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MAKING TRAINING WORK FOR YOU |
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The
weather is starting to warm up, Chinese New Year celebrations are
becoming a memory and the 2007/2008 budget has been announced – with
some very pleasant surprises for us all. It
is great to see the HK government giving back to the local community
while continuing to encourage economic development, investment and
trade. The 2007/2008 budget must have brought a smile to almost every
face with the general good news stories of the preceding year and
consequent tax cuts we are now enjoying. Henry
Tang was a popular man unveiling his $20 billion package of tax
concessions and relief measures including a reduction in stamp duty on
property transactions, rebates in salaries tax and rates waivers. Unemployment
is down to a six year low of 4.4%, 2006 GDP up to 6.8% and inflation
steady at 2%. Further
good news of course is the reduction in salaries tax to a 17% maximum
and maintenance of profits tax at a 17.5% maximum rate. The
installation of free internet access and WiFi networks in government
facilities and 50% reduction on wine tax just continued to add to the
feel good nature of the budget announcements. I hope all these great things will continue to add to your personal and business success for 2007/2008! Vanessa
Griffiths-Green |
1. WHY AM I HERE? |
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After working within a training facility for many years, I’ve heard countless conversations between course attendees. The conversation usually starts off with the countdown of how many hours are left in the day, and finishes off with the good old ‘at |
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least we’re out of
the office and get to go home early’! Communicating both the importance and benefits of your training to your attendees is vital. Create excitement about what you’re doing and how it is going to affect the organisation as a whole – training is exciting, learning is stimulating … some people just need to be reminded! Ensure effective communication is carried out prior to your course (definitely not on the day of) and you will see a difference, not only in the attentiveness throughout your sessions but also in the success of the program as a whole. |
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2. WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME? |
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Relevance, relevance, relevance. If it’s not painfully obvious why your participants are there, be sure to communicate it to them (see step 1). |
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3. AND I NEED TO KNOW THIS BECAUSE ...? |
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Two
words for you – long division. Who didn’t sit in math class
wondering how knowing long division was going to help you become
successful? This
stumble is easily overcome with an open-ended brainstorm generating
question – “how do you think you will be able to use this on the
job?” |
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4. TESTING, TESTING ... 1, 2, 3 |
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More often then not, participants who attend the training are assumed to have understood the training provided. Very few courses actually have an exam or student survey upon completion … how are you to know how much information has been retained? How are you going to make improvements to the course next time around? A simple test or survey can provide tonnes of information about the content, delivery and training retention. |
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5. MEASURING THE SUCCESS |
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Do you measure the ROI of your training? If not, how do you improve it or understand the benefits? There’s a great article on measuring the ROI on training in Cliftons Hong Kong January newsletter … read it here. |
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_ STAFF SPOTLIGHT |
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Percy Lau |
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_ Unsolicited Electronic Mail (UEM) Bill Seminar at Cliftons |
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Contributed by the Hong Kong Call Centre Association (CCA) |
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On February 1st, 2007, the Hong Kong Call Centre Association (CCA) hosted the Unsolicited Electronic Mail (UEM) Bill Seminar at Cliftons in order to address the key concerns of its members. The UEM Bill is currently being reviewed by the Bill’s Committee of the Hong Kong Legislative Council. While the CCA is supportive of the intent behind the Bill, principally to stem the flow of spam emails and pre-recorded voice messages, they do have concerns about the possible inclusion of person-to-person telemarketing within the ambit of the bill and the negative consequences this would have on small, medium and corporate enterprises in Hong Kong. Various stakeholders of the Bill including Mrs Marion Lai, Deputy Secretary of Industry Communications and Technology, Communications Branch, the Hon CK Sin, Functional Constituency Representative for Information Technology, Mr Sidney Yuen, |
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Percy Lau is
Cliftons Business Development Manager. He can be reached on |
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Favourite
holiday destination: Favourite
experience: Favourite
fruit: Favourite
cuisine: Favourite
sport: Can't
live without: If
I have 1000 million dollars I will: When
I was young I wanted to be a:
Policeman |
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TOP: (From
left to right) Hon CK Sin, Marion Lai, Sidney Yuen. |
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Chairman
of the CCA, Randall Davidson, Chairman of the Hong Kong Direct Marketing
Association and Mr Joseph Wong, Vice President, Business Development,
PCCW, were in attendance to address various points of view. About 100
participants were treated to some lively debates and left with a fuller
picture of how the UEM Bill will potentially impact their businesses. Our
thanks to Cliftons for its superb venue and management of this important
event. |
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_ IMAGINE IF YOU WILL ... |
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Boarding
the traditional three mast Hong Kong-Chinese sailing junk just off the
noon day gun in Causeway Bay at seven thirty on a wonderful, clear
October evening. Welcoming you aboard is a team of enthusiastic and
knowledgeable staff acquainting you with the boat and safety
procedures should anything
go wrong …
making you feel safe and at home before getting underway. At eight o’clock the wonderful light show in the Hong Kong harbour commences and it’s amazing to see this superlative display floating in the middle of the harbour. From this vintage point you’re able to take in the views of both the Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula side. Exiting the harbour to the West, your journey continues at half mast to the Southern Bays of Hong Kong. Crossing
through the Aberdeen harbour you witness the life on boats and the
wonderful lights of the Jumbo floating restaurant at night with the
tourists and locals alike clamouring aboard this Hong Kong
institution, which is now wonderfully renovated to its original glory.
You arrive just 15 minutes later in the calm waters of Deep Water
Bay for anchorage. With a wonderful view of the taipan houses, boat, yacht and other clubs surrounding the bay and subtle tunes from the onboard sound system, the waiters set your table and serve the sit down meal for the group under the clear, star sparkled skies above the South China Sea. After enjoying the three course meal of salmon ceasar salad, grilled sea bass and sumptuous two way chocolate mousse with bottles of matching wine, you return around Middle Island with a glass of fine Port in hand to debark at Aberdeen Boat Club. From here a limousine is conveniently waiting to take you to your favourite night club in Hong Kong for which entry and reservations have kindly been pre-arranged by the cruise charter company! |
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Viruses,
Worms, Spyware and Hacking … A Journey to the Dark Side of IT With
Live Demonstrations! Develop
Organisational Potential through Executive Coaching Five
Top Tax Tips (Lunch Seminar) |
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_ VISITED CLIFTONS
LATELY? Click here to book your site visit and see how Cliftons can assist your organisation today! |
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