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e-LEARNING


Welcome to SDA’s e-Learning experience -- a central location where you can access all of our pre-recorded learning sessions.  These programs were developed to target every experience level of the design firm administrator/manager. They will enhance your performance and expand your knowledge.

SDA has created this e-Learning section to offer accessible and affordable opportunities designed to meet your professional development needs, including earning hours to meet your CDFA hours requirement.

 
 
Click on a course division title to expand the view and see all available courses in that area (click on the division title again to collapse the view). Attention SDA Members--Remember to sign in to get significant discounts (and even a few programs for FREE!)
    • Title Description
      Are You Just Busy or Actually Producing Something?
      These days we all feel busy at work and by the time we respond to what everyone else needs, we may or may not have produced anything for our own job duties. This program will give you a number of strategies for getting a few more things accomplished during the day.
      		 Buy
      Bluebeam Revu from Start to Finish
      This program provides Bluebeam Revu users with the very basics of its use through intermediate functions and up to the less-utilized, but very important functions from which every user will benefit.
      		 Buy
      Farewell to Death by Power Point
      This program challenges several long-held misconceptions about best practices for presentation design and delivery, and becomes a seminal moment for the thousands who have gone on auto-pilot and created presentation content the same drab way for untold numbers of years.
      		 Buy
      Emergency Preparedness
      Is your office ready for the emergencies that might arise in your area? Remember, "Disasters Don't Plan Ahead, But You Can." This program covers some of the basics for an office emergency plan and the items that need to be planned for in advance, as well as ways to help your office practice for them.
      		 Buy
      Excel Macros
      Do you find that you’re doing the same operations over and over in Excel? Perhaps you’re importing data from a particular system and have to do the same fourteen things to it in order to be able to use it. You can turn that long process of clicking and typing into a single button click or keyboard shortcut. Learning to create macros will not only put a feather in your job skills cap, it can actually put hours back in your work week.
      		Buy
      Front Office Security
      Your front office professionals juggle many tough responsibilities. One of the most important is serving as “lookout” for anything that might threaten the safety and security of employees and guests. And, in this day and age, there’s really no telling how serious a security threat you may find yourself coming up against. So it is important to equip your team with the knowledge and skills to protect the front office area – and themselves.
      		Buy
      Get Organized to Make This Your Best Year Yet

      With the new year approaching, we’re all thinking about resolutions. While losing weight and getting our finances in order are two popular choices, one resolution many of us make year after year is to get organized, once and for all. The truth is, no one ever gets organized once and for all; it’s a process, and one all of us have to refine frequently. Still, the beginning of a new year is a good time to look at some productivity hacks and tools you can use to organize your life and get some time back for yourself!

      		 Buy
      Google: Not Just a Search Engine
      Google is most widely known for its search engine capabilities, but very few people know about the abundance of other tools that Google offers that will make your life easier. This program will explain some of the main tools that Google offers and how to integrate them into your workflow. If you aren’t already a Google-head, you will be by the end of this session!
      		Buy
      Grammar Mistakes that May Discredit Your Message
      After taking the time to plan a presentation or craft an important message,  you want to make sure the readers are focused on the message– not your silly grammar mistakes. This presentation covers a variety of commonly misused terms.
      		Buy
      Handling Awkward Office Situations

      This presentation focuses on those awkward office situations that we all encounter such as: The challenge of the loud cubicle talkers; How 'casual' is casual office attire; Who ate my yogurt and other rude refrigerator behaviors; and many more.

