This hands-on comprehensive training offers coach skill training for the human resources professional that is essential to deal with their direct team and to pass along to managers who oversee others. Coaching is a widely accepted and effective practice that helps to manage people effectively and create engagement and ownership over one’s performance. It has been proven that feedback without coaching is almost irrelevant. Human resources departments that engage in a practice of coaching for management and performance are operating at the cutting edge of their field. Presented by International Coaching Federation & NYU Certified Coach Stephanie Licata, this training will allow participants to:

• Understand and apply coaching techniques in management and performance management conversations.
• Learn the components of a coaching conversation and circumstances where coaching is most effective.
• Learn the contemporary neuroscience aspects of coaching and its ability to increase employee engagement and professional development.
• Mock and practice coaching styles.
• Discover several widely used coaching models that have been proven effective in the workplace.
• Understand the role of coaching in performance management.
• Discover how to train new and seasoned managers on the benefits of coaching.

Stephanie Licata
Managing Director of Training & Business Development
Native Nation Events-Leadership Solutions Group

Communication skills are a learned behavior, not something you are born with.  You might have been born with the gift of gab, but do your words endear people to you, or repel them away?  Learn simple tips on how to increase sales, improve customer service or have better relationships within your organization.  You will be shocked at how simplistic, yet how rare, these communication skills are.  It will change the way you do business, the way you speak to your team and direct reports and the way you train staff.  Some of the topics covered will include:

• Why most people don’t listen well.
• How FEAR can inhibit communication.
• Using more dialogue and fewer monologues.
• Asking permission before offering advice.
• How to offer constructive feedback.
• Avoid making other people wrong.

Brad Worthley
Owner
Brad Worthley International

• 700 people a year are murdered on the job.
• 1 million workers experience violent acts at work annually.
• What steps should you be taking to help prevent your enterprise from becoming a terrorist target?
• What does internal workplace violence look like and how do you effectively train employees in safety protocol and emergency management?
• Hear from one of our Nation’s foremost experts in security on what steps casinos, hotels, government offices and commercial businesses need to be looking at from a security point of view.
• Why is it important to have both internal workplace violence training and active shooter training?
• Learn how to look at security from all angles and effectively execute emergency management plans.

Michael Biller
President/Chief Operating Officer
Tomahawk Strategic Solutions

• Most recent changes in Washington: what this means for the ACA.
• The fine print: your questions answered on how the ACA affects your day to day management of benefits.
• Forms and more forms: sorting through the paperwork processing.
• ACA minimum wage legislation review.

Liliana Salazar
Chief Compliance Officer-Western Region
HUB International Insurance Services, Inc.

• The passage of the ACA signified the federal government’s authority to implement a policy that has a far-reaching impact on how employers and individuals access and purchase health care services.
• The ACA’s passage included the permanent reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act in recognition of tribal sovereignty.
• For tribes that have either contracted or compacted health program authorities and have opted to self-fund an employee health benefit plan, the ACA presents an opportunity to achieve unprecedented success in the purchase and delivery of health care services for its plan participants.
• This discussion will address a tribal employer’s application of, compliance with and exemption from key ACA mandates.

Brendan McKenna, MHA
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
American Indian Health Services

Self-Funded tribal health plans have the opportunity to leverage the Indian Health Service’s Purchased and Referred Care Program to pay for certain types of care at Medicare rates, resulting in significant healthcare cost savings. IHS recently expanded the scope of this program to include professional services. This means that there is even greater opportunity for healthcare savings for tribal health plans who can navigate the complexities of the regulations and find a good partner to help them administer their health plan.

This session will cover:

• Why tribal health plans should consider becoming self-funded.
• An overview of the new IHS regulations for the Purchased and Referred Care program including the recent expansion of professional services.
• Considerations for tribal health plans thinking about opting into the expanded Purchased and Referred Care Program.
• The questions tribal health plans should be asking their benefits administrator.

