Tag Archive for: Training

Blurred photo of a man wearing a black long-sleeved shirt while looking down and holding his arm over his chest.

Top 5 March 2025 Completed LocalGovU Courses

Want to know what other North Dakota local governments learned about this past March? Check out the March top 5 most frequently completed LocalGovU courses below:
*Course names and descriptions by LocalGovU (accessed April 1, 2025, from www.LocalGovU.com/NDIRF).

1. Mental Health in Jails

Inmates are twice as likely as the general adult population to experience mental illness. Managing these inmates safely and securely is an important skill for correctional officers. In this course, we will review the symptoms and warning signs of common mental illnesses and discuss strategies and best practices for managing inmates who are mentally unstable.

2. Dealing With Stress

This one-hour course aims to prepare you with the necessary tools to pick up on the cues indicating that things may be more stressful than just the normal, everyday triggers that ebb and flow in all of our lives.

3. Enhancing Work Relationships

The average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime. This means that the relationships we build with our co-workers play a significant role in our lives. In this course, learners will explore a variety of tips and techniques for engendering and enriching relationships at work such as building trust and respect, focusing on listening, assertiveness, and conflict resolution.

4. Maintaining Boundaries for Corrections Staff

This course is designed to inform anyone that deals with or has contact with incarcerated inmates about manipulation. Inmates will go to great lengths to convince staff to abandon professionalism, common sense and their better judgment in order to violate professional boundaries. This course will discuss these main topics: knowing where you are, knowing who you are dealing with, knowing how inmates target and manipulate staff and learning safeguards and methods to resist the inmate manipulator.

5. Advanced Defensive Driving Techniques

This course concentrates primarily on advanced defensive driving techniques. You will be given instruction on how to drive defensively in adverse conditions including heavy rain, snow, and ice. We will further discuss how to share the roadways with other motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

Register Today!

Your entity gains free access to LocalGovU’s more than 1,000 professional development and safety courses through its NDIRF membership, enabling every employee within your organization to browse and complete relevant trainings per your entity as well as their specific role.

If your entity is interested in learning how the NDIRF’s LocalGovU online training platform can support employee training initiatives, reach out to our Director of Member Services Corey Olson at Corey.Olson@ndirf.com. LocalGovU is offered free to NDIRF members.

Register today to start your LocalGovU professional development journey at www.NDIRF.com>Member Benefits>Online Training.

Close up of woman holding a phone to her ear. In the background is a black sedan with a smashed front-end.

Top 5 February 2025 Completed LocalGovU Courses

Want to know what other North Dakota local governments learned about this past February? Check out the February top 5 most frequently completed LocalGovU courses below:
*Course names and descriptions by LocalGovU (accessed April 1, 2025, from www.LocalGovU.com/NDIRF).

1. Advanced Defensive Driving Techniques

This course concentrates primarily on advanced defensive driving techniques. You will be given instruction on how to drive defensively in adverse conditions including heavy rain, snow, and ice. We will further discuss how to share the roadways with other motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

2. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Improper behavior in the workplace may have significant consequences both for yourself and your employer. If you are a victim of sexual harassment, this may create a hostile work environment which takes a toll on your career, your personal life, and your health. Recognizing what sexual harassment is, both the subtle cues as well as the overt advances, will help you to identify potential warning signs and take the necessary steps to report sexual harassment.

3. Cybersecurity Threats to Public Entities

In this one-hour course, we will explore the world of cybersecurity; including its definition, methods of attack, and how to combat threats.

4. Crisis Intervention Training Overview

The course provides a brief overview of the core philosophy of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, training components, collaborative approaches, and the goals and benefits of CIT training implementation.

5. Contraband Control

In this one-hour course, officers will learn to effectively learn how to identify, search for, and document all forms of contraband.

Register Today!

Your entity gains free access to LocalGovU’s more than 1,000 professional development and safety courses through its NDIRF membership, enabling every employee within your organization to browse and complete relevant trainings per your entity as well as their specific role.

If your entity is interested in learning how the NDIRF’s LocalGovU online training platform can support employee training initiatives, reach out to our Director of Member Services Corey Olson at Corey.Olson@ndirf.com. LocalGovU is offered free to NDIRF members.