      		 Buy
      An Introduction to InDesign Interactive Elements
      Interactive is the new black. Gone are the days of static documents and stale PDFs. Our companies and clients want more, and they’re beginning to expect it. Marketing materials today are often digitally based, so why not take it to the next level? If you’re looking to learn the basics of utilizing some of the many interactive capabilities found in Adobe InDesign, this program is for you.
      		Buy
      Kickstart Your Year: 20 tips to Turn Resolutions into Accomplishments
      Looking for some great ideas for turning your new year resolutions into accomplishments?  This program will help you to kick-start your idea list and make this your best year yet. Readers in a recent Success.com survey responded with suggestions and tips to get you thinking.  We want to get you thinking and inspire you to reach farther, go faster, achieve more.
      		Buy
      Outlook Tips & Tricks  
      Don’t let your Outlook inbox get you down – this webinar walks you through some of the many tips and tricks that will streamline how you deal with email as well as calendars and contacts. The presenter steps through a few basics, and then looks at features you may not know were there, things that can save you time and frustration. Topics covered include navigation options, subject line editing, folders, rules, the Quick Access Toolbar, inserting stock text, Quick Steps, as well as pointers on sharing calendars and setting up appointments.
      		 Buy
      Strategic Planning: Business Strategy into Action and Results
      Successful A/E/C firms plan their future strategically and by design. This presentation will explain the process to develop the purpose, direction, goals and mission for each unique firm. In addition we describe how to use the strategic plan as a catalyst for prioritization at all levels within the firm and provide tips on how to gain broad based buy-in of the strategic plan among all staff.
      		 Buy
      Understanding the Administrators Changing Role in the Changing Workplace
      This program will help you recognize how the roles and responsibilities of administrative professionals are changing; identify trends in the workplace and identify “best practices” in administrative skills today.
      		Buy
      Working with Master Documents in Word
      In the A/E/C industry, there are documents. BIG documents. Often there are multiple authors and multiple approaches to developing content for a single end-product. Master documents can be the answer to getting control of all that text without ruffling the feathers of those creative contributors! In this course, participants will learn what a Master Document is, why it’s different from any other document and what administrative practices to put in place to get them to work properly.
      		Buy
    • Title Description
      2019 Year-End Payroll Preparation
      This annual update will cover HR, payroll, and accounting issues that have changed in 2019 or are due to change in 2020 as well as best practices and lessons learned.  You will take away updates on the top 10 HR, payroll, and benefits issues employers are facing today.
      		 Buy
      Benchmark Your Firm's Performance for Growth

      So the year has ended. Another year of accumulating data. How to make better sense of it? How can you learn from it and have a better financial report in the next year? This program will review the benchmarks you need to be following and how to get them from your accounting system.

      		 Buy
      Building Next Year's Profit-How Much Revenue Should You Expect
      Revenue in the A/E business is based solely on how much our employees can generate. This session will explore how to set up a revenue budget for the coming year by using employee's costs, utilization rate and overhead. It will then show attendees how to break that down into manageable increments, set up revenue expectations per office and per billing manager, and create the reports to monitor the outcomes.
      		Buy
      Effective Financial Management of Design Firms (EDC15)
      Providing great architectural services and running a financially successful firm are not mutually exclusive. It’s quite the contrary. If you are as good an architect as you think, you’ll be successful and it won’t be because of your design skills. It’s not your fault that after all the years of education and training you endured to become an architect when you don’t know the first thing about how to run a business. Sure, you can design – like nobody’s business – but do you truly understand the difference between income and revenue? How about a credit and debit? Do you know what an overhead factor is and why it’s so critical? Do you know what your minimum billing rate is? Did you ever sit down and map out your firm’s operating budget?  Chances are the answer to all these questions is no. This program will help get you on the right track to understanding your firm’s finances.
      		Buy
      Excel Macros
      Do you find that you’re doing the same operations over and over in Excel? Perhaps you’re importing data from a particular system and have to do the same fourteen things to it in order to be able to use it. You can turn that long process of clicking and typing into a single button click or keyboard shortcut. Learning to create macros will not only put a feather in your job skills cap, it can actually put hours back in your work week.
      		Buy
      Is an ESOP Right for Your Firm
      This program provides an overview of how an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) works as it relates to an internal ownership transition plan and whether an ESOP may be the right choice for your firm. The presentation focuses on ESOP valuations, financing the ESOP transaction, due diligence, trends, and the importance of creating an ownership culture in an ESOP company.
      		Buy
      What is the Right Value for Your Firm
      Through case studies and “war stories” we will explore the various types of value for design firms. Some of the topics that will be discussed include: Why a firm needs a formal valuation; Different ways to value a design firm; Financial indicators that drive value; Internal transition or external transaction value; How to get your firm ready to sell (internally or externally); and, Stock formulas and what creates positive shareholder behavior.
      		Buy
    • Title Description
      15 Tips for Employee Engagement
      Are your employees passionate about their jobs? Do they come to the office every day eager to jump in and contribute to the company goals? If not, you may be facing an engagement gap with your workers. This can be a serious issue. Disengaged employees can have a significant effect on productivity, client service and retention. This program will provide 15 tips for enhancing your employee engagement.
      		Buy
      Anyone Can Be a Driver
      You may not have "company drivers" or "company vehicles," but if you have employees who drive their personal or rented vehicles for work, you may still have an exposure to vehicle accidents. This can occur for example, when employees use their own vehicles to pick up office supplies, meet with customers off site or rent vehicles while traveling to attend conferences. An accident can become your responsibility if it occurs while these employees are driving for business purposes. Auto exposures can create some of the biggest losses facing companies today; yet, because they may not always recognize employees as "drivers," many companies have no controls to help protect against this risk. This program will highlight some hidden exposures you could face from employees driving their own or rented vehicles for work and ways you can help control this exposure.
      		Buy
      Best Practices for Small Business Hiring

