DAVIS Workshops
The DAVIS Ombuds Team, consisting of Nnena Odim and Josh Hoch, provides ombuds services and workshops to all DAVIS employees. Ombuds services help surface and resolve work-related concerns. For more information about ombuds services, click here.
Workshops offer DAVIS employees the opportunity to acquire valuable information, refresh or develop skills, and explore tools that make conflict management more accessible, with the ombuds team available as a supportive resource. To help create a sense of connection and meaningful engagement, each workshop is limited to 24 people, and we ask everyone to join with cameras on and be fully present throughout the session. Thank you.
Upcoming Workshops
Tone in Email: Turning Written Messages into Productive Conversations
January 30, 2026, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
This one-hour Teams workshop helps employees write clear, respectful emails that reduce friction and prevent misunderstandings. Blending mediation and communication insights with real workplace examples, participants learn how email tone is misread, how to respond to difficult messages, and when to move conversations off email. Attendees leave with practical scripts, templates, and a simple decision guide they can use immediately to improve day-to-day communication.
Advocating for Yourself in Uncertain Times
February 12, 2026, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
This workshop provides participants with tools to advocate for their needs with clarity and confidence during times of change and constraint. Using a practical framework from negotiation and conflict management, attendees learn to distinguish between positions and interests, reduce defensiveness, and transform difficult requests into productive conversations. Through realistic scenarios and guided practice, participants gain immediately usable strategies for setting boundaries, making resource requests, and navigating high-stress situations, with ongoing support available through one-on-one ombuds consultations.
An Introduction to Your Ombuds Team and Services
February 18, 2026, 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm
This brief workshop introduces DAVIS employees to the DAVIS Ombuds Team and the support they provide. Participants learn about the role of an ombuds, how the service helps employees navigate workplace concerns, and when it may be beneficial to reach out. The session clarifies core principles, such as confidentiality, independence, and impartiality, and provides employees with a clear understanding of how an ombuds team member can support them at DAVIS.
Tone in Email: Turning Written Messages into Productive Conversations
March 10, 2026, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
This one-hour Teams workshop helps employees write clear, respectful emails that reduce friction and prevent misunderstandings. Blending mediation and communication insights with real workplace examples, participants learn how email tone is misread, how to respond to difficult messages, and when to move conversations off email. Attendees leave with practical scripts, templates, and a simple decision guide they can use immediately to improve day-to-day communication.
Navigating Difficult Conversations at Work
April 7, 2026, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Participants will learn and practice proven strategies to communicate with clarity and confidence in ways that build trust, strengthen relationships, and inspire genuine buy-in. Through interactive exercises and practical tools, they will discover how to deliver messages that not only resonate but also motivate action and achieve meaningful results.
Skillful Collaboration
May 21, 2026, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Skillful Collaboration is a practical, interactive workshop that helps teams reduce friction and work more effectively together and with trade partners. Using the GRPI framework, participants learn how goals, roles, processes, and interpersonal dynamics shape collaboration and where breakdowns commonly occur. Through custom scenarios and guided discussions, attendees gain concrete tools to diagnose challenges early, reset expectations, and strengthen teamwork immediately.
An Introduction to Your Ombuds Team and Services
June 2, 2026, 12:00 pm to 12:30 pm
This brief workshop introduces DAVIS employees to the DAVIS Ombuds Team and the support they provide. Participants learn about the role of an ombuds, how the service helps employees navigate workplace concerns, and when it may be beneficial to reach out. The session clarifies core principles, such as confidentiality, independence, and impartiality, and provides employees with a clear understanding of how an ombuds team member can support them at DAVIS.
Giving and Receiving Feedback
June 17, 2026, 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm
Feedback is one of the most powerful tools for growth, yet it can also be one of the most challenging to give or receive effectively. This workshop will help participants strengthen their ability to both provide and respond to feedback with clarity, respect, and purpose. Participants will explore common pitfalls when giving feedback and practice strategies to ensure their message is constructive and empowering rather than discouraging. They will also learn how to better receive feedback by recognizing its value, overcoming common barriers, and applying a practical framework to turn critical insights into opportunities for positive change. By the end of the session, participants will leave with tools and techniques to create a feedback culture that fosters trust, learning, and continuous improvement.
Past Workshops
Navigating Difficult Conversations at Work
This program was offered in October and November 2025.
Giving and Receiving Feedback
This program was offered in October 2025.
Workshop Presenters
Each workshop will be led by one or both ombuds team members:
Nnena Odim and Josh Hoch
The MWI ombuds resource is independent, impartial, informal, and confidential. Communication with an ombuds team member does not constitute formal notice to DAVIS Construction.
You can learn more about the DAVIS Ombuds Team Resource here.