Register today to start your LocalGovU professional development journey at www.NDIRF.com>Member Benefits>Online Training.

People sit in chairs placed behind tables. The table are set up in rows in a room. In the front of a room is a speaker gesturing to information displayed on a presentation screen.

NDIRF Sponsors CPSI Course Scholarships

Bismarck, ND – The North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund (NDIRF) is proud to support safe playgrounds in North Dakota communities and schools by providing scholarships for local government employees to attend the Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) course and certification program. The two-day course was held March 11-12, 2025, in Bismarck and was hosted by the North Dakota Recreation and Park Association (NDRPA) and Bismarck Parks and Recreation District. This year’s course was attended by 44 local government parks and recreation and school district employees.

The CPSI certification program is the most comprehensive training program on playground hazard identification and risk management methods offered nationwide. Program attendees learn how to identify hazards on public playgrounds and playground equipment, rank hazards according to injury potential, and establish a playground safety program (National Recreation and Parks Association, 2025).

“The NDIRF’s sponsorship of the CPSI course provides local governments with further resources to help ensure their playgrounds continue to offer fun, healthy, and safe environments for their communities,” NDIRF CEO Keith Pic said. “As we are an extension of our membership, we are proud to continue to support this risk management training through our partnership with the NDRPA.”

The NDIRF has sponsored CPSI course scholarships for over the past 17 years.

“We appreciate NDIRF’s sponsorship and continued support of the course,” NDRPA Executive Director Shannon Schutt said. “We’ve had park districts tell us how grateful they are for the scholarships because, without the scholarships, they would not be able to afford the course.”

Photo: 2025 CPSI course and certification program attendees at March 11-12, event hosted by NDRPA in Bismarck, ND. Photo provided by NDRPA.

A woman standing alone wears a white shirt is in the right-hand corner. She is in the foreground. She has bent her elbow to place her fingertips to her temple while her chin is tilting down, emoting signs of stress or worry. In the left-hand corner are three people, two women and one man, who appear to be talking while looking at the woman standing alone. These people are in the background, and they are out of focus.

Top 5 January 2025 Completed LocalGovU Courses

Want to know what other North Dakota local governments learned about this past January? Check out the January top 5 most frequently completed LocalGovU courses below:

*Course names and descriptions by LocalGovU (accessed Feb. 24, 2025 from www.LocalGovU.com/NDIRF).

1. Anti-Harassment in the Workplace

Harassment in the workplace is a serious issue that requires a thorough understanding to promote awareness and ultimately prevention. Improper behavior in the workplace may have significant consequences for those involved, for yourself as an employee, and your employer. Recognizing the various types of harassment will help you to identify potential warning signs and take the necessary steps to report harassment.

2. Advanced Defensive Driving Techniques

This course concentrates primarily on advanced defensive driving techniques. You will be given instruction on how to drive defensively in adverse conditions including heavy rain, snow, and ice. We will further discuss how to share the roadways with other motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

3. Handling Difficult Customers for Local Government

When residents have problems with municipal services, they call city hall. More often than not, these calls are negative in nature rather than positive, and handling these customers is a skill in and of itself. Local governments cannot function effectively if the relationship between the government and its residents is fraught with tension. By taking this course, you will learn the necessary skills for representing your municipality and strengthening its relationship with citizens.

4. Defensive Driving Basics (tied for fourth)

This course will dive into the basics of defensive driving, including its definition, purpose, and importance, as well as the factors that play an important role from the driver’s perspective. We will also discuss the equipment and judgment necessary for driving safely, as well as review the types of impairment that should be avoided to increase driver safety.

4. Cybersecurity Threats to Public Entities (tied for fourth)

In this one-hour course, we will explore the world of cybersecurity; including its definition, methods of attack, and how to combat threats.

4. Crisis Intervention Training Overview (tied for fourth)

The course provides a brief overview of the core philosophy of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training, training components, collaborative approaches, and the goals and benefits of CIT training implementation.

5. Successful Customer Interactions (tied for fifth)

There is a strong correlation between customer satisfaction and the success of a business or department. Welcoming customers means working to create satisfied customers from the inside-out. When local government creates satisfied customers, we create empowered and informed citizens. In this course, learners will discover how to interact as co-workers and service providers. We will also cover understanding the customer goal and how to create goals that will lead to successful customer interactions.