      This program will provide valuable information for small business owners, managers and administrators on how to navigate the hiring process and fill open positions with the best possible candidates. Topics covered include: How to determine your hiring needs and the skills you require from potential candidates; the necessary steps required to candidates have been screened and meet your criteria; what you should and should not ask in an interview; and how to make a formal job offer and ensure your new employee starts off on the right foot.

      		 Buy
      Designing an Effective Leadership Development Program
      Due to rapidly shifting demographics and an expanding economy, firms that provide architectural, engineering and other professional design services are struggling to fill a growing leadership vacuum. The good news is that an effective leadership development program can help firms fill this vacuum while creating tremendous opportunities.
      		Buy
      From Performance Management to Employee Engagement

      The top reason why employees leave their jobs is not due to lack pay or benefits.  It’s because of their manager.  How confident are you about your impact on employees?  This seminar focuses on how to effectively manage performance and engage employees to understand how their contributions impact your organization.

      		 Buy
      Legal Issues that May Arise When Managing a Design Firm
      This program will focus on some issues that can arise when managing staff of a design firm. Topics will include determining whether an independent contractor is actually an employee, and what to do when employees make complaints about how they believe they have been treated.
      		Buy
      Refining YOUR Professional Package
      Each member of an organization, particularly those in a support role, can contribute value and have a plethora of avenues available to increase the value he or she contributes. This presentation covers topics including effective communication;  networking; current trends; training resources and resumes/LinkedIn.
      		Buy
      Super Staff: Finding and Retaining Best Talent
      If you’re looking to hire any new team members, you must understand that options abound for them at whatever stage they are in their profession – whether first starting out, returning to work, looking to change course, self-employed or working for someone else. You’ll learn search and hiring strategies for identifying and securing the best candidates from one of the industry’s top retained search consultants.
      		Buy
      Transformational Leadership
      This program covers the four most widely accepted leadership styles and then takes a deep dive into Transformational Leadership.  Transformational leadership is often identified as the single most effective style and includes key characteristics such as the ability to motivate and inspire followers and to direct positive changes in groups.  It also examines the 4 ‘I’s of Transformational Leadership and looks at real world examples.  This program is full of good take-aways that will help you reach your own leadership potential.
      		Buy
      Workforce Trends in the A/E/C Industry
      Companies often say "People are our greatest asset," a statement which has added weight in the professional services industry. And yet, companies approach human resources reactively, too frequently not looking beyond their immediate needs to develop long-term strategic plans for their firms. Disruptive concepts like remote offices, flexible hours, and gig workers are not limited to the technology sector, but spreading as rapidly through the business world as the Millennial generation. This program will look at some of the major trends impacting the A/E/C workforce now and in the near future.
      		Buy
    • Title Description
      An Introduction to InDesign Interactive Elements
      Interactive is the new black. Gone are the days of static documents and stale PDFs. Our companies and clients want more, and they’re beginning to expect it. Marketing materials today are often digitally based, so why not take it to the next level? If you’re looking to learn the basics of utilizing some of the many interactive capabilities found in Adobe InDesign, this program is for you. Our presenter guides you through step-by-step tutorials on elements such as hyperlinks, bookmarks, tables of contents, forms, and buttons. While the extent of InDesign’s interactive capabilities is far too large to cover in one session, the goal is for attendees to be equipped to begin exploring the possibilities for utilizing interactivity in their marketing materials. 
      		Buy
      Farewell to Death by PowerPoint
