Training & Transformation

Our training programs help create positive, respectful and psychologically safe workplaces.

Customized training for your workplace needs

No more “death by Powerpoint”! Our training is interactive, engaging, and fully customized. We engage participants in conversations. We guide them through relevant, practical learning activities. Most importantly, we help drive new behaviour.

Please contact us today to learn how we can meet your training needs.

Some of our extensive expertise

We’ve facilitated training for organizations large and small, public and private. Here are just a few examples.

  • Police

    Trust and respect for procedures and hierarchy are foundations of police culture and efforts to achieve diversity are ongoing, which can contribute to distinctive challenges impacting inclusive and respectful workplaces.

  • Colleges and Universities

    The interplay among students and faculty in an academic setting requires balancing respect and professionalism in an environment that holds freedom of expression, creativity and speech in the highest regard.

  • Municipalities

    Diversity in workgroups from City Hall offices to public-facing frontline workers and municipal council, and accountability and interactions with the public, raise distinct considerations for achieving cohesive, respectful municipal workplaces.

  • Fire

    We understand the unique issues inherent in the fire culture which rests on pillars of trust and respect, hierarchy and relying on each other to protect one another’s lives.

  1. Police

    Trust and respect for procedures and hierarchy are foundations of police culture and efforts to achieve diversity are ongoing, which can contribute to distinctive challenges impacting inclusive and respectful workplaces.

  2. Colleges and Universities

    The interplay among students and faculty in an academic setting requires balancing respect and professionalism in an environment that holds freedom of expression, creativity and speech in the highest regard.

  3. Municipalities

    Diversity in workgroups from City Hall offices to public-facing frontline workers and municipal council, and accountability and interactions with the public, raise distinct considerations for achieving cohesive, respectful municipal workplaces.

  4. Fire

    We understand the unique issues inherent in the fire culture which rests on pillars of trust and respect, hierarchy and relying on each other to protect one another’s lives.

Training programs

Workplace restoration and transformation

Conducting workplace investigations

We are leaders in conducting workplace investigations – we’ve been doing it for more than 20 years – and we’ll train you to conduct them effectively too.

Our workplace investigations training and Certificate programs help internal investigators to understand the law and psychology of harassment, provide fair and legally defensible investigation processes, and make findings even in the thorniest cases. Don’t need the full certificate program? Try our standalone programs on report writing, interview skills, or investigating sexual harassment.

Training programs

  • Workplace investigations training and certificate program
  • Advanced investigation report writing
  • Getting to the heart of it: Interview skills for investigators
  • Recognizing and eliminating sexual harassment in the workplace

Training programs

  • Respect in the workplace
  • Transforming toxic teams
  • Bystander interventions in the programs for Respectful workplaces & anti-harassment
  • Creating a positive workplace
  • Effective council/staff relations (for municipalities)
  • Respect training for municipal councils

Respectful workplaces & anti-harassment

We’re passionate about transforming workplaces. That’s why our respectful workplace training engages everyone, at every level of an organization, in creating healthy work environments.

Too often, trainers lecture people on what they can’t do (hint: this doesn’t work); we focus on what they can do, from practicing respect and civility, to understanding and overcoming biases, to effective Bystander interventions in the programs for Respectful workplaces & anti-harassment. In addition to respect training, our leader training programs help managers address conflict before it escalates into harassment.

Human rights & accommodation

The duty to accommodate is among the most challenging workplace legal issues that HR and managers will face.

In our Meeting the Duty to Accommodate program, our employment law specialists will break down the duty to accommodate and empower you to handle these challenging situations. But there’s more to human rights than accommodation! Our human rights programs also help HR and managers confront unconscious biases and proactively create policies, that promote workplace equity and avoid unintentional discrimination.

Training programs

  • Meeting the duty to accommodate
  • Chronic mental stress claims under WSIB: Practical prevention strategies
  • Human rights 101 for managers and supervisors
  • Unintentional discrimination: Uncovering hidden bias
  • Managing hidden disabilities in the workplace

Training programs

  • Certificate program for people leaders: HR law and employee management
  • Successful selection: effective interview techniques
  • Performance management and progressive discipline
  • Difficult employee or employee with a difficulty?
  • Managing absenteeism
  • Managing in a unionized environment

Management & supervisory skills

Managers and supervisors are the lynchpin of any organization. They have a profound impact on employee productivity, engagement and retention.

Our training equips your people leaders to get the most out of employees, so that employees can drive your organization’s success. Our two-day certificate program provides critical skills for new and existing people leaders, and any of its sections – like hiring, performance management, or harassment awareness – can be offered as standalone courses.

Council training

The last 4 years have been fraught with challenges from increased polarity, to the impact of COVID and social media to an overall deterioration in civility. This has created an added burden for councils and staff.

Our council training program addresses these issues and provides tools for creating a harmonious and respectful council while enhancing council/staff relations.

For more information please email bernardicentre@hrlawyers.ca 

The session will cover:

  • The elements of good governance
  • Creating a constructive council while avoiding divisions and dysfunction
  • Roles, obligations and relationships between staff and council
  • The power of civility and respectful engagement

Workplace restoration and transformation

Workplace interactions are difficult, and sometimes teams rupture and become dysfunctional. We have developed a comprehensive, multi-step program for analyzing and transforming toxic teams.

Our services include:

Workplace culture assessments


Diagnosing the problem is the first step to solving it. Through compassionate, confidential interviews combined with focus groups and surveys, we dig to the root of difficult team dynamics and provide actionable recommendations.

Mediation


We help resolve workplace conflicts. Our mediators will guide employees to understand each other’s needs, move past their differences, and forge solutions that will allow them to work together productively in the future.

Psychological health and safety


We’ll support you to implement the National Standard on Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace, a proactive blueprint to create thriving workplace cultures. It’s not just a wellness exercise; it’s a good legal practice, and it helps the bottom line, too.

Sensitivity training


Sometimes, breakthroughs can be easier to make one-on-one. Our sensitivity training guides individuals to understand the impact of their behaviour and learn more professional ways of working with others, in a respectful and supportive environment.

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“Great job. So engaging. Very effective. Thank you so much. This should be shared with everyone!”

Respect/Positive Workplace

“Thank you – this was an excellent session! The candy was a nice touch as well.”

Respect/Positive Workplace

“Really great job. I can see myself using a lot of your advice on my first investigation.”

Workplace Investigations

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