5. Contraband Control

In this one-hour course, officers will learn to effectively learn how to identify, search for, and document all forms of contraband.

Register Today!

Your entity gains free access to LocalGovU’s more than 1,000 professional development and safety courses through its NDIRF membership, enabling every employee within your organization to browse and complete relevant trainings per your entity as well as their specific role.

If your entity is interested in learning how the NDIRF’s LocalGovU online training platform can support employee training initiatives, reach out to our Director of Member Services Corey Olson at Corey.Olson@ndirf.com. LocalGovU is offered free to NDIRF members.

Register today to start your LocalGovU professional development journey at www.NDIRF.com>Member Benefits>Online Training.

Man in blue button-up shirt sitting at a desk looks at computer laptop screen while clicking on the mousepad.

2024 Top 10 LocalGovU Courses

Giving your political subdivision’s employees opportunities to grow their professional knowledge and further hone their skills is “can significantly enhance employee buy-in. In fact, studies indicate that 94% of employees are more likely to stay with an organization that offers professional development pathways” (Goodbread, J., Five Strategies for Driving Employee Engagement, www.Forbes.com, accessed 7 Jan. 2024).

Whether you have an existing internal training program or you’re looking for a place to start, the NDIRF’s online training platform LocalGovU can help! LocalGovU gives you access to thousands of online local government training courses for every department within your political subdivision – from HR and professional development to road maintenance and equipment safety, and even POST certified law enforcement courses.

Any of your political subdivision’s employees can access these courses at no cost through your entity’s NDIRF membership. Registration takes only a few minutes, and you can even set up a curriculum specific to your employees’ needs, complete with automated email reminders. Think “set it and forget it!”

Join the North Dakota political subdivisions today who are already using LocalGovU to provide their employees with self-paced, online training courses that feature the latest information and industry trends.

To demonstrate the variety of courses LocalGovU offers, check out the top 10 courses NDIRF members completed in 2023:

*Course summaries provided by LocalGovU (www.ndirf.localgovu.com, accessed Jan. 7, 2024).

1. Anti-Harassment in the Workplace

Harassment in the workplace is a serious issue that requires a thorough understanding to promote awareness and ultimately prevention. Improper behavior in the workplace may have significant consequences for those involved, for yourself as an employee, and your employer. Recognizing the various types of harassment will help you to identify potential warning signs and take the necessary steps to report harassment.

2. Sexual Harassment in the Workplace

Improper behavior in the workplace may have significant consequences both for yourself and your employer. If you are a victim of sexual harassment, this may create a hostile work environment which takes a toll on your career, your personal life, and your health. Recognizing what sexual harassment is, both the subtle cues as well as the overt advances, will help you to identify potential warning signs and take the necessary steps to report sexual harassment.

3. Defensive Driving Basics

This is a general education course, and the Academy is not responsible for continuing education credits that are rejected in any way. Given the variation in the approval and acceptance of continuing education credits state to state, it is advised that you confirm recertification and training requirements, including accepted courses, with your administrator and check the accreditation page on our site that corresponds with your state.

4. Workplace Bullying

When we think of bullying, we immediately associate it with the school yard, certainly not something we face as an adult. Unfortunately, bullying in the workplace occurs more often than you think. In fact, there are various forms of bullying, from overt forms to those which are quite passive.

Workplace bullying may have significant consequences for those involved, for yourself as an employee as well as your employer. A thorough understanding of workplace bullying will help promote awareness and ultimately prevention.

5. Anti-Bias Training for Law Enforcement

The face of America continues to evolve, and our nation is more diverse than ever before. People in cities, suburbs, and towns served by law enforcement are a rich tapestry of races, ethnicities, religions, and cultures. This diverse group of individuals deserves to be treated with kindness, compassion, and respect. Unfortunately, tragedies can result when there is an adversarial relationship or misunderstanding between law enforcement and the community. Recognizing the diversity and types of bias when serving the community will reduce misunderstandings, confusion, and stereotypes while promoting knowledge and awareness for the officer. In this one-hour course, we will explore many effective strategies to help you to connect with the community along with recommendations you can use immediately.

