Blog

"JCI is the most inspirational organisation I've ever come across. Love it"
by Solveig Malvik on March 9, 2012 12:30

Comments

National President Solveig Malvik got the opportunity to interview Wayne Clarke, International Partner, Best Companies Partnership (the company resposible for the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies award) about his experiences with JCI and how Wayne feels JCI can contribute to a company's employee engagement.

Wayne first got in touch with JCI at National Awards in Reading in 2009 and has since then been stuck in from being key-note speaker at the JCI Global Partnership Summits in New York to JCI World Congresses in both Osaka in 2010 and Brussels in 2011.

Wayne's company Best Companies measure how engaged employees are in companies and how this affects the financial performance of the same company. In short, it does! The more engaged your employees are, the better your company performs. And Wayne believes that the best way to get engaged employees is to get them involved with JCI...read the interview...

Solveig Malvik: So, Wayne, can you tell us a bit about your experience with personal growth factor in companies and the success of companies?

Wayne Clarke: So there's 8 factors that we measure in our surveys, ehm, there are three of them which really do stands out in terms of being the most influential for how people feel about being at work. One of those is what we call the personal growth factor. So the most influential factor that we measure is how you feel about your manager, then how you feel about your leader, we also ask a number of questions about how you feel about the company, but really one of the most practical thing organisations can focus on is what we call personal growth. Now, in the personal growth factor we're actually measuring a very specific question which is: do you feel that you've got the learning, you know, enough learning and growing opportunities within your organisation. Do you feel grown? And the specfic nature of the question is, is do you feel that there are limited opportunities to learn and grown within this organisation.

Now the way that people respond to that question seems to have a big effect on how they feel about everything else at work. So what we know, is that, the responses to that question, aren't really related to the amount of money organisations spend on training and development, because we've companies that have zero training and development budgets but they do well on that question, so what we're looking at really is say, as a manager or as a leader, how much time do you truly spend with your people helping them to think about the opportunities that they can access in terms of learning, growing and developing. And the default position is usually to default back to the corporate training programme which often isn't designed in the right way in the first place. So we know that personal growth is a big issue and we know that the way to solve it is about having managers who understand and can have the type of conversations they need to with the people that they look after to identify what those individuals really need. So the personal growth factor is huge to affect the engagement levels of companies.

SM: So can you give us some examples on personal growth opportunities that the managers can present to their employees?

WC: So I had, I'll give you a personal one, one of the people that works in our organisation, who's been there for a year and a half, really smart, is a engineering graduate and very clever, and one of the conversations we talked about is how she feels about her future, and when asked the question, of you know, if you could wave a magic wand in the next twelve months and create a future that you'll really love, what would it be? And her immediate response was "I'm not sure". Which for me was interesting because I've kind of always been sure, but then if you think back, I don't think she's ever had that conversation with anyone growing up in her career. So you know I had a boss who had those kind of conversations with me on a regular basis as I grew up in my professional life. That's not a common experience though, so you've got lots and lots of people who haven't had those kind of conversations. Now we sat and we ended up talking for about 5 or 6 hours about what it is that she really wants. And she ended up coming up with an absolutely fantastic 12 month plan of a future that exites and engages her, but it came from the willingness from me as a manager or as a leader or mentor or however you want to put it, to have the in depth conversation and care enough about her to ask the questions about what she really wanted. And I know it sounds quite soft and fluffy but that's the basis of what we'll say is a great manager relationship.

SM: Can you tell us about your first meeting with JCI? Your first impression of JCI when you came to Reading.

WC: Yeah, so, what a crazy lot of people! Who the hell has a conference on a Saturday, that was my first thought when I got asked to speak. So I mean I was really blown away because we spend most of our time in companies talking about these challenges, talking about the importance of personal growth in companies. Then I'm there on a Saturday, with I think 60 people in a room in Reading, who've taken their own personal time because they're committed to growing themselves and that for me was, just it blew my mind, which is why I've ended up being such a fan and devoting, you know, my time and energy to JCI over the last, what, two years now? As a result of that session. I think that was December 2009.

And I mean I recently sent an email to, he was the guy used to be the chief exec of one of the big accountancy companies, and I sent him an email connecting him with JCI, and what I'd put in the email was, JCI is the most engaged organisation I've ever come across. Because it's a voluntary organisation of people who absolutely care about making a difference in their local areas as well as for themselves in terms of the opportunities they've to grow and develop themselves, so. JCI is the most inspirational organisation I've ever come across. Love it.

SM: Thank you Wayne!

Networking for the shy: A guide
by Guest Blogger on June 15, 2011 07:44

Comments

Are you new to networking? Or does the thought of networking with a room full of strangers instantly make you panic? JCI offers a great introduction to the art of networking and will help you gain confidence and new business contacts. So, how do you go about networking if the very thought of it makes you shudder?

Jo Evans, JCI Cambridge

In this blog post Jo Evans from Emerald Frog Marketing (and JCI Cambridge Committee member) gives a few tips on networking for the shy:

"It's not what you know, it's WHO you know". Otherwise known as "networking". It's a very effective form of marketing your business.