One of the biggest challenges for companies is hiring the right candidates for their jobs and their culture. The most common reasons for hiring wrong-fit employees, according to entrepreneur.com:

• Hiring decisions are based on personal preference.
• Managers may hire people because they like the way they look, smile, dress, act or speak.
• A very common trend is for managers to hire someone that they perceive to be like them or like someone they know and like.
• The candidate may be good at one or two aspects of the job, and the hiring manager eagerly assumes or hopes that the candidate will be good at the other aspects or can learn the other aspects.
• The interviewer takes the candidate’s word that he or she has the experience and skills to do the job, or the resume is used as a tool to determine the candidate’s worthiness and skills.
• There is a tendency to hire a moderately qualified person because the manager needs someone now.

So how exactly do the best organizations achieve high levels of employee engagement and retention?

How do you retain employees in the most positive, productive, rewarding environment possible?

It’s the right fit for the right job through a CVI assessment.

It’s about creating effective leaders by developing their Emotional Intelligence skills.

Mary Mantia
Certified Coach for Emotional Intelligence
The Power Up Group

• How and why a 401(k) plan sponsor can and should hire fiduciary investment managers for their plan, transferring the investment liability onto them.
• How to create and run a 401(k) Committee and why the process is paramount when it comes to ERISA based retirement plans.
• This discussion will look at some common problems employers face when running a retirement plan and some of the steps that can be taken to correct them thereby insulating plan sponsors and other plan fiduciaries from harm.

• What hard and soft skills are needed for effective management? Technical acumen vs. leadership acumen.
• New manager program success stories.
• How to build or redesign a new manager training program.
• Blended learning approach: virtual training and live training – the pros and cons of both.
• What levels of management benefit most from this training?
• The effect on employee engagement and retention: why new manager training saves money.
• Tracking participation and progress.
• How to internally market new manager training for increased participation.
• Knowing how and when to coach – coaching can develop your team and improve individual performance.

Stephanie Licata
Managing Director of Training & Business Development
Native Nation Events Leadership Solutions Group

• How gratitude impacts daily performance and behavior
• Modeling gratitude in the workplace
• Proactivity vs. Reactivity and its impact on workplace climate
• Understanding how to create pattern interruptions to disruptive workplace behavior
• Managing and deepening emotional intelligence in the workplace
• Strategies for embedding a culture of gratitude within your tribe and organization
• Organizing around your tribal mission statement
• Training employees on powerful reactions to difficult situations. 

It is said that people are a company’s greatest asset when the truth is the right people are the greatest asset.  That is why the process of hiring and onboarding new employees can present both opportunities and challenges.  This interactive, professionally led conversation will cover:

• Overcoming challenges to ensure you are attracting and selecting the most qualified candidates.
• Moving the process along: how to move through the starts and stops of the hiring process.
• Documenting practices and aligning all human resource professionals with cohesive hiring and onboarding procedures such as testing and reference checks.
• Legal considerations affecting the hiring process such as affirmative action and workplace diversity.
• Onboarding best practices when dealing with specific tribal policies.
• The onboarding experience: why it matters for employee retention.
• The importance of understanding the hard cost of turnover and how re-training employees can save money.
• How does your Tribal enterprise prepare for interviews to ensure success?
• Understanding Indian/Tribal Preference policies, its background and why Indian Preference is not racial and the benefits to the tribe. We will also hear how Nationals also have initiated Tribe-Specific Preference and how it differs from Indian Preference.
• The reality of nepotism: how to collaboratively work towards reducing its impact and effect on an organization’s success.
• Managing the balance: keeping your job while staying true to organizational policy and procedure.
• Why it is vital to understand the organizational culture and dynamics of conflict and how to listen and look for any hidden meanings.

Pat Jewell
Lead Consultant
Tribal First

Brad will discuss why Human Resource departments, in many organizations, should become the cultural visionary for the organization and why they need to advocate for a stronger culture. There is no other department within organizations that has so much influence over not just the people, but the culture, with the responsibility of screening, hiring, training, discipline, termination, policies,  procedures and service standards. If the organization does not have a strong culture, or if the leadership within the organization is weak, who ends up with the burden of employees complaining and quitting – HR! Brad will provide the steps required to create and sustain a strong service culture. If you are going to build a castle, you must have a strong foundation and that is what this session will provide. Some of the topics include:

• Focus on the Profit Chain.
• The Power of Core Values.
• How Service Credos Serve Everyone.
• Creating Non-Negotiable Service Standards That Exceed.
• Hiring Right the First Time – Don’t Settle!
• Inspect What Your Expect.