6. Airborne and Bloodborne Pathogens

Humans are walking sources of air and fluid, and the air and fluid of others are potential sources of infections for first responders. This 1-hour course will review the airborne and bloodborne pathogens first responders commonly encounter in serving their communities, as well as the equipment and preventative measures that protect first responders from infectious pathogens.

7. Successful Customer Interactions

There is a strong correlation between customer satisfaction and the success of a business or department. Welcoming customers means working to create satisfied customers from the inside-out. When local government creates satisfied customers, we create empowered and informed citizens. In this course, learners will discover how to interact as co-workers and service providers. We will also cover understanding the customer goal and how to create goals that will lead to successful customer interactions.

8. Advanced Defensive Driving Techniques (Tied for 8th)

This is a general education course, and the Academy is not responsible for continuing education credits that are rejected in any way. Given the variation in the approval and acceptance of continuing education credits state to state, it is advised that you confirm recertification and training requirements, including accepted courses, with your administrator and check the accreditation page on our site that corresponds with your state. This course concentrates primarily on advanced defensive driving techniques. You will be given instruction on how to drive defensively in adverse conditions including heavy rain, snow, and ice. We will further discuss how to share the roadways with other motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

8. Driving While Distracted (Tied for 8th)

According to the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, every day 9 people die and over 1,000 are involved in a car accident as a result of distracted driving. No matter how long you have had your license, how good of a driver you are, or how safe the roads are, we are all susceptible to driving while distracted. This course will cover the different types of distracted driving, how to avoid each type, as well as evaluate examples of distracted driving in order to focus on how to improve your safety on the road.

8. Ethical Behavior for Local Government (Tied for 8th)

In this course, we will define ethical behavior, provide examples of work situations where a thorough understanding of workplace ethics may be applied, and ways in which you can determine if your decisions and behavior are meeting the appropriate standards.

9. Family and Medical Leave Act

In previous eras, people often became caught in an “either/or” situation because employers were not always cooperative when individuals needed time for personal matters. Employees ran the risk of losing their jobs and benefits if they made the choice of putting their family first. Fortunately, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees to take the time they need to handle life events. We will go over the FMLA in detail to help you understand the basic provisions and how the FMLA can benefit you.

10. Developing Effective Communication Skills

Communicating with coworkers, clients, and management is a core activity for most positions. If you communicate effectively, you are more likely to achieve success in your career and personal life. Being a good listener and knowing how to write effective documents will also ensure your success as a communicator. This course will provide you with tools and suggestions on how to accomplish this goal.

Contact NDIRF Director of Member Services Corey Olson at Corey.Olson@ndirf.com or (701) 751-9107 or visit www.NDIRF.com>Member Benefits>Online Training to learn more about LocalGovU and get started today!

Shows hands typing on a laptop keyboard. Images of a book, bar graph, video, graduation hat, magnifying glass, and target icons are lightly imprinted in white over the image.

Top 5 December 2024 Completed LocalGovU Courses

Want to know what other North Dakota local governments learned about this past December? Check out the December top 5 most frequently completed LocalGovU courses below:

*Course names and descriptions by LocalGovU (accessed Jan. 9, 2024, from www.LocalGovU.com/NDIRF).

1. Handling Difficult Customers for Local Government (tied for first)

When residents have problems with municipal services, they call city hall. More often than not, these calls are negative in nature rather than positive, and handling these customers is a skill in and of itself. Local governments cannot function effectively if the relationship between the government and its residents is fraught with tension. By taking this course, you will learn the necessary skills for representing your municipality and strengthening its relationship with citizens.

1. Understanding Behavior, Burnout, and Depression (tied for first)

In our fast-paced world, many people are tired, overworked, and stressed. Between the constant flow of e-mails, being tethered to a smartphone, and other social, family, and work responsibilities, finding your ‘normal’ can be challenging. Not surprisingly, some people seem to have more issues with stress than others. We know that some stress is healthy, but constant levels of stress can become problematic to the point of burnout and depression. To truly understand the human condition, we need to define what is normal vs. abnormal behavior. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of stress, burnout, and depression will help you to pinpoint warning signs in yourself and others.

