Telephone courtesy and customer service skills are essential for building trust and a strong business reputation. This workplace guide covers professional call handling, managing difficult conversations, and virtual meeting etiquette, along with practical ways to improve team communication and confidence. Telephone professional courtesy is one of the most powerful and most overlooked contributors to business...

Corporate Training Options (CTO) is one of the most established corporate training providers across Australia for 30+ years. We deliver customised workplace training in Microsoft 365, Leadership, Customer Service, Planning & Organisation, Sales Training and Personal Development – online and onsite. The blog discusses how learning needs to vary by situation in 2026. The most...

Telephobia, or phone anxiety, is increasingly common among Gen Z employees. While this has become a concern among managers and business owners alike, this blog explains why younger professionals may avoid phone calls and virtual meetings. It is certainly impacting workplace productivity, but there’s a lot HR leaders and managers can do to address it...

Workplace conflict is one of those things nobody likes to talk about but almost every organisation deals with it at some stage or another. Whether it’s tension between team members, a breakdown in communication between departments or a manager struggling to handle a difficult situation, unresolved conflict doesn’t just make work unpleasant. It drains productivity,...

If Microsoft Copilot feels a bit confusing right now, you’re not imagining it. It’s changing quickly — where it shows up, what it can do, and how it behaves can feel different from one month to the next. That uncertainty is real, and it’s something a lot of people are noticing. I’ve done a quick...

Why the human side of change matters more than ever in the age of AI Change is one of the few things in life that is truly inevitable. Whether it’s a shift in leadership, a business merger, a team restructure, a new direction in strategy, or as of right now – the rapid rise of...

Being a non techie myself, tools like Power BI, Power Automate, Power Apps etc, blew my mind when one of our trainers (Gordana Marinkovic), who is an absolute expert told me about their potential. So, if there are any curious minds out there – Let’s explore this together. The Scene we all know too well...

If you’re an occasional Excel user, using your mouse and clicking through menus is perfectly fine – it gets the job done.  But when you really need to work in a spreadsheet — analyse data, clean it, move fast — suddenly the mouse feels painfully slow. Here are five underrated Excel shortcuts that will instantly make...

If you are mapping out your leadership development plan for 2026, you are most likely facing a familiar challenge like everyone else – constrained budgets, stretched resources, and the most critical question—will a training course actually deliver results?  In the current economic climate where productivity matters more than ever, you cannot afford to get this wrong. Which brings us to another fundamental question – Does your...

Are you ready to develop the skills essential for effective leadership? Even if you don't yet hold a leadership position, you can begin learning the principles leaders use to achieve success and prepare yourself for the future. In this online course, you will learn how to have more successful work relationships. Understand how to surround yourself with a great team.  Figure out how to make good decisions. And recognise the qualities of great leaders.