by Lalitha Murthy
Chair and co-founder of BCFAI, Lalitha is a Business English Consultant providing customized solutions to communication problems faced by working professionals. She has worked in this capacity in various software companies in India. The programs she conducts have made remarkable difference and helped the workforce to interact effectively especially in a virtual workplace. Read more on her Website and LinkedIn.
“In today’s world, networking is a necessity. A mountain of research shows that professional networks lead to more job and business opportunities, broader and deeper knowledge, improved capacity to innovate, faster advancement, and greater status and authority. Building and nurturing professional relationships also improves the quality of work and increases job satisfaction.”
- HBR
Last week I received a call. It was from RU, the owner of a training company, which specializes in coaching and mentoring at the leadership level. RU said that he had got my reference from a colleague, CK, who was also a freelance trainer. RU had approached CK for a particular program. CK told him that I was the best person for it and so, the call.
Word of mouth works in this manner. Having spent 20 years in this industry, most of my projects have been a result of word-of-mouth publicity. I have never had to advertise.
What had RU done? He connected with me, communicated his requirement and maybe we will collaborate.
Not everyone is so lucky or has so much of experience, or a large circle of likeminded friends. Many of us connect with friends , noy necessarily for work related
How can such trainers advertise their expertise?
How can they connect with like-minded individuals?
BCFAI first C explores a new manner of connecting with each other. Trainers in rural areas will find BCFAI reaching out to them with new developments in the field. Likewise, trainers working in companies may find solutions to specific problems. If you are looking for a customized program, BCFAI will help you with the correct trainers and a platform to discuss specific needs. You could leverage BCFAI and its presence across platforms (LinkedIn and Website as of now; more to follow) to connect with those who are looking for services that you offer. You could also communicate with others though our blogs and events planned. This will lead to better interaction and solutions.
Such diverse methods will lead to better collaboration. You could collaborate with trainers with more experience in the field who may help you to customize your program to the needs of your audience. You will interact with trainers who have an international presence. You could meet such diverse trainers through our various events.
Your audience may be rural Indians looking for employability skills; college students entering the job market; even experienced professionals who would like to upskill. BCFAI has a solution for every such need.
This in essence is the mission of BCFAI.
This is just another form of networking; what is so special about this group?
Early last year, when Dolon Gupta and I connected, we were looking into creating a special group of Business Communication professionals. Shweta and Deepak joined us to give another perspective to this need. We researched and found out that there was no group in India which catered to the specific needs of the Business Communication trainer. In fact, Business communication as a subject was taught only in Management institutes. Much later, “English for Employability” was introduced in professional colleges.
The last 20 years have seen India in the global market as a country which offered services to several Industries the world over. This was chiefly due to the exposure in English which the Indian population has. As more and more job seekers entered the service industry, they needed to understand how to communicate in a global workplace. The influence of Indian English and culture resulted in Indians communicating in a particular fashion which sometimes made it difficult for the international seller/buyer to understand. This led to the rise of trainers of Business Communication.
Networking is nothing new. We network to widen our circles of acquaintances, find out about job opportunities, and to be aware of new trends in this field.
One last request. I would like to add another ‘C’ to our tagline. - Contribute. Generally, people who use networking effectively look to offer something of value to other members of the group. We look forward to your contribution by way of blog posts, questions on what you would like to do in this platform, even conduct webinars on interesting topics.
So, let us connect, communicate, collaborate, and Contribute.