2. Workplace Bullying

When we think of bullying, we immediately associate it with the school yard, certainly not something we face as an adult. Unfortunately, bullying in the workplace occurs more often than you think. In fact, there are various forms of bullying, from overt forms to those which are quite passive. Workplace bullying may have significant consequences for those involved, for yourself as an employee as well as your employer. A thorough understanding of workplace bullying will help promote awareness and ultimately prevention.

3. Ethical Behavior for Local Government

In this course, we will define ethical behavior, provide examples of work situations where a thorough understanding of workplace ethics may be applied, and ways in which you can determine if your decisions and behavior are meeting the appropriate standards.

4. Advanced Defensive Driving Techniques (tied for fourth)

This course concentrates primarily on advanced defensive driving techniques. You will be given instruction on how to drive defensively in adverse conditions including heavy rain, snow, and ice. We will further discuss how to share the roadways with other motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

4. Developing Effective Communication Skills (tied for fourth)

Communicating with coworkers, clients, and management is a core activity for most positions. If you communicate effectively, you are more likely to achieve success in your career and personal life. Being a good listener and knowing how to write effective documents will also ensure your success as a communicator. This course will provide you with tools and suggestions on how to accomplish this goal.

4. Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) (tied for fourth)

In previous eras, people often became caught in an “either/or” situation because employers were not always cooperative when individuals needed time for personal matters. Employees ran the risk of losing their jobs and benefits if they made the choice of putting their family first. Fortunately, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees to take the time they need to handle life events. We will go over the FMLA in detail to help you understand the basic provisions and how the FMLA can benefit you.

5. Dealing with Angry Employees (tied for fifth)

In this course, the learner will gain understanding regarding the importance of communication in dealing with employee anger, acquire knowledge regarding productive methods for dealing with employee anger, and finally learn to recognize the behavioral indicators preceding episodes of anger.

5. Defensive Driving Basics (tied for fifth)

This is a general education course, and the Academy is not responsible for continuing education credits that are rejected in any way. Given the variation in the approval and acceptance of continuing education credits state to state, it is advised that you confirm recertification and training requirements, including accepted courses, with your administrator and check the accreditation page on our site that corresponds with your state.

5. Discipline and Termination (tied for fifth)

In every organization, employees are let go for various reasons. The decision to discipline or even terminate an employee is not one that should be taken lightly, and there is a right and wrong way to approach the situation. In this course, learners will explore ways to appropriately address issues before termination is necessary, be able to terminate employees confidently if discipline fails, and for employees to understand the need for a disciplinary process and the rules and expectations that inform them.

5. Emotional Intelligence for Leaders (tied for fifth)

There are many traits and characteristics of a good leader, but recent research has discovered the impact emotional intelligence plays in a leaders success. This course will instruct and provide leaders with techniques to grow and develop in their emotional intelligence and become better leaders.

5. Performance Management (tied for fifth)

Managing employee performance through standards, observation and feedback may sound easy, but doing it well is another story. Many managers and supervisors see the appraisal process as a single day event on the employee’s anniversary date, which is not the case. The performance appraisal process is an ongoing activity that takes effort throughout the year, not just at the time of the appraisal.

5. Sexual Harassment for Managers (tied for fifth)

Sexual harassment in the workplace can happen to anyone, male or female, regardless of sexual orientation. Recognizing what sexual harassment is a leader, both the subtle cues as well as the overt advances, will help you to identify potential warning signs and take the necessary steps to prevent sexual harassment. There are a number of preventive measures that can be employed as well as recommendations of what to do if you or one of your employees have been or are the victim of sexual harassment.

Register Today!

If your entity is interested in learning how the NDIRF’s LocalGovU online training platform can support employee training initiatives, reach out to our Director of Member Services Corey Olson at Corey.Olson@ndirf.com. LocalGovU is offered free to NDIRF members.

Register today to start your LocalGovU professional development journey at www.NDIRF.com>Member Benefits>Online Training.

Four employees closely gather around a desk. They are smiling and appear engaged. One is sitting in an office chair adjacent to a computer monitor, one is sitting on the corner of the desk, and the remaining two are standing.

