Message from the President & CEO
Welcome to November! 

The old adage, time flies when you are having fun , certainly applies to us at MCE this fall. Where did September and October go? We have been very busy with the launch of a few new courses that I would like to share with you. 

True to our belief in practicing what we preach, the entire MCE team has been trained on two of the four new courses – Paper Planes and Cybersecurity . 

Paper Planes is a simulation that engages participants in an interactive learning experience that focuses on working together to redesign how they work resulting in increased profitability and improved customer services. Participants get three chances to build a better product. 

“It was engaging and fun. Reversal learning is always a great way to motivate learners and stimulate their curiosity. I would love to see more simulations in our training curriculum.”  

Thank you to Catherine McCullough for bringing this MHS (Multi-Health Systems) program to us. Thank you to Sandra Summerhayes for investing in certification so we can deliver this program to our customers, starting now! 
 
Our Cybersecurity Awareness and Incident Response course is nothing short of fascinating! It is not a matter of IF you get hacked; it’s WHEN you will get hacked. Not only do you learn what to watch out for, you will learn how to build an Incident Response Team and Recovery Process. I can’t tell you how much our team learned from this one day course, facilitated by Mohawk’s extremely knowledgeable Tracy Dallaire, Senior Manager, Digital Integration - Academic. Also available now! 

We are excited to announce an exclusive partnership with Montana HR Services Inc. , which allows us to deliver Turn Around Interviews , a two day coaching course for supervisors and managers on having those difficult conversations before they get to the disciplinary stage. Two of our facilitators, Nancy Osborne , Heather MacNeil and our Instructional Designer Aisha Zafar will be immersed in a train the trainer session this month and will be ready to train across the province in December.  
 
And last but not least, we are working with Rick McLean on the creation of Indigenous Culture training. We truly believe this is a course that needs to be developed and delivered across sectors, at all levels and across the province. 

Things are hopping at MCE! Thanks for indulging me in sharing this news. 



Audie McCarthy
President & CEO
What You Tell Us. Your Testimonial Stands Out!
On the Cyber Security course...

“The training was excellent, it had a great mix of best practices, tools, statistics, and experiential training. The facilitators were able to effectively lead us through defining what important data a company has, how they could be vulnerable to hackers, and then lead us through a detailed simulation to help us develop
an action plan and incident response strategy.

I feel I have gotten concrete next steps, plans and direct results out of this training. Every person and organization needs this training today.”

Lucas Robinson, Data Analyst
Announcements
MCE is pleased to announce our very own, Erin Volk , has been promoted from her role as Customer Success Coordinator to Business Development Officer for the Halton-Peel-GTA region.

This move is part of a shift in duties as a result of the recent departure of BDO Kris Michailow. Erin's CSC duties have been distributed among team members to continue to meet the service expectations of our clients.
In addition to the departure of Kris, Leanna DiCecca has been placed in charge of business development in the Greater Hamilton and Niagara area.

Leanna is working hard to maintain expectations of current clients as well as provide additional training where it is needed. If you're in the area, introduce yourself to Leanna as she is very attentive to client needs!
Storytelling . Everyone likes a good story, but we don't share our stories enough. Aisha Zafar, Instructional Designer at MCE, gives her take on the concept with a witty, heart-warming article that draws from her own experiences, complete with words of encouragement to express your own.

Take some time to read Aisha's article and feel free to share it with others to spread the joy of storytelling!
HR Corner:
Creating a Positive Workplace Culture
One of the top reasons people stay with a company is the workplace culture. Workplace culture is about the atmosphere you create for your employees. It involves a combination of leadership, organizational values, shared beliefs and goals, including the interactions and behaviours of all. A positive combination of all these factors will lead to happier, more productive employees, leading to retention. There are several ways this can be accomplished:

  • Set Clear Values and Goals: Shared values and goals should start at the recruitment level. Design interview questions that speak to what you hope to achieve in the organization and the type of individual you feel will be a good cultural fit. Communicate values and goals on a regular basis and tie it into performance management and/or regular coaching sessions and team meetings. Ask employees to identify how they are contributing to the organization. A positive workplace culture is one where everyone knows what their contributions are and how their role fits.

  • Offer Flexibility: Employees are increasingly requesting flexible work arrangements including options such as working at home, alternate work hours, ability to attend appointments throughout the day and shorter work weeks. A recent study by Benefits Canada revealed that 83% of 320 employers polled said they offer flexible work arrangements. When employees are able to live a healthy personal and professional life they are much happier, more productive and will be more loyal to the organization. Not all organizations can offer these options; what would work in yours?
 
  • Recognize and Reward Valued Behaviours: Employees like to be recognized for their hard work and dedication to the organization. This instills a mutually trusting and respectful relationship. The reward or recognition does not have to be lavish, a simple thank you for a job well done can go a long way. Peer recognition is also an excellent way to build stronger co-worker relationships. It can also act as a supportive motivator which contributes to a positive work environment. 
Carrie Deon
Human Resources Generalist
Celebrating Our Partners:
Tracy Dallaire, Mohawk College
With the launch of our new Cyber Security course, we are fortunate to have Tracy Dallaire, Senior Director Technology Integration Academic at Mohawk College, packaged with it. Tracy is a robust, dynamic facilitator with expansive knowledge on all things cyber.

Speaking from experience and knowledge, Tracy doesn't need notes or slides to disseminate information in a easily digestible manner, given the complexity of the content. Tracy personally wants to see everyone 'cyber safe' to the best of their ability. It doesn't require a lot of resources to be resilient, and Tracy encourages you to protect your data and personal identification. MCE and Tracy strongly encourage you to take a look at this course to protect your hard-earned investments.
Courses of the Month:
Future Ready Leadership Open Seat & Cyber Security: You're Hacked. Now What?
Leadership requires awareness. Cyber Security requires proactiveness. Proactive Awareness is the basis of our Courses of the Month.

Our Future Ready Leadership Open Seat is the best of all worlds. Leadership training with peers and other industry professionals, together under one roof. Listen to different perspectives while growing your own. These 'Open Seat' cohorts have been well received because it offers the opportunity of opening your mind to exploring different viewpoints while gauging them among what you know. Sharing is caring, and it's in abundance when training future leaders, together.

Cyber Security . An estimated 54% of companies say they have experienced one or more attacks in the last 12 months. This stat goes up. Every month. It's not a question of 'If', but 'when' you'll get hacked. We can't emphasize this enough - you need protection. And it doesn't have to be expensive or confusing. Cyber Security is accessible and affordable, and we will guide you along the way. Learn the basics and put a plan in place. We'll do the hard work for you. And you'll feel safe and satisfied that that is one less checkmark off your plate.
For more information about our programs, contact:
Lorraine MacDonald
905-575-2534
Mohawk College Enterprise | 905-575-2534 | info@mcecor.com | www.mcecor.com