Brad Worthley
Owner
Brad Worthley International

“Which bathroom do I use?” Have you or your supervisors received this question? Do you know how to respond? Just as important, do your supervisors know how to respond to such a question? It is important for human resources professionals to consider training individuals on how to handle such requests and even concerns brought by other employees. Denying an employee equal access to a common restroom corresponding to the employee’s gender identity is sex discrimination.

During this session, we will learn about state bathroom bills and the EEOC and OSHA guidelines on transgender employee access to restrooms. In addition, best practice guidance for human resources and answers to common questions about equal access to restrooms such as:

• Which bathroom should a transgender person use?
• What if someone does not look masculine or feminine enough to use a particular restroom?
• Does a unisex bathroom leave women more vulnerable to being harassed or attacked?
• What should an employer do when an employee complains about being uncomfortable sharing restrooms with a transgender employee?

• Update on jurisdiction of National Labor Relations Board over Tribal enterprises

Refresher on application of labor laws to tribal employers in context of statutes of general application

Current context of union representation and organization in Indian country

Recognizing and preventing unfair labor practices

• The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

Why do tribal employees make claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act?

How does the Family and Medical Leave Act apply to my tribe and its tribal operations?

How does the Family and Medical Leave Act fit in with other employee rights, such as disability accommodation?

• The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

How does the FLSA apply to tribal employees and tribal enterprises?

The injunction preventing enforcement of the proposed new salary rules for exempt status: what does it mean?

• Enhancing sovereignty through employment practices
• Understanding potential liability in the termination process

                When and why documentation is needed?

When is it time to contact your legal department or outside counsel?

                Given my capacity as a tribal employment manager, can I be sued?

• Key trainings you should be providing to managers/employees
• The impact of recreational marijuana legalization on the tribal workplace

• According to OSHA, two million workers a year are victims of workplace violence.
• How casinos are more likely to experience workplace violence considering the exchange of money with the public, working late night shifts and the serving of alcoholic beverages.
• What is the definition of workplace violence?
• What is the true liability and cost of workplace violence?
• Has your human resources department created a safety manual and provided training to its management and employees?
• This panel will cover all of this and more and will feature experts in the field of safety personnel from properties who have already taken this step.

This panel will cover both direct and indirect cost associated with the various types of employee absenteeism.

• What policies need to be put in place and how do you determine if they are compliant with governmental policies.
• What products are available to protect as employee’s income in the case of both long and short term leave of absences?

Affordable Care Act update regarding tribal sponsorship (premium assistance) and the financial impact it can have on overall tribal healthcare budgets, including tribal health facilities, CHS/PRC funding, and tribal member health plans.  The session will address:

• Tribal success stories.
• Sources of the positive return on investment and how to evaluate the opportunity.
• Potential challenges of implementing a tribal sponsorship program.
• The implications of Indian Health Service Circular no. 2016-08.

Attendees should leave the session with a solid understanding of the financial benefits of implementing a sponsorship program, how to measure potential ROI, initial steps needed to start a sponsorship program, and potential challenges and hurdles they will face.

• Discover the long term advantages to healthy stress management. 
• Learn how company culture can help mitigate health issues and promote individual wellbeing in the workplace. 
• Discover Human Resources implications of current trending health and wellbeing issues. 
• Understand the implications of healthcare costs on health issues and learn how tools such as telemedicine or other similar services can be beneficial to those in remote areas. 
• Create an organizational culture that promotes health and wellness. 
• Focus on prevention, rather than management, by creating benchmarks and reminders for self-care. 
• Learn how effective wellness programs have been shown to decrease prescription medications. 
• Know the benefits of establishing a health and wellness program. 
• Understand the key components of an effective health and wellness program. 
• Find out which off-reservation organizations could serve as partners. 
• Hear the most important steps to create an employee health and wellness program.

Today’s U.S. workforce is more diverse than ever. Between millennials, baby boomers, students, retirees, employees and freelancers, tribal employers are challenged with adapting to, attracting and retaining workers from these various groups within their organization. One of these challenges is how to meet their workforce’s demand for more immediate and secure ways to receive their pay along with the necessary financial services for those who are unbanked, underbanked or unhappily banked (the ‘underserved’) and are looking to provide these services.  The session is targeted at HR and Finance professionals interested in reducing costs and improving employee retention through a new benefit program. 