      This program challenges several long-held misconceptions about best practices for presentation design and delivery, and becomes a seminal moment for the thousands who have gone on auto-pilot and created presentation content the same drab way for untold numbers of years.
      		Buy
      Five Mistakes You are Making When Selling & How to Eliminate Them
      Winning proposals is the life blood to any business. How we present our service can make or break a sale. This session will discuss five common mistakes made with pitching your services and teach you how to overcome them.
      		Buy
      How to Use Social Media to Increase Your Client Base
      It’s not good enough to have a great product or service. You need to get the word out about your products and services so that you have a growing list of customers for your business. This program reviews how to develop a marketing strategy that creates a growing list of customers; what is the best social media platform to promote your product, service, and business; how to use search engine optimization to drive traffic to your website; and how to use Facebook to grow your mailing lists.
      		Buy
      Referral Marketing for A/E/C Firms
      Referrals have long been a cornerstone piece of A/E/C firms’ marketing strategies. However, new research shows that firms that rely solely on referrals from clients are missing out on major opportunities to generate additional referrals and new business. This program discusses these new research findings on referrals and explains how A/E/C firms today can optimize their referral marketing strategy.
      		 Buy
      RFQs/RFPs - Preparing a Winning Response
      This presentation on addresses what you put into your response, starting with looking at solicitation language to determine: what the client wants to see; how much information is enough; visual presentation; how a strong client relationship can “tilt the playing field” in your firm’s favor; and the upsides/downsides of getting creative with formats and styles.
      		Buy
      Website Management for Lead Generation
      		Buy
    • Title Description
      Architect/Engineer Speak - What Does THAT Term Mean?
      Ever wonder what some of the terms and acronyms mean that your architects and engineers are using every day?  This program is a primer on common terms that you should know in order to better understand the language of your design professionals.
      		 Buy
      Bluebeam Revu from Start to Finish
      This program provides Bluebeam Revu users with the very basics of its use through intermediate functions and up to the less-utilized, but very important functions from which every user will benefit.
      		Buy
      Composing a Winning Application for Professional Liability Insurance
      Completing the professional liability renewal application is a taxing exercise for many design administrators. This presentation demystifies common application terminology and explains the significance of common questions. After listening to this presentation, administrators should be able to compose an effective application that can help improve their firms’ bottom lines.
      		 Buy
      Making Knowledge-Based Processes Visual for the Design Professional
      The visual planning methods of lean design improve your ability to balance workloads, schedule tasks, deliver documents on schedule, and coordinate multi-discipline consulting teams. This presentation provides real-world examples to illustrate how companies are using visual production planning software to provide context and transparency to collaborations.
      		Buy
      Understanding and Complying with Client Insurance Requirements
      Design administrators are often responsible for triaging certificate requests from their firm’s existing and new clients.  Establishing an effective process for managing certificate of insurance requests can be difficult due to the unique requirements and special language that is requested by many clients. This primer will help administrative staff members interpret requests for certificates and communicate them to their insurance advisors.
      		 Buy
      Using the Limitation of Liability Clause in Your Contracts
      This program covers the use of Limitation of Liability (LOL)/Risk Allocation provisions in AE/Owner and/or AE/Sub-consultant agreements for services, the difference between LOL and limits of insurance, as well as how to negotiate LOL with clients.
      		Buy
      Why Design Professionals Should Embrace Integrated Design
      As a design professional, your primary focus should be on maximizing the value for your client. Integrated delivery does that by reducing design/construction time, reducing project costs, and delivering superior value for the client’s budget. In addition to the client benefits, it also enables practitioners to improve their profitability.
      		Buy
 
 

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