Top 5 November 2024 Completed LocalGovU Courses

Want to know what other North Dakota local governments learned about this past November? Check out the November top 5 most frequently completed LocalGovU courses below:

*Course names and descriptions by LocalGovU (accessed Dec. 5, 2024, from www.LocalGovU.com/NDIRF)

Enhancing Work Relationships

The average person will spend 90,000 hours at work over a lifetime. This means that the relationships we build with our co-workers play a significant role in our lives. In this course, learners will explore a variety of tips and techniques for engendering and enriching relationships at work such as building trust and respect, focusing on listening, assertiveness, and conflict resolution.

Airborne and Bloodborne Pathogens

Humans are walking sources of air and fluid, and the air and fluid of others are potential sources of infections for first responders. This 1-hour course will review the airborne and bloodborne pathogens first responders commonly encounter in serving their communities, as well as the equipment and preventative measures that protect first responders from infectious pathogens.

Anti-Bias Training for Law Enforcement

The face of America continues to evolve, and our nation is more diverse than ever before. People in cities, suburbs, and towns served by law enforcement are a rich tapestry of races, ethnicities, religions, and cultures. This diverse group of individuals deserves to be treated with kindness, compassion, and respect. Unfortunately, tragedies can result when there is an adversarial relationship or misunderstanding between law enforcement and the community. Recognizing the diversity and types of bias when serving the community will reduce misunderstandings, confusion, and stereotypes while promoting knowledge and awareness for the officer. In this one-hour course, we will explore many effective strategies to help you to connect with the community along with recommendations you can use immediately.

Defensive Driving Basics

This course will dive into the basics of defensive driving, including its definition, purpose, and importance, as well as the factors that play an important role from the driver’s perspective. We will also discuss the equipment and judgment necessary for driving safely, as well as review the types of impairment that should be avoided to increase driver safety.

Advanced Defensive Driving Techniques

This course concentrates primarily on advanced defensive driving techniques. You will be given instruction on how to drive defensively in adverse conditions including heavy rain, snow, and ice. We will further discuss how to share the roadways with other motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

Register Today!

If your entity is interested in learning how the NDIRF’s LocalGovU online training platform can support employee training initiatives, reach out to our Director of Member Services Corey Olson at Corey.Olson@ndirf.com. LocalGovU is offered free to NDIRF members.

Register today to start your LocalGovU professional development journey at www.NDIRF.com>Member Benefits>Online Training.

 

A woman standing alone wears a white shirt is in the right-hand corner. She is in the foreground. She has bent her elbow to place her fingertips to her temple while her chin is tilting down, emoting signs of stress or worry. In the left-hand corner are three people, two women and one man, who appear to be talking while looking at the woman standing alone. These people are in the background, and they are out of focus.

Top 5 October 2024 Completed LocalGovU Courses

Want to know what other North Dakota local governments learned about this past October? Check out the October top 5 most frequently completed LocalGovU courses below:

*Course names and descriptions by LocalGovU (accessed Nov. 12, 2024, from www.LocalGovU.com/NDIRF)

1. Anti-Bias Training For Law Enforcement (1 hour)

The face of America continues to evolve, and our nation is more diverse than ever before. People in cities, suburbs, and towns served by law enforcement are a rich tapestry of races, ethnicities, religions, and cultures. This diverse group of individuals deserves to be treated with kindness, compassion, and respect. Unfortunately, tragedies can result when there is an adversarial relationship or misunderstanding between law enforcement and the community. Recognizing the diversity and types of bias when serving the community will reduce misunderstandings, confusion, and stereotypes while promoting knowledge and awareness for the officer. In this one-hour course, we will explore many effective strategies to help you to connect with the community along with recommendations you can use immediately.

2. Airborne and Bloodborne Pathogens

Humans are walking sources of air and fluid, and the air and fluid of others are potential sources of infections for first responders. This 1-hour course will review the airborne and bloodborne pathogens first responders commonly encounter in serving their communities, as well as the equipment and preventative measures that protect first responders from infectious pathogens.

3. Time Management Skills

Time can feel like a fleeting object. With only so many minutes in the day to accomplish all of the tasks you set out to do, its important to be able to manage your time wisely and effectively. In this course, learners will explore the ways they can manage their time, defeat procrastination, and accomplish their goals not only in the workplace but also their personal lives.

