I was deeply moved by a post on LinkedIn by a colleague in Europe saying she had learned a lot from CIPD and their resources and training and from UK HR Managers. She referred to some coaching training I had carried out for her organisation, on behalf of CIPD. I was touched because this was a while ago and I was pleased to have made a contribution. In particular, however, I was moved as she was referring to the UK leaving the EU on Friday, 31 January.
Her final remark struck me especially “Long live our connections and mutual respect and growth. Unbreakable ties.”
For me this shows the importance of making sure, as we enter this new era, that we do not take our existing relationships with our business colleagues in Europe for granted. We need to work harder than before at showing how much we value them.
It is somewhat bad timing that the latest statistics show that the learning of foreign languages in UK schools has dropped yet again. I have written extensively before on how life enhancing it is to learn a foreign language – even just to have a smattering. It fosters understanding of others and helps forge relationships across boundaries. It is just what we need as we reach Brexit day. So, L and D and HR professionals please add language learning to the courses and activities you offer in your businesses.
At Scala, together with our European partners in the ACE Talent Group, we have the experience, the know-how and the linguistic capability, to give your global, corporate projects local relevance. Contact us for your European and international projects
Janice Caplan
© Janice Caplan 2020