• Technology based employee benefits.
• Eliminate checks and get to 100% payroll direct deposit.
• Provide an alternative banking system to the underserved employees.
• Reduce your organizational costs and improve efficiency.
• Increase convenience while reducing banking costs for employees.
• Provide a mobile banking system including a bank debit card and other vital services including:
• Bill payment – U.S. and Mexico.
• Prepaid phone – in the U.S. and 90 other countries.
• Person-to-Person instant payments between mobile users.
• Cross border remittance services – to 20+ countries.
• Mobile phone check cashing.
• Access to cash at ATMs and banks at no charge.
• Retail purchases on-line or at physical stores where Visa cards are accepted.
• Fully FDIC insured account and Reg. E Compliant.

• This panel will address the purpose of background checks and will describe how to implement background checks through screenings, interviews, record checks, and new technologies.
• An overview of the Indian Child Protection and Family Violence Prevention Act, its guidelines, and its requirements.
• How to deal with ambiguous situations- defining the line between felonies and misdemeanors.
• How to evaluate risks and determine whether the individual is right for the job.
• Acknowledging the employee or applicant privacy – what would be going too far?

• Technology solutions to streamline the Human Resources function.
• How to vet out solutions providers and implement the change.
• The cost-saving benefits of going paperless.
• Training employees on new human resource systems.

ArmadaCare, a leader in supplemental benefits alongside its carrier partner Transamerica, will be hosting this panel session, Leveraging Supplemental Benefits to Recruit and Retain. Attend this session and explore different types of supplemental solutions—such as expense reimbursed insured plans, which are typically employer-paid and can be offered to select employee classes. With these types of supplemental benefits, employers can provide personalized benefits that fit employees’ needs and lifestyles, improving their negotiating power when conducting talent searches. We’ll also explore how to leverage expense reimbursed insured plans to help keep top talent happy and defend them against encroaching competitors.

• Discover the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation from an employee perspective.
• Explore how to leverage employee motivation to increase productivity.
• Learn how tapping into employee motivation helps to reduce turnover.
• Understand how to train managers to motivate employees.
• How to invest in the development of employees to increase their effort and desire to produce.
• Design tangible practices to implement post-conference to help strategically plan for programs that sustain employee motivation.

Jim Stroker
Training Specialist
Native Nation Events-Leadership Solutions Group

Tribal leaders and human resources managers have many things to consider when drafting employment policies and agreements that (1) reflect applicable laws, traditions, and customs; (2) clearly communicate established employment practices and procedures, (3) fairly promote and protect the interests of the tribe or tribal enterprise, and (4) support employee morale.  This session will provide an overview of this process, and will discuss the importance of:

• Determining what federal, tribal, and/or state labor and employment laws apply.
• Monitoring relevant case law.
• Monitoring relevant legislation.
• Regularly reviewing and updating employee handbooks to reflect current laws, traditions, and customs, and to clearly communicate established employment practices and procedures.
• Training supervisors on established employment practices and procedures.
• Developing employment contracts that support the specific needs of the tribe or tribal enterprises, such as protecting trade secrets, confidential information, property, and customer relationships.

• How to identify toxic behaviors in the workplace.
• Following legal and human resources procedures to mitigate the effects of toxic employees.
• The organizational impact of toxic behaviors in the workplace.
• The bottom line: toxic employees cost money.
• Employee rights: what you want to avoid your OTHER employees doing about toxic co-workers.
• Strengthening company culture to foster productive and collaborative behavior.
• Overcoming the political landscape to address toxic personalities.
• The facts about documentation and steps to follow carefully when dealing with toxic employees.
• Reducing liability when dealing with employees who are in need of counseling or treatment for drug or alcohol related issues.
• Defining, communicating and reinforcing expectations, standards, rules, and acceptable behavior. 
• The role of manager training in managing toxic employees. 
  • Implications of toxic managers/supervisors

Stephanie Licata
Managing Director of Training & Business Development
Native Nation Events-Leadership Solutions Group