enabling.
Supervisors spend ridiculous amounts of time refereeing problems that launched from confusing conversations.
Welcome to -
Keeping it Professional: The DSP Communication and Relationship Toolkit
Building communication, empathy, and professionalism into everyday support
Professionalism Training Built Specifically for the Developmental Disability Field
The perfect addition to your agency training library. 📚
In this training staff will:
- Learn the 6 Ps of Constructive Customer Service, particularly as they apply to the I/DD system.
- Build solid habits of ownership and follow through.
- Create and sustain a culture of positive communication that supports the work moving correctly and on time.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of trauma in the workplace and execute empathy-based interaction strategies that support individuals...and coworkers.
- Uncover ways to help individuals to develop deeper and more meaningful personal relationships.
- Gain clarity around agency expectations of professional behavior and professional boundaries.
- Learn how to successfully deescalate defensiveness and create an environment that fosters success for the individuals they serve...and for each other.
- Complete a deep dive into their own communication style, priorities, and what motivates them in the workplace, and learn techniques for working with those who are wired differently.
"I love how this training always goes right back to our purpose."
~KIP Training Facilitator
One training system. Endless uses.
1. New employee orientation
Start employees off right with clear expectations for communication, boundaries, and professionalism.
2. 20-minute team refreshers
Grab an activity or scenario when a team needs a quick reset.
3. Supervisor coaching
Give supervisors ready-made tools for addressing communication and relationship problems.
4. In-service days
Combine lessons and activities into longer staff-development sessions.
5. Annual training
Build fresh training from material your staff haven't seen before.
6. Re-Training after a problem
Something's gone sideways? Pull the applicable lesson, activity, or scenario and teach again.
What's Inside:
5 Modules - 15 Lessons - 45 Practice Sheets - Over 70 activities - Facilitator Guide - Live Support Calls
Module 1:
Deliver Applause-Worthy Customer Service
Help staff recognize who their customers really are, understand what those customers need from them, and use the 6 Ps to deliver customer service that keeps the work—and relationships—moving in the right direction.
- Who are Your Customers
- Give Them What They Want Most
- The 6 Ps of Constructive Customer Service
Module 2:
Professional Boundaries - Excellent Service Without Crossing the Line
Help staff recognize where professional boundaries belong, provide meaningful support without creating dependence, and create more space for individual choice, control, and independence.
- Maintaining the Line
- "Meaningful" Services
- Supporting Choice, Control, and Independence
Module 3:
Workplace Professionalism
Help staff navigate common courtesies, empathy, workplace relationships and different communication styles - without letting the people stuff derail the work.
- Common Courtesies and Cringeworthy Challenges
- Show Empathy without Getting Sucked In
- Working with the 4 Professional "Types"
Module 4:
When Trauma is Involved
Help staff understand how trauma can influence behavior and interactions—and use empathy-based strategies to respond effectively without losing sight of the work.
- What Is Trauma
- How Trauma Influences Us
- Using Empathy to Support Interaction
Module 5:
Disarm Defensiveness and Keep the Work Moving
Help staff recognize defensiveness in themselves and others, lower the temperature when interactions get heated, and get conversations—and the work—moving forward again.
- When the Interaction Feels Like a Battle
- When You Are the Defensive One
- Disarm Defensiveness in Individuals
Consistency Creates Culture
HI THERE!
I'm Sara Sherman
As a sought-after problem solver in the I/DD community, I help providers, governments, and organizations solve their most challenging problems once and for all. With decades of experience in all aspects of the developmental disabilities system, I teach practical, implementable, and repeatable steps that produce measurable and sustainable results and ensure those problems stay gone for good.
I have been organizing people and work for decades. I quickly developed a niche for implementing new initiatives, and bringing agencies back from the brink of shut down due to regulatory non-compliance. I understand what it takes to lead large teams through intense and demanding changes.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations and master’s in Public Administration and have served people with disabilities in the areas of residential services, community employment, case management, housing, project management, incident investigation, services and supports, vocational rehabilitation, state policy development, provider oversight, compliance audits, and more!
"Listen to everything Sara says!"
- Chris Saulino, CEO Community Interactions, Inc.
"I have been here almost 20 years and this is the best training I have ever attended!"
- Training Attendee
"Thank you so much for such a great and informative training! I'm excited to get this going for my agency."
- Training Attendee
Keeping It Professional is NOT for your agency if...
- Your internal and external customers are happy with the customer service your staff provide.
- Your team has strong follow up and follow through.
- Verbal and written communication occurs with purpose, ease, and clarity.
- No one responds defensively.
- Both staff and individuals are crystal clear on the lines around professional boundaries...specifically in relationships.
- Every day DSPs powerfully and confidently create more space for individuals to increase the amount of choice and control they exercise.
- Your team understands and applies empathy-based practices to support each other through challenges.
This training IS for your agency if you...
- Hire people who don't have robust work experience. These staff need support in order to understand how to work in a professional environment, how to effectively communicate, and how to focus on work while at work.
- Wish your staff understood that they have a bunch of internal and external customers...and you lie awake at night trying to figure out how to get your team to follow up, follow through and take real ownership of meeting these customers' needs.
- See that emails and texts are flying everywhere all the time but actual work seems to fall through the cracks and nobody seems to know why.
- Know incidents are being triggered by trauma but you have no idea how to address this complicated topic with your team.
- Notice that individuals are developing close relationships with staff and those relationships may be limiting independence.
- You wish you could be certain that each one of your training facilitators is delivering the same content in the same way...and that staff truly understand and can correctly implement the information at their worksite.
- Have a state requirement to deliver an annual customer service training and you struggle to come up with meaningful and interesting topics each year.
Any of these questions on your mind?
This format is new to me...what if my team struggles to utilize this training?
How do I make sure my trainers "get it"?
How long do I have access to this program?
Train as many staff as you want. As many times as you want. Whenever you want.
And...
Training for unlimited employees | Lifetime access | Future program updates | No per-employee licenses | No annual renewal fee
Keeping It Professional: The DSP Communication and Relationship Toolkit
$3,997
Stop tracking licenses, or dealing with annual fees. Instead...
Own it. Use it. Train it.
All on your schedule in your way