4. Emotional Intelligence for Leaders (Tied for fourth)

There are many traits and characteristics of a good leader, but recent research has discovered the impact emotional intelligence plays in a leaders success. This course will instruct and provide leaders with techniques to grow and develop in their emotional intelligence and become better leaders.

4. Interviewing Skills for Managers: Conducting an Interview (Tied for fourth)

This course is designed to provide managers with the knowledge and skills to recruit and onboard the right talent. Behavioral interviewing is a proven hiring technique that will allow you to hire candidates who have the necessary skills to perform at the highest level on a job. This technique has a higher percentage than traditional interviewing processes for predicting the future of job candidates.

4. Understanding Behavior, Burnout, and Depression (Tied for fourth)

In our fast-paced world, many people are tired, overworked, and stressed. Between the constant flow of e-mails, being tethered to a smartphone, and other social, family, and work responsibilities, finding your ‘normal’ can be challenging. Not surprisingly, some people seem to have more issues with stress than others. We know that some stress is healthy, but constant levels of stress can become problematic to the point of burnout and depression. To truly understand the human condition, we need to define what is normal vs. abnormal behavior. Recognizing the signs and symptoms of stress, burnout, and depression will help you to pinpoint warning signs in yourself and others.

5. Successful Customer Interactions (Tied for fifth)

There is a strong correlation between customer satisfaction and the success of a business or department. Welcoming customers means working to create satisfied customers from the inside-out. When local government creates satisfied customers, we create empowered and informed citizens. In this course, learners will discover how to interact as co-workers and service providers. We will also cover understanding the customer goal and how to create goals that will lead to successful customer interactions.

5. Workplace Bullying (Tied for fifth)

When we think of bullying, we immediately associate it with the school yard, certainly not something we face as an adult. Unfortunately, bullying in the workplace occurs more often than you think. In fact, there are various forms of bullying, from overt forms to those which are quite passive. Workplace bullying may have significant consequences for those involved, for yourself as an employee as well as your employer. A thorough understanding of workplace bullying will help promote awareness and ultimately prevention.

Register Today!

If your entity is interested in learning how the NDIRF’s LocalGovU online training platform can support employee training initiatives, reach out to our Director of Member Services Corey Olson at Corey.Olson@ndirf.com. LocalGovU is offered free to NDIRF members.

Register today to start your LocalGovU professional development journey at www.NDIRF.com>Member Benefits>Online Training.

Hand holding a phone with an envelope on a hook.

Don’t Get Caught in a Phishing Scam

Phishing emails have recently circulated in which employees appear to request a change to their direct deposit or banking account information. So, how can your entity determine which requests are legitimate and which are not?

Here are some steps your entity’s employees can take to help reduce the chance it gets caught in a phishing scam:

  1. Verify the sender email address, specifically the domain. The NDIRF’s domain is bolded here: First.Last@ndirf.com. If the sender’s domain doesn’t match the domain used in their previous emails, it may be a sign the email is a phishing scam.
  2. Be wary of emails that pressure you to act quickly. Scientific tests have shown that time pressure drastically reduces detection accuracy1, making it important you slow down when engaging with emails.
  3. Review the greeting and tone of the email to determine if it’s consistent with the sender’s previous emails. Scammers “often target a broad set of victims at one time, [so] they often use generic greetings like ‘Dear Customer,’ or they may even skip the greeting altogether2”. Their emails may also contain “unnatural phrasing2” among other errors.
  4. Don’t click on links or download attachments unless you know the email is legitimate. Links and attachments are tools scammers often use to install malware “that will infect your PC3”.

To help your entity’s employees outsmart phishing scams, here are some actions it can include in its email, computer, and/or technology policy:

  1. Report suspicious emails to its IT, security, or other designated department.
  2. Verify an employee’s request or safety of links or attachments by directly calling the employee or talking with them in-person.
  3. Complete the NDIRF’s LocalGovU Computer Security Basics course, available free through your entity’s NDIRF membership.

Contact NDIRF Director of Member Services Corey Olson at (701) 751-9107 or Corey.Olson@ndirf.com if your entity wants further information about LocalGovU, our online training platform offered free to NDIRF members.

1Butavicius, M, Taib, R, & Han, S. December 2022. Why people keep falling for phishing scams: The effects of time pressure and deception cues on the detection of phishing emails. Retrieved 9 September 2024 from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167404822003297.

2Rafter, D., 30 July 2024. 10 real phishing email examples. Retrieved 9 Sept. 2024 from https://us.norton.com/blog/online-scams/phishing-email-examples.

3Moon, B. 14 January 2016. Don’t Click On Strange Links: 6 Tips To Avoid Phishing Attacks. Retrieved 9 September 2024 from https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradmoon/2016/01/14/how-to-avoid-becoming-a-victim-of-phishing/.

A group of 20 law enforcement officers, including two K9 officers, pose for a photo in front of the Williston Police Department's white Mobile Command Center trailer.

NDIRF Sponsors Law Enforcement Drone Training Course

Bismarck, N.D. – The North Dakota Insurance Reserve Fund (NDIRF) sponsored a recent three-day drone training course from May 7-9 in Williston (N.D.) to help North Dakota law enforcement unmanned aerial systems (UAS) teams learn how to maximize drone usage and best relay information to ground officers. The course was led by Jack Schonely, a retired 36-year law enforcement officer who is “nationally recognized expert in the area of suspect tactics and perimeter containment” (accessed from www.OfficerTactics.com on May 20, 2024).

Schonely’s training helps UAS teams improve their communication, search techniques and tactics, K9 handler and officer coordination, and drone positioning. A UAS team includes a drone pilot, a spotter, and ground officers these teams The training’s goal is to help UAS teams effectively track, locate, and safely pursue a suspect by establishing a perimeter and providing clear direction to ground officers.

A total of 20 North Dakota law enforcement officers attended the training and represented the Bismarck Police Department, Minot Police Department, Williston Police Department, Stark County Sheriff’s Office, Williams County Sheriff’s Office, and North Dakota Highway Patrol.

“On behalf of the North Dakota Law Enforcement Canine Association, I would like to thank the NDIRF for its support of this training,” NDLECA President Lyle D. Sinclair said. “When law enforcement gets new tools, there is a learning curve, and this training has helped us understand how to maximize drones to help keep the public safe.”

Photo: 20 North Dakota law enforcement officers attend a three-day UAS team training from May 7-9, 2024, in Williston, N.D. Photo credit: NDLECA

Tag Archive for: Training

2025 HR Collaborative Summer Virtual Series

The HR Collaborative’s Six-Session Summer Virtual Series will kick off at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 11, featuring an employment law overview with NDIRF Staff Legal Counsel Dani Krause.

In addition to its kickoff session with Krause, this year’s series will cover the following topics: self-care, performance management, workplace harassment, recruitment, and health coverage trends. 

The sessions will take place at the following times and dates: 

  • 10-11:15 a.m. (CDT) on Wednesday, June 11 – Employment Law Overview with NDIRF Staff Legal Counsel Dani Krause
  • 10-11:15 a.m. (CDT) on Wednesday, June 25 – Cultivating Joyfulness for Self-Care: Be Whole. Be Strong. Be You. with Speaker, Coach, and Joy Refueler Dawn Kaiser
  • 10-11:15 a.m. (CDT) on Wednesday, July 9 – Performance Management with Dakota Dynamics HR Consultant Tanya Wieler
  • 10-11:15 a.m. (CDT) on Wednesday, July 23 – Do Not Become the Victim of Your Anti-Discrimination Policies with Brian D. Schmidt, Attorney at Law and Partner at Smith Porsborg Schweigert, Armstrong, Moldenhauer & Smith
  • 10-11:15 a.m. (CDT) on Wednesday, Aug. 13 – Effective Talent Acquisition in a Competitive Market with North Dakota Office of the Adjutant General Human Resource Business Partner Jason Sutheimer, SHRM-SCP
  • 10-11:15 a.m. (CDT) on Wednesday, Aug. 27 – NDPHIT Health Coverage Trends with Brown & Brown Senior Vice President Randy Johnson 

The cost to attend the 2025 series is $50.

Links to each session’s video recording will be emailed to all registered participants.

To register now, go here: 2025 HR Collaborative Summer Virtual Series Registration – NDIRF.