Whispering Creek offerings are designed as stand-alone activities or in conjuncture with our other services. In many instances, initiatives started at client sites evolve and use Whispering Creek, especially in business planning, team building and other coaching areas.

Exercises can be tailored to ½, full day or multiple day sessions. Because we custom design them around your needs, business activities may include a relaxing outing or experiential team building activities interwoven with outings of your choice.

Strategic Business Direction and Planning
Our business-planning process is a break from the traditional planning processes because we design our system around your organizational needs and do not force fit you to our process. Unlike others, we link the planning process with implementation plans ensuring realistic goals and their pragmatic implementation. Sessions can be either at your location, another venue or at Whispering Creek. Initial conversation between our firms will determine the end results and related processes to ensure that your needs are optimally met. As with all of our services, strategic planning can be combined with various leisure or team building activities.

Executive Development Consortiums
Owning and running a business is a difficult task. Owners and top-level executives often feel isolated and are constantly presented with a host of dilemmas with no “road map”. They understand the value of connecting with peers who share knowledge and experience on a huge number of topics common to them and other executives. This forum makes our Presidents Club a significant value. We provide executive and owner level mini-retreats that discuss and share your top-level perspectives, concerns and issues. Information comes from top-level speaker specialists and peer “war stories” where lessons were learned by experience on topics most important to you.

Organizational Assessments
Business decisions need to be made soundly and quickly. We can assist you by ensuring you have the best possible information to make your business decisions on a timely basis . We provide in-depth information on customer relations, customized focus groups, succession planning; marketing and strategic business direction; applicant, employee, management and executive assessments and employee work climate and other areas. The following provides a greater sampling of our assessments.

• Employee Attitude Surveys
• Internal and External Focus Group Processes
• 360 Degree Performance Surveys
• Team Effectiveness and Style Assessments
• Employee Exit Surveys
• Leader Performance Appraisals
• Turnover/Retention Trend Analysis
• Customer Satisfaction Surveys
• Educational Institution Student Satisfaction Survey
• Revenue and Profit Growth Assessments
• Identifying, Developing and Measuring Key Metrics for Your Organization
• Benchmarking
• Aptitude, Personality, Motivational and Skill Assessments for Applicants and Existing Employees
• Succession Planning
• Training Needs Assessment
• Employment Legal Compliance Audits
• Disc Plus Personality Profile
• Honesty/Integrity Profile
• Career Mapper Analysis Profile
• Supervisory and Management Styles Inventory
• Quality and Customer Commitment Surveys
• Teamwork Assessments

Coaching, Training and Organizational Development
We offer professional development systems that focus on behavior and performance changes as compared to the industry standard of just training. Our system includes:

• Training assessments based on strategic organizational needs
• Comprehensive “learning processes” linked to organizational performance reviews, business objectives and customized processes linking learning to your specific organizational demands
• Customized team and individual coaching processes that captures succession planning, team development and individual performance coaching
• One-on-one coaching for professional growth or performance improvement for those who may need some extra attention

Non Profit Board & Organizational Development
Solutions provides organizational and board development services to a broad base of non-profit and governmental institutions. Services include:

• Team building and board rejuvenation for non-profit organizations
• Establishing metrics and benchmarking
• Mission, vision, values processes
• Board development
• Board and board member responsibilities
• Board effectiveness assessments
• Monitoring non-profit performance
• Executive director development and coaching processes
• Change management for non-profits
• Board Governance
• Board and staff linkage
• “Rainmaking” for Non-profits

• Compensation Design – Wage Surveys, Merit Pay Plans, Pay for Skills, Pay Plans, and Incentive Pay Plans
• Job Classification Systems
• Recognition and Reward Systems
• Customized Employee Policies and Handbooks
• Turnover Trends Analysis and Corrective Action Plans
• Performance Appraisal Systems
• Outplacement Services for Executive and Senior Management
• New Employee Acclimation Programs
• Employment Agreements
• Non-disclosure, Non-piracy agreements and Non-compete agreements
• Outsourced Human Resources Functions
• Establishing New Human Resource Departments
• Human Resource Performance Measures
• Performance Skills-Gap Analysis
• Employment Compliance Audits
• Linking Human Resources With The Organization
• Human Resource Employment Forms
• Employee Accountability Processes
• Establish Human Resource Metrics
• Focus Groups Targeting Employee Perceptions on Various Topics

Getting Refocused After A Union Organization Attempt
Despite overcoming an organizing attempt, many times companies are left fragmented, unfocused and their front line management feeling “beat up” from the process. The challenge is to: 1) heal the personal and emotional scars created by the unionization process; 2) regain cohesive management focus on the business; 3) use the “lessons learned” as a springboard to improved operating processes, as well as higher levels of employee commitment and job satisfaction.