Now, networking might come naturally to you, but according to the Shyness Research Institute (yes, really!) at Indiana University, approximately 40% of people describe themselves as shy. This can mean that the prospect of "networking" is one that brings many business owners out in a cold sweat.

So how do you master the art of the "schmooz" and maximise your chances of seizing an opportunity through networking?

Here are our top tips for the shy:

1. Start close to home. If you are shy, a bit of a hermit even, there are probably friends and family that you have not caught up with for a while. Dust off your address book, go through the numbers in your phone and make contact to see how they are. Drop a friend an email, arrange to go out for a drink or invite them round for a cup of coffee and practise your small talk. Practising socialising with people with whom you have lost contact to warm up your skills for when you have to meet strangers.

2. Get a gregarious friend. I used to have a friend called Lara who was a brilliant networker. At parties, whether they were hers or not, she would manage to get everyone in the room talking with each other. She would ask lots of questions then, at a relevant point in the conversation, introduce another person in the room- then discreetly slip away when the new connection was firmly established and moved onto the next wall flower. A Lara is a great person to know. She takes away your nerves and does the introducing for you. Obviously you can't drag your Lara everywhere, but watch how they do it and learn their skills.

3. Ask questions and listen. Talk to your new contact by asking them questions about what they do. Most people love talking about themselves and this keeps the heat off you! Ask lots of "open questions" that begin with a who, how, when, where or why. A question that results in a yes/no answer will be as painful as pulling teeth. If you are at an event ask others what they thought of the speaker/programme/show.

4. Watch your body language. Smile, don't slouch, make eye contact with people, don't fold your arms or talk too fast. If you don't know what to do with your hands carry a pen!

5. Don't scoff all the buffet. It may be tempting at an event to simply avoid people and make a beeline for the buffet. While everyone else is networking you have troughed your way through four platefuls of sausage rolls instead. Not a good start.

6. Be realistic. Talking with two or three people in a room is better than not talking with anyone at all.

7. Watch out for self effacing comments. Don't put yourself down/belittle your job or achievements/apologise all the time.

8. Be a greeter. If your company is holding an event and you have been drafted in to help, offer to be the person on the front desk. Hand out the name badges, say hello to people, tell them where the bar is. You will get to know who everyone is and soon people will approach you for a chat. Or join the JCI Committee and get stuck in. We'll happily give you a role to help you engage with others!

9. Go online. Networking doesn't always mean face-to-face (although this is the most effective way). Get networking via Facebook and LinkedIn. Join online groups and discussions to get your name about.

10. Get over your fear of rejection. You won't be interesting to all people, nor will your product or service be of use to all you meet, so don't worry if the conversation doesn't go anywhere or you never hear from your new contact again. Do drop them an email to follow up after the meeting, but don't take it personally if they don't respond! The beauty of networking is that your business card may get passed to a contact of a contact, so you never know what opportunities are open to you further down the line!

So take a deep breath, relax and enjoy!

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) presented two business awards honouring free enterprise at the annual JCI World Congress
by Sofie Sandell on November 10, 2010 07:47

Comments

Interesting news from ICC. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) presented two business awards honouring free enterprise at the annual Junior Chamber International (JCI) World Congress, which took place in Osaka, Japan from 31 October to 7 November.

Two medals for best business development programme by a local and by a national JCI chapter were awarded by Yamada Kiyoshi, Secretary General of ICC Japan during the JCI Gala Awards evening on 6 November.

JCI Monaco (Jeune Chambre Economique de Monaco) was awarded the 2010 national chapter medal for their study on how to stabilize enterprises in the wake of the economic crisis. The frank study identified the needs and challenges of young entrepreneurs in the current economic landscape and was recognized for its potential to boost the entire economy of Monaco.

The local organization medal went to JCI Bamako-Espoir of Mali for their ‘Jumbo Gwatigi' project which aims to raise standards in the catering industry regarding hygiene, marketing measures and hospitality.

The ICC business medal has been awarded for the past 20 years for projects relating to an array of subject areas, such as international business cooperation and investment, business and trade development, partnerships (public and private sector, including business associations and chambers), executive training and development.

JCI has a longstanding working partnership with ICC at the global level. JCI is a permanent member of the ICC World Chambers Federation (WCF) General Council, and a member of its Transnational Chamber Board. WCF fosters partnerships and joint projects between chambers of commerce and the ICC national committee network, with JCI chapters. JCI is also active in World Chambers Network Business Opportunity Service. ICC and WCF leaders also served as judges in the 2010 JCI ten outstanding young persons of the year award.

JCI is a worldwide federation of young leaders and entrepreneurs whose mission is to contribute to the advancement of the global community by providing the opportunity for young people to develop the entrepreneurial and leadership skills needed to generate positive changes in their communities, their countries and the world. Its network comprises approximately 6,000 communities in more than 100 countries worldwide.