Training interventions for corporates: consultant & trainer Sangeeta talks about her experiences working on a Business Communication workshop for our new client
In early December, Sangeeta, consultant and trainer at SAI Pvt. Ltd., conducted a Business Communication & Presentation Skills workshop for one of our recently associated clients, Pharmed Ltd. She writes about her experience in this blog:
A major challenge faced in organisations in the pharmaceutical industry, like Pharmed, is that the field employees- product developers, researchers, transcriptionists, marketing/ sales strategists and even human resource personnel- do not directly interact with external stakeholders or clients the company deals with. Most of their interactions are internal, either inter or intra departmental. Because of this, most employees feel that it is enough to focus on functional and operational competencies that are directly related to their job/ role for success, and important professional skills like communication take a back seat.
It becomes imperative today for employees of an organization to learn how to communicate effectively in order to grow professionally. It is undoubtedly one of the most fundamental skills which impacts an individual’s career growth and workplace effectiveness. An organisation’s progress in realizing its goals and objectives is also largely dependent on how well its employees are able to communicate with one another and with external stakeholders.
With this in mind, Pharmed associated with SAI Pvt. Ltd. to conduct a one-day workshop on Business Communication for its first-in-line employees. The primary objectives of the workshop were to equip participants with practices and skills to improve their day-to-day communication (face to face as well as telephonic), their ability to communicate effectively via email, and tips to increase their effectiveness as presenters.
I like to keep my sessions highly interactive. It is almost necessary for me as trainer to have my audience moving around, talking to one another, sharing experiences and working with people they have never worked with before. I design ice-breakers in such a way as to bring people together in teams where it becomes imperative for them to work with new people. Every concept or practice is followed up with an activity or exercise where participants are urged to share perspectives and insights. When participants work with one another in applying a concept or practice, the take-away is greater than that of a trainer lecturing them on its applicability, as they are able to see how to make the practice relevant to their specific jobs while discussing it with someone from the same functional field. Feedback testimonials from participants also reveal how they were able to take back a lot more from the session due to the level of interaction.
Seshan’s Academy Infinity Pvt. Ltd. provides training solutions to organisations that are customized to suit each client. The content, methodology of delivery, support tools employed are all customized so as to specifically impact the target participant group and optimize organisational efficiency. Our USP is our niche programmes facilitated by industry experts which create leaders by enabling professionals to tap into their maximum potential. These include:
Developing Emotional Intelligence
Gender/ culture sensitivity and inclusiveness at the workplace
Disability inclusiveness at the workplace
Women- specific programs
Zen meditation and Leadership
Write in to us at info@sainfinity.co.in for more information.
Orientation on Disability Inclusiveness at the Workplace
In collaboration with PPC worldwide, MD & CEO of SAI Pvt. Ltd., Swarnalatha Iyer, held a webinar for employees of Accenture on the 5th of December. This was in connection with World Disability Day, observed on the 2nd of December. The webinar involved people from the management and mid- managerial levels, along with employees with disability, and addressed an aspect of prime concern with respect to working environment.
The agenda for this webinar was two-fold:
1. To address employees with disabilities and orient them on how they can utilize Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) to enable themselves to adapt successfully to their working environment.
2. To address team leads and managers on how they can employ certain practices at the workplace to create an atmosphere of inclusiveness, where people with disabilities feel valued and motivated.
Statistics show that:
- 40% of employed people with disabilities said that they have encountered job discrimination
- 33% of employed people with disabilities report that they have encountered “unfavorable attitudes” toward their disabilities on the job
- 22% of employers cite supervisor/co-worker attitudes and stereotypes as a major barrier to employment & advancement of employees with disabilities
- 15% of non-disabled people report not feeling comfortable working for, or nearby, a person with a disability
An inclusive working environment is about more than just giving everyone equal opportunities. It is about allowing people to be themselves at work, valuing differences and letting them know that their contribution is valued. At its most basic level it is about ensuring that no one feels left out because of their age, gender, race, nationality, religion or belief, sexual orientation, physical or mental disabilities or social background. To achieve inclusion in the workplace, we need to consider the needs of the unique individuals who make up our organization – not put them into boxes based on a certain characteristic, particularly when we have a diverse group of individuals who possess different skills.
The only thing that distinguishes a person with disability is that they may be unable to do certain things in the same way that most people in the mainstream of society do them without some form of adaptation or alteration to assist them overcome the effects of their disability. No two people with the same disability experience their disability in the same way.
Those who have physical, sensory and/or intellectual impairments are automatically put on a much more effective and fulfilling road to a good, complete, and ‘full’ life if they are looked at and valued by society from the outset as totally “normal” people who just happen to have these “extra differences.”
An inclusive culture can have a number of benefits….. If individuals feel valued, they are more likely to add value in return, boosting the overall productivity. Moreover, working effectively in teams depends on getting everyone involved so that individual competencies can shine through. If the workplace is an inclusive one, the employees will work more effectively together and everyone will reap the rewards.
Seshan's Academy Infinity 