We do not believe in the old saying that knowledge is power. We believe that applied knowledge is power. As such, our developmental sessions are organized into two areas:

1). Classic Management/Professional Development
2). Organizational and Specific Team Building Experiential Exercises

Classic Management/Professional Development activities are further defined in the following table. Organizational and Specific Team Building Exercises are more varied and strategically designed around your culture, needs and expectations. Regardless, both areas have heavy emphasis placed on them to modify the right behaviors, on the right issues adding lasting value to your organization.

Whispering Creek
Experiential Team Building Exercises
CATEGORY - Simulations & Experiential Learning Activities

Typical Attendee:
Business owners and senior management teams, department managers, directors, vice president’s, departmental teams and cross-functional teams.

Event Overview:
Upon arrival, one of the team members is “captured” by a group of paintball gun carrying militants and taken to a hideout on the property. The team has a limited amount of time to identify available resources, develop a rescue strategy and prepare for plan implementation. This is a paintball exercise with the client team against an unknown number of militants. The setting is open field and wooded terrain. The team will have strategy debriefing sessions between exercise rounds learning from mistakes and additional information gained regarding their team planning and plan execution performance.

Benefits:

• Teams learn how to quickly design processes to collaboratively assess situations and develop strategies to achieve a common goal.
• Recognition of individual strengths, weaknesses ideals, and creatively implement a winning strategy despite great exercise unknowns.
• Insight into team functional, as well as process and performance.
• Improve communication, teamwork and morale.
• It is a real energy boost of an exercise.

Learning Objectives:
There are many benefits to this exercise, but specific objectives would be identified by ownership or senior management prior to the event.

• Achieving Personal Excellence - Strategies For Self-Development
• Appraising An Employee’s Performance
• Assessing Performance
• Basic Supervisory Skills
• Capitalizing on Change
• Change Management
• Coaching Employees
• Coaching Skills For Managers
• Customer Relations
• Dealing With Employee Conflict And Confrontation
• Effective Business Writing
• Effective Delegation
• Effective Interviewing and Hiring Practices
• Effectively Training Employees
• Employee Involvement Facilitator Training
• Employee Motivation
• Executive Leadership
• Finance Essentials
• Giving and Receiving Feedback
• Keeping Teams on Target
• Leadership
• Leadership Styles
• Leading a Team
• Making a Presentation
• Managing Difficult Interactions
• Managing Effective Meetings (Running a Meeting)
• Managing Employee Productivity
• Managing for Creativity and Innovation
• Managing Upward In An Organization
• Negotiating
• Principles Of Supervision
• Problem Solving Techniques
• Productivity Improvement Tools
• Project Specific Team Building and Partnering
• Safety Training
• Setting Goals
• Solving Business Problems
• Statistical Process Control
• Team Building
• Time Management
• Workforce Effectiveness Programs
• Working With Difficult Employees

After the proper introduction and assurance of the exact deliverables, we generally start with the assessment stage. However, we are adept at starting at any point in the development process cycle and customizing our offerings to fit your organization.

Introduction stage- (generally on customer site) The first step is to have conversation with ownership and/or the senior management team to define project goals and deliverables. At this stage it is decided whether we are the right team for you and the general methodology to start the process

Assessment stage- (on customer site, alternative venue or at Whispering Creek) This stage uses a variety of assessments to further define the work parameters. It might include one-on-one interviews, team discussions, completion of written surveys, or other specialty assessment tools such as 360-degree reviews, employee attitude surveys or customer feedback processes. This stage and everything following is tailored to meet your specific goals. This critical step provides multiple benefits for your organization including baseline measurements for results assessment, relationship management and other areas.

Assessment analysis and initiative development stage (on client site, alternative venue or at Whispering Creek) In this stage, what was learned is presented and confirmed. Baselines may be established to compare future results. It is also decided what will be the final initiatives, how they will they be implemented, how will successes be measured, over what timeframe and assignment of responsibilities.

Implementation stage (could be at any location) In this stage, we will provide the agreed upon service or activity targeting your area of interest. In process modifications may occur if it is deemed appropriate by key personnel.

Project Assessment and follow-up stage. (ay location) Depending upon the project scope, debriefings, milestones or other follow-up processes may/will occur to further ensure implementation and realization of program results. There may be immediate (1-3 week), short term (3-6 month), or medium term (6 month to 2 year) follow-up processes.

In Native American tradition, the Rainmaker was a special and powerful figure. The Rainmaker was called on to help nature bring rainfall when it was most needed. The Rainmaker was most valuable to the tribe when fields were dry and rains were scarce.

In business today, Rainmakers are needed for another kind of rain: great ideas, or best practices and resources to implement them.

At Whispering Creek, “Rainmaking” refers to a series of innovative processes to generate new visions, ideas, and organization targets. It is designed to challenge and engage your team to create different or new initiatives and paradigms with above average potential to tangibly grow your business in the medium to long term. Generally we involve “Rainmaking” processes into many of our services.