Choosing the Right Professional Development Opportunities

One of the missions of SFM is to provide challenging and rewarding careers for employees.  A component of that mission is to offer our managers opportunities for ongoing professional development.  This year alone we have offered multiple course topics ranging from Google Sheets training to stormwater management best practices.

On October 3, 2018 a crowd participates in at Trauma-informed De-escalation training course at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. One training subject requested by our managers was how to respond to situations related to the security of their customers.  SFM managers reported that though they are not trained in security, they are often asked to be the first point of contact in situations such as an unfamiliar car parked on campus or someone on campus without proper identification.  Based on this request, SFM set out to find a way to train and prepare our employees for security-related interactions.  

Our goal was to teach our managers how to confidently interact with people who may need assistance, but also know when to contact the proper authorities if the situation should escalate.  Since, SFM partners with mission-driven organizations, it was also is extremely important that the actions of our employees reflect those missions.  Phone calls were made to connections at the Nashville Police Department, Homeland Security, and other security and law enforcement agencies.  All of the agencies were helpful but they did not seem to offer the specific training our managers requested.

Rather than settle for a training that did not meet our needs, we continued to research our options.  We eventually learned about a training lead by Lindsey Krink at Open Table Nashville.  Open Table is an interfaith homeless outreach striving to disrupt the cycle of poverty and provide education about issues of homelessness.  Lindsey’s training is built on concepts of trauma-informed de-escalation. Open Table Nashville uses these practices to train shelter volunteers to offer comfort and support to agitated individuals. The concepts of the training asks participants to reflect on how they are feeling and acting in situations of conflict, then learning to communicate.  

On October 3, over 100 facility managers and other church and school personnel participated in a Trauma-informed De-escalation course at the Cathedral of the Incarnation. SFM considers this training a great success and pleased that this training was able to impact so many non-profit agencies in Nashville.  Visit SFMservice.com to learn more about how the SFM service model is designed to meet the unique needs of schools, churches, and